Detective Flint Box Set: A Detective Story Box Set Books 1-3

by Nancy McGovern

  “And very bitter,” Flint said. “Ms. Garland, I'm going to lay all the cards out on the table. I found an entry hole in the basement of the house Haley Frost is currently residing in. This hole leads into a cave, which in turn leads out into the canyons.”

  Mandy pretended to act shocked. “My goodness,” she said, blowing smoke from her nose.

  “The hole is man made. Someone... the killer... created the hole in order to access the house. And, as you know, there is a dumbwaiter in the basement, making access to each floor of the house very convenient and simple. Chef Rogers claims that you know the killer and assisted him in creating this access hole.”

  “That man is a liar!” Mandy snapped. “Why, I have never even been in that basement.”

  Flint nodded. He had to manipulate Mandy carefully and slowly. If he yanked too soon, too fast, he would pull the hook out of her mouth. “We've dusted the entire basement for fingerprints. We've also dusted the cave for fingerprints. The lab will tell us who has been in the basement and who hasn't.”

  Flint’s words slapped Mandy's defense to the floor. The last thing Mandy had expected was police involvement. And now the police were backing her into a tight corner. Taking another draw on her cigarette, she stared at Flint with nervous eyes. Flint, she could clearly see, appeared to be a disheveled man, but inside his skull lurked a dangerous mind. The man reminded her of a detective she had watched in an old black and white film made in the 1940's. “Detective Flint, I lied. I have been in the basement.”

  “Why did you lie?” Flint asked in a cool, non-threatening, voice.

  “Because... I'm scared. Haley's life is in danger. It's my duty to protect her. I admit that I am very resentful that the police are now involved. Haley is my responsibility. I can protect her.”

  “What steps were you taking to protect her?' Flint asked. “If you went into the basement, surely you must have seen the hole leading into the cave?”

  “I... no,” Mandy replied pushing smoke from her mouth. “The security team--”

  “Matt and Dave,” Flint interrupted.

  Mandy nodded. “Yes, the brothers... they examined the entire house. I may not approve of their methods, but David and Matthew are the best in the business. I followed them into the basement when they performed a security check in that part of the house. When they secured the basement, we left.”

  “When was this?” Flint asked.

  “Two days ago,” Mandy said.

  Flint nodded. Now he understood Matt's frustration. Mandy, it seemed to him, had manipulated Matt and Dave. “No one visited the basement since then?”

  “No. Why would they?” Mandy answered, lowering her eyes away from Flint.

  Flint made a few mental notes and pushed forward. “Okay, let's get back to Chef Rogers. He claims you know the killer. Now, we both know he's lying. My question is how does this man know the killer, and why would he help the kill harm Haley Frost?”

  Flint's questions seem to please Mandy. Unaware that Flint was baiting her, she eased toward a baited hook. “My uncle is a very disturbed man, detective. I should have seen the warning signs.” Mandy paused. An idea struck her mind. She grabbed the idea and ran with it. “Oh,” she said, pretending to suddenly remember something, “Detective, I did see my uncle go into the basement last night. I don't know how I forgot. Stress, perhaps?”

  “Maybe,” Flint said.

  “At the time, I simply didn't think seeing Uncle go into the basement seemed strange. I thought he needed supplies for the kitchen.”

  Flint nodded. “Chef Rogers stated he saw you go into the basement.”

  Mandy drew in a deep breath. “Obviously, we both know he is lying. I was with Haley the entire time.”

  “Matt and Dave will back up your statement. Besides, they hid cameras all over the house. Chief Cunningham is reviewing the tapes. We'll know who entered the basement,” Flint explained, slapping down a fat lie.

  Mandy tensed. “Matthew and David hid security cameras throughout the house? I was not aware of this. I... for Haley's sake, I forbade any security cameras being installed. You must understand, if private footage of Haley was ever leaked, why, it could ruin her career.”

  “Private footage of Haley being held in her bedroom as a prisoner?” Flint asked, in a voice that deliberately pushed Mandy a little hard. Then, he quickly softened. “But I understand your concern. I work with the studios, Ms. Garland. I know the game.”

  Mandy became uneasy. She wasn't certain how to proceed. If what Detective Flint said about Matt and Dave installing hidden security cameras was true, her backside was now about to be tossed into a hot fire. She had lied about Chef Rogers entering the basement, and private security footage would prove her to be a liar. So, she did what anyone woman in hot water would do, she began to play sick. “Detective, I suddenly feel very ill. I think I need to lay down and--”

  Chief Cunningham knocked on the door, interrupting Mandy. He came in, his face creased with worry. “Chef Roger's just had a heart attack. The ambulance is on the way, but it doesn't look good.”

  “Oh, dear,” Mandy gasped.

  “Ms. Garland, at this point, we're going to release you,” Chief Cunningham said. Flint began to shake his head, but Chief Cunningham continued. “Your lawyer is out in the lobby. You're free to go, but stay in Los Angeles.”

  Mandy glanced at Flint. Relief washed through her mind. “I was wondering when Mr. Hert was going to arrive,” she said and extinguished her cigarette.

  Flint put on a fake smile. “I'll be in touch, okay. Go home and get some rest.”

  “What about my uncle?”

  “I'll let you know,” Flint said. Leaning against the back wall, he waited until Mandy left the room and closed the door. “I was this close to snagging her,” he told Chief Cunningham, holding up his left pointer finger and thumb, spacing them about two inches apart.

  “Ms. Garland's lawyer threatened us with a lawsuit, Flint. What could I do? We don't have the results back from the lab yet confirming that it was arsenic in the stew. Yeah, we both know whenever the lab gets off its butt the reports will confirm what we know, but for now, we don't have any grounds to hold Ms. Garland. Her lawyer has the upper ground, for now, Flint. I had to release her.”

  Flint didn't expect his fish to get away. Now, he knew, he had given Mandy Garland false information that might force the woman to create drastic, dangerous, and desperate moves that might put Haley's Frost life in more danger than it already was. “What about Rogers?”

  “Couldn't revive him,” Chief Cunningham said. “Man collapsed on the way to his holding cell. Flint, he isn't going to wake up.”

  “Which helps Mandy Garland,” Flint said with a sigh. “Okay, Chief, I'm getting back to the house. Let me know when the lab wakes up and sends in the reports.”

  “Wait a minute,” Chief Cunningham said. “Flint, before you go, I want to know what your gut it telling you.”

  Flint leaned back against the wall. “Mandy Garland is a liar. She's involved with the killer. I'm sure of that. Arnold hit a good run when she mentioned that the woman Haley's Frost old man remarried directs plays in New York, and began asking Haley to perform in those plays.”

  Chief Cunningham nodded. “Mandy Garland shows up at one of the plays, right?”

  Flint nodded. “By design,” Flint said. “Haley Frost is being manipulated, Chief. I don't know what's going on, yet, but I'm going to kick over every stone until I find the answers we need, you count on that.”

  “I called Haley's father,” Chief Cunningham said.

  The tone in Chief Cunningham's voice caused Flint to lean up off the wall.

  “Yeah?”

  Chief Cunningham rubbed the back of his neck. “Flint, as you know, Haley's uncle, not her father, made a private call to me asking me to protect his niece. Ned... well, I owed him one.”

  “I get that part,” Flint said, and then remembered something Mandy had said to him. “Mandy Garland thinks Haley's old man
requested police protection.”

  “Really?” Chief Cunningham asked. “Flint, Haley's father works on Wall Street. He's a very wealthy stock broker. We're talking millions. I only met the man a handful of times, at parties Ned invited me to.”

  “What did you get from him?” Flint asked.

  Chief Cunningham shrugged. “Vern Frost came across as a man who was all business. I can't remember the guy cracking a smile or a joke. All business.”

  “What did Ol' Vern say when you spoke to him?”

  Chief Cunningham rubbed the back of his neck again. “He didn't even know death threats were being made against Haley. He became very upset that his brother Ned had requested police protection without informing him that his daughter's life was in danger.”

  Flint studied Chief Cunningham's face. “You're thinking your old friend Ned is involved somehow, aren't you?”

  “I'm wondering why he didn't tell Vern Frost that his daughter's life is in danger,” Chief Cunningham said. “Flint, I expected Vern Frost to immediately jump a plane to fly out here and be with his daughter. Instead, he told me to keep him informed.”

  “Informed?” Flint asked, confused.

  Chief Cunningham raised his eyebrows. “He seemed more upset that Ned went behind his back than his daughter's life being in danger.”

  “And Mandy Garland told me that it was Haley's old man that had requested police protection. Somebody has their wires crossed somewhere,” Flint said. “I'm going to speak with Haley.”

  “I'll send the lab reports over as soon as they come across my desk.”

  Flint left the interrogation room. Walking outside into a heavy morning rain, he tugged on his overcoat. Frustrated that Mandy Garland had escaped the hook, he climbed into his car and sped away. For now, he thought, beginning to fight his way through wet traffic, he would focus on Haley. He would dig in Haley's mind with steady fingers until he dug up information that would benefit the case.

  After arriving back at the house, Flint realized that he had forgotten the take-out Tori had requested. Knowing that Tori was going to give him a hard time, he entered through the back door, hoping to have time to think of an excuse. To his surprise, he saw Tori standing at the stove.

  Haley Frost was leaning against the counter next to the stove. “Hello,” she said. Quickly looking down at the pink robe she was wearing, Haley blushed. “I should get dressed.”

  Flint saw Matt and Dave standing outside the kitchen doorway on guard. When they saw Flint, Dave waved his hand. “We need to talk,” he said.

  Flint looked at the stove. Tori was frying eggs in one pan and had what looked like a gravy simmering in a second pan. The basement was casting out a warm and delicious smell of fresh biscuits. Tori shook her head at him. “I figured you would forget the food.”

  “Where did you learn to cook?”

  “Not me,” Tori said with a smile, tossing a thumb at Haley. “Haley is the chef. She's been assisting me.”

  Haley smiled. “I grew up in a house where both of my parents weren't really around. You either learned to cook of lived off of peanut butter crackers.”

  Dave waved his hand at Flint again and cleared his throat.

  “Oh, go see what Dave wants before he has a fit. He refuses to tell me what he knows,” Tori said, returning her attention back to the eggs.

  Flint walked into a comfortably sized dining room that reminded him of the 1930's. The dining table was long, and covered with a light blue table cloth, which matched the curtains draped at the windows. The pale carpet was soft and lush, and, most impressive of all, a bright crystal chandelier hung down from the ceiling, sitting directly over the middle of the dining room table. Flint didn't mind the dining room, but he preferred sitting in a warm kitchen at a kitchen table covered with years of use made by real people with real problems. “What?” he asked Dave.

  “Mandy Garland called me,” Dave said. “She fired Matt and me.”

  “Yeah... that's my fault,” Flint said. “Don't worry, I'm keeping you guys on as personal security for Haley. I'll foot the bill personally.”

  Matt glanced at his brother. Relieved that he and Dave weren't going to be booted, he nodded. “This case is personal, Flint. Don't worry about paying us.”

  “Because of the basement?” Flint asked.

  Matt nodded. “Dave and I checked the basement with Mandy.”

  “The basement didn't have any access route into a cave,” Dave said. “That access route was created after we checked the basement, Flint. My brother and I don't like it when people deceive us.”

  Flint patted Dave on the shoulder. “You guys stay close to Haley. I'm working on leading Mandy Garland into a trap, but it's going to take some doing.” Flint began to walk back into the kitchen, but paused. “Oh, by the way, Chef Rogers had a heart attack down at the station. He's not expected to make it.”

  Dave and Matt looked at each other and then back at Flint. “We'll stay close to Haley. In the meantime, since you're here, we'll go do a security check,” Matt said.

  “Good,” said Flint. “Say, why wouldn't you tell Tori that Mandy Garland called you?”

  Dave smiled sheepishly. “Matt thinks your partner is cute,” he said, and nudged Matt with his elbow. “He's real bashful around her all of sudden.”

  “Is that so? Flint grinned. “You're younger than she is, but that might not matter.”

  Matt blushed. “Knock if off, guys.”

  Flint chuckled to himself and walked back into the kitchen. “Haley, you mind if I ask you some questions?”

  Haley tugged on her robe. “I... well, yeah, I guess that would be all right.”

  Flint poured himself a cup of coffee. “Is Mandy Garland related to your stepmother?” he asked, walking to the pantry door. His trap was still in place.

  “Not that I'm aware of,” Haley said.

  Flint casually sipped on his coffee. He knew kid gloves were needed with Haley. “Haley, do you and get your stepmother get along okay?”

  Haley picked up a white plate sitting on the counter and held it up for Tori. Tori picked up a fried egg from the pan on the stove and put it on the place. “We're not best friends,” Haley admitted. “Ann isn't the type of woman a lot of people like. What I mean is...” Haley paused. She looked down at the plate. “Ann is a really good director, but she's not good with directing her heart to show kindness and compassion. She's stiff and rigid, uncaring and hard. I really don't know what my father sees in her.”

  Tori tossed a quick eye at Flint. She knew her partner had a reason to his questioning. She listened patiently.

  “Haley,” Flint asked, sipping on his coffee as he stood next to the pantry door, “tell me about your Uncle Ned.”

  Haley looked at Flint. Her beautiful face became upset. “Why?”

  “Please,” Flint gently insisted.

  Haley put the plate in her hand down on the counter and folded her arms. “My father's brother is an awful man,” Haley said. “He and my father are nearly enemies, and it's all Ann's fault. They fought over her like two tigers fighting over a raw steak. When my father married Ann, Uncle Ned swore that he would ruin the marriage... and ruin my father's life.”

  Bingo, Flint thought.

  He now had a second suspect.

  “Haley,” he continued, “do you and your father get along? I know he works as a stock broker.”

  Haley shook her head. “Detective, my father and I have a relationship that is biological, if you can understand what I mean. My father tolerates me because I came from his loins. He was paying for me to attend nursing school and seemed more than happy...” Tori sighed sadly, “more than happy when Mandy brought me to live in Los Angeles.”

  “And your mother?” Flint asked.

  Tori shook her head. “My mother and I never saw eye to eye. I blamed her for divorcing my father. A girl loves her father, Detective, no matter if her father treats her like dirt.”

  Tori turned off the stove. With a caring touch, she put
her arm around Haley's shoulder. “What do you say we eat?”

  Haley nodded. She lifted a second white plate off the counter. “Better take the egg up. It's not good to leave food sitting in hot grease. Detective, we made plenty. Dave? Matt?” Haley called out. “You guys want something to eat?”

  “I'm sending Dave out for some food in a bit,” Matt said. Looking at Tori, he smiled. “Sure smells good, though.”

  Tori gave Flint a strange look. Flint shrugged back, then walked back into the dining room and sat down. Listening to heavy rain falling outside, he put his coffee down and pulled out a small notebook from the inside pocket of his overcoat. He began to scrawl down a few ideas.

  A few minutes later, Tori and Haley came in. Haley sat down across from Flint, said a prayer over her food, and began to eat. Tori placed a plate down in front of Flint, sat down next to him, and focused on what Flint was scribbling down. Instead of asking questions in front of Haley, she simply scanned the notebook. “Where is Mandy Garland?” she asked, finally digging into her food.

  Flint put the notebook away and tucked into his plate of two fried eggs, biscuits and gravy. “Her lawyer put a file in a cake,” he said. “I expect she'll be around soon enough.”

  Something in Flint's tone worried Tori. But, because Haley was present, she couldn’t press the issue. “I'll call Haley's father after we eat if that's okay.”

  “Don't waste your time,” Flint said, taking a bite of egg. “Chief Cunningham put a call into him.”

  “What did my father say?” Haley asked in a voice that told Flint she hoped her father asked about her well being.

  Flint didn't have the heart to tell Haley the truth. “He asked us to protect you and keep him informed every step of the way,” he said, hoping he gave an answer that would make Haley happy.

  Instead, Haley looked down at her food and shook her head. “Hey, I'm sorry--”

  “Don't be sorry,” Haley interrupted. “I mean, what was I really expecting... my father to run to my side and protect me himself?”