Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (9 page)

Once her notes were written, she drove
to Bobby Wilson's construction company. On her way, she called Daniel.

“Your boyfriend was in to see me this
morning,” Daniel said.

“Why?”

“He seems to think I'm trying to ruin
his reputation and his relationship with you.”

“That doesn't sound like Jack.”

“It was Jack alright.”

“What happened?”

“He told me he loved you and that I'd
see you marry him one day.”

“Yes, he's quite certain that will
happen.”

“And what about you?”

Tess pulled to a stop at the light. “It's
a possibility.” She shook her head that she'd even consider marriage. Three
months earlier, she was committed to being a spinster, and now she was thinking
of love ever after. “Did he say anything else?”

“He thinks I'm sending biased
information to the media.”

“Ah, the paper this morning. I wondered
how he'd react.”

“He reacted by coming here accusing me
of feeding information and threatened to do the same if I didn't do my job.”

Tess eased the car forward when the
light turned green, but her mind was on Jack. He wasn't usually one to worry
about what others thought about him. His reaction was strange.

“I'll stop by and talk to him after I
meet with Wilson.”

“How'd it go at the Danforths?”

Tess told him what the trainer had
shared.

“So you're wondering where the money is
coming from? Maybe Wilson will have an answer for that.”

“We'll see. I'm pulling into Wilson's
now.”

“Keep me posted.”

Tess turned off her phone, tossing it in
her purse. She entered the office where a young woman with big hair and small
clothes sat behind a desk.

“Is Mr. Wilson here?” Tess asked.

The woman looked up from her computer
screen. “He's in a meetin', but should be done shortly. Who should I tell him
is here?”

“Tess Madison. I'm a special
investigator with the Commonwealth's Attorney's office.”

“Is this about Mr. Danforth?”

Tess nodded.

“Such a shame.”

“Did you know him?”

She shook her head. “I don't think
anyone really knew him. He pretty much kept to hisself. Still, to be mindin'
your own business and have someone pop you in the chest. That's cold. I bet it
was that wife of his.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She just seems cold, you know. Everyone
knows she only married him for the money.”

Tess had been thinking the same thing,
but coming out of Mr. Wilson's secretary’s mouth made it sound like gossip.

“Will he be much longer?”

“Just a couple of minutes. He's chewing
out a sub who cost him two grand in damages.”

“That's a lot.”

She shrugged. “Jimmy Lee cost him more
when he flooded the Jordon place.”

“Does Jimmy Lee still work here?”

“Hell, no.”

“Debbie?” the woman turned to look at
the man entering the room. Preceding him was a younger man who looked like he'd
been chewed up and spit out.

“Yes, sir. This is Ms. Madison with the
Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. It's about Mr. Danforth.”

“I already talked with the police.”

“I just have a few more,” Tess said.

“I have about five minutes before I need
to meet with my lawyer. I'm heading off a lawsuit because of that numbnut who
just left my office.” She followed Wilson into his office. It was modest, with
pictures of soccer teams he'd sponsored, newspaper articles, and a deer head
mounted on the wall. His desk was covered in papers.

“What can I help you with?” he asked as
he sat down behind his desk.

“I'd like to review and ask a few new
questions if I could.”

“Okay.”

“You said that Charles was supposed to
meet you Saturday morning to go fishing, is that right?”

“Yes. We were supposed to meet at
Crawford Pond, but he never showed.”

“What did you do when he didn't show?”

“I called him a few times. At his home
and cell phone. But there was no answer, so I fished without him.”

“You weren't worried when he didn't
answer?”

“No. I figured something came up with
the horses. That was his first love.”

“So he's missed fishing outings with you
before.”

“Sure, a few times.” Wilson said
reaching for a cigarette.

“You and Mr. Danforth have been friends
for a long time, is that right?”

“That's right. I did some work on his
home when he first bought it. We found we had a lot in common.”

“Such as?” Tess asked.

“Fishing and hunting, mostly. We both
preferred bow hunting to guns.”

Tess tried to ignore the vision of
little Bambis being speared with arrows.

“Did you know Mrs. Danforth very well?”

“Not too well.” Tess waited for him to
elaborate, but he didn't.

“Did Mr. Danforth ever talk about his
marriage?”

“No.”

“He never mentioned her?”

“Not really. If you ask me, they didn't
really act like married people.”

“In what way?”

“Well, I don't know. They didn't fight
or anything, like I said. It was like two strangers living in the same home.”

“Did Mr. Danforth ever mention if his
wife was having an affair?” Tess asked.

“We all knew it happened, but no one
ever discussed it, least of all Chuck.”

“You didn't find that odd?”

Wilson shrugged. “For some maybe, but
Chuck always seemed content with how things were going.”

“How about Mr. Danforth? Did he have any
lady friends?”

There was a pregnant pause. “Not that I
know for sure.”

“But you think maybe?”

He shrugged. “Chuck was a difficult man
to be friends with, but he was a man after all. Even he needed a little lovin'.”

“And his wife didn't fit the bill.”

“Like I said, they didn't act like
married people.”

“Did he ever mention Theresa Cromwell?”

Wilson shook his head. “Nope.”

Something on his face had Tess thinking
Wilson knew more than he was telling, but that she wouldn't be able to get it
out of him. She decided to let it go.

“Were you aware of any accidents
involving Mr. Danforth?”

“Accidents?”

“Did he have any injuries that were
unusual or suspicious?”

Wilson took a moment to think. “You
think maybe this isn't the first time someone tried to kill him?”

“I don't know, but it's a possibility.”

“I don't think so. Except…”

“Except what?”

“Well, one time when we were hunting,
not this last winter but the winter before, he was nearly shot.”

“Shot?”

“It was just one shot that came out of
nowhere. We figured it was just a careless hunter.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“No. Most hunters take care to know what
they're shootin' at. But it's not out of the realm of possibility. We reported
it to the sheriff's office, but there was really nothing that could be done. We
didn't see anyone.”

“How about three weeks ago? Did anything
unusual happen then?”

“Three weeks? Let me think. That was April?”

“Yes.”

“He did seem a little preoccupied on a trip
we took to Pinehurst.”

“Pinehurst?”

“It’s a golf course in Myrtle Beach. We
drive down once or twice a year. He was distracted and didn't seem to be having
as much fun as he usually does. I figured he and Liv were having problems or
something.”

“What kind of problems?”

“I don't know. Like I said, Charles
didn't talk much about hisself or Liv.”

“You didn't think maybe it was the
horses?”

“Nah. If there was a problem with the
horses, he wouldn't have come on the trip.”

Tess nodded. It fit with what the trainer
had said about Danforth's commitment to his horses. “You and Mr. Danforth were
working on a business project, isn't that right?”

“Yes. We got a pretty piece of land down
in Bucks County that we were developing.”

“Homes?”

“That's right. Affordable homes within
commuting distance to Jefferson Tavern.”

“It's been a tough market. Have they
been selling?”

“They ain't even built yet.”

That took Tess by surprise.

“You know how it goes. If you dig up
something other than rock or dirt the historical people have to come in and
make sure it's not a Civil War burial ground or something. Then there are the
permits and inspections. Nothing ever seems to go as quickly as you hope.”

“So the project is behind?”

“A little. But we hoped to have the
roads and water in by the end of the year and first houses on the market by
next spring.”

Tess frowned. If the homes weren't going
to be sold until spring, where was Danforth getting the money for the horses?

“Are you aware of any other business
dealings Mr. Danforth had?”

Wilson shook his head.

“He was planning to make some big horse
purchases? Any idea where he'd come up with the money?”

“His family has money.”

Tess knew that was an option. Perhaps
one of Danforth's relatives was going to go into the horseracing business with
him.

Mrs. Shauffer cheerfully announced Tess'
arrival. One nice thing about Jack working in Jefferson Tavern was that his
secretary liked her. Mrs. Standish in Washington didn't like Tess much, even
after Tess bribed her with chocolate caramel goodies.

Tess found Jack looking out his office
window, brooding. He turned. His face softened when he saw her, but didn't perk
up as much as Tess would have hoped.

“Daniel said you stopped by.”

“Did he get beat up a lot as a kid?
That's what always happened to tattlers when I was in school.”

“I don't know. I didn't know Daniel
then.” She studied him. She had seen him mad before, but there was something
different this time. “It's not like you to go off like that. What's going on?”

“Haven't you seen the paper?” he asked.

“Yes.” He waited for her say more. “I
don't believe that's what this is about. What do you care about gossip?”

His face darkened. “It's not just me
that gets hurt in gossip, Tess. The Senator, Lauren and Philip were here this
morning worried about the reputation of the company. Brad called about the same
thing.”

Tess began to feel sorry for Jack.

“But you, the one person who has a right
to be mad, you don't care.”

Huh? “What are you talking about?”

“I left you last night to help Liv and
you're completely indifferent about it.”

 “Wait a minute. You're mad at me
because I'm not mad at you about last night?”

“I can feel you moving away from me,
Tess. You've always had one foot out the door in this relationship, waiting for
me to mess up and prove that you shouldn't trust your heart.”

He had to be joking, she thought. Except
the fierce look in his eyes told her differently. “I did tell you last night
before you went that you shouldn't go. So what would be the use of rehashing it
after the fact? Especially since you would accuse me of being jealous.”

“So you just gave up on us?”

“I didn't give up on us. Just on the
argument. I can't believe this is why you're so angry. If you want to be mad at
someone Jack, look in the mirror. You knew what you were doing last night. You
brought this on yourself.”

“Is that your version of 'I told you
so'?”

“Yes, it is! I can't seem to win here.
If I speak up, you think I'm jealous. If I don't speak up, you think I'm
indifferent. What do you want from me?”

He turned away. “I don't know.”

Tess' heart dropped. He didn't know what
he wanted from her. The shoe she'd been waiting to drop was now dangling
precariously, ready to fall at any moment. And then what would she do? She knew
for a fact that it was hard to go through the motions of life with a broken
heart. But what motions would she go through? She had no job, no house. She'd
become completely dependent on him, despite the fact that she'd promised
herself she'd never let that happen again.

He turned back to her, his eyes more
tortured than angry. “I can deal with negative press. I can manage the Senator
and Lauren, but Tess, I need to know I have you.”