Dani Hayward P.I.: The Joshua Franklin File Page 4
Dani sank into her desk chair, the thick manila folder in hand. She flipped open the file and began to leaf through it, reviewing each page as she went. Joshua Andrew Franklin had been murdered in the study of his palatial estate on the north side of Kensington Heights. Both doors to the study had been locked from the inside and neither the windows nor doors had shown signs of forced entry. Joshua Franklin had been killed by a thirty-eight slug that had penetrated his heart. Death had been instantaneous. According to the coroner, a minor flesh wound of unknown origin found on the victim's right temple could have occurred as much as thirty minutes before death. Franklin had died sometime between six and nine o'clock on the evening of June fifteenth. Jessica Franklin, the victim's wife, had left the house at six that evening to attend a ladies’ auxiliary meeting. Her husband had waved goodbye to her from the front door. When Mrs. Franklin returned home shortly after nine she had found the study doors locked. After attempting to raise her husband by calling to him and pounding on the door, she had gone around the house and peered through the study window. When she had seen her husband lying on the floor Mrs. Franklin had called police. The following day, when the police questioned the victim's son Jeremiah, he stated he had been with his girlfriend, Mindy James, at her apartment all afternoon and evening the day of the shooting. A further notation on the report stated Franklin had changed his alibi several days later and admitted being at the Woodland Hills racetrack from four o'clock until well after midnight. His reason for lying had been that he was afraid his mother would learn his true whereabouts. It seemed Mrs. Franklin abhorred gambling of any kind.
Dani reached for her cell phone, found the name on her contact list and called the number. There was only one ring before;
"Sanders."
"How would you like to get on my good side?"
A chuckle crossed the wire. "Who do I have to kill?"
"It'd take more than that," she quipped. Then, "I need all you can dig up on Joshua Franklin. Need a D.O.B.?"
"That'd help."
Dani relayed the information from the file. "And while you're in your computer see if you have any reference on Jeremiah and Jessica Franklin, his son and wife."
"Franklin," the man said in a thought-provoked tone. "Wasn't he some kind of big shot tycoon who was murdered down there a few years back?"
"That's the one. I want everything you've got on him. And Tom?"
"I know," was the reply. "You want it yesterday."
"Exactly."
"How do you want it?"
"Fax it to me."
"I'll have it there this afternoon," the man assured. His voice lowered slightly. "I got a call from upstairs a couple of hours ago. Someone from across the tracks tried to run a couple of inquiries on you this morning."
"Oh? Who?"
"I don't know. We’re trying to trace that now but their firewalls appear to be almost as good as ours."
"Is the file protected?"
"Yep. All they got was the dummy file that says you've been a good little P.I. for the last ten years. There’s no way anyone could get through my encryption. Even the boys upstairs can’t do it. That's why they called me when they discovered the inquiries."
"Thanks Tom. I'll talk to you later." Dani hung up the phone with a frown. "I'll bet I know who initiated them," she said aloud before returning to her reading.