Johnny walked into his house and removed his coat, tossing it over one of his kitchen chairs. He walked over to the counter and grabbed the coffee pot, filling it with water before he emptied out the filter from the morning's pot and putting a fresh one in. He filled the filter with fresh coffee, then poured the water into the machine and turned it on. The coffee had just begun to brew when there was a knock at his door.
Johnny walked over to the door, expecting Bruce, but surprised when he saw a familiar red-head standing on his steps.
"Hi Dana," he greeted her, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I stopped by the police station, as I regularly do, and Walt tells me that you stopped by this morning to visit him," she said, but Johnny couldn't read the expression on her face to even begin to guess the purpose of her visit. "You couldn't even wait for me to get there, could you?"
"Sorry, I must've missed the vision that told me you'd be there later today," Johnny shot back with a smirk.
Johnny opened the door wider to let her in and she nodded in thanks. Dana walked in the door and headed towards the kitchen. Johnny followed, closing the front door behind them. He lead her into the kitchen where she took off her coat and tossed it over the back of a chair before sitting down in it.
"So I have a feeling you have something to tell me," Johnny said as he leaned against the counter. "Coffee?"
"Sure," she replied, turning her chair slightly so she could watch him across the room as reached into the cabinet for two coffee mugs. "You have a vision that I was going to be here?"
Johnny smiled. "No, just plain old intuition telling me that you've got information I'm going to want, seeing how it's the middle of the day and you're knocking at my door."
"Well, you're right," Dana said, watching as he bustled around the kitchen.
Johnny heard her move, and he looked up from the coffee maker to look at her. Despite the rocky start they had gotten off to, Dana had actually proved to be a good ally to have. He watched her as she glanced over her notes, her shiny red hair cascading down into her face, and she had to push it back behind her ear. When she looked up, Johnny quickly looked away, hoping she hadn't noticed his staring.
Johnny wasn't sure if she hadn't noticed or was just pretending, but either way she had no reaction to his looking at her. "Here's the scoop. Her name is Jessica Richardson. Walt gave me the picture to see what I could dig up when he got nothing from the missing children. I really don't think he looked very hard, since I came in not long after you left."
"I expected as much," Johnny replied, turning to face her since the coffee had not finished brewing yet. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms across his chest. "Walt's a busy guy."
"True, and I'm a busy woman, but I made the time to find out who she was," Dana retorted.
"Touché," Johnny replied. "But you're a little late, I already found out her name."
"Turning into an amateur sleuth yourself, eh Johnny?" she said. "So I guess you know all about how she brutally murdered her parents?"
"Yeah, I found the old newspaper articles," he replied.
"And I guess you know all about the millions she inherited when her parents died?"
That caught Johnny by surprise. The articles he read hadn't mentioned anything about an inheritance, and he thought that was something journalists would hardly overlook. Dana saw the surprised look on his face and knew she had something he didn't.
"Guess you weren't so thorough, Sherlock," she chuckled.
"I'm still learning," Johnny shrugged.
He turned around and poured two cups of coffee into waiting mugs once the pot had finished brewing, then replaced the pot on the heater. He limped over to the table, being careful not to spill the hot liquid on himself, then sat down at the table across from her.
"So enlighten me, oh wise one," Johnny said, then took a sip of his coffee.
"News of her inheritance didn't hit the papers until four months after she killed her folks," Dana explained. "Her lawyers kept it under tight wraps because they knew if news of it got out, immediately people would start thinking she wasn't crazy and just killed them to get the money."
"But when people did find out, the fact that they hid it made it even worse," Johnny added.
"Exactly. When the papers got word of the fact she was now a millionaire, accusations came from all over the place. Her family tried to get the money from her, tried suing her and taking her to court. Problem was, no one could confirm that she really wasn't insane. Her doctor wouldn't let anyone to see her, wouldn't let any doctors examine her, saying it was against her best interest. The will was iron clad, and the family wasn't happy about it. Jessica was to inherit everything no matter what."
"So how much did she inherit exactly?"
"Ten million dollars," Dana told him.
Johnny whistled and his eyes widened slightly. "Was her family wealthy?"
"Not extremely, but they were well off. They had hired help, a large house in Bangor, and everything like that. Her parents took out extremely high life insurance plans because they were afraid with Jessica's mental health problems, she wouldn't be able to take care of herself when they were gone."
"Where was the help the night she killed them?"
"Apparently, they had the night off. They always had Tuesdays off."
"And Jessica would know that," Johnny said, looking down at his coffee in thought.
"Which is exactly why her family thought she had set it all up and staged the whole thing. No one could prove otherwise though because her doctor wouldn't allow it. Every time a new family lawsuit would come up, he would testify that she wasn't mentally capable for a trial. The family stopped accepting his analysis and insisted she be examined by someone of their choosing. Her doctor wasn't happy about it, but he allowed it."
"And...?" Johnny prodded when she paused.
"And he gave the same diagnosis. Paranoid schizophrenic. Eventually the family gave up and the lawsuits were dropped."
Johnny held his coffee mug between his hands, contemplating what he had just heard. What did all of this have to do with him? And who was the man that had gone to the post office to send him the picture from the article? Dana watched him for a minute or two, letting him mull over the details before interrupting his thoughts.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.
"I don't know about you, but I'm taking a trip out to visit Jessica Richardson," he answered.
Johnny walked over to the door, expecting Bruce, but surprised when he saw a familiar red-head standing on his steps.
"Hi Dana," he greeted her, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I stopped by the police station, as I regularly do, and Walt tells me that you stopped by this morning to visit him," she said, but Johnny couldn't read the expression on her face to even begin to guess the purpose of her visit. "You couldn't even wait for me to get there, could you?"
"Sorry, I must've missed the vision that told me you'd be there later today," Johnny shot back with a smirk.
Johnny opened the door wider to let her in and she nodded in thanks. Dana walked in the door and headed towards the kitchen. Johnny followed, closing the front door behind them. He lead her into the kitchen where she took off her coat and tossed it over the back of a chair before sitting down in it.
"So I have a feeling you have something to tell me," Johnny said as he leaned against the counter. "Coffee?"
"Sure," she replied, turning her chair slightly so she could watch him across the room as reached into the cabinet for two coffee mugs. "You have a vision that I was going to be here?"
Johnny smiled. "No, just plain old intuition telling me that you've got information I'm going to want, seeing how it's the middle of the day and you're knocking at my door."
"Well, you're right," Dana said, watching as he bustled around the kitchen.
Johnny heard her move, and he looked up from the coffee maker to look at her. Despite the rocky start they had gotten off to, Dana had actually proved to be a good ally to have. He watched her as she glanced over her notes, her shiny red hair cascading down into her face, and she had to push it back behind her ear. When she looked up, Johnny quickly looked away, hoping she hadn't noticed his staring.
Johnny wasn't sure if she hadn't noticed or was just pretending, but either way she had no reaction to his looking at her. "Here's the scoop. Her name is Jessica Richardson. Walt gave me the picture to see what I could dig up when he got nothing from the missing children. I really don't think he looked very hard, since I came in not long after you left."
"I expected as much," Johnny replied, turning to face her since the coffee had not finished brewing yet. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms across his chest. "Walt's a busy guy."
"True, and I'm a busy woman, but I made the time to find out who she was," Dana retorted.
"Touché," Johnny replied. "But you're a little late, I already found out her name."
"Turning into an amateur sleuth yourself, eh Johnny?" she said. "So I guess you know all about how she brutally murdered her parents?"
"Yeah, I found the old newspaper articles," he replied.
"And I guess you know all about the millions she inherited when her parents died?"
That caught Johnny by surprise. The articles he read hadn't mentioned anything about an inheritance, and he thought that was something journalists would hardly overlook. Dana saw the surprised look on his face and knew she had something he didn't.
"Guess you weren't so thorough, Sherlock," she chuckled.
"I'm still learning," Johnny shrugged.
He turned around and poured two cups of coffee into waiting mugs once the pot had finished brewing, then replaced the pot on the heater. He limped over to the table, being careful not to spill the hot liquid on himself, then sat down at the table across from her.
"So enlighten me, oh wise one," Johnny said, then took a sip of his coffee.
"News of her inheritance didn't hit the papers until four months after she killed her folks," Dana explained. "Her lawyers kept it under tight wraps because they knew if news of it got out, immediately people would start thinking she wasn't crazy and just killed them to get the money."
"But when people did find out, the fact that they hid it made it even worse," Johnny added.
"Exactly. When the papers got word of the fact she was now a millionaire, accusations came from all over the place. Her family tried to get the money from her, tried suing her and taking her to court. Problem was, no one could confirm that she really wasn't insane. Her doctor wouldn't let anyone to see her, wouldn't let any doctors examine her, saying it was against her best interest. The will was iron clad, and the family wasn't happy about it. Jessica was to inherit everything no matter what."
"So how much did she inherit exactly?"
"Ten million dollars," Dana told him.
Johnny whistled and his eyes widened slightly. "Was her family wealthy?"
"Not extremely, but they were well off. They had hired help, a large house in Bangor, and everything like that. Her parents took out extremely high life insurance plans because they were afraid with Jessica's mental health problems, she wouldn't be able to take care of herself when they were gone."
"Where was the help the night she killed them?"
"Apparently, they had the night off. They always had Tuesdays off."
"And Jessica would know that," Johnny said, looking down at his coffee in thought.
"Which is exactly why her family thought she had set it all up and staged the whole thing. No one could prove otherwise though because her doctor wouldn't allow it. Every time a new family lawsuit would come up, he would testify that she wasn't mentally capable for a trial. The family stopped accepting his analysis and insisted she be examined by someone of their choosing. Her doctor wasn't happy about it, but he allowed it."
"And...?" Johnny prodded when she paused.
"And he gave the same diagnosis. Paranoid schizophrenic. Eventually the family gave up and the lawsuits were dropped."
Johnny held his coffee mug between his hands, contemplating what he had just heard. What did all of this have to do with him? And who was the man that had gone to the post office to send him the picture from the article? Dana watched him for a minute or two, letting him mull over the details before interrupting his thoughts.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.
"I don't know about you, but I'm taking a trip out to visit Jessica Richardson," he answered.