A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to submit another chapter! These characters are still not mine. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Getting Help
Lt. Brown shook his head. "No, never heard of a Detective Mosely. Why?" Brown looked across his desk at the Simon brothers.
Rick and A.J. looked at each other. A.J. began. "I found a letter in an antique desk that I bought this last weekend."
Brown shrugged. "So?"
Andrew continued. "About a possible murder."
Marcel Brown leaned forward looking somewhat interested. "Is there a confession?"
Rick shook his head. "No, no more of a begging." He paused, seeing that Downtown Brown looked even more confused, Rick continued. "From Dresdan's wife for Detective Mosely not to let the case be considered a suicide."
Brown sat back in his chair. "Wait a minute. You found a letter in some old desk, and now you want me to get involved?"
The brothers looked at Brown and answered simultaneously. "Well, yeah!"
The Lt. Stood. "I appreciate you two stopping by, but now I have some real police work to do." He quickly ushered them out of his office and firmly shut the door.
A.J. was sitting on the corner of Janet's desk, while Rick sat on the slightly overstuffed couch. She was sitting back in her chair, partly listening to him as she read the hand written letter. She tossed it on her desk. "Nice penmanship." She looked over towards Rick. "I know it's not A.J.'s, and I doubt it could be yours." Rick shook his head in agreement.
"What do you want me to do?" She looked from one brother to the other.
"Well, I thought working in the Prosecutors Office, you would have access to old files." A.J. paused, knowing he was asking a lot of his friend.
Janet bit her lip in thought. "How old is this desk?"
"Maybe 150 years old." Andrew detected her curiosity.
"Weird, huh?" Rick was now standing next to A.J., slightly surprised that that Janet was showing interest.
Jotting down some notes, Janet handed the letter back to A.J. "I'm not promising that I'll be able to find anything, and I am not promising that I'll be able to do anything right away, but."
A.J.'s brow shot up. "But what?"
She smiled. "But, this has my interest."
Throwing his keys on his counter, A.J. open the fridge and grabbed a beer. He held it up, Rick took it. Pulling another from the pack, he closed the door and stood up. "Well, no immediate answers, but, knowing Janet, I wouldn't be surprised." He stopped abruptly, looking past his brother he felt a chill run up his spine.
Rick took a swallow, waiting for his brother to finish the sentence. Slightly becoming annoyed, Rick growled, "Surprised at what?"
Instead of a verbal answer, A.J. pointed towards the living room. Rick turned. There, in the corner was the desk, the desk was open. Slowly walking over to the desk standing in front of it, the same drawer was slightly ajar. Rick pointed. "Ah, you've got mail."
A.J. nudged him with his shoulder. "Your older."
Rick shook his head. "Your desk."
Sighing, Andrew stepped forward and opened the drawer. Reaching in, he pulled out the same color envelope as before. No writing was on the exterior. He put the envelope to his nose and inhaled. The same lilac fragrance greeted his nose. Rick was carefully watched his brother. "Same scent?"
A.J. nodded. He slowly opened it, pulling out the letter. He began reading her letter out loud.
My dear detective,
Please, please tell me that you
have not forgotten, or that you
have put this case on the shelf.
I know this will not bring
back my husband, but, I will
be able to tell our child that he
did not willingly abandoned us.
Please, please respond and let
me know your answer!
Mrs. Stephen Dresdan
A.J. handed Rick the letter. Pursing his lips, he went to his room, shortly returning with several sheets of paper and an envelope. Rick watched him. "What are you planning to do?"
"I am going to send Mrs. Stephen Dresdan a letter." Grabbing a chair from the dining room, he placed it in front of the desk.
Rick took a seat on arm of the couch to watch. "Ah, how are you going to send it?"
Turning slightly in his chair, A.J. mulled it over for a moment. "The same way we got hers. You want to help?"
"Yeah, sure." Rick pulled up a chair next to him. "Where do we start?"
"Well, Dear Mrs. Stephen Dresdan." A.J. began writing.
Rick rolled his eyes. "No, I mean, what are we going to ask or say? We don't know this detective Mosely fellow, or how far he had gotten with the case. We don't know the basics about this case!"
A.J. nodded. "A few questions might be in order." He poised the pen above the paper. Taking a deep breath, he began writing.
My dear Mrs. Stephen Dresdan,
We are in receipt of your letter.
A.J. stopped. "Should I say 'we'? I mean, before we, I explain who we are?"
Rick rubbed his chin. "You could say that detective Mosely hired us to help him, and he is currently unavailable to answer any questions. Not quite a lie."
Cocking his head, Andrew looked at his brother. "It bothers you to lie to her? We don't even know her."
"Well, she is in a delicate situation." Rick mumbled.
"Okay then." A.J. pulled a fresh sheet of paper from under the first and started again.
My dear Mrs. Stephen Dresdan,
Detective Mosely hired my brother and I a short
time ago. We own a small detective service.
Unfortunately, he was called away on a
family emergency, leaving us to work on
this case.
Rick grinned. "That's good. I think she'll buy that."
Andrew looked at him with disbelief. "Rick, do you really believe she will receive this?"
"Yeah, why not? We received hers." His voice was confident.
A.J. nodded, taking a thoughtful moment before he began again.
We are unable to reach him at this moment,
and we need some information.
A.J. stopped. "What can we ask her that won't make us sound..."
"Like we just stepped off the plane?"
"Exactly." Andrew thoughtfully tapped his chin with his pen.
"How about, we tell her that we need more basic background information about her husband's death." Rick looked over A.J.'s shoulder as he finished the letter. Reading it one last time, both were in agreement that providing much more information about themselves could scare her off.
Sealing the envelope, A.J. tucked it in the drawer that the two letters from her were found. He closed up the desk. Andrew folded his arms in front of him. "I wonder how long it will take."
"Well, you know what they say about a watched pot." Rick turned towards the kitchen. A.J. took a step to follow him, stopping short when he heard the soft sound of wood against wood coming from the inside of the desk.
A.J. pushed against Rick's back moving him towards the back door. Both men quickly left the house without looking back.
To be continued.
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Thanks!