Frankie's Back in Town, page 17
The thought made her shiver, and the goose bumps that rose on her arms had nothing to do with the temperature. She heard the muted sound of the phone ringing somewhere, but it was only a stutter in thoughts that had already bolted from the gate.
Would Frankie actually sleep with Jack to distract him? Was Jack even capable of being distracted?
Every fiber of Susanna’s being rejected the notion that Jack would play favorites. She’d known him most of her life. He played fair. But what if Frankie didn’t? What if she managed to hold something over his head?
“Jack wouldn’t stoop so low for sex, would he?”
“Oh, come on, Suze. He’s a man. A man who hasn’t been involved in quite some time. He’s getting it somewhere. Trust me on this. I knew him, remember.”
Fair enough. And Skip had always said Jack had married his job and only had time for flings. Susanna had never questioned that. But maybe there was more there than either of them had known. Maybe Jack only liked wild women.
Not that Frankie struck her as wild. Maybe in high school, but certainly not anymore. Then again, what if these past six months of acting professional had been a ruse to throw everyone off the trail? In high school she’d been mouthy and confrontational. Could someone really change so completely?
Of course, Karan had been on the warpath back then, too. And her friends—Susanna included—had always jumped on the bandwagon with the unkind taunts and propensity for high drama. From an adult perspective, Susanna knew Frankie hadn’t had too many choices to cope. Not so surprising that she’d chosen to fight back with nastiness and rebellion.
In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Brooke approaching the sunroom door. When she opened it, Susanna waved her off. “Please, Brooke, I’m busy. Deal with that. Take a message or whatever—”
“It’s your work,” Brooke snapped sounding irritated as she pressed the portable handset against her stomach to mute the sound. “Someone from Northstar Corporate.”
The home office? On a Saturday morning?
Karan clearly understood the significance of such a call. “Do you need a good lawyer, Suze? I know quite a few.”
Brooke’s eyes widened, and Susanna stifled the urge to tell Karan to use her head before opening her mouth. Now she’d have to explain the situation and hope Brooke understood the meaning of discretion otherwise this news would be making the rounds via MySpace and Facebook within minutes.
With a sigh of entreaty, Susanna motioned for Brooke to bring her the phone, where she found Gerald Mayne, the president of finance and her immediate supervisor at Northstar, on the other end of the line.
“Gerald, this is a surprise. How are you and Betty?”
“Good, Susanna. Betty’s great, too. Nagging me to retire, as usual.” He gave a gruff chuckle. “Hate to bother you on a weekend, but we received the latest update on the investigation of your property. The board’s convening to discuss the situation.”
“That doesn’t sound good. What can I do?”
“Hop on the next flight to Chicago. Corporate wants a chance to talk with you before the board convenes Monday.”
“Me, Gerald? I understood the director has been in constant contact with the corporate office about the proceedings.”
“She has. That’s why the board wants to meet. Now that you and the director are the prime suspects in the investigation, we need to look at whether or not it’s appropriate to appoint temporary replacements until the situation is resolved.”
For a moment all Susanna could do was stare at the phone. Was she the only person who didn’t know she was occupying a top slot on Jack’s suspect list? “The director told you that she and I were the prime suspects?”
“President of Operations got a call from her.”
“I see. Then I’ll make the arrangements and get to town as soon as possible.”
“Call me back when you know the flight times, Susanna. I’ll come get you.”
“Thanks, Gerald.” She barely got the phone away from her ear when she met her daughter’s shocked gaze.
“You’re not for real, are you, Mom?”
“Brooke, what’s wrong?” Susanna hadn’t had enough time to process the bomb that just dropped on her head, but the look on her daughter’s face brought her back to reality fast.
“You’re the one ripping off the old people?”
“Of course not. Why on earth would you think that?”
Brooke’s expression collapsed. “It’s all over school. I just thought it was that stupid Tara O’Neill making up crap to torture Gabrielle. But it’s really real? One of the managers is ripping off those cute little old people?”
“So Jack told Frankie and not you,” Karan said. “There’s a surprise.” Then, helpful as ever, she held up her cell phone. “Need that lawyer’s number now?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AFTER ENJOYING A GOOD CUP of coffee and even better company with Frankie’s family, Jack headed to the precinct. He’d barely pulled past the Greywacke Lodge’s security gate when his cell rang. After checking the display, he flipped open the phone and said, “Susanna, the exact person I need to talk with.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’ve got an update on the investigation. But let me preface by saying that everything is fine—”
“Everything is not fine, Jack.” Susanna shot the contradiction back, and he heard the distress in her voice, the anger. “You told Frankie that she and I were the only suspects left in your investigation. Didn’t you think I’d be interested?”
“Susanna, listen to me. I apologize it’s taken me so long to get ahold of you, but I can explain—”
“You didn’t get ahold of me, Jack. I got ahold of you. Let’s for one minute forget we’re friends. That you’ve been a guest at every important event in my life since high school. You were a groomsman in my wedding. At both my kids’ baptisms. A pallbearer at my husband’s funeral. Let’s pretend none of that matters. But you’re the police chief. You’re supposed to play fair not pick favorites.”
“Frankie is my contact person on this case, Susanna. You know that,” Jack reminded her calmly. “And I apologize about not calling you sooner. I went to the lodge yesterday to let you both know that we’d cleared all the other names off the list. You know what happened after I got there. By the time the emergency room released her, it was too late to call. It has nothing to do with favorites.”
He wasn’t sure where that had come from as he drove down the winding road that led into the valley. But his hand gripped the steering wheel a little more tightly.
“What am I supposed to think? You don’t tell me something this important. You leave me to hear the gory details from Karan and my supervisor from corporate. I was completely unprepared.” She exhaled sharply, a sound of profound disbelief. “This is my job we’re talking about here, Jack. The job that feeds my kids and keeps a roof above their heads. Do you understand that?”
Karan. That explained a lot. Susanna had every right to be angry that he hadn’t explained the situation to her personally—as he’d intended—but the agitation and accusations of favoritism would undoubtedly be a result of dealing with Karan, who had the unique ability to escalate emotions in any situation. Add an extreme dislike of Frankie and the two would be a lethal combination.
But Jack was completely at fault here, no matter how unintentionally. He could have easily telephoned with the news yesterday. Instead, he’d seized the chance to meet with Frankie in person, and he hadn’t been able to break the news to Susanna until after speaking with Frankie. “I am sorry, Susanna. I would never deliberately leave you hanging out to dry with something like this. I wanted to deliver the news in person. I hope you’ll take me at my word.”
Silence greeted him on the other end of the line.
“Susanna, please forgive me.”
“I’ve got to go, Jack,” she said shortly. “I’ve got to make arrangements to get on a flight to Chicago today.”
The connection ended and Jack clutched the phone in his fist and whispered, “Good luck.”
The absolute last thing he’d wanted to do was give Susanna more grief. Yet that was exactly what he’d done. And damn Karan’s insatiable need for dramatics. He had nothing to do with the woman and hadn’t for years. The only time he ever saw her was when they attended the same functions or special occasions of mutual friends. But she could still manage to impact his life—like a damned ball-peen hammer.
He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. Damn it. And Susanna should know better than to let Karan wind her up that way. Susanna usually did know better, which told Jack everything he needed to know. She was feeling the pressure of this investigation, as he’d known she would.
As he wove in with the traffic, he tried to think of some way to help. The best he could come up with was to wrap up the investigation. For all their sakes. Which got him to thinking. If Susanna had been called into Northstar Corporate…
When he got to the traffic light on the corner of Spruce Street and Main, Jack scrolled through his contacts and depressed the send button.
“Good morning, Greywacke Lodge. June speaking. How may I direct your call?”
“Concetta Cesarini’s room, please.”
“Thank you for calling Greywacke Lodge. Connecting.”
A series of clicks sounded in his ear, then the line rang through. Frankie answered on the second ring.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” he said.
Her laughter filtered through him in a way that calmed the edges of his frustration. “Are you checking up on me?”
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“Rushed. I’ve got a command performance in Chicago. Got to hop on the next flight out.”
“You feeling up to the trip?”
“Not really, but I’ll be okay. I’ll sleep on the plane. I’m just inconvenienced, that’s all. I’m supposed to spend the day watching movies with Gabrielle.”
“I’m sorry.”
Silence. “For what?”
“For not being able to end the investigation before this.”
“You’re trying, Jack. That’s all any of us can do.”
She sounded so practical, so unruffled. She’d learned to roll gracefully with the punches. He liked that about her. He also liked that talking with her came so easily. Although she’d flat-out told him that he didn’t stand a chance with her, Jack knew better. She was on the other end of this satellite signal, making him feel better with her reassurances and graciously allowing him to check up on her.
It was a start.
“Anything I can do to help you with corporate?” he asked.
“I wish. Solve the mystery. That’s all I can think of.”
All he could think of, too. Unfortunately. “What about a ride to the airport?”
“That’s nice of you to offer, but I’m good, thanks. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, so I need my car parked there. The board doesn’t convene until Monday morning.” She hesitated. “They may choose to install an interim director until this situation is resolved.”
“I’m heading into the precinct as we speak. I’ll figure this out, Francesca. You have my word.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I’m counting on it.”
He savored her admission. Not so much the words, but the trust in her tone, the belief he would do what he said.
“Have you heard from Harvey?” he asked.
“Not yet. Sounded like it was going to take some time to find the right parts. And a miracle.”
Jack laughed. “Have a safe trip then. Good luck with your bosses. I’ll try to have some answers for you before they decide to temporarily replace you. Okay?”
“That works for me. Good luck, Jack.”
“Good luck to you, too, Francesca. I’ll stay in touch.”
The sound of her voice lingered as he pulled into the precinct parking lot.
Jack checked in with the desk sergeant. Then made his way through the station, dismissing any thought of heading home to clean up until he shook loose some break in the case.
Randy wasn’t in his cubicle, but Jack spotted him when he emerged from the document room.
“Randy.”
He glanced up from the document he was holding, eyes widening. “You’re timing is downright freaky, Chief.”
“What have you got?”
“Hot off the press.” Randy waved a fax transmission. “Want the good news or the bad news.”
Jack scanned the information quickly. “Good news and bad news is right. Damn it.”
“Didn’t think you were going to be happy with that.”
Jack hadn’t realized until then that he was holding his breath. He’d wanted a break in the case. He’d gotten it. But he’d also wanted a miracle that would exonerate both Frankie and Susanna. He hadn’t gotten that.
This document eliminated his last clue and targeted his alleged perp. After playing the process of elimination game, these two sheets of paper, including cover letter, verified that Greywacke Lodge’s Director of Operations didn’t have authorization to transfer resident funds, which limited access of pertinent information to the CFO.
“I don’t think Susanna’s a thief.” Frankie’s voice replayed in his memory. “And I know I’m not.”
She’d been right on one score.
But he couldn’t accept that Susanna was responsible for these thefts. The broad scope of these crimes…the level of knowledge and manipulation and intent….
No. Not Susanna.
But evidence didn’t lie, and now he had a real problem.
He’d run out of suspects.
“Let’s go,” he told Randy.
“Where?”
“To work. We’re going to revisit every piece of evidence. I need another suspect.”
Randy clamped a hand on Jack’s back. Hard. “Listen, man. I know you aren’t happy right now, but deal. We’ve got our perp.”
“We don’t.”
Clutching the documents, he headed to Randy’s cubicle, determined to go over absolutely everything they had from every source to see what they had missed.
Randy stomped along behind him, clearly pissed. “We’re done here, Jack. We’re ready to start building our case. We’ve got everything we need.”
Jack shook his head. “No. We don’t have the right perp.”
Randy snatched up a disposable coffee cup from his desk. “Now’s not the time to get personal. I know you know these people but—”
“You’re right. I do know these people. Susanna isn’t responsible. She’d have to be working with someone to pull off—” He shook his head emphatically. “We still don’t have an identity on the mystery woman making the withdrawal. The FBI is working on that surveillance tape. In the meantime, we’re not proceeding until we double-check every available fact.”
Randy practically growled his frustration, but Gary Trant’s arrival cut off his reply.
“Jack, Randy,” Gary said in greeting, smiling as if he had every reason in the world to feel good which, as far as Jack was concerned, he didn’t. “I was coming through the building, so I thought I’d check in and see how you’re coming along with the old-age home. Pierce was running his mouth at the council meeting yesterday and getting everyone riled up. I was hoping you had some good news.”
“Hate to disappoint you,” Jack said.
At the same time Randy said, “We’re ready to start building our case.”
Gary shifted a narrowed gaze between them. “Which is it?”
“Our alleged perp isn’t our alleged perp,” Jack said. “We’re not ready to make a move.”
Gary wasn’t stupid and he guessed quickly what was going on because he asked, “Who?”
“The CFO,” Randy supplied. “Susanna Adams.”
Gary frowned. “You’re sure? To be honest, I find that difficult to swallow.”
Randy rolled his eyes, took another swig of coffee to dismiss them.
“My thoughts exactly,” Jack said.
“Then again…” Gary let his statement trail off. “Marietta said Susanna has been having a rough time getting back on her feet after Skip’s death. He was sick a long time. I’m sure that had to cost a chunk of change.”
“Could she be struggling to keep afloat financially?” Randy asked. “I don’t know the lady, but I do know when it comes to my kids, I might get creative if things were bad enough.”
“She might be struggling, but if she were in over her head, she’d go to Skip’s parents. They’d help out. No question.”
“I suppose it’s something to know it isn’t Frankie. Might shut a few people up, at least.” Gary folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the desk, clearly intending to become part of the resolution process. “So what comes next?”
“We bring her in for questioning,” Randy said.
“Bringing her in isn’t a bad idea. At least we’ll exonerate Frankie and look like we’re doing something here.”
“I am not bringing in an innocent woman as damage control,” Jack said simply. “I’m on this case for exactly that reason.”
“Some job you’re doing, too. The whole damn town is talking, so let’s not go there,” Gary said.
Jack agreed with that, at least. The news had even trickled down into the high school.
“That’s the real problem, though.” Randy half sat on his desk. “We’ve got no good reason not to bring the CFO in for questioning. Nada, but Jack’s opinion of her character. The evidence points to her. If we don’t bring her in for questioning, then we leave ourselves open to obstruction. Don’t know about you gents, but I don’t want to defend myself for interfering in due process.”
Gary winced. “Pierce will wipe the floor with us.”
“We’re still waiting on the FBI for an ID.”
Randy snorted. “What? You think the Feds are working through the weekend to get you that evidence?”
Gary met Jack’s gaze. “At least cover your ass while you wait. Bring her in for questioning. They know you and Skip were good friends. You don’t want people spreading around how you cut the widow a break.”
