The Fregoli Delusion Read Online Free

we’d get together. It was always very nice. It’s not what people
will think. We were good friends and occasional lovers. I’ll miss him
terribly.”
    “I understand,” Hank said.
    “Maybe you do,” she said, tears in
her eyes. “After all, you’re one of us. If I can say that. But other people, the
public, they won’t understand. The media will have a field day.”
    “You're going to have to ignore
the media,” Hank replied. “Their only motivation is to make money, pure and
simple. There’s nothing personal in it, even when it seems that way.”
    “Okay,” Chrissy said. “I’m sorry.
Thanks for your patience with me.”
    Outside in the hallway he found
Megan Winterbottom waiting for him with Sergeant Richard Booth and two other
uniformed officers.
    “We’re parked just inside the
gate, Lieutenant,” Booth said. “She was just going to show us where Mr.
Jarrett’s rooms are. He had a private gym and a screening room. You want us to
secure them, too?”
    “Yes.” He turned to Winterbottom. “Before
you show the sergeant around, I want to ask you a few questions.”
    “Of course.”
    “Did you see Mr. Jarrett this
morning before he went out?”
    She shook her head. “Mrs. Jarrett
and I have rooms in another wing of the mansion. I was doing some work in my
office until we got the call from Mrs. Parris, so I literally hadn’t seen Mr.
Jarrett since yesterday and had no idea what had happened.”
    “What was Mrs. Jarrett’s schedule
like today?”
    “Fairly light, actually, thank
goodness. Lillian called her at eight and she was free until eleven. She had an
appointment with her dental hygienist, but we rescheduled it after Mrs. Parris
called. We’ve rescheduled everything for the next week.”
    “All right, thanks. There’ll be
other detectives coming later who’ll ask you for a more complete statement, so
if anything else comes to mind, don’t hesitate to tell them.” He looked at
Booth. “Are the security guards cooperating, Rich?”
    “Yes, sir. No problems there.”
    “Good. See what they have to say
for themselves.”
    “It’s on my to-do list.”
    Hank nodded. “I’ll see myself
out,” he told Winterbottom.
    “Of course.” She stood up and led
Booth and his officers down the hallway and through a set of double doors.
    Hank went back to the grand entry
hall and out the front door, where he found Constance waiting for him.
    “Can I give you a ride somewhere?”
she asked.
    “I have to go back downtown,” Hank
said.
    “Come along, then.”
    They got into the back of
Constance’s limousine. She asked about his mother and he told her she was doing
well. She recalled, as she often did, how much she’d always enjoyed his visits with
his mother, retired State’s Attorney Anna Haynes Donaghue, when he was a small
boy. Friends since childhood, Constance and Anna would talk politics, drink
bourbon, and trade investment advice while Hank dawdled nearby, playing with
her collie dog.
    “You were always such a polite and
quiet boy,” she smiled, “but very, very attentive. You never missed a thing,
did you? A good quality for a policeman to have.”
    The small talk continued until the
limousine eased onto the expressway heading south toward Midtown. She turned to
look directly at him.
    “I’d appreciate it very much,
Hank, if you could give your personal attention to this case.”
    “I will.” Hank thought about
Bennett’s instructions that Hank assume the lead in the investigation and
wondered if the chief had received a phone call on the subject before issuing
his edict to Martinez. Perhaps he’d already known the identity of the victim
before hearing it from her.
    “I know you have a lot of
responsibilities, but everyone will appreciate it if you handle things
personally. Your reputation as a police officer is so excellent, it’ll be
comforting for the families to know it’s in your hands.”
    “We’re understaffed right now,”
Hank said, “and I’ll be the lead