Chapter Fourteen
Nancy squeezed Frank's arm as they neared the Palms Resort. Frank stopped walking and looked at Nancy, one dark brow arched in question.
"I .. I just wanted to say, thank you, Frank. You may have saved my life today."
Frank brushed a strand of hair from Nancy's face. It had come loose from her ponytail. "I have a feeling this won't be the last time I save that pretty little derriere of yours." He cast an appreciative glance at said derriere. "Not that I'm complaining."
Nancy lowered her head and became contemplative. "I have a tendency to leap before I look. I really need to do something about that. Be a little more cautious." She lifted her head and looked into Frank's smiling face.
Frank chuckled softly. "That's not a bad idea. Being cautious, but …" He took her face in his hands and gazed deeply into her midnight blue eyes. She could see he was very serious now. "Don't change too much, Nan. I love you just the way you are and for who you are. The most generous, caring person I know. You put the welfare of others before yourself."
She smiled demurely and her cheeks glowed a soft pink. "I really don't deserve you, Frank Hardy. You know that, don't you?"
His loving smile and husky voice melted her already mushy heart. "I could say the same, Nan. I don't deserve you, but I don't want to argue. Look, we're here."
He opened the door to the Resort and Nancy entered.
"I have something to take care of," Frank said as he stood in the doorway. "I'll leave you to meet with Detective Gosling in private. I should be back in 15 minutes or so. Wait here for me?"
"I'll be right outside the door." Nancy nodded at the door.
"Sounds good." Frank winked, then turned, and left.
Nancy walked the few steps to Tim Kincaid's office and knocked on the door.
Detective Gosling opened the door and poked his head out. "Ah, Miss Drew. I was about to send out a search party."
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, detective. I .. I fell." Nancy indicated her scraped knee. "I had to clean the wound and find a band-aid."
"Are you okay?" Gosling cocked his head and frowned.
Nancy thought his eyes lingered on her neck too long. Were there any marks there from Jeremy's attack? She hadn't looked in a mirror before coming to meet Gosling and now wished she had.
She almost brought her hand up to hide her neck, but quickly squelched the notion. Such a move would surely draw Gosling's attention to her neck.
"I'm fine." She smiled brightly. Always best to put on a cheerful face. "Frank said you found the photo in the newspaper."
Gosling saw the curiosity and excitement in Nancy's eyes and smiled, too. "I did. Please, come in. Have a seat." He waved her into one of the chairs in front of Tim's desk.
Nancy sat, but it was hard for her to sit still. She was anxious to see the photo. To hold it and examine it in minute detail. She might need to buy a magnifying glass. Surely, they sold those in town.
Gosling opened a folder on the desk and withdrew the photo. He slid it across the desk and Nancy picked it up. It was a copy of the original newspaper clipping. The story of the husband who had saved his wife from drowning was printed beneath the photo.
It was a black and white photo. Kind of grainy. Not much detail. The husband's head was turned to the side and rested on top of his wife's head as if he were comforting her. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders.
Had he done that intentionally, Nancy wondered, avoided looking at the camera? It was a good shot of his profile though.
Nancy could not tell what color the man's hair was. She scanned the clipping for the date and then brought her eyes up to meet Gosling's.
"This was taken seven years ago," she said.
Gosling rested a hip against the edge of the desk and crossed his legs at the ankles. "Yes, it was."
"It says the man's name was John Highsmith. I'm sure you searched all the databases for Mr. Highsmith."
"We did. The name's an alias. One of many he's used. We're still trying to track down Mr. Highsmith's real name. We've been able to identify the woman in the photo, his wife. She was originally Maria Lopez, an immigrant. She came to the U.S. a year before she met Mr. Highsmith. When she married him, she had no family in this country and only a few relatives in Mexico. Her mother and father were deceased and she had no brothers or sisters. She was the perfect victim. There was no one to question her death."
Nancy shook her head woefully. "That's all very sad and what did Mr. Highsmith gain by her death? Insurance money?"
"Fifty thousand dollars to be exact."
"That's not a lot of money. Hardly seems worth killing for."
"Maybe not, but Mr. Highsmith was very clever. He bought the insurance policy shortly after he and Miss Lopez married. As you probably know, a claimant cannot collect insurance money if the insured commits suicide within the first two years of a policy."
Nancy nodded. She had investigated a few suspicious death claims in her day, both as a police detective and as a private investigator. Insurance companies did not like to pay out if there was even the slightest question concerning the death of an insured.
"Well, our Mr. Highsmith waited two and a half years before he killed his wife," Gosling said. "I found the hospital where he took her after she overdosed on pain meds."
"Pain meds?" Nancy's brow creased.
"Yes, Miss Lopez fell and hurt her ankle rather badly. She was painting the outside of their house and fell off the ladder. The doctor prescribed powerful meds for the pain."
Nancy found this new information very interesting. Had the husband attempted to kill his wife then, on the ladder? Or was this merely a fortunate happenstance? It led to her having a potent medicine in the house, something he could use against her.
"How long had they been married at that point?" Nancy asked. "When she fell."
"Just over two years." Gosling rubbed his nose and sniffed. "I suspect, Miss Lopez was Mr. Highsmith's first victim and he sort of bumbled his way through. He was learning as he went. A rather nasty thought really. I think Mr. Highsmith may have tried to kill his wife that day on the ladder. I'm sure the insurance company would have viewed a fall as an accident and would have paid without batting an eye. However, Mr. Highsmith botched the attempt and had to start over. His next attempt was an overdose of the pain meds. He struck out again and resorted to more brutal methods."
"He hung her." A shiver crawled down Nancy's spine and her gaze locked on Gosling's. His eyes were small and dark and a fierce intelligence shone within.
"Yes," Gosling said, "and he hung her. And since he'd had his insurance policy more than the required two years he was able to collect the money."
"It's all very sad," Nancy said and thought, although not a large sum, the insurance money would have been enough for Mr. Highsmith to start over in a new town. Mr. Highsmith, or whatever his real name was, had been very clever. He'd avoided suspicion until Mr. Graves showed up.
Nancy turned her attention to the photo. Her brows knitted together in deep concentration. "It's not the best picture," she sighed.
"No, it isn't and I'm sure Highsmith has changed his appearance since then. Actually, I'd be surprised if he hadn't changed his appearance. Wouldn't you?"
"Yes," she admitted and her shoulders slumped.
"So, nothing jumps out at you? No spark of recognition?" She heard the hope, or perhaps desperation, in Gosling's voice.
"No. I think I need to go over the photo in detail. Somewhere quiet where I can give it my full attention."
Gosling pushed off the desk. "Well, it's yours to keep. Have Frank look at it, too."
"Of course." Then she realized what he'd said. "Frank, too? Does that mean he's off the suspect list?"
Gosling smiled. "Yes, no red flags turned up in his background check. Being former military and serving in the Army's CID put him in the OK column. Better than OK as a matter-of-fact."
And what about me, she wanted to say as she felt her back stiffening. I'm a former police detective with the Chicago PD. That should count for something.
Well, he had given her the photo and he had some expectation she might be able to identify the man in it. Perhaps, he had come to view her as an equal or, at least, as someone who could help in the investigation.
She smiled politely and rose. "Thank you for the photo, detective. I'll study it and let you know if anything jumps out at me."
"We'd appreciate that." Gosling dug in his jacket pocket. "Here's my card. If something does come to you, call anytime day or night."
Nancy took the card and glanced at it. "I will, detective. Thank you again for the photo. I'll give it my undivided attention."
# # # #
Nancy stepped out of the building and into the bright sunshine. She'd forgotten her sunglasses and shielded her eyes with the copy of the newspaper clipping Gosling had given her. She looked around. Frank had not returned yet. That was fine, she wanted a few quiet minutes to mull over the information Detective Gosling had shared with her.
She paced the walkway as she mulled. This new information put things in a whole new light. Since the killer used the 'appearance of suicide' as a means to dispose of his wives, he had to wait two or three years into a marriage before attempting murder. If the killer were going to strike here and now, that meant Nancy was not looking for a newlywed couple, but a couple that had been married a while. Such as Bruce and Bridget Tipton. And given Bruce's actions this morning with the pill bottle …
Well, it pushed Bruce to the top of Nancy's suspect list.
"Hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."
Frank's voice startled Nancy from her thoughts.
"Oh, not at all." She spied the large picnic basket in his hands. "And what do you have there?"
"A surprise." He smiled and she thought how very handsome he was. His eyes were dark and warm. His hair was the color of dusty coal and short and shiny. She wanted to run her fingers through it.
"I love surprises. What is it?" She moved closer and felt a tingle of warmth and anticipation.
"Paddle-boating and a picnic on a secluded beach. We're taking the afternoon off from sleuthing. This afternoon, it's just you and me and wherever the ocean takes us."
Nancy rose on her toes and kissed Frank's cheek. "It sounds like a delightful way to spend the afternoon. Just let me run back to the bungalow and change into my swimsuit."
"No need to. Your swimsuit's in here." Frank nodded at the basket in his hands.
Nancy lifted the lid of the basket and peered inside. Her sunglasses were there along with sandwiches, bottled water, fruit, potato salad, and sunscreen. Two beach towels were draped over Frank's broad shoulders. It seemed he'd thought of everything.
Nancy scooped up her sunglasses and put them on. "Ahh, much better. But how am I supposed to change into my swimsuit, oh wise one?"
Frank grinned. "We'll paddle far enough out that no one can see you change on the boat."
Nancy could tell by Frank's rakish grin that he thought this was a wonderful idea.
"No one can see, huh? Except for you." She elbowed him playfully in the arm.
"I see nothing wrong with the suggestion," Frank deadpanned. Not like he hadn't seen her naked. And not like he minded seeing her naked. That was half the plan, getting her naked. No, he didn't mind seeing that gorgeous body naked. Not at all.
"What are you smiling about?" Nancy frowned at him.
"Nothing." He took her by the arm and they headed to the paddle-boat rental shack.
Nancy slipped the photo into the basket as they walked.
"Was that the photo?" Frank asked. "The one from the newspaper?"
"Yes." Nancy snuggled close to Frank. "But it'll keep until this evening. Now, all I want to do is enjoy the day with you."
A/N: So, I'm pretty much healthy again and so is my cat. Yay. She had me worried there for a while. She was NOT doing well at all.
Thanks for the reviews and especially to the guest reviewers. I like how one of you (or maybe it's both) really goes into depth about the characters and who you suspect of being the killer and why. Very interesting for me to read. Of course, I'm trying to keep everyone guessing as to the killer's identity. Don't want to give anything away yet. ;)
Nice to hear that the chapters are captivating and engaging. Always my hope and intent. I try to move the story along, but add in character development as I go. I like how Shani said I always bring the heat between N/F. I do try and do that, but in a romantic way.