“You're coming home with us tonight,” Jillian Oakman said. “And we won't take no for an answer,” she added when Kendall started to protest. “But first I want you to get checked out by the medics. I insist.”
Kendall finally relented to being evaluated by a medic and then gratefully accepted Jillian's hospitality.
After Kendall walked with Jillian to where a medic was waiting, Frankie and Johanna turned to Alec. “Has Thatcher been booked?” Johanna asked.
“Yes. Since he's a flight risk he won't be bonded out.”
“That's a relief,” Frankie said. Her eyes drifted to where the medics had loaded Becca on a stretcher. “I wonder how serious it is.”
“Very,” Johanna said as they watched Becca's body being placed into a body bag. “This case certainly took a strange turn, Alec. You knew all along that it was going to be more involved than just a cheating husband, didn't you?”
He nodded. “I did, but not to this extent. But my main concern was to first prove Thatcher was cheating so Kendall could file a petition for divorce.” He ran a hand over his face. “I'll fill you in as I'm sure George will just as soon as everything is finished up here.”
* * * *
George crumpled up his sandwich wrappings. He'd sent a deputy for sandwiches and coffee after the office had cleared out and a brief statement had been given to the media. He leaned back in his chair. He beamed at Frankie and Johanna. “You two delivered as usual.”
Johanna lifted her eyebrows. “Except that we had no clue what we were delivering.” She bit into her tuna salad sandwich.
Frankie frowned. “I still don't understand why Johanna and I had to be used as pawns.”
George laughed. “We couldn't let anyone know we were on to Kristin.”
“But you didn't know at the beginning when the fires first started that it was her.”
“No, Frankie. It wasn't until we realized Thatcher and Kristin were in all the tapes. That was before you two even began your surveillance.”
Johanna turned to Alec. “And you knew, too?”
“I never connected the fires to Thatcher. In fact, it never crossed my mind. I was in the dark like everyone else.”
“What about the mayor? Wasn't he feeding information to Thatcher?” Johanna frowned. She looked at George. “You told Johanna and me that he was a personal friend of Thatcher's. I took it from your insinuation that Thatcher and Kristin would never be suspects. That's why Johanna and I became the top suspects.”
“Actually the mayor was a key player. He was feeding Thatcher the information we gave him,” George replied.
Frankie exhaled loudly. “You've lost me.”
George nodded. “I can understand how confusing this is. Thatcher confided every move he planned to make to the mayor. It seems they weren't as close as Thatcher thought.” He shrugged. “Or it could be that the mayor knew that what Thatcher was doing would drag him down with him. We'll never know. But by his coming to us, it helped us put all the pieces together and saved his reputation and Kendall's life.”
“So, Alec, you knew this morning that Thatcher was going to be given our identities by the mayor,” Frankie stated.
“Yes, but we didn't know that Thatcher had never planned to take Becca or Kristin with him in the first place. He'd also played the both of them. His plan began unraveling and instead of waiting around he decided to make a break for it.”
“Why the fires?” Johanna asked. “Kristin said something about Kendall getting the blame for them. Why even set them in the first place?”
Alec tilted his chair back. “Thatcher had hoped that Kendall would be found guilty of arson through reason of insanity. Since nothing was in the pre-nup about his losing everything if she were permanently institutionalized, he'd hoped the courts would nullify parts of the pre-nup and award him total control of everything. On the occasions Kendall had been hospitalized, no doctor would sign off on stating she needed only institutionalized treatment. In fact, none of the doctors believed she had any mental problems that would render her a threat to society in the first place.”
George nodded. “When Kendall's name didn't come up as our prime suspect as Thatcher had hoped it would, he had to make a move.”
“Back up a second,” Frankie said. “How did you find out it was Kristin?”
George laughed. “She'd forgotten her black wig one night.”
“Some actress,” Johanna smirked. “So she was going back to those places later after Thatcher had dropped her at the hotel I assume.”
“Yes. He drove home each night so nothing could be linked back to him. Becca Manning picked Kristin back up at the hotel, drove down a side street, and Kristin made her way into the alley where she set the fires.”
“What about Biggs Sporting Goods and Easten Bridal?”
“Becca parked a short distance from the strip malls while Kristin threw the projectiles through the windows. They were trying to speed up Kendall's arrest.”
“Wow!” Frankie exclaimed. She looked at Kate and Arlan. “So you two also knew what was going on, I take it.”
Kate nodded. “We hated grilling you two about the fires. In fact, I told Arlan that I was afraid this would damage our friendship.”
“I assured her it wouldn't since we've known each other a long time,” Arlan said.
Johanna looked at Kate. “Needless to say, we were very upset.” She turned to Frankie. “No, hurt is the accurate word. I was devastated.”
“I knew you would be,” George said. “But we needed to give your names to the mayor so he could relay the information to Thatcher. We had to set everything in motion.”
“Didn't that upset Thatcher since it put a wrench in his plans?” Johanna asked.
“Yes, of course it did. He wanted Kendall to be our suspect. But now he also figured out that you two were tailing him. All we had to do was wait for him
