~We last left Frank and Roxanne at the office. Roxanne had gotten to Frank in a big and, for her brother, disturbing way. Unable to resist, Roxanne continued to toy with her brother, withholding case information and making Frank go to her~
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Chapter Five
"Okay, what's so damn interesting?" I commented harshly, walking into the outer office. I really wasn't angry but, I was in no mood for any more games.
Roxanne patted the stack of papers on her desk and then held up the message from Matt. She basically ignored me and my mood, keeping her eyes glued to the computer screen. I snatched the message away from her, reading it over quickly.
"Hum, that's interesting." Roxy commented, resting her chin in the palm of her hand, as she continued to read on. I started to say something when Roxy added, "Did you know about old lady Hawthorn?"
"You mean Cybil?"
"No, not that bitch, the first one, the old lady, she killed herself." Roxanne added, correcting me, as she turned away from the computer screen.
"Suicide, huh, doesn't surprise me much." I replied and moved towards the screen.
"Well yeah but, the odd thing is, maybe not." Roxy retorted and slid back her chair adding, "Take a look."
Moving in for a closer look, I again caught the scent of Roxanne's perfume. I'd noticed earlier but it grabbed me harder this time, for some reason. I gave her a slow staring look, which she returned, twirling a pencil between her luscious lips. "Just got it yesterday. Thought you'd never notice, you like the smell?" She asked, seemingly reading my mind. I nodded slowly and turned back towards the computer.
The article made the front page of The Herald, six years back. I quickly scanned the paragraphs, which slowly brought the entire sad story back to memory. "Huh? I thought the name sounded familiar. Says here suicide but they had reason to believe otherwise and..."
"And couldn't prove it, exactly right!" Roxy interjected. "Read on Mc Duff, there's more that should interest a crack PI like your self." I gave Roxy "The Look" and she giggled, holding her hands up in mock fear.
I did read on, ignoring my wise cracking sister. "Jesus!" I muttered aloud, giving Roxanne yet another opportunity to throw a jab my way, which she took. As I read down, finishing the article, Roxanne continued to feed questions into my ear. When I finished, I eased one leg onto my sister's desk and rested my ass, looking glassy eyed and deep in thought. My recall was total by then and I was amazed that the story hadn't gotten to me six years ago. "You were heavy into the McMurphy case, remember?" Roxy offered, reading my mind again.
"The old lady must have been crazy."
"Yeah, crazy or helped or maybe she wanted a lot of attention paid to her passing!" Roxy came back, pausing for effect and rubbing the goose bumps from her bare arms. "Stickin' a .38 up your twat and pulling the trigger is one hell of a way to get attention." She added.
"A messy one." I mumbled, deep in thought. "Roxy you don't suppose that..."
"Cybil had a hand in it?" She commented. The mind reading thing started to get eerie.
"Yeah, that." I replied, giving her a curious look.
Roxanne rose from her chair and tenderly kissed my cheek. "Sick huh? Hey, sure you wouldn't like to squeeze one of these big girls before I go to lunch?" displaying brief compassion and total absurdity in one sentence, as she giggled and reached for her purse. My mood instantly changed and I pointed my index finger at her, intending to chastise, when, like lightening, she grabbed it and sucked it in between her red glossed lips.
"Ummm, daddy I won't be naughty any more." She purred, after releasing my finger. "See ya later, I mean if lunch with me is out of the question."
"Roxxxy, I swear I'm going to beat your..."
"Ooo don't make promises you won't keep, bye now!" Roxy grinned and side stepped her way around my swinging arm. "Oh, and get some lunch, you know how shitty you get when you don't eat!" She added, reaching for the door knob.
Playfully, I tossed a pencil in her direction and then grabbed the stack of print outs. Ambling back into my office, a renewed desire for answers hit me and I felt that somewhere within the paper mess they waited for me. That desire came with a second, equally strong feeling, Cybil was dangerous, possibly more so than anyone knew. I closed my office door and cut off the ringer to the phone. I wanted solitude and quiet. Roxanne didn't return from lunch and hadn't bothered to tell me she decided to do a little more surveillance. I chewed her out later, after finding out.
Little by little, the news articles painted a, very, sorted picture. The Hawthorn's, a reclusive bunch, had managed to keep other family members out of the press. There were brief announcements on the birth of a son and, a couple years later, a daughter and damn little else. Amazingly, the only other references to either of them were acknowledgements for one award or another in a private school. There was no mention of either of them during the suicide investigation and, apparently, they weren't present when the old lady was buried either. "That's fucked up." I muttered aloud and lowered the paper. At the top of the article a very grainy, black and white, photo captured the pair who apparently were about to board a plane. The boy's face was unrecognizable but, the girl's! I sat back, shocked, not believing my eyes.
Long bars of amber light, a result of half closed blinds, lit my office wall, when I finally realized Roxanne hadn't returned. Tossing the last article aside, I stood up trying to decide what to do next and stretched. "Damn her independent ass!" I cursed and walked off to shut down the office. When I reached the outer office I noticed the phone message light was blinking wildly. I nearly walked off ignoring it, feeling aggravated about Roxanne. The first message contained her sweet voice, assuring me she was okay and where she'd gone. The lump in my throat melted away and I raised my hand to stop the answering machine when I heard Cybil's voice start up on the second message.
"Frank? Frank, God damn it, pick up the phone!" She said in a very agitated voice. Although a dead silence followed, she hadn't hung up. "Frank, if you get this message I want you to know things have escaladed. I think the old fuck is going to try to kill me. Call me!" She added, sounding extremely urgent and scared, without the irritation.
On Cybil's initial visit I'd placed her phone number in my cell phone. I dialed it as I slammed the office door closed, cursing silently.
Chapter Six