An hour later, Lee pulled into a parking spot. He twisted in his seat to look at Francine in the back. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Francine squared her shoulders and swallowed hard. "I need to see everything exactly as it was when the housekeeper found him."
"We can look at the pictures the locals took. You don't need to be here," Amanda suggested as her eyes flickered toward the small townhouse. She noticed a policeman standing guard near a taped-off doorway.
"Pictures aren't going to tell us everything, Amanda. Jonathan bought this place just before he and I split for good. He wanted me to move in with him and I said no. That was sort of the real end for us. He wanted the family life… a wife, two point five kids, a dog… and I told him I couldn't do it. Not yet. Not after what happened the last time we were supposed to get married. He wasn't willing to wait for me to figure it out." Francine inhaled slowly.
Lee gave Francine a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Francine. We get it. You need closure and if that's what you need, that's what we are going to try to get for you."
"How are we going to get past the officer over there? It's not official Agency business." Amanda gestured in his direction with her chin.
"Let me take care of him." Francine's mouth twitched into a soft smile before she shook her head softly and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
Lee lifted an eyebrow. "After you then."
The trio climbed out of the car and Francine immediately drooped her shoulders as she dropped her chin down. She made her way slowly to the officer, sniffling softly. Lee and Amanda followed behind her silently.
"Can I help you?" the officer called out.
"Yes. I'm Francine Desmond. I'm in charge of Mr. Stone's estate. These are my lawyers, Lee Steadman and Amanda Keene. I was told I could come here and look at a few things… you know, find him an outfit for his fune…" Francine hiccupped loudly as her shoulders shook. She raised a tissue and dabbed at the corner of her eyes.
"Of course. Yes, I'm so sorry for your loss. Go right inside. Just please don't touch anything in the study," the young officer stammered as he immediately opened the door for them.
Amanda reached over to comfort her friend. She was surprised when she noticed Francine subtly give her a thumbs-up before covering her hand.
"Thank you. Do you think we could have a little privacy while I get Jonathan… I mean, Mr. Stone's things organized? It might take us a little bit. I need to get his papers together and I know how he liked to keep things scattered about." Francine wiped another tear dramatically from the corner of her eye.
"Take all the time you need," the officer assured them. Once they were inside, he added, "I'll be sure no one comes in to disturb you." He closed the door, leaving them alone, staring at each other.
Francine cleared her throat, wiped her eyes once more, and declared, "That was easy. Now, let's start with the study."
Amanda glanced over her shoulder at the door. "Someone should probably keep an eye out for our friend outside."
Ignoring Amanda's suggestion, Francine moved closer to the study door which was blocked by bright yellow police tape. She placed the tissue in her hand over the knob and turned. Once the door was open, she ducked under the tape and stepped into the room. Lee followed suit, leaving Amanda standing alone.
"I guess I'll watch the door from here," she stated before perching herself close to the study doorway.
In the study, Lee and Francine systematically surveyed the small room. Although the shelves were filled with books of all shapes and sizes, the room was neat and orderly. Lee took notice of the chalk line on the desk, followed by the tape marks on the carpet. A desk chair was pushed haphazardly to the side.
"They must have found him there." Lee reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small camera, earning a lifted eyebrow response from Francine. "What? I figured I'd come prepared. You didn't seem satisfied with the pictures the police have, so why not take our own."
Francine bit her bottom lip and looked around. "That's odd."
"What's odd?" Lee tried to determine what it was she was looking at.
"It's not here," Francine replied cryptically.
"What's not where?"
Francine pointed to a spot on the floor. "The chair."
Lee shook his head. "What chair?"
"The chair!" Francine jutted her hand out again. "The chair Jonathan always kept across from him. It was a family heirloom or something. No matter what desk he had, he always kept that chair sitting across from him."
Lee scratched his head. "Maybe he moved it… or maybe it got broken."
Francine bent down and fingered a depression in the carpet. "Or maybe someone else moved it. This chair has a very unique feature to it…" She paused and fingered two other depressions. "It's a 1910 Thonet Kohn cane chair, and it has a tripod base."
Lee bent down and snapped several pictures before he scanned the room again. Out of the corner of his eye, under the edge of the credenza, a shiny object caught his attention. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard Amanda's voice drifting in their direction.
"Officer, can you tell me where the restroom is? I've tried every door on this floor and I know you said to avoid the study but I opened the door by mistake and I still can't seem to find it."
"Stay down," he whispered sharply to Francine.
"Here, let me just close the door first, and then I can show you. Has Miss Desmond found what she needed?" The officer's voice got louder as he neared the room.
"You know, I think she's upstairs looking for something for him to wear. She was so upset and Mr. Steadman has been a family friend for so long, I thought it was best if I gave them some space. I came down here searching for the restroom but all these doors look the same. These older townhouses confuse me all the time. Does that ever happen to you? You must see so many different kinds of houses doing your job. And it must be so dangerous. I mean, you never know when something is just going to pop up and…" Amanda's ramble faded away softly as the door was pulled closed.
Lee exhaled slowly. "Leave it to Amanda to distract him but that also means we don't have much time."
"Lee, we need to find the chair," Francine insisted.
Lee scanned the room once more before he slowly rose to his feet. He tugged a handkerchief out of his pocket and reached down to lift the silver object. "I don't know about the chair but I think we need to have the lab take a look at this."
"What is it?" Francine frowned as she stared at the item in his hand.
"It looks like part of a syringe." Lee held up the broken tube, the plunger still intact.
"But what's that doing here?" Francine demanded in a harsh whisper.
Lee carefully wrapped the broken syringe in the cloth and dropped it into his pocket. "The question should be what was in it?"
Before either could respond again, the door jerked open and Amanda stuck her head inside. "You two ready? Because I don't know how much longer I can keep him occupied."