More Clues

Chapter 10

Connie was successful in making an appointment with Edison Brantley, the millionaire mogul and grandfather to Tim Brantley. Surprisingly Mike asked her to accompany him and she gladly accepted. On the way to the mansion, Mike had intimated that Tim Brantley could have been drugged while Connie informed Mike that a female could possibly have been the driver on that fatal night.

Edison Brantley was the wealthy Patriarch of the Brantley clan. Almost a year earlier his personal physician had frankly told Edison that he had three months to live; possibly longer if he checked into a hospital facility.

Instead Edison moved his private office into his lavish bedroom and chose to live there.

And continued to be the same belligerent, cantankerous man everyone knew. Then he applied those pigheaded skills towards his will to live, refusing to stop breathing. He was determined to medically beat the odds. Unfortunately, the disease continued to ravaged his body while leaving his brilliant mind intact.

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When the maid answered the door of the mansion, she replied that Mr. Brantley was expecting them.

Mike and Connie both climbed the spiral oak stairs, walked past four doors down a long hallway, until they came upon an office door marked "Office". Walking through, they saw two assistants on computers typing away.

And at the very front of the door sat Katherine Scott aka Ms. Help, the same young woman who had requested Mike and Connie to sit in and listen in on the Tim Brantley case in court a few days earlier.

Katherine thinned her lips at Mike and Connie's appearance but then quickly masked any other emotions as she stood up to greet them.

"Good afternoon, you must be Mr. Brantley's three o'clock appointment" she impersonally greeted them, as if she had never set eyes on them.

Mike and Connie introduced themselves for the benefit of the other workers in the room.

"I'll tell Mr. Brantley you are here," Katherine crisply spoke.

She sauntered away into another room and soon returned, "Mr. Brantley will see you now, Mr. Cutter, Miss Rubirosa," she said in a prepared manner.

She ushered them through the door into a large lit room. Edison Brantley was propped up on his bed, his colorless, waxy face making him look like a mannequin. Although he had a gaunt face, sunken eyes and other evidence of a deadly illness, his determined jaw showed the spirit of an indomitable spirit.

"Mr. Cutter," Edison greeted, attempting to put some force behind his words but failing. He then turned to Connie, "Miss Rubirosa...how lovely you look."

Mike and Connie returned the welcome.

"Now tell me what you know of the case and when my grandson will be released," he stated forthrightly, used to taking control of a situation.

"That is not our job, Mr. Brantley" Mike stated respectfully, "we are merely here to get some background information for this case."

Edison did not look happy. Although his only grandson was in jail, Edison was determined not to bail him out. Brantleys would not get special treatment, he decided.

"Have you've already talked to my son, Edward? What about his wife, Heather?" Edison asked brusquely.

"We've spoken with Heather Brantley," Connie replied as Edison guffawed.

"Bah! Don't trust Heather Brantley as far as you can throw this bed!" he spoke with disdain.

Mike smile silently to himself at the reference of Heather- and- a -bed in one sentence again, "I'll take that under advisement, Mr. Brantley."

Edison nodded, used to people agreeing with him, "I'd wished my son had, then he wouldn't have married that money-grubbing witch!"

He then focused his attention on Connie, eyeing her up and down.

"Unlike my son, I'm not fooled by a pretty face. Take you, for example, Miss Rubirosa. Though your beauty is just as obvious as Heather's, it is as if you two are of a different species. I see kindness and intelligence behind those lovely eyes of yours."

Connie blushed, "Thank you Mr. Brantley."

"We Brantleys are fighters, you know," Edison was vacillating between two different topics. His attention was obviously waning as his head fell back against the pillow. The colorless eyelids fluttered slightly before he opened them again and looked at Mike, "I want to tell you something," he declared, "I told that witch Heather that I would disinherit Tim if he was ever convicted for that automobile crime. Well, I lied. Tim is a Brantley and will always be a Brantley. And we Brantleys stick together like glue. Don't forget that and also don't forget not to trust Heather..." his voice faded as it got weaker.

"We won't forget," promised Connie.

His energy seemed spent as he forced himself to take a deep breath.

"Good...and now I need to rest..." In this short space of time, Edison Brantley seemed to have aged even more. The visit had come to a close.

"Thank you for your help," Mike said respectfully, knowing it was useless to further question him.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Brantley," Connie added.

Edison appreciated their candidness. His stubborn willpower forced him to sit up a bit. His son was a fool when it came to a pretty face, he decreed, but that doesn't mean everyone has to be.

He turned towards Mike, "...I want to tell you something."

Mike looked questionably at him "Go on, Mr. Brantley."

He tilted a crooked finger Mike's way, "It's something meant for your ears only."

Connie scowled as Mike leaned forward so his ear was but a few inches from Brantley's thin, colorless lips.

"She's...a...keeper," he whispered, obviously referring to Connie.

Mike could not have look more surprised if Edison Brantley had sprouted another ear.

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When Mike and Connie came out to the exterior room which was used as the reception area, Katherine Scott had just gotten off the phone. Again her face gave away nothing as she went to stand next to them.

"I hope your visit with Mr. Brantley had been informative," Katherine stated crisply.

"Actually, Miss Scott," Mike said, "We'd like to talk to you," he glanced over at the two typist, "...in private, if you will."

Katherine looked anxiously over at the two employees as she made up a fake scenario, "Yes, Mr. Brantley did ask me to prepare some papers for you to see," she stated as she picked up a random file, "so if you'll just follow me into the conference room, I'll be happy to explain them to both of you."

She led them both into a small room that consisted of a long wooden table with six executive swivel chairs. When they took their seats, she was the first to speak.

"What did you think of Mr. Brantley?" she asked them.

"He's...perceptive," Mike stated opaquely.

"While you were doing your little investigating, you didn't tell anyone about me, did you?" Katherine asked in an accusing way.

"Not by name," Connie answered evasively.

"Just don't." Katherine's voice sounded desperate.

"Unfortunately we can't guarantee that," Mike told her, "especially since you were the one driving Brantley's car that night."

If she was surprised that they knew, she didn't show it and for the first time she cracked a smile, "I knew the two of you were good," she looked at them with new admiration.

"So you admit it, then?" Connie inquired, "You were the driver that night?"

"Yes, I drove that night," she concurred, "Tim was so out of it that night and I knew he was in no condition to drive, so I got behind the wheel. When I got to the estate, I put him to bed, took his shoes off and called a taxi."

So that explained the mystery of the shoes being carefully placed next to Tim's bed.

"And you never hit or ran over anything with the Brantley's car?" Connie asked.

Katherine shook her head, "Certainly not! I didn't drink that night and even though the road was dark and bumpy, I would have certainly known if I had hit a body on the road!"

"What time did all this happen?" Mike asked.

"A lot earlier than what that Mary Henderson testified to," she stated.

"Really?" Connie murmured, "I wonder why the witness would lie about the time of the accident."

"I don't know," Katherine said, "That's why I asked for your help."

Mike let out a frustrated sigh, "Why didn't you tell us that earlier, Miss Scott?"

"I was...I was protecting Tim and myself," Katherine defended herself, "I mean he was so drunk and I wasn't suppose to be driving his car. Also, I was hoping you would prove that he wasn't involved in the accident, and you wouldn't need to involve me in all this. Please Mr. Cutter, Miss Rubirosa, "she pleaded with each of them, "don't let anything happen to him."

"Actually, I plan on dismissing charges against him soon," Mike stated.

Surprisingly, Katherine Scott did not look relieved.

"Right now" she began, "it might be in his best interest to keep Tim Brantley in prison."

Katherine's statement caught Mike and Connie by surprise.

"What do you mean, Ms. Scott?" Connie asked.

"I heard Bolt Jackman's in town," Katherine announced, as if that said it all.

"And?" questioned Mike.

Katherine nervously licked her lips, "Just... do not mess with him."

"The name alone makes me want to hide," said Connie, "exactly, who is he?"

Katherine leaned closer towards them.

"You didn't hear it from me, but he's the "troubleshooter' for the Brantley interests," she kept her voice low, "He cleans up messes, if you know what I mean. Just be careful. Jackman is ruthless and he is clever... deadly clever. He could manipulate facts and twists things around so you don't know which way you're headed."

"And where do we find this Bolt Jackman?" Mike inquired.

"Unfortunately you don't find him, he finds you," she said, "There are no records on file for him. That's not even his real name. Only the all-powerful Brantleys can locate him."

"Miss Scott," Mike reasoned, "You say you are protecting both you and Tim Brantley but it doesn't make sense that you would allow Tim to stand trial, if you know he is innocent."

"Don't you see?" Katherine pleaded, "Someone set him up! And if Bolt Jackman is around, it's best Tim stays where he is. And as for me, I'm not any young woman, Mr. Cutter; I'm Edison's Brantley's personal assistant! I know the contents of his will!"

"And why is that important?" Mike asked.

"If Edison Brantley thought I had a personal interest in his grandson, well...he may disinherit his grandson for poor judgment since Mr. Brantley would think I'm just after the Brantley fortune, which I'm not! Do you understand now? I'm doing this all for Tim! " Katherine Scott then stood up, "Anyway, I should go. The other employees will get suspicious. Please, don't ever talk with me again!" she warned as she strode out the door.

When they were finally alone, Connie gave Mike a satisfied smile, "I told you Katherine Scott is a young woman in love."

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