Chapter 4
“Do you believe her?” Frankie asked.
Johanna rubbed her temples. “At first I didn't, but no one could make up a story like that. What about you?”
“I was going to detain her, but when she mentioned Alec Oakman, it threw me off guard.” Frankie grew pensive. “And she does have Kendall Longman's driver's license. But it could be lost or stolen.”
Johanna nodded. “I had my doubts until she mentioned Alec. There's no way she could make up that name. I believe her. What I want to know is how the hell that could have happened to her?” she asked as she studied her notes.
Frankie walked back to her own desk and sat down. “There were rumors that Kendall Bronson had a nervous breakdown after her father died.”
“I remember that. She was the only surviving heir to the Bronson fortune. The estate was valued at billions.”
“Yes. And less than six months after her hospitalization, she married Thatcher Longman,” Frankie added. Her eyes clouded.
“Are you thinking what I am?” Johanna asked.
Frankie nodded. “Thatcher Longman took the perfect opportunity to make his move on her when she was at her most vulnerable.”
“Didn't she have a fiancée who was killed about a year or so before her father died?”
“I'd forgotten that. The papers reported it was a skiing accident. It happened only two or three months before they were to be married.”
“I'm going to see what I can dig up on Mr. Thatcher Longman.” Johanna turned her attention to her computer screen. “I want to know what he did before he wormed his way into Kendall Bronson's life.”
“So you definitely believe the woman we met is the real Kendall Bronson?” Frankie ran a hand over her face. “As much as I want to believe the woman who was just in our office is a crazed obsessed stalker, a part of me can't, just as I can't believe she is the real Kendall Bronson Longman either. The pain and sadness in her eyes was heart-wrenching, though.”
“I know. As bizarre as her story sounded I believe it's the truth. It makes me more determined than ever to help her.” She tapped a few keys. “This case is just what I need to put me back in the saddle.” She glanced at Frankie. “I feel like I've been stagnating for too long.” She stood and walked to a filing cabinet.
Frankie lifted her eyebrows. “You could never stagnate.” She smacked her lips as Johanna passed her desk. “I'd love to put you in that saddle, too. Now that would be something we haven't tried.” Johanna looked classy in a red knee length skirt and white nylon blouse. Her feet were adorned in a pair of red pumps. But it was her legs—those long sensuous legs—that always caused a fire to rage inside of Frankie. As the years passed, Johanna just seemed to get even more beautiful. She loved dressing up, but Frankie was more comfortable in jeans and a casual top, and only dressed up when an occasion called for it. Boots were her favorite style of footwear. She'd never felt comfortable in heels and only wore them when absolutely necessary.
“You have a one track mind,” Johanna said with a chuckle as she bent and pulled a file from the filing cabinet.
“How can I help it with my beautiful partner back with me? Life is good. No, I take that back. Life is perfect.”
“Yes, it is,” Johanna agreed as she closed the filing cabinet and walked back to her desk. She began flipping through the file as she seated herself.
“What are you looking for?”
“I'm going to do an in-depth background check on Thatcher Longman,” Johanna replied.
“If there was anything suspect in Longman's background, don't you think some reporter would have dug it up and been all over it the minute Longman started sniffing around Kendall?”
Johanna shrugged. “You never know. Sometimes they don't dig deep enough. If what Kendall says is true, he most likely acted differently in public than he did behind closed doors.”
“Hopefully you can find something we can use to bring him down if we find out Kendall Longman was actually here in the flesh. I have my doubts anything negative concerning Thatcher Longman will pop up though.” Frankie stretched then picked up the phone. “I'm going to call Alec Oakman. Before we get too involved with this, we'd better check out her story.”
Johanna's brow puckered. “I hope he doesn't tell us that the woman I assume to be Kendall Bronson Longman is lying and is an imposter with a fascination for Thatcher Longman.”
“Just because she had Kendall Longman's ID still doesn't mean it isn't stolen. If we'd only gone by the picture, then of course I'd have to say it isn't her. She doesn't even have the same hair color and she wasn't dressed like a wealthy heiress would be.”
“What about the check? She would have had to go to extraordinary lengths to give us a bogus check. It would have been nearly impossible and what would be her motive?” Johanna asked.
“I don't know.” She shook her head. “If Alec says he never sent anyone here to talk to us, I'm sure he'll want to pursue it since his firm handles the Bronson’s legal affairs. He's not going to let someone get away with trying to impersonate Kendall Longman.” She grinned wickedly. “Even if this is a case of stolen identity, we'll still have a captivating case finding out why this woman is posing as Kendall.” She lifted her eyebrows. “He'll definitely want to hire us to get to the bottom of it and hunt her down.”
Johanna shared her enthusiasm. “You're right. I never thought of that. Well, you call him while I see what I can dig up on Thatcher Longman. Even if Kendall turns out to be an imposter, I still want some background info on Thatcher Longman if for no other reason
