Frankie's Back in Town Read Online Free

Bonnie?”
    “ Dateline, dear.”
    “ Dateline. Those folks had a program on identity theft. They said the only protection a person has is to file a police report. My driver’s license was inside my wallet. My Social Security card, too. So I filed a report.”
    “Then your wallet turned up?” Jack asked.
    The captain nodded.
    Detective Tanner pulled a notepad from inside his jacket and jotted down a note. “How long was your wallet gone?”
    “Less than a day. I already told the desk sergeant.”
    Detective Tanner nodded. “Humor me, if you don’t mind, sir. You noticed your wallet missing right away then?”
    “Of course I did. Well…” The captain narrowed his eyes, clearly reconsidering. “I didn’t actually need it until we were at the mall in Kingston. But I’m sure it was in my pocket before then.” He raised a hand that trembled slightly and motioned to the coatrack behind the detective. “I keep it in my jacket pocket right there.”
    Mrs. Hickman didn’t look so sure, and both Jack and Detective Tanner appeared to notice.
    “Had you used anything in your wallet during the week prior to the mall trip?” Jack asked. “Your driver’s license or a credit card maybe? Is it possible your wallet had been missing before you noticed?”
    “No.” The captain shook his head emphatically.
    Mrs. Hickman backed him up. “I bought peach preserves at church on Sunday. He used his check card to pay.”
    Francesca knew what Jack was looking for—a time discrepancy. She’d reviewed the reports herself, but before she could think of a diplomatic way to mention that there had been one, Jack asked, “So you didn’t actually look for your wallet after you used your check card at church on Sunday until you were at the mall on Thursday?”
    “That’s right.”
    “The report stated you found your wallet here at the lodge on Friday, is that correct, sir?”
    Another nod.
    Detective Tanner scribbled a note on his pad. “Have you ever misplaced your wallet before, sir?”
    That was a loaded question. Sure enough, the captain sputtered his response, bristling, and Mrs. Hickman cast a worried gaze Francesca’s way.
    That was her cue. She needed to cut off this questioning before the captain got upset. He’d just completed a stint at the lodge’s nursing center, weeks of physical and occupational therapy to declare him fit enough to return to independent living after a flare-up of a heart condition. He’d been home only a few days before the wallet incident.
    Accidents happened. It wasn’t easy to make peace with the physical limitations of aging. Francesca hadn’t even crossed the hump to thirty-five, and she was getting a glimmer. Those extra five pounds she was suddenly unable to starve off had made her a target for her daughter’s comments about “muffin tops.”
    For this once-vital man to admit, let alone accept, that he needed help with routine daily tasks couldn’t possibly be easy. So Francesca sidled close to Jack, leaving the detective to his questioning, and whispered in a voice she hoped the captain couldn’t overhear. “He has misplaced his wallet before.”
    Understanding flared in that dark gaze, and Jack lowered his own voice to a throaty whisper. “Often?”
    “Just once. An employee found it.”
    “You have that employee’s name?”
    The warning bells in her head starting clanging. “I’ll give you a copy of the report before you go.”
    “You’ll tell us who has access to this apartment?”
    “Of course.” Those alarm bells were shrieking loud enough to kill off brain cells now. More was going on here than these men were sharing. A lot more.
    He inclined his head then asked, “Captain, we need to know if you’ve made any trips out of state recently.”
    The captain reached for his wife’s hand and mutteredsomething Francesca couldn’t make out. Mrs. Hickman seemed to understand, though, and asked, “Detective, is my husband in some sort of trouble?”
    Even Francesca