Dani Hayward P.I.: The Joshua Franklin File Page 6
"You might say so."
When she did not continue, he did. "How long have you been in Kensington Heights?"
"As I told the Chief, I just arrived in town."
He tried again. "Where do you hail from?"
Dani eased the truck to a stop at a red light and looked at her passenger. "My private life is just that, private," she said succinctly. "This is a working relationship Captain. Let's keep it that way."
"I was only trying to make conversation Miss Hayward."
It was time to learn if her hunch had been right. "You were attempting to learn anything you could about my background," Dani countered. "I'm aware your Chief tried to run a check on my credentials." The slight flare of the man's eyes and the instant shift of his gaze confirmed her suspicions. "If you must make conversation stick to the case," she suggested as the light turned green and she turned her attention back to the highway.
Thompson focused on the passing houses. Now that her guard was up it was going to be almost impossible to learn anything about her. He had not reached Captain by giving up. He would keep the conversation focused on the case and, at the same time, his eyes and ears would be wide open. She had to slip up sometime. He would be there when she did.
Dani steered the truck onto a side street then took the left hand turn her passenger indicated. Had she thwarted his plan? "For now," she told herself. However, he would try again.
"It's the last house on the right," Thompson informed.
The driver pulled through the open gates of 101 Kensington Drive and eased the truck to a stop. The elegant houses in this section of the city were quite old and had probably been built before the city's incorporation. She examined the Franklin house. It was a large, two-story red brick mansion of modest proportions. Four white pillars rose from the brick foundation to the peaked roof. An abundance of flower gardens dotted the well-kept landscape. "Where's the study in conjunction with the rest of the house?"
"It's downstairs. It would be the right front corner from here."
Dani studied that corner of the house before completing the journey up the driveway. "Are the gates always open?"
"As far as I know," the Captain replied as he followed the woman to the front door. He rang the doorbell. "I really doubt if Mrs. Franklin will be home at this time of day." Before he could continue, the door opened and a stocky woman appeared.
"Captain Thompson!" Her smile was instantaneous. "What a pleasant surprise."
Dani examined the middle-aged woman. Her black hair was lightly dusted with streaks of gray and circled her head in a short, curly style. The attire she wore was enough evidence to prove she was a maid and obviously one who had been with the family at least eight years. Her dark eyes showed her to be in less than perfect health.
The Captain's smile was genuine. "Hello Maria. How've you been?"
"I'm doing much better." She swung the door wide. "Please come in. Mrs. Franklin will be pleased to see you."
"Oh, she's home?" the Captain asked with surprise as he stepped into the foyer behind the brunette.
"Yes, she's in the living room." Maria closed the thick front door soundlessly. "I'll tell her you're here," and she disappeared around a corner to the left.
Dani looked around the wide rectangular room then gestured to a closed set of double doors in the right wall. "The study?" she asked in a low voice.
Thompson nodded.
"How long has it been since you've been here?"
"Seven years."
Her gaze lifted up the wide oak staircase that split the back half of the foyer. The room, which went deep into the belly of the house, was lacking of furniture. A crystal chandelier hung high above the white marble floor. Dani could see three doors, all closed, at the far end of the foyer.
"Well I do declare," came a drawled exclamation from the living room door. A too-thin, silver haired woman came around the corner and toward the pair. She clasped the man's hand in hers as a small smile tickled the corners of her unpainted lips. Her simple, dark blue jewel-necked dress was not out of the pages of Vogue but it was well made and probably a couple of years old. A single strand of white pearls circled her neck and a matching pair of cluster pearl earrings adorned her ears. A fine gold chain, barely visible under the pearls, disappeared under the front of the dress. A simple gold wedding band and a dainty gold watch were the only other jewelry she was wearing. "I didn't believe it when Maria said you were here."
The Captain smiled. "How are you Mrs. Franklin?"
"I'm just fine," the elderly woman answered in a soft voice. "Heavens but it's been a long time since you've come around here." She looked at the brunette who was listening to the conversation intently. "Who might this be?"
"This is Dani Hayward," Thompson introduced. "She's a private investigator."
"Oh?" Jessica Franklin seemed surprised. "Are you so hard up down at the station that you're hiring outside of the department now?" Her light tone suggested teasing.
He grinned. "Not exactly. The Chief has given Miss Hayward permission to reopen the murder case."
Her soft blue eyes widened. "Josh's murder?"
The man nodded. "She'll be doing a complete investigation."
"I'm so glad," Mrs. Franklin smiled at the brunette. "I was very upset when they gave up on finding my husband's killer."
"We didn't give up," the Captain countered gently. "We just couldn't…"
"Oh posh!" The silver-haired woman cut off the officer's statement as she registered a dismayed frown. "You gave up and you know it. You said you did not have any other suspects after you learned Jeremiah had been at the racetrack. That was the last I heard from you."
Jerry Thompson clamped his mouth shut and looked to the brunette for help. She obliged.
"I'm glad you feel that way about me reopening the case Mrs. Franklin. I know how unsettling the loss of a loved one can be. Even more so when they are taken from you in the way your husband was."
Jessica Franklin smiled. "Thank you Miss Hayward. That's very kind of you.” Her gaze darted to the closed doors again then back. “You will have free reign of the house for your investigation. If there is anything I can do please do not hesitate to ask."
Dani studied the depths of the blue eyes for a moment. "Thank you Mrs. Franklin."
"You will want to see the study of course." Mrs. Franklin slid her finger under the gold chain that circled her neck and, pulling it up, revealed a single brass key. "You will find the room just as it was eight years ago. Of course I had to have the doors replaced but I did manage to get the same style." She moved toward the doors as she eased the long chain off over her head. "Everyone has strict orders to stay out of this room.” After unlocking the door, she stepped back and allowed the twosome to enter.
“Are you the only one with a key?” Dani inquired of the woman who followed them in.
"Yes. There was only one key before. I had them make a spare key when the doors were replaced. It's in the safe in my bedroom."
The rectangular-shaped study was a modest-sized room yet held the bulky furniture well. A large oak desk, the focal point of the room, stood against the opposite wall. A high-backed burgundy leather chair sat behind it and, behind that, slightly to the right, an antique grandfather clock that appeared frozen in time, stretched almost to the ceiling. To the left of the grouping, a pair of French glass doors allowed a vie
w of a small unfenced stone patio and the gardens beyond. A rectangular oak table, which held a hurricane lamp, a pillar candle and a bible, stretched across most of the space between the doors and the corner. The back of a brown leather settee faced the brick fireplace that spanned most of the left wall. Matching antique tables book-ended the small sofa and were each topped with white glass-shaded gold lamps. A large world globe was nestled in an oak stand in the near corner. Except for a draped window, the east wall was lined with oak bookcases that covered the entire distance from floor to ceiling. It was a comfortable room and one that, most likely, depicted the owner's taste. It also knew who Joshua Franklin's killer was.
Back in the foyer, Mrs. Franklin locked the study doors then led the pair into the living room as she eased the chain back over her head and slipped the key under her dress. "Please have a seat and Maria will bring tea." She rang for the maid. "I will give you the spare key before you leave Miss Hayward. I hope you don't mind going in the study alone though."
"Not at all," Dani said simply. She had noticed Jessica Franklin's face had paled a shade when they had entered the study and knew the woman was still troubled by the loss of her husband.
As the trio sipped their tea, Dani questioned the woman about the night she had found her husband's body. She watched Jessica Franklin's eyes and was sure, even before she had finished, that Mrs. Joshua Franklin had not killed her husband. Dani sat her cup and saucer on a nearby table then rose. "If you don't mind I'd like to take a look around outside."
Jessica Franklin smiled. "I will have the key for you when you return."
Jerry Thompson followed the brunette out the front door and around the corner of the house. He watched her examine the French doors and recalled doing the same thing eight years earlier. When she slid her fingertip down a pane of glass near the latch, then did the same to one of the bottom panels, he frowned. "Find something?"
"No, just looking."
They walked toward the back of the house, stopping at the edge of the flower gardens. "It's a beautiful place and just the way I remember it," the Captain remarked.
"Yes it is beautiful." Dani went toward the gazebo she had seen from the driveway, pulled a flashlight from her hip pocket and peered through the latticed boards that skirted it. Back at full height, she went past the structure and looked casually at the swing set that stood there before looking up at the Captain. "Did the Franklins' have only one child?"
Jerry Thompson's head bobbed. "Jeremiah Franklin is and always will be a renegade. He has never been in trouble with the law as far as I know. But he sure has come close a few times. There's no love lost between him and the local law enforcement agencies."
"How old was he when his father was killed?"
"Late twenties."
A movement caught Dani's eye and she glanced up to see a curtain at the second floor corner window flutter closed. Someone had been watching them. "Has anything changed that you can recall?"
“I don’t think so.” The Captain frowned thoughtfully. “Wait. There is one thing. But I doubt if it has any bearing on the case."
"What is it?"
"The lamps by the sofa are different."
"Oh?"
"They were green with clear glass chimneys eight years ago. Similar to the old style kerosene lamps." He offered an awkward smile. "I remember because they reminded me of ones my grandparents used to have."
Dani examined the side of the house then walked on. "Did you question Mindy James?"
"Twice. Once the day after the murder then again after Franklin admitted being at the racetrack instead of her apartment."
"Did she corroborate his story when he said he was at her apartment?"
Thompson nodded.
"And when he changed his story?"
"Hers changed too. She said she'd go along with him because of his mother."
"Did you believe them?"
The Captain scowled. "I didn't have any choice. They had witnesses."
Dani recognized something in Gerald Thompson's voice. "Do you think he had something to do with his Father's death?"
"Yes," he admitted without hesitation. "But I can't prove it."
Back at the front door, Dani rang the bell then smiled at the silver haired woman who answered.
"There you are," Mrs. Franklin said brightly. "I was afraid you had gone." She handed the brunette a key. "Just like I promised."
Dani slid the key into the front pocket of her jeans. "Thank you Mrs. Franklin. Is your son at home?"
"I'm afraid Jeremiah is off gallivanting as usual." The voice was laced with what seemed to be disgust. "He is not home much."
Mrs. Franklin was obviously not happy about her son's escapades. "Would you please let him know I'd like to talk with him?"
"I will be sure he gets the message," the older woman assured.