Frankly Speaking - A Frank Rozzani Detective Novel (#1)

by Don Massenzio

Frank sat down at his desk with the five notebooks he and Jonesy had retrieved at the Bullocks' home. As he paged through the first one, he found a great deal of childish prose dedicated to springtime, ponies, and the beach. The other three notebooks that Mrs. Bullock had given them had similar entries, although by the third and into the fourth notebook, themes of Christianity began to permeate the writing. By the end of the fourth notebook, the poems were almost all religious in nature.

  Frank expected the fifth notebook that they had discovered in Maggie's room to continue down the same path. He was quite surprised to find that this notebook did not contain poetry. It was a journal. The journal entries began about six months ago and continued up to the days before Maggie's disappearance. As he read the entries, he realized that the focus of the entries was on someone with whom Maggie had fallen in love. It wasn't the innocent love of a teenager, or a secret crush. It was a gradual sexual awakening that increased in intensity and detail. Frank felt uncomfortable reading this, but also began to realize that Maggie was no longer the innocent girl that her parents believed she was.

  He has awakened feelings in me that I have never experienced before. He is my teacher, my lover, and my friend. He has awakened my mind and body with a power I never thought possible. I want to be with him every minute. He never leaves my thoughts. When we are together, nothing else matters and the outside world ceases to exist. I love him with my mind, heart and body.

  Frank felt a bit dirty and voyeuristic reading this. The subject of her affections was not named, but Frank got the sense that Maggie's feelings for him were not those that a teenager feels for another teenager. She kept referring to his knowledge, his experience, and his worldliness. Frank began to think two things. First, the subject of her affection was older, perhaps much older. Second, the first solid lead into her disappearance had emerged. As he read the final entries in the journal, a key piece of information emerged; Maggie Bullock was pregnant.

  --------

  Jonesy sat at the computer in his office and began researching Pastor Rick Worthington. The CT website was heavy on fluff and light on relevant facts. Worthington started out at the church as the assistant pastor to his father, Randall Worthington. The senior Worthington became the pastor in 2003 when CT opened. He served in that capacity for three years before suffering a massive and fatal heart attack days before a regionally televised event featuring the church. At the time of his tragedy, his son Rick was divinely inspired to take over for his deceased father and go forward with the broadcast in spite of his deep grief. That was the moment a star was born.

  Jonesy then read about all of the miracles that had occurred during Pastor Rick's tenure. More regional and national TV exposure followed and the young man became a living legend.

  Jonesy was able to find YouTube video of the elder Worthington preaching to the flock. His style could not have been more different than his superstar son. His calm, thoughtful delivery was full of references from Bible verses, both well-known and obscure. Jonesy's observations of the son revealed a fiery delivery laced with generalities and nebulous Bible references that may or may not have been accurate. The younger Worthington was dynamic and engaging, but totally lacking in referential credibility. The elder Worthington was educated, accurate, reverential, even-tempered, but, in a word, dull.

  Jonesy concluded that the church's growth and popularity was attributed to the show-business style presentation of a new brand of pseudo-Christianity that was very profitable. It was now time to delve into Pastor Rick's pre-2003 history.

  Jonesy was able to trace the Worthingtons back to Tulsa Oklahoma where the elder Worthington graduated from Oral Roberts University and then worked for the Roberts family ministries. There was no discernible information on Pastor Rick. There were no academic awards, no community service mentions, nothing. It appeared that Jonesy had hit a brick wall in the Internet. It was time to use other means. But first, it was time to head to the Sun Dog for dinner with Frank.

  Frank found Jonesy already sitting at their usual table. He was sipping ice tea and enjoying a Cobb salad. Frank took a seat and started on a bowl of jambalaya with Mayport shrimp. He looked at Jonesy and shook his head.

  "What is it?"

  "This has been an action packed first day on this case."

  While they ate, they caught each other up on the events of the day. When Frank filled Jonesy in on the contents of the discovered fifth notebook and Maggie Bullock's apparent pregnancy, Jonesy began to stroke his chin as he often did while formulating an idea.

  "What are you thinking?"

  "Something about that church made me feel like there was more going on related to this case than I was being told. My digging into the background of their superstar pastor has hit a dead end that I think we need to get around. I think we might find some leads that the police either overlooked or are covering up."

  "I think we're on the same page," Frank agreed. "But we've already seen some retaliation for even considering this case. If you want out, I understand."

  "Hey, that window they broke at my shop was dirty. They actually did me a favor. I don't have to clean it and it will get replaced with a shiny new one."

  "OK, then. It's settled. But right now, we've got some music to play."

  Frank and Jonesy headed inside and mounted the small stage in the corner across from the bar in the Sun Dog. Jonesy kept a small drum kit on the stage that was used by whoever was playing. Frank sat down at the ancient looking Steinway upright. The cabinet was, indeed, ancient, but the guts and keys on the piano were brand new. It was a beautiful instrument with a great sound. Already on the stage was Armand Bigtree. Never was a name so appropriate. Armand, at 6'5" dwarfed his full-sized upright acoustic bass. He was busy tuning it up and practicing some new bass lines with his massive, but quite nimble fingers.

  With a quick nod, Frank indicated it was time to start and Jonesy counted them off into a speedy rendition of "On Green Dolphin Street." As the music started, the stress of the day melted away. The first hour set of their two hour gig went by quickly. After a fun arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," they took a break.

  As Frank and Jonesy grabbed a Land Shark beer and a club soda respectively from the bar, Frank saw a familiar face that he was hoping to see, Anita Velasquez. Anita was a detective with the JPD. She and Frank had become friends based on their common interests. They both liked jazz, both had police backgrounds, and both were attracted to women. Velasquez had to keep this third interest secret. As the country had progressed in many ways, the southern United States were still not 100% tolerant of some aspects of modern society. Frank knew that Anita dealt with being hassled by Lieutenant Drake as well. Drake resented her intellect, talent, and gender. Frank was hoping that she could help them with the Bullock case by circumventing some of the barriers and dead ends they had encountered.

  "Hey piano boy. You guys are sounding inspired tonight."

  "We are just trying to measure up to Fat Sam's 'special guest', whoever that is," Frank replied.

  "Heard you had some fun with Bubba today."

  Bubba was the name Anita called Lt. Drake because it fit him so well.

  "How did you know?"

  "He told me right before he ordered me not to help you or Jonesy with the Bullock case. So, what can I do to help you?"

  "I was hoping you would say that."

  Frank then filled her in on what he and Jonesy had found.

  "It's nice to know Bubba and his Bubbettes are consistently bad at their job. How did they miss that notebook?"

  "They used their usual stellar investigatory techniques.”

  "So are you thinking that CT and Pastor Rick have more to do with this than they are saying?"

  "I think that we are on the right path based on my reptilian visitor and Jonesy's broken window. Someone doesn't want us continuing down the current path. That means that we will, of course."

  "What can I do?"

  "W
e've hit a dead end with researching Pastor Rick before he came to Jacksonville. We can't find much on him during his days in Tulsa. If you could reach out to the authorities there, that would be a great start," Frank said.

  "That shouldn't be a problem. You know, however, that Bubba's going to be pissed if he finds out that you found new evidence, specifically that notebook. You could argue, however, that Maggie Bullock's pregnancy gave her a reason to run away."

  "I suppose that would be correct if there weren't people that obviously don't want us looking into the case."

  "That's true. I'll follow up with looking into the good pastor and let you know what I find out."

  "Thanks. I owe you one."

  "You can pay me back by playing “My Funny Valentine” when you guys go back up there."

  "No problem. It's one of my favorites."

  Frank, Jonesy and Armand came back with a lively rendition of "Take the A Train," before honoring Anita's request and then finishing out their second set.

  After their last tune, Fat Sam mounted the stage and took the microphone. He announced his "special guest" in his raspy Cajun voice.

  "Ladies and gentlemen. I found this gentleman playing his accordion at the beach walk for tips. He wasn't half bad so I asked him to bring a couple of friends over to play a bit for you. Please let me introduce to you Mr. Alfalfa Polka."

  As soon as he took the stage, all of the jazz aficionados immediately recognized him as the New Orleans legend Buckwheat Zydeco. He was between tour stops in Miami and Atlanta. It was the start of another special night at the Sun Dog.

  CHAPTER SEVEN