Chapter 33

"Okay, you got me here. Now what's so important we had to rush right over?" Francine grumbled as they stepped into the foyer at Jonathan's townhouse.

"Take a look at that picture on the wall and tell me what you see?" Lee requested with a dimpled grin as Amanda stood beside him, shaking her head.

"Lee, don't you think–" Amanda began but Lee quickly cut her off.

"This will be fun. Come on… where's your sense of adventure?" His mouth widened even more as Amanda glared at him.

Francine rolled her eyes and planted her hand on her hip. "Fine. It's a picture of me looking at the sunset. I've seen it before."

"Humor me, okay?" Lee gently guided her toward the image hanging beside the staircase.

Francine shuffled over and lifted the picture off the wall. "Humor you how? Tell you when it was taken? Fine. We were in Hawaii on the Big Island. We had just finished a typical luau dinner and decided to take a walk along the beach as the sun went down."

Lee dropped his head and groaned. "You know, for an agent, you make a lousy detective."

"Lee, I don't know what you want me to say? It's a picture of me, on the wall. We found a slip of paper with numbers…" Francine's annoyed voice faded briefly. "Wait, did you bring that paper with you?"

"Right here, Francine," Amanda announced as she pulled out the slip of paper and handed it to her.

Francine read the numbers again, her lips moving silently as she repeated them several times. "We know these aren't measurements but what if they are the combination to a safe? I know Jonathan talked about installing one."

Lee pulled his bottom lip with his teeth playfully as he waited for more pieces of the puzzle to connect in Francine's mind. Without warning, she abruptly turned away from them and walked into the room where Jonathan's body had been found. Lee and Amanda followed.

"When he talked about it, he said he wanted it in the least obvious place." Francine began opening cabinet doors and lifting pictures to see if there was anything hidden behind them.

"I don't think he would have put the safe in here. Too common," Lee declared.

Francine stopped moving and looked at the picture in her hand again. She returned to the foyer and hung it back on the small hook. She stared at the image for several long seconds before she turned her head to follow the line of sight in the picture. "Well, I don't think it's on this floor because I'm looking out and upward. So, let's see what the second floor has in store for us."

Lee lifted his hand with a smile. "After you." He waited until Francine ascended the stairs, Amanda several steps behind her before he fell in line.

At the top of the staircase, Francine stopped again and studied the three pictures on the wall. "No… no…. Wait." She paused on the picture outside of the master bedroom. It was an image of the Eiffel Tower, taken at night with the lights shining on the Trocadero Fountains. She took the framed photograph down and turned it around. Written on the back was the date March 2, 1978. Below the date were the words, "Never forget when I kept you safe."

Amanda gasped as she read the words, her eyes wide. "I kept you safe," she whispered.

With a shaky hand, Francine returned the framed image to its place on the wall. She cleared her throat and stated, "That's when… um… that was the first time he proposed to me. As we were heading back to our hotel, someone tried to mug us but Jonathan… he, um… he tried to protect me. He made so much noise and even took a couple of punches before the gendarmes came running. He knew I could take care of myself but he always joked that night he saved me."

Amanda reached out and rubbed Francine's shoulder. She slid her arm around her friend and held her against her side. "I think he cared for you more than you ever knew."

"Yeah. I'm beginning to see that now. But that's not why we're here though. Right?" Francine brushed a stray tear off her cheek and peered at Lee.

"You're right. But where do you think we should go from here?" Lee glanced around the hallway once more.

"I think it's obvious. There's only one place to go." Francine stepped into the bedroom and immediately crossed the room to the bedside table where another photograph of her sat. She lifted the small frame and examined it for clues. When she didn't find any, she lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed and pulled the drawer open. Finding it empty, she quickly closed it and tugged on the cabinet knob. "Ah-ha!"

Tucked inside the bedside table was a black safe. The combination dial was set to zero, just waiting for Francine to spin it. Hesitantly, she began to rotate the small black and white knob. Once the final number was lined up, she took a deep breath and turned the handle. The heavy door swung outward, revealing the contents of the safe.

"Well, we have a few large envelopes here, a couple of jewelry boxes, three velvet bags, and this stack of cash," Francine itemized everything as she laid it on the bed.

Amanda sat on the opposite side and opened one of the boxes. "This is a beautiful ring."

Francine lifted her chin and smiled. "Leave it to Jonathan. That was the second engagement ring he bought me. He told me he was going to hang on to it until I said yes again."

"What happened to the first one?" Lee laughed as he reached over to pick up a velvet bag. He whistled low as a large emerald and diamond necklace dropped into his hand.

"I sold it and took myself on vacation," Francine replied matter-of-factly.

Amanda chuckled softly. "Sounds like a good idea."

"What did you do with the ring Joe gave you?" Francine asked nonchalantly.

"Um, I still have it. I thought maybe one of the boys might want it one day… I don't know." She fingered the edge of the box before closing it and reaching for another one. "Now this bracelet. Wow!"

Francine lifted a smaller envelope with her name written on it. She held it up and said, "I'm almost afraid to open this."

Amanda dropped the jewelry box on the bed and reached over to squeeze Francine's hand. "Go on. From what I've seen, it looks like Jonathan's writing."

Francine tore the flap open and tugged the lined paper out. She took a deep breath, unfolded the letter, and began to read:

"Francine,

If you are reading this letter, it's because I'm gone. Permanently, I'm afraid. And I know if you're reading this letter and not some other letter, you and I have not reconciled our differences… yet.

I didn't think I had much in this world, until I lost you. I was a fool for doing what I did. When we got back together, I told myself I wasn't going to mess it up again. Clearly, I failed us. I shouldn't have pushed. I knew you weren't ready but I was so afraid I was going to lose you again.

It's been over a year since I held you in my arms or had you in my bed. A year of telling myself 'You can fix this,' without really knowing how. But it doesn't matter anymore, because it's unfixable. You and I were never really meant to be together as our happiness isn't for each other.

My business was becoming nothing more than a distraction in my life, as were many other things, so I have sold it. My plans for now are to start traveling, just like I said I would do someday.

Because I am gone, you should find a copy of my last will and testament amongst the other files in my safe. You are the only executrix for my estate. You were my whole world, even though you didn't know it. So I leave you everything. The townhouse has always been there for when you were ready to move in. My worldly possessions, whatever is left, are yours. My bank accounts, bonds, and cash belong to you.

Do what you wish with all of it, but know this:

I never stopped loving you. Until we meet again in Eternity.

All my love,

Jonathan"