“Why would Becca be setting the fires, though? What would her motive be? It's not like any of the damage is hurting Thatcher.”
“Could be just a coincidence, but my gut tells me it's not.”
“I suppose.”
Frankie sensed that Johanna wasn't convinced. She wasn't totally convinced herself, and the sensible part of her brain reasoned why Becca would take her anger out on an innocent business that had nothing to do with Thatcher. Until she had more proof, she couldn't finger Becca. “I'll give Alec a call first thing in the morning.” She rose and took Johanna's hand. “Now I think we should try to get a few hours’ sleep.”
“Are you sure you want to sleep?” Johanna asked with a sly gleam in her eye.
Chapter 8
Alec Oakman removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. He sighed. “I only wish one of these pictures compromised him. I'm sure you realize that Thatcher will have a convincing alibi at the ready.” He looked hard at Frankie and Johanna and then his eyes drifted back to the pictures. “Can you two make this your top priority? I know you're busy. Is there any way you can stay on this indefinitely? Kendall trusts you two, and believe me, after everything she's been through, trust doesn't come easy for her.”
Frankie nodded her consent as did Johanna. “We'd be happy to continue,” she replied.
“Good. I'll need to bring Kendall up to speed. I contacted her after you called me this morning and explained that you'd be here.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “I asked her to join us. She should be here shortly. I hope you have the time.”
“Of course,” Johanna answered. “This case is now our top priority.”
“I'd like you to dig around and pull up anything you can on Kristin Robbins. If the child is Thatcher's, that's all Kendall will need to obtain a divorce and cut him off.” He folded his hands. “And, of course, anything else you might uncover will be greatly appreciated.”
Johanna observed the man as he talked. He looked like he wanted to say more, but for reasons known only to him, kept it to himself. He left the door open just wide enough for them to slip through. He wanted them to uncover any sordid dealings on Thatcher's part. This went way beyond just a cheating husband. Johanna wondered how much he already suspected, but even more, why he wasn't giving them even a small clue.
“No problem,” Frankie said.
A light tap sounded on his door and he stood as his secretary ushered Kendall into the office. The women also stood and after the usual greetings were exchanged and everyone was seated, Alec picked up the photos and handed them to Kendall. “Do you know her?”
Kendall ran a shaky hand through her hair. “Yes. I wasn't aware that Thatcher did though.”
The pain was evident in her large beautiful eyes. Johanna's own eyes narrowed. “Did she work for you?”
Kendall crossed her legs at the ankles and paused briefly before answering. “No. I met Kristin a couple of years ago at a charity dinner. Actually, she was a server. I ran into her later that night as I was preparing to leave. I mean I literally ran into her,” she said with a light laugh in her voice. “It was my fault, but she took responsibility for the mishap. We chatted for a short time. She's one of those types of people who look on the bright side of life. Here she was working as a server, but she was so upbeat and bubbly. She had the type of personality that drew people to her like a magnet. You couldn't help but like her. I asked her if she was happy with her current employment and she assured me that she was. Of course, I assumed she was only responding that way in case I encountered her employer.” Kendall frowned. “I'm sorry. I'm rambling,” she apologized.
“No, we'd like to hear the details, Kendall,” Alec assured her. “Please continue.”
She tilted her head slightly. “I asked her what her future plans were. She told me she'd always wanted to be an actress and was saving money to go to California to try her luck. I wanted to help her. I thought maybe she could get her feet wet with some local ads. I advised her to contact our ad department, with my consent of course, to set her up with contacts for the agencies we'd used in the past when we needed actors for our ads. If we would have had need for a new ad, I would have hired her on the spot, but we'd just completed our upcoming campaign.”
“Did she contact you after that?”
“Yes. She thanked me for my help and said she'd been hired for some local ads. She called once or twice more after her ads were released and then I never heard from her again. I wasn't aware that she was still in the area. I assumed she'd maybe gotten a break and moved on to a national ad or even a small part in a movie.”
“Why did she come to Charlestown? Did she ever say?” Frankie asked. “It doesn't make sense. Wouldn't she have found better options in Philadelphia and especially in New York City?” She pursed her lips. “That doesn't make sense.”
Kendall shook her head. “I have no idea. She never confided any personal details of her life to me.” She drew her eyebrows together. “I don't know how Thatcher came in contact with her. He wasn't with me at the dinner that night and he's not involved with the ad department as far as I know.” Her eyes drifted to Frankie and Johanna. “If you two find out how they met, I'd like to know, if for nothing more than to satisfy my curiosity. Kristin obviously is aware that he's my husband. She didn't strike me as the type to be so
