Naked Frame

by Robert Burton Robinson

  "No, it's not that. If anything you're too beautiful."

  "Huh?"

  "I think you're ready for the majors, Baby."

  "Majors?"

  "Yeah. This minor league stuff is beneath you. Hiring you to work here would be a waste of your considerable talents and charm. I'm sending you to New York."

  Megan bounced with excitement. "New York City?"

  "That's right, Baby. The Big Apple. You're going to be a professional model. America is gonna be seeing your sexy bod on the cover of all the top magazines."

  "Wow. You could make that happen?" She slipped into her bra.

  "Sure. Now, here's what I want you to do." He reached into his pocket and took out his money clip. He put some bills on his desk. "Drive over to the Holiday Inn Express by the airport. Get yourself a good night's sleep. I'll book your flight for you. In the morning, you'll go to the American Airlines ticket counter and tell them your name. They'll give you the ticket."

  Megan was nearly speechless. "Okay." She walked over to his desk and took the money.

  "I make that trip a couple times a month. Your plane will leave at 11:45 and get to New York at around 4:30. There will be a guy from the modeling agency waiting for you at the airport. He'll be holding up a sign with your name on it."

  "Okay."

  "Excited?"

  "Yes, Sir. I'm so excited."

  "Well, you should be. This is a great opportunity."

  "Thank you. Thank you so much."

  "Okay then. Get going. You'll need your beauty sleep for that first photo shoot."

  CHAPTER 12 - Tuesday, 2:25 a.m.

  After hitting the ATM machine, Gabby and Rebecca had stopped by Wal-Mart to buy three changes of clothing each, not knowing how long they would be on the run. Their motel room smelled like smoke. Gabby had suggested that once they had taken their showers, they should throw their smoky clothes in the dumpster.

  While she took a shower, he sent a text message to all of his employees, telling them about the fire. Then he did some research on his smartphone. He found the website for Smotherburn Technologies and located a page that listed their top executives, complete with photos.

  At the top of the page was William Smotherburn, in all his pompous glory. "Okay, now which one of you wanted him dead?" The most obvious choice was Harvey Hamstel. He was the president of the company. So, he was probably in the best position to take over as CEO.

  Rebecca walked out of the bathroom with a towel around her body and another one around her head. "Your turn."

  He held up his phone. "I think I've found our prime suspect for Big Bill's murder."

  She took the phone. "Harvey Hamstel, President. Well, he does look guilty."

  He walked toward the bathroom.

  "Check this out." She turned the phone toward him.

  Gabby walked back to look at it. "Phillipa Thagery, Vice President of Research and Development."

  "It says she's developing some cutting edge TENS unit that will put the company years ahead of their competition."

  "A TENS unit. Didn't you wear one of those for a while in high school?"

  "Yeah. For the pain in my back. So, what if the killer hooked a super-powerful unit up to Carly's head and fried her brain?"

  "You think this Phillipa Thagery did it?"

  "Not necessarily," said Rebecca. "It could have been somebody else who had access to what she was developing."

  Gabby walked toward the bathroom. "Killing Carly would have made Big Bill's problem go away."

  "But why kill Carly after Big Bill was already dead? Unless Carly's killer didn't know he was dead."

  Gabby turned around in the bathroom doorway. "And why make plans to kill Carly knowing Big Bill was going to try to bribe you?"

  "Maybe a few hours of sleep will clear our minds."

  "I sure hope so." Gabby closed the bathroom door and started the shower.

  Rebecca started to call Wendy and tell her to take another day off. But she didn't want to chance waking up the baby and ruining Wendy's night. She would call her first thing in the morning.

  CHAPTER 13 - Tuesday, 2:31 a.m.

  "Hey, Poppa, it's me, Joey."

  "Hey, Joey, it's the middle of the night. Why are you waking me up?"

  "Sorry, Poppa, but I need your help."

  "Okay. But couldn't it wait until morning?"

  "No, Poppa. I'm sorry."

  "Well, what is it? What do you need?"

  "I've got a problem, and it's headed your way. I sent you the details in an encrypted email. You'd better check it now."

  "Okay, Son. I will. And whatever the problem is, I'll put Cam on it right away."

  "Oh, no. Not Cam. He's a freak."

  "Joey! He's your brother. Don't ever dishonor your own flesh and blood. And believe me, he's working hard to be part of the family business now."

  "I wish I could believe that."

  "You can believe it because your father said it!"

  "I'm sorry, Poppa. I meant no disrespect to you."

  "Then don't disrespect your brother."

  "Okay. You're right, of course, Poppa."

  "So, is everything else going okay? Are you about to own the business?"

  "Yes, Sir. Just like I said I would. In a couple of weeks."

  "And you'll finally bring in some real money."

  "For the family, Poppa. It's all for the family. You know that. How's Momma?"

  "She's fine. Except for the dirty look she giving me right now. She wants to go back to sleep."

  "Tell her I'm sorry, Poppa. And tell her I love her."

  "I will. Goodnight, Son."

  "Goodnight, Poppa. And thanks."

  CHAPTER 14 - Tuesday, 8:48 a.m.

  Rebecca liked the melody. It was a cute little tune. Oddly familiar. It stopped playing. Then it started up again. She woke up. It was her cell phone. "Oh crap."

  Gabby jumped out of bed. "What?"

  "We didn't get our wakeup call. And this is Wendy. I was going to call her first thing this morning and tell her to stay home today."

  "She found the body. Now she'll have to call the police."

  Rebecca took the call. "Wendy, are you okay?...oh...well, sure, I understand...no problem...just take a sick day...you're welcome...bye."

  "What happened?"

  "We lucked out. She's feeling ill today. Not anything serious. She was probably up all night with her baby. Her mom will take care of the baby today while Wendy catches up on her sleep. This happened a few weeks ago."

  "Sounds like you need a new secretary."

  "No, Wendy's been my secretary for several years. When I relocated from Sherman, she came along with me."

  "A loyal employee."

  "Yeah."

  "So, do you suppose anybody has found Big Bill yet?"

  "I don't know. The door is unlocked, so anybody could wander in and find him. And even if that doesn't happen, at some point the stink is going to seep into the office next door. So we may not have much time."

  "I guess we didn't accomplish much last night."

  "Except to get your shop burned down. I'm sorry, Gabby."

  "It wasn't your fault. It was probably one of Big Bill's people who knew about my loan. I guess it's better than getting my legs broken."

  "Or they might have done it because they tracked Big Bill to my office and they think I killed him."

  "Yeah. It wouldn't have been difficult. They could have tracked his cell phone. Or his car. It was parked in front of your office. And if somebody recognized us last night at Café Nue..."

  "Like Joey Ketrousie. Or Wiley."

  "But wouldn't they just let the police take care of us? Wasn't that the purpose of framing us for Big Bill's murder?"

  "Yeah." Rebecca thought for a moment. "But if whoever framed us is afraid we're close to figuring out who he is..."

  "He might try to take us out himself."

  "Right." She sighed. "How did you sleep?"

  "I got about four hours."
/>
  "Yeah, me too. I didn't think I would be able to sleep at all." Rebecca set her phone on the night stand and stood up. "I keep picturing Carly's face. It must have been a horrible death."

  "You still think whoever it was that killed her was working for Big Bill?"

  She nodded.

  "But what I still don't get is why he was having Carly murdered on the same night he was trying to bribe you to shut her up."

  "Yeah. That doesn't make sense. Unless...the person who killed Carly was acting on his own."

  "Doing it for Big Bill—without his knowledge? Why would he do that?"

  "Deniability. Big Bill would honestly know nothing about Carly's murder. And if he got away with it, he could go to Big Bill and take credit for keeping his butt out of prison. And try to collect a pile of cash. Or, if it was Ms. Thagery or some other employee, they might be looking for a big promotion."

  "Or...how about this theory?" said Gabby. "The same person who killed Big Bill also killed Carly.

  "Why kill Carly if Big Bill is dead?"

  "I don't know," said Gabby. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

  "Unless the killer was worried about Carly suing the company. Big Bill's raping of Megan Cinaway involved company business, since the sex was part of his job application process. It would have to be somebody whose wealth or power is tied to the company."

  "Well, if that's the case, I'm surprised he didn't go after Megan, too."

  Rebecca panicked. "What if he did? She may already be dead." Rebecca picked up her phone and called Megan. "Carly gave me her number, but I've never used it. Come on, Megan, answer.

  "Is this Megan Cinaway?...this is Rebecca Ranghorn. Your mother hired me to—...well, I'm glad you're okay, but I need to tell you—...New York?...wait, Megan, I need to tell you something...Megan?...It's important. Hello?..."

  Rebecca called again, but it went straight to voicemail.

  "What was that about New York?"

  "She's flying to New York City today. Says she's going to be a supermodel."

  "Obviously, she doesn't know her mother is dead."

  "I doubt she knows about Big Bill either. But somebody has got her believing she's going to be rich and famous."

  "The same somebody who killed her mother and Big Bill? But if that's the case, wouldn't he have already killed her? Why send her to New York?"

  "Maybe he figured he was pushing his luck. He's already got two dead bodies in the same town."

  "So, he's going to send her to New York, and follow her up there and kill her?"

  "Or have somebody else do it. We've got to stop her from getting on that plane."

  "What plane? Do you know what time her flight leaves? And which airline?"

  "All I know is that she suddenly realized it was after nine, and that she needed to get to the airport."

  "Well, assuming she's not too far away, she's probably trying to make it there by 10:00 or 10:30."

  "And that would mean a departure time of around noon or so."

  Gabby took out his phone. "So, let's see what flights depart at around noon."

  "Just the non-stop flights. She's a teenager. This may be the first time she's ever flown by herself. They wouldn't want to take a chance that she'd miss a connection."

  "Okay...my best guess would be...American Airlines...departing at 11:45."

  "We don't have much time. And once she goes through security—"

  "—yeah. We've got to hurry."

  **********

  Rebecca spotted her at the security gate. "Megan!"

  Megan looked back and saw Rebecca and Gabby hurrying toward her. She ignored them, putting her bag on the conveyor belt, walking through the metal detector, and grabbing her bag on the other side.

  By the time Rebecca and Gabby got there, she was already out of sight.

  "Try calling her phone again," said Gabby.

  Rebecca was already doing it. But it went straight to voicemail. "Megan, this is Rebecca Ranghorn. Please call me when you get this message. It's extremely important. Your life is in danger."

  "Why didn't you tell her that her mother is dead? She would have been more likely to call back."

  "I know. But I can't tell her that in a voicemail."

  "Wonder when she'll turn her phone back on."

  "Hopefully before the plane takes off. But who knows?"

  Gabby started talking like a ventriloquist, barely moving his lips. "Don't look now, but there are two security guards staring at us."

  Rebecca laughed—loud enough for the guards to hear.

  Gabby glared at her.

  "Okay. Let's go home, Sweetie. I'm starving," she said, grinning. She whispered, "Walk at a normal pace."

  CHAPTER 15 - Tuesday, 10:45 a.m.

  "Let's pay a visit to Calvin Cinaway." Rebecca gave Gabby directions to the Cinaway home.

  "You think he knows his wife is dead?"

  "Hopefully nobody knows yet—since I put the Do Not Disturb sign on Carly's hotel room door."

  "I didn't even see you do that—probably because I was in such a hurry to get out of there before we got caught. You're not going to tell him, are you?"

  "No," said Rebecca. "He'd call the police. Then they'd want me for two murders."

  "Us. They would want us for two murders."

  "But the fact that Calvin doesn't know yet is good for us."

  Gabby smiled. "Because we can see how he reacts to certain questions."

  "Yeah. And he doesn't know me. He may know my name. But I've never been to their house before. We can use that to our favor."

  "You don't think Calvin killed Big Bill, do you?"

  "It's possible. He knows his daughter was having sex with him. But from what Carly told me, I'm not sure he really cares what happens to Megan—or to Carly for that matter. He loved the fact that she was earning a lot of money and paying all the bills."

  **********

  Gabby parked the car down the block and around the corner from the Cinaway home. If the cops drove up while they were there, they could escape across the back yards.

  Three shiny, classic cars were snuggled together inside Calvin's Auto Shop. His three-car home garage had been expanded on both sides and at the rear to make room for tools and equipment. There was a 1956 Buick Special in the driveway. Rebecca figured that one to be Calvin's car.

  When they entered the shop, their hair and clothing began to blow. Rebecca's blouse flapped wildly against her chest. She located the source: a very large fan suspended in the back corner of the garage.

  "Mr. Cinaway?" Rebecca immediately realized she needed to raise her voice to be heard over the roar of the fan. "Mr. Cinaway?"

  "Yeah?" Calvin poked his head around the open hood of a Pontiac GTO.

  "Could we have a word with you?"

  Calvin waved them closer, and went back to work. "What kind of car you got?"

  "Uh..."

  Gabby jumped in. "A '63 Catalina. 421 cubic inch."

  Calvin looked up. "Nice." He pointed to the workbench. "Put your name and number on the list over there, and I'll call you when I get an opening."

  Gabby walked over to the workbench. "How long do you think it will be?" When he picked up the clipboard, he knocked off a large screwdriver. He jumped back in the nick of time—before the sharp blade pierced the top of his shoe. He picked it up and put it back on the workbench.

  "I don't know. Could be months. But I'll definitely give you priority. I'd love to get under the hood of that sweet baby. I could max her out, and get that mother to do a hundred miles per hour in under 15 seconds."

  Gabby's eyes lit up. "Whoa."

  Rebecca could see Calvin's passion for cars. She knew that he and Carly had no sex life. Maybe this is what it took to get his rocks off: classic muscle cars. "By the way, is your wife home? I would love to show her my exciting line of cosmetics."

  "No. She's not here right now. Not sure when she'll be back."

  "Well, do you have a teenage daughter who might be i
nterested?"

  "She's not here either."

  "Okay, thanks. Maybe some other time."

  Gabby was standing at the workbench, perusing a Porsche brochure he had found there. He held it up. "I wouldn't mind having one of these."

  Calvin stopped working and stood up straight. "Yeah."

  Rebecca noticed that he seemed uneasy about Gabby's discovery of the brochure. "You ought to buy yourself one."

  "Oh, I'd love to." Calvin laughed nervously. "But I don't make that kind of money."

  Rebecca stared at him—which seemed to make him fidget.

  Gabby followed her lead, walking over with the brochure in hand. "Wow, it says here that the base price is $62,000. But look how cool, Becca. It's a Porche Boxster Spyder. It does zero to sixty in 4.9 seconds."

  "Beautiful." Rebecca kept one eye on Calvin. "Well, I guess we'd better get going and let Mr. Cinaway get back to work."

  "Yeah. We don't want to be pests." Gabby took Rebecca's hand. "Thanks, Mr. Cinaway." They turned and walked out.

  "Sure thing," said Calvin.

  Once they were back in Gabby's car, Rebecca said, "You shouldn't have called me Becca in front of him."

  "I know. I'm sorry. You think he figured out who you were?"

  "Probably not. And obviously, he hasn't heard from the cops yet. But he's hiding something."

  "You think he killed Big Bill? Or Carly?"

  "I don't think he's capable of killing anybody. But he definitely got nervous after you picked up that brochure."

  **********

  Calvin wiped off his hands, and took out his phone.

  "When are you going to bring my money?...Cash, right?...Good. I'll be here."

  CHAPTER 16 - Tuesday, 11:36 a.m.

  Harvey Hamstel leaned back in his plush executive chair and studied the artist's rendering of William Smotherburn. The massive canvas was mounted on the wall facing his desk. Each member of the senior management team had been blessed with one.

  It felt as though Big Bill himself was with them at all times. Whether they were preparing a proposal, reading a report, reprimanding an employee, or chit chatting over the phone—Big Bill was watching, judging. Like Big Brother.