Read Dani Hayward, P.I.: The Joshua Franklin File Page 10

Chapter 5

  As she climbed the steps to the Chief's office Dani could see more pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

  Unfortunately, she did not like the way some of those pieces were fitting. And she definitely did not like the picture they were creating.

  "How's it going?" Harold Lindsay greeted solemnly.

  "It's going well." She sank to the straight-backed chair. "Chief do you have the bullet that was taken from Franklin's body?"

  "I'm sure we do." He reached for the phone and dialed two numbers. "Ted? Bring me the original file on Joshua Franklin," he instructed before returning the phone to the cradle then turning back to the brunette.

  "Ted Jeffers, head of the ballistics lab, will bring it right up." He frowned. "Why do you need the bullet?"

  "For comparison."

  Harold Lindsay's frown deepened. "Comparison to what?"

  Before Dani could respond the door to the Chief's office opened and a stocky dark haired man dressed in jeans and faded blue t-shirt that was half-covered by a white lab coat entered. His short dark hair was disheveled on the top but Dani had the distinct impression that even a comb could not fix it. He was of medium height and slightly overweight. "This what you wanted Chief?" he asked, handing over a manila envelope.

  Harold Lindsay checked the name. "Sure is." He stopped the man who was heading for the door with, "Hold on Ted. I think Miss Hayward might have a project for you." Ted Jeffers looked at the seated woman curiously. "This is Dani Hayward. She's looking into the Franklin case."

  "Glad to meet you Miss Hayward."

  Dani removed the bullet from her pocket and met the snappy blue eyes as she extended it in her hand. "How long would it take for you to run a comparison test on this?"

  He took the slug and rolled it over in his fingers. "To the bullet we have on file?"

  She nodded.

  "Just a few minutes."

  The Chief removed a small plastic bag from the envelope and tossed it to Jeffers. "Bring the results back here when you're done." He watched Jeffers leave with both bullets. "Do you think they'll match?" he asked the woman.

  "Yes." Dani went to the window and looked down onto the sparse traffic three stories below. "I need a couple of favors." Their gazes locked as she added, "No questions asked."

  Harold Lindsay was not one to trust a P.I. but he knew she was on to something. "Given the circumstances I don't see why not."

  "I'd like to question Sergeant Smith again."

  Lindsay nodded then picked up the phone and dialed two numbers. "Pull Sergeant Smith off the road and have him report to my office," he instructed the dispatcher. "He'll be here in a few minutes," the Chief relayed after hanging up.

  Dani turned back to the window. "And would you ask Captain Thompson to step in here?"

  Again the Chief dialed the phone and relayed his instruction. "I suppose I'm going to have to wait until they get here to find out what's going on."

  "I’m afraid so," the brunette confirmed as she watched a red corvette turn the corner and streak out of sight.

  "You wanted to see me Chief?" the Captain inquired when he arrived less than a minute later.

  Harold Lindsay motioned over his shoulder. "Miss Hayward's the one who requested your presence."

  Thompson waited for her to turn. "Have you uncovered something?"

  "The other bullet."

  The Captain sank to the chair in front of the desk in astonishment. "Where'd you find it?"

  She relayed the location but decided how she happen to discover it would best be left untold. "I want you to draw a floor plan of the Franklin's living room and study. Include the furniture."

  Thompson took the blank sheet of paper the Chief handed him and began his task. He stopped a minute later, examined it, added two more boxes and circles, then gave it to the brunette. "I don't think I forgot anything."

  Dani was examining the sheet when Sergeant Smith entered.

  "Miss Hayward has a few more questions for you Phil," Lindsay explained.

  The woman laid the diagram in front of the Sergeant as he dropped into the second chair. "That's a rough sketch of the living room and study at the Franklin house. Does it look about the way you remember it?"

  Smith studied the sheet for a few seconds. "I think so. But I was only there once and that was eight years ago."

  She handed him a pen. "Show me where you and Ellis were positioned."

  Smith drew two stars on the sheet then pointed to the one in the larger square. "I was here, on the sofa with Mrs. Franklin." The pen slid to the other star. "Ellis was here, in front of the study."

  "You told me from the time you broke into the study until homicide arrived that neither of you were out of the other's sight. Is that right?"

  "Except when I went out to call for homicide. But I told you that."

  "I mean after you came back in the house."

  "Yes," the Sergeant confirmed. "I could see him the whole time."

  Dani went to the window and scanned the horizon before turning and meeting the seated man's gaze. "You're lying."

  "Do you realize what you're saying?" the Chief frowned.

  "Yes I do." Dani laid her finger on the star that depicted where Phillip Smith had been sitting. "There's no way in hell he could have seen Ellis or the study doors from there."

  "Maybe she moved furniture between the time I was there and when you drew the diagram," the Sergeant suggested hastily.

  "She didn't draw it Phil," Thompson informed as he looked down at the sheet. "You know, I never thought about it before but she's right. I sat on the sofa yesterday and you can't see the study doors from that angle." His gaze fell on the man he had known for fifteen years. "You were lying."

  The sandy haired Sergeant hung his head silently.

  "My God Phil," Lindsay snapped. "Why'd you think you had to lie?"

  "I think I can answer that," Dani interjected. "While Smith called for homicide Ellis searched the study for clues. He discovered a piece of evidence they thought would be incriminating and decided it would be best if it was removed before homicide arrived. How close am I Sergeant?"

  "Right on the money," he muttered without looking up.

  "What would be so damned incriminating that he'd have to take it?" the Chief growled.

  "A revolver," Dani answered without taking her eyes off the Sergeant.

  Smith nodded, his gaze still locked on the floor.

  "But not just any revolver,” the woman said. “A thirty-eight police special."

  Harold Lindsay felt his blood run cold. "A cop killed Franklin?"

  Dani ignored the question. "What really happened that night Sergeant?"

  Phillip Smith exhaled raggedly and looked at the woman. "Ellis discovered it under the desk while I was in the living room with Mrs. Franklin. He'd told me he was going to see what he could find before homicide arrived. He called me into the hallway and showed me the revolver. We both recognized it." His voice grew tense. "We knew about the trouble the department had been having with Franklin's son and thought one of the boys had shot old man Franklin by mistake. We decided to remove the evidence to protect the department."

  "What'd you do with it?" the woman asked.

  "We hid it in the squad," the Sergeant confessed. "Then later that night, after shift change, we took it down to the property room. We thought that would be safest place for it."

  "Where is it now?" the Chief demanded.

  "I guess it's still in the property room. We put it in a box marked 'Closed Case Files: A-F' on the bottom shelf in the back of the closet."

  Gerald Thompson was out the door before the Chief could relay his order.

  The only thing Phillip Smith was guilty of was concealing evidence. Or was it? "Chief, what were the circumstances surrounding Dwight Ellis' death?"

  "He was shot during a robbery about three years ago," Lindsay recalled. "We had a silent alarm come in from a liquor store up on North Main. Ellis and his partner, David Johnson, were dispatched
along with two other squads. Ellis and Johnson arrived first. They caught the robbers coming out of the store and gunfire erupted." His voice saddened. "Ellis went down without firing a shot. Johnson held the robbers off until backup arrived. By the time the rescue squad got there, Dwight Ellis was dead."

  Her gaze swung to the Sergeant. "Did Ellis get scared and want to blow the whistle?" Dani asked.

  Phillip Smith's eyes widened with fear. "I didn't kill him. I swear I didn't."

  "Ballistics proved the bullet that killed Ellis came from the robber's gun," the Chief offered in defense of his officer.

  Dani nodded then turned back to the window, remaining silent until the Captain returned.

  "Is this the box?" Thompson asked the Sergeant.

  Smith nodded. "That's it. We hid it in with some old files thinking no one would ever look there."

  "You were right about that," Thompson grumbled as he wiped his dusty hands off on his uniform pants. "The back of that property room is full of old files. It hasn't been touched in years."

  "That'll change damn fast," Harold Lindsay snarled as the Captain opened the box.

  After moving several files Thompson pulled out a plastic bag. "A thirty-eight," he announced, eyeing the revolver inside the bag. "It's one of our old ones alright," he confirmed, pointing out several letters that were stamped into the barrel. "There's the K.H.P.D. to confirm it."

  The Chief took the bag and studied the familiar lettering. "All we have to do is cross-match the registration number with our old weapons issue files and we'll have our murderer. I should have the owner's name by tomorrow morning."

  Dani took the bag from the man's hand. “No.” She opened it then slipped a pencil into the barrel and removed the pistol. She examined it, noting the initialed stamp with a frown. "Did either of you touch the weapon Sergeant?"

  The man's head swung instantly. "Ellis did just what you're doing," he said and gestured to the pencil.

  "Any particular reason why I shouldn't run a registration check?" Lindsay scowled.

  "Several," Dani said. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, hit a button on it then lifted it to her ear just as the connection was made. “I need a WRC.” She waited a moment then lifted the revolver and read the serial number from it. Dani studied the weapon for a few seconds before she nodded. “Thanks.” She disconnected the call just as Ted Jeffers hurried into the room.

  “They match,” he said and tossed two small plastic bags on the Chief’s desk before looking at the revolver. “Is that the murder weapon?”

  Dani eased the .38 back into the bag. “Most likely.” She turned to the Chief. “Can I use your ballistics lab?”

  The Chief wanted nothing more than to put the officer who owned the gun behind bars. But there was no sense asking her who the weapon was registered to. He knew he would not get a response. He has learned nothing about this mystery woman but he did know that she knew exactly what she was doing. She had learned more in twenty-four hours than his detectives had in six months. He nodded. “What should I do with Smith?”

  She did not need to think about that. "Put him back on the road."

  "He concealed evidence," Thompson snapped.

  Dani held up the plastic bag. "I'm not saying what Smith and Ellis did was right. But they might well have done the department a great service by taking this revolver." She turned to Jeffers. "Come on, we have a couple of tests to run."