Abby patted his arm. “I just finished. And besides, I prepared lunch for you.”
Jake could feel Frank’s quizzical eyes on him. And Jake had no way to explain how Abby knew they would be by for lunch.
The two detectives gave a quick glance up a slightly curved staircase which led from the quarry tile foyer to the second floor.
“I’ll just make it a quick nickel tour.” Abby led them through four-thousand square feet of pottery, sand paintings, area rugs, Navajo-style upholstered furniture, and windows with remote control blinds. She moved gracefully, as reserved as a First Lady giving a tour of the White House, yet had a casual air about her that made them feel comfortable.
The house had been built thirty years earlier when solid oak flooring and trim were standard. All four fireplaces had been recently converted from wood-burning to gas.
The men marveled at the intricate hand-carved designs on the fifteen-foot-long dining room table, the huge bay windows in the dining room, the restful ambiance of the Florida room.
A fragrant breeze swept through the kitchen from the opened patio door. Jake slid open the screen and walked out onto the massive flagstone patio surrounded by a three-foot high brick wall.
“So this is where I was last night.”
“How much land do you have here?” Frank gasped.
“I’m not sure. Maybe seventy-five, one hundred acres. Alex knows the exact figure. There’s a pond out back which Alex has surrounded with a variety of wild flowers and natural settings. It’s also nice that we are bordered on two sides by forest preserves and one side by the lake, so we have maximum privacy.”
Jake turned and faced the house, wondering just why they needed so much privacy. He gazed up at the long balcony which shaded part of the patio.
Frank whistled. “It certainly isn’t a house you could buy on a sergeant’s salary.”
Abby led them back into the kitchen as she explained, “Mrs. Casey’s father built this house as a wedding gift. When Samuel and Melinda died, Sam inherited the house. The only expenses are insurance, upkeep and taxes.”
It took a great deal of effort on Abby’s part to pull Frank from the full-sized gym with whirlpool and Jake from the study with its bar, entertainment center, and Sam’s computer terminal which was hooked up to Headquarters.
The tour ended upstairs in the master bedroom. In all, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two fireplaces comprised the second floor.
Jake noticed the tape recorder on the coffee table. The red message light was blinking.
Abby checked her watch. “I really should put lunch out or you two will never get back to the office.”
“You two go ahead,” Jake said. “I’m just going to use the washroom here.” He waited until they had left, then walked back to the recorder and pushed the PLAY button.
Abby stopped at the top of the stairs to catch her breath. She had a better look at Jake in the daylight. He was definitely the one she had seen in her vision. His eyes were the color of doeskin, the softest brown she had ever seen. He was handsome, in a rugged sort of way. She felt as giddy as a schoolgirl. Smiling, she started down the stairs, her skirt brushing softly against the carpeting.
Catching up with Frank she said, “Maybe some night I can have you and Jake and your wives over for dinner.”
“My wife would just love to see this place,” Frank replied. “We’re planning on building a house and I’m sure this place could give her lots of ideas.” His hand glided over the solid oak railing as he added, “Jake isn’t married.”
Abby stopped and looked at Frank. She tried to sound sincere as she said, “Well, he can certainly bring his girlfriend.”
“Nope. Jake’s kinda a loner these days.”
She let Frank pass her on the stairs as she smiled broadly. Without realizing it, she started to whistle.
Jake listened to Preston’s voice on the recorder. Preston had received a call from his wife informing him she wouldn’t be home for another month.
The second call was from a Bill Simpson, who was looking for votes for a labor bill being introduced. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“My, my, we certainly are talented.” Just as his finger touched the eject button he heard the cocking of a gun just above his right ear.
“Don’t even think of taking that.”
Slowly Jake straightened up, leaving the tape sitting up in the chute of the recorder.
“Never crossed my mind.” He turned and stared down the barrel of Sam’s 9mm stainless steel Taurus. He clenched his jaw in anger. “Don’t EVER point a gun unless you plan on using it.”
She grabbed the gun with both hands. “What makes you think I won’t?”
Abby entered smiling. “There you are. I thought I heard you come in. Lunch is ready,” Abby announced, appearing unconcerned about Sam’s armed threat. As Abby turned to leave she looked back at Jake and said, “Don’t look so nervous, Jacob. She never keeps it loaded when she’s in the house.”
Sam dropped her arms and shot Abby an accusing look. Jake breathed a sigh of relief. With a soft laugh, Abby turned and left.
Chapter 16
By the time Sam finished her phone call to the Crime Lab and glanced over the daily log, Jake and Frank were already halfway through with their lunch. On the table in front of them were the pictures from Preston’s safe.
“Just make yourselves at home,” Sam spit out. “Go through the mail in my mail box while you’re at it.”
“The gym will be fine for starters, thanks,” Frank said.
“There’s not much here. Exactly what were you hoping to find?” Jake asked.
She gave a shrug of her shoulder in response and took a sip of iced tea.
“Who hired you? Do you have any idea what would happen to your career if you were caught?” Jake tossed the pictures toward the end of the kitchen table.
“I work alone.” She threw her napkin on the table and stood up saying, “You ruined a perfectly good dress.”
“Dress? What about my tux?” Jake argued. “And we can also talk about my bruised ribs.”
“Sounds more like a bruised ego,” Frank mumbled.
“And what about Preston’s computer?” Jake continued. “What did you print off of it?”
Sam explained the menu and how Preston seemed to be unusually interested in something he had typed after receiving a call.
“Do you know who called him?” Jake asked.
“No,” Sam lied. Setting her plate in the sink, she added, “If you were half as good of detectives as you two claim to be you would have noticed something interesting on the videotape. You keep focusing on my being where I shouldn’t have been rather than focusing on Preston having something he shouldn’t have.”
“If you mean the pin, we already noticed it,” Frank replied. “They may be close, but we don’t know for sure if it connects Preston with the deceased.”
“I held it in my hand. The same visions were there as when I touched King Tut in the lab.” She looked into their skeptical faces. “I know this sounds crazy to you. But all I can tell you is what I sensed.”
Jake walked over to the counter. “What exactly did you… sense
… when you touched King Tut?”
Sam explained the vision of lightning bolt shapes, the smell of gun powder, screams of battle. The men were silent for a while.
“Why don’t we stick with what we know right now. The pin that a presumed murder victim held is the same
