A bright flash of lightning followed by a crackling roll of thunder caused her to look toward the window. The steady light rain that had been falling ever since she got up had now turned into a raging downpour. She hoped this wouldn't be an all-day rain. She'd hoped to spend an hour or two in her garden before they contacted the hotel. That was if Frankie was still on board with the plan. Even though she said she was, Johanna had sensed some hesitation. But what else could they do? Kristin was the key, the common denominator connected to Thatcher and somehow to Becca Manning. Johanna yawned and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and listened to the rain drumming relentlessly against the window.
“Hey, baby.”
Johanna's eyes popped open. Frankie was gently shaking her shoulder.
“Why don't you go back to bed for a couple of hours?”
Johanna rubbed her eyes and stretched. “No. I'm fine. I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. Let me get my bearings and then I want to go over a few things with you.”
“How long have you been up, Johanna?”
“A few hours,” she answered yawning.
“If you don't want to go back to bed, then why don't you take a long relaxing shower and I'll make some French toast for breakfast. I haven’t made that in ages. We deserve a leisurely breakfast.”
“Tempting.” She rose. “And I do believe I’ll take you up on it.” She gave Frankie a hug.
* * * *
Frankie had breakfast almost ready when Johanna entered the kitchen fresh from her shower. “Mmmm. It smells delicious in here.”
“Sit down and breakfast will be served in a minute,” Frankie replied.
Johanna picked up the newspaper and glanced at it. “I don't know why you still insist on having the paper delivered when you can read it online.”
Frankie scrunched up her face. “And miss my morning jog every morning to the newspaper box at the end of the driveway?”
Johanna laughed. “When was the last time you jogged to the box? And don't say this morning,” she said glancing toward the window. “I know you didn't go out in the rain.” She paused, waiting for Frankie to respond. Instead, Frankie cupped her chin as though deep in thought. Johanna laughed again.
Frankie laughed, too. “Okay, so I drove to the newspaper box. I had to pick up yesterday’s paper too. And as for why I don't like to read it online, it's because I love to sit and hold it in my hands. And I can clip out interesting articles. You have always loved reading on the computer. I only do it when I have to. The Sunday paper always brings back happy memories. Do you remember on Sunday mornings spreading out the comics and lying on the floor reading them?”
“I used to love that, too. The good old days,” Johanna teased.
Frankie set a plate of French toast in front of her. “Now that really makes me feel old.”
“Not you, sweetie. You just get better and better with each passing year.”
“I'll take that as a compliment, I think.” She smiled as she seated herself across from Johanna and dug into her French toast breakfast. “You seem to be in a good mood this morning.”
“I am,” Johanna said. “I've given it a lot of thought. George didn't exactly accuse us of anything even though his tone insinuated otherwise. Anyway, I can't let that get in the way of our case. We need to move fast.”
“Fast? Has something changed that I don't know about?”
Johanna cut a piece of French toast. “I know that you're the one who usually operates on gut instinct and I'm the type who likes to plan out every detail, but now I get it, Frankie. My gut isn't allowing me to wait on this one. We're running out of time. Somehow, no matter what it takes, we need to see Kristin today and get her to admit that there's something going on between Thatcher and her. If we play it right, we can get her to tell us everything.”
Frankie set down her fork and sat beaming at her.
“What?” Johanna asked.
“This is the first time you've ever agreed to go just on gut instinct.”
“And?”
“Fill me in on everything your gut is telling you. You said we have to move fast.”
“I'm worried about something happening to Kendall. I know she has bodyguards, but I can't help worrying. How do we know they can be trusted?”
“I know. It would be nice if Kristin admitted everything to us, but I think it's going to be difficult to get her to spill anything. It'll be more like pulling teeth.”
“Maybe not. She's young and maybe we can get her to open up like we did some of the Bronson employees. We've got to try. We also need to pick up a couple of burner phones.”
“Okay. Just tell me the plan.”
Johanna grinned. “Just as soon as I finish this delicious breakfast.”
* * * *
“That was easier than I thought,” Frankie said. “Getting the burner phones was a great idea.” She grinned at Johanna. “I never knew you were such a great actress. After your speech, it's no wonder she agreed to meet with us. Now if we can get her to open up as willingly about her personal life.”
“First we'll build up the potential part she'll be auditioning for. We'll let her know that we both believe she'd be perfect for the part, but she'll need to come in to read for it.” Johanna squeezed Frankie's arm. “For her chance to star in a motion picture, I think she'd sell us her soul if we asked.”
Frankie's eyes brightened. “I just had an idea. We need to somehow work Kramer Insurance Company into the conversation. And the fact that she was with Thatcher Longman.” She tapped her chin
