“Mack—” Bob began, stepping into the living room and shutting the door.
Mack held up his hand. “I know what you’re going to say.”
“I don’t have to repeat my views, you know them already. I hope you didn’t reveal anything you shouldn’t?”
“Look, Bob, I—”
“Forget it. You’re not going to tell me anyway. You really aren’t helping by keeping her whereabouts a secret. Eventually she’ll have to come out of hiding.”
“I know, but not just yet. Her life could be in real danger if the killer finds out where she is.”
“You keep assuming that she isn’t the killer.”
“I know she isn’t. I don’t want to go there with you.”
“Neither do I.” Bob’s smile turned incredulous. “How you can be so loyal where women are concerned after what happened with Linda Hutton, I’ll never know. Changing the subject, we need to have another talk with Pat Davis and Hank Warren about the gun after what we’ve learned from Joe Davis.”
“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said this morning. And don’t forget about Warren’s alibi.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Have a cup of coffee with me before we go?”
“Sure, why not.” Bob followed Mack into the kitchen.
* * *
“Hello, Pat?” Toni said, twirling her finger in the phone cord.
“Toni! Where are you? The police are looking for you.”
“I know all that. Can you talk?”
“Yes. Hank is out of the office.”
“Hank? Why would it matter if he—”
“He’s the new acting CEO until an official vote to decide whether to make him permanent is taken. Didn’t Mack tell you?”
“No, I guess he forgot.” She intended to take it up with him the next time she spoke with him. “Mack said Joe told him he found the gun in your desk a while back.”
“I know.”
“How did you come by the gun?”
“I saw it in your desk drawer.”
“You couldn’t have!”
“But I did. It’s exactly where I got it.”
“That’s impossible. Hank never gave it to me. As if I’d accept anything from him. I wouldn’t spit on him if he was on fire and he knows it, so why would I accept anything he had to offer?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that’s where I found the gun.”
“Are you sure? Or did he give it to you because—”
“Don’t say it, Toni. I love my husband and I don’t have affairs.”
“I know you don’t. I’m sorry. When did you take the gun from my desk?”
“A few months ago when…”
“When what?”
“I can’t talk about it over the phone.”
“It has something to do with our late boss, doesn’t it? Did he try to come on to you? Is that it?”
“Toni, please, I can’t—” A sob tore from Pat’s throat.
“What’s the matter? Are you crying? Oh, my God! Did he—”
“I can’t talk anymore.”
“Pat, don’t hang up.” The line went dead.
“What happened?” Mariah asked.
“She hung up on me.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you. I’ve got to talk to her in person. She usually takes a coffee break at the Coffee House across the street from Townsend’s.”
Mariah’s eyes widened. “You’re not thinking of going there, are you?”
Toni looked at her watch, grabbed her purse, sunglasses and hat and headed out the door. “We’ll have to hurry.”
Mariah followed. “Do you think it’s a good idea to go over there in broad daylight?”
“No. But since I don’t have my car we’ll have to go in yours.”
* * *
“Are you sure the woman is in?” Mack asked Bob.
“According to the housekeeper, when I called earlier, Mrs. Townsend should be in all morning, considering that she rarely rises before ten o’clock.”
They walked up to the front door of the Townsend mansion and Bob pressed the doorbell. It was a few minutes before the housekeeper answered.
“Yes, may I help you?”
Bob took out his badge. “I’m Lieutenant Robert Barnes, L.A.P.D. I called earlier. Is Mrs. Nina Townsend in?”
“Yes, she is. Won’t you come in?”
Mack took in the size and ambiance of the house as they followed the housekeeper into the living room. There had to be at least nine bedrooms, and everything about the place had the flavor of wealth stamped on it. He glanced at Bob and smiled. He could see that his ex-partner was experiencing the same uncomfortable feeling he was.
The housekeeper cleared her throat. “I will let Mrs. Townsend know you are here.”
Mack slowly circled the room. Paintings by well-known contemporary artists and reproductions of the great masters covered the walls. Whoever decorated the house had been flaunting their wealth; everything was expensive, almost garishly so.
“My housekeeper said you wanted to see me.” When Nina Townsend’s heavily made up eyes lit on Mack, she smiled, batting her lashes at him. “Are you Lieutenant Barnes?” she said in a husky female-appreciating-male voice.
“No, I am,” Bob answered.
Nina shifted her attention in his direction. That flirtatious demeanor did not alter as she sensuously moved away from the doorway and sauntered into the room. Her smile widened to encompass both men.
She wet her bright red lips with her tongue. “To what do I owe this visit from two such handsome hunks of the law?”
Mack could understand how Hank Warren and Frank Clifford, any man for that matter, might be attracted to this sensual creature. She literally oozed sensuality. And immediately the image of finger-mussed brassy blonde hair, rumpled satin sheets and wild, hot sex came to mind. The woman was sexual dynamite.
He thought about her husband. If two people were ever opposites it had to be J. V. Townsend Jr. and this woman. He remembered Toni saying something to that effect. Now that he’d met Nina Townsend he agreed with her. Mack glanced at Bob and guessed what he was thinking.
“Mrs. Townsend,” Bob began, “I’ll be handling the questioning. Mackinsey Jessup is joining us as an unofficial observer.”
“I could have sworn you were both—I mean I thought he—Never mind. What is it you want to ask me?”
“If you’ll have a seat, I’ll be glad to enlighten you.”
Her eyes still on Mack, Nina seated herself on the couch, making sure the short red and white dress she wore displayed her slim legs to advantage. Mack shot her an assessing gaze and took a seat across from the couch to study her.
Bob took out his notepad and joined Nina on the couch. “I was given to understand that on the evening of November 25th you were in the company of one Hank Warren at his apartment between the hours of 9:30 and midnight.”
“Who told you that, honey—Lieutenant?”
Bob flipped back through his notepad. “Hank Warren said the two of you were, ah, involved.”
“Well, he lied,” she snapped. “I left his place at eleven. We had business to take care of and afterward we—I mean after it was concluded—I went home.”
Mack’s eyes narrowed at the provocative way she fidgeted with the hem of her dress, which seemed to rise higher with every movement of her body, exposing even more of her slender brown thighs. Remembering how she had sauntered into the room, Mack stuck to his earlier observation that the lady, and he thought of the term loosely in connection with her, was sexual dynamite.
Bob wrote something on his notepad, then glanced at Nina. “Mrs. Townsend, could you elaborate on the business the two of you conducted?”
Nina’s face went blank for a moment. Then her wide sensual mouth relaxed into a smile. “It was confidential, hon—Lieutenant.” She shifted her gaze to Mack, flashing him a come-hither smile.
Mack’s lips quirked into a derisive smile and he beamed the full
force of his contempt on her. Her smile faded and she tossed her head indignantly and focused her attention on Bob. Mack smiled in earnest and remained silent, letting Bob conduct the questioning without interfering.
“Where did you go after leaving Warren’s apartment?”
Nina’s eyes widened and she nervously circled her lips with her tongue. The housekeeper entered with a silver coffee pot, three bone-china cups and a crystal plate of finger cakes.
“I thought you might like some coffee,” the housekeeper announced.
“Thank you, Cara, I did forget to offer these gentlemen refreshments. You can put the tray on the table. Then you can get los—I mean, return to your other duties.”
The housekeeper did as she was told, but the obvious resentment she felt at her employer’s rude dismissal was evident. Mack could tell that the housekeeper couldn’t stand Nina Townsend. He wondered if there was some specific reason why Cara felt that way.
Nina leaned forward, causing her breasts to jiggle and jut forward. “Would you care for some coffee, Lieutenant Barnes? Oh, and you, too, of course, Mr. Jessup.”
“None for me, thanks.” Mack sat back in his seat to resume his silent study of the mistress of the house.
“Thank you,” Bob said. “I’ll take mine black.”
“Please, honey, call me Nina,” she said after she’d poured the coffee and set the pot back on the tray. “How about one of these finger cakes?”
“No, thank you.” Bob repeated his earlier question.
She pouted for a moment, then reluctantly answered. “I came back home.”
“What time was that?”
“Lieutenant, I really don’t see why you’re asking me all these questions.”
“The coroner placed the time of Frank Clifford’s death between 11:15 and midnight.”
“I was in bed asleep before midnight.”
“Can anyone corroborate this? The housekeeper? Your husband?”
“My husband was out of town on business and Cara was in her quarters doing I don’t know what. Sleeping, I guess.”
“Then there is no one to back up your story that you came in before midnight?”
“I don’t need one. I had nothing to do with Frank’s death.”
Bob stuck his notepad back in his pocket. “No one is accusing you of anything, at least not yet.” He stood up and straightened his jacket. Mack followed suit. “We’ll be going now, Mrs. Townsend. I’ll probably be questioning you again, so please keep yourself available.”
“You can’t keep coming here like this. What will the neighbors think? What will the publicity do to my rep—I mean, the Townsend name?”
“I have to inform you that there will be no way of keeping your involvement in this case a secret.”
“Why should my name even be mentioned, Lieutenant, since I wasn’t the one who killed Frank?”
“If you didn’t do it, then you don’t have anything to worry about, do you, Nina?” Mack said with a hard, taunting smile.
* * *
Minutes later, seated in the police car, Bob turned to Mack. “I know what you were up to in there. I warn you, Mack, I won’t tolerate any interference with my investigation. I could tell by the way you were looking at Nina Townsend you’ve already planned to question her when I’m not with you. If you—”
“Relax, Bob.”
“Relax? How can I?”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Yet, that’s the operative word.” Bob started the car and pulled out of the semi-circular drive.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As Toni and Mariah entered the Coffee House across from the Townsend building, Toni spotted Pat Davis sitting in a booth near a side window. She let out a relieved sigh at finding her alone and slid into the seat opposite her.
Pat looked up in surprise. “Toni! What are you doing here?”
“I had to talk to you, see you face to face. Why did you hang up on me?”
Pat seemed to panic and made to get up, but Mariah eased into the empty seat next to her, effectively aborting her escape. Pat shifted her gaze back to Toni.
“Look, Pat, I’m not here to harass you. I need to know the answers to a few questions. Like, how did you know the gun was in my desk?”
“I didn’t know. Finding it there was a shock.”
“Why were you searching through the drawers?”
“I needed a staple puller and I couldn’t find mine, and since you were out of the office, I couldn’t ask you if I could borrow yours. When I opened your desk drawer, I discovered the gun.”
“When precisely did you find it?”
“Six months ago.”
“That long ago? Why did you take it?”
Pat lowered her head, gazing intently into her coffee cup as though hoping she would find the answer in its liquid black depths. The waitress arrived and asked Toni and Mariah if they wanted to order.
“Two coffees, please,” Mariah answered for them both.
Toni kept her face averted until the waitress had gone.
“All right.” Toni placed her hand over Pat’s. “Tell me about it.”
“Mr. Clifford had—he had—”
“Already forced himself on you? I guessed as much. Why in heaven’s name didn’t you go to the police, Pat?”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not? Was it because of Joe?”
“He wasn’t the only reason.”
“You did eventually tell him what happened, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly. You know what Joe is like. He would have killed…” Pat’s eyes bulged with fear. “He didn’t do it, Toni.”
“Calm down, Pat, I didn’t say that he did. Can you tell me what happened that night?”
“The one day you were off sick, he, Mr. Clifford, maneuvered me into staying late, saying he had to have certain reports to take to San Francisco that night. He had to have those reports all right,” she said bitterly, tears sliding down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away.
Toni felt that she’d gone as far as she could, and didn’t want to traumatize Pat any further with memories of the attack.
“How did you find out the gun was Hank’s?”
“Your Mackinsey Jessup and that police lieutenant questioned Joe about it yesterday. They told him it was registered to Hank Warren and it was found at the scene of the murder. He said Hank claimed that he’d given it to you months ago for protection.”
“And you actually believed that?”
“Well, I…” Her voice faded.
“You know how much I loathe the man. How could you think that?”
“I don’t know.” She gestured with her hands. “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“Why did they happen to question Joe about the gun in the first place? I don’t get the connection.”
“That was my fault. When they asked me where we were at a certain time on the night of November 25th, I told them we were at home watching videos with the kids.”
“But why would—”
“I told them that Joe had gone out for some beer. They wanted to know where he went, what time he left and what time he got back.”
“I see.”
“He wasn’t going to tell them anything, but Lieutenant Barnes asked him what if he told him his fingerprints were on the gun. Joe broke down and told them where he’d gotten it. You see, he’d had it for months.”
“When did you tell your husband about the rape?”
“I didn’t exactly tell him. I started having nightmares about that night and I guess I must have cried out something in my sleep. Naturally Joe wanted to take him apart when he realized what he’d done to me.”
“How did you manage to keep Joe from doing it?”
“Believe me, it wasn’t easy, but we both needed to keep our jobs. We’ve kind of over-extended ourselves. Joe knew he couldn’t afford the luxury of losing his job, not to mention his freedom, if he did anything to the man. The bastard knew he had us between a rock
and a hard place.
“I hated him. He needed killing after what he’d done to me. When I saw the gun in your desk drawer something inside me snapped, and on impulse I took it. I don’t know if I intended to kill him or use it to scare him if he tried anything else. I just donknow. In the end I justified taking the gun by convincing myself that I needed it more than you did. When you didn’t seem to notice that the gun was missing, I decided to keep it.
“Then it disappeared from my desk. After that Joe became adamant that I never be alone with Mr. Clifford or work overtime if I could help it. I know you probably thought it was all for Joe’s benefit, but it wasn’t.”
“You didn’t kill him, did you, Pat?”
“No. But I’m not sorry that somebody did what I didn’t have the guts to do. No. I didn’t kill the bastard and neither did Joe.” She glanced intently at Toni. “You do believe me?”
“Yes, but, Pat, I didn’t kill him either. Maybe it was Hank or…”
“Or who?”
“I can’t say. It would only be guesswork on my part.”
Toni could tell Pat wasn’t completely convinced.
Just then Mariah spotted a cop walking through the door and signaled to Toni.
“I’ve got to be going, Pat. If neither you, Joe nor Hank is the murderer, I’ve got to find the real killer.” Toni rose casually from her seat and she and Mariah left through the side entrance leading out to the parking lot.
Mariah started the Jeep. “That was a close one. I don’t think the policeman recognized you.”
“Me either. At least I hope he didn’t.”
* * *
As Bob pulled the squad car up to the curb in front of the Townsend building, Mack caught a glimpse of two familiar looking young women leaving through the side entrance of the Coffee House. His breathing suddenly constricted; it was Toni and Mariah! What were they doing there? The answer to his question walked out the front entrance. When Pat Davis saw him, she glanced nervously at the Coffee House parking lot.
Evidently he hadn’t made himself clear. It looked like he would have to have another little heart-to-heart talk with the dynamic duo. Mack got out of the car and met Pat Davis as she reached the curb of the Townsend building. Bob sat in the car for a moment, watching as his friend approached Pat Davis before finally leaving the car to join them.
The Perfect Frame Page 17