Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
This was the best day in Cindy’s career to date. She was spending all day acting as if she were a detective. That had to draw the advancement to her. She pulled to a stop at the curb in front of Rhonda Stein’s house and got out of the car.
A woman in her mid-sixties came striding down the sidewalk, and they both turned to head up the path to the front door.
The woman stopped and faced her. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Rhonda Stein?”
“I am.” Rhonda’s eyes drifted over Cindy, but she barely slowed her pace.
“I just have a few questions for you,” Cindy said. “It shouldn’t take long.”
“Questions about what?” Rhonda slipped a key into her lock and twisted.
“About your time at Hanson Property Devel—”
Rhonda held up a hand. “Let me save you the trouble. There’s nothing you’re going to ask that I’m going to answer.”
Cindy stiffened. “With all due respect, ma’am, you have no idea what I’m going to ask.”
“Nothing good comes from that name. I learned that a long time ago. So if you could please excuse me.” She opened her door and squeezed through the small gap she made.
“Would it change your mind if I were to tell you we think Timothy Hanson may be responsible for the death of one of his former secretaries?”
The question had the intended effect. The woman stopped moving and turned around. She shifted her jaw left to right, right to left, left to right. Her tongue darted out, then she said, “No, it wouldn’t. That has nothing to do with me. Good day, Officer.” Rhonda shut the door in Cindy’s face.
Cindy was tempted to knock on the door to try another tack but for one thing. The look of pure fear written on the woman’s face at the mention of Timothy Hanson. Even from the grave, the man clearly held power over her. Rhonda wasn’t going to talk no matter what Cindy might try.
Cindy went straight from Rhonda’s house to Hanson Property Development to speak with Sabrina Brown, Timothy’s last secretary.
She walked into their impressive corporate office building.
The lobby was a showpiece, and the lettering on the wall behind the main reception desk laid out their slogan. Building Homes, Not Houses, Since 1941.
She had enough of the puzzle pieces to see the overall picture.
Despite what the words said, the family, or at least Timothy Hanson, had violated the very values upon which the company was founded.
If she ran with Heather Wainscott’s assessment, Timothy’s father had secrets to protect when he was alive too.
A woman sitting at the front desk eyed her suspiciously.
The effect of the uniform… The thought fired through Cindy’s head. Many people didn’t respect the work, but she couldn’t be prouder of her career choice. Nowhere else would she make such a difference. “Officer Moore. I need to have a word with Sabrina Brown.”
“Can I ask what this is regarding?”
“A police matter.” Cindy tagged on a smile, softening her approach.
The clerk responded with a tight smile, resembling a scowl. “Ms. Brown is quite busy. It might be best if you made an appointment.”
“Possibly under other circumstances, but this is an urgent matter.”
It took a few seconds of holding strong eye contact before the clerk ended up hitting a button on her headset.
“Sabrina, I have a police officer at the front desk asking for you… She won’t tell me what she wants… Okay.” The clerk hit a button again and spoke to Cindy. “You can go on up to the fifth floor. You can’t miss her desk. It’s right across from the elevator.”
“Thank you.”
“Uh-huh.” The phone rang on her desk. “Good afternoon, Hanson Property Development…”
Cindy found it amusing how the clerk transitioned from treating her with cool indifference to a lighter, chipper tone on the phone. She took the elevator and got off on the fifth level and came face to face with a woman in her early thirties sitting behind a desk.
She stood to greet Cindy. “I’m Sabrina Brown.”
“Officer Moore. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“Yes. My boss gave me permission to transfer the incoming calls to an automated system for now, but I need to stay at the desk in case someone comes up the elevator,” she added.
“I understand.”
“Has something happened to my husband?”
“No, it’s nothing like that, and I’m sorry if I worried you.
” This was the second time in one day she’d let someone go there.
She should have learned from before and got in front of it.
“I am here about an urgent matter though.” Telling her lives were on the line might apply too much pressure.
“You were Timothy Hanson’s personal secretary up to the time of his death, right? ”
Sabrina dropped back into her chair. “I was.” It was as if both her body and voice had been zapped of all energy.
“What kind of a man was he?”
“I don’t think we should be talking about this.”
“And why is that?”
“What does any of it matter? He’s dead.”
“An investigation is underway in which his name came up.”
“I still don’t understand. It’s not like you can charge him and send him to prison. And how does a conversation about Timothy Hanson score as urgent?”
Cindy stiffened at Sabrina’s reaction. It’s not like you can charge him. There was only one reason Sabrina would go there. “You think he did something that was criminal?”
“Well, you must. I’m thinking that’s why you’re here. But I am somewhat lost in all this. He’s out of reach from the hands of justice.”
“The situation is complicated, but we need to piece his character together, what he was like, and then how it might relate to an open investigation.”
“Investigation,” Sabrina repeated slowly as if she were chewing on mud.
“I’ll put it more bluntly. There have been insinuations that Timothy was a womanizer, that he didn’t treat his female staff with proper respect. That he sometimes crossed the line…” Putting it mildly given what Lieutenant Coleman told her about Hilda Beal’s near rape.
Sabrina glanced away.
“Did he ever do that with you?”
Sabrina squared her shoulders. “Why does any of this matter? Do you think someone murdered him?”
The woman’s deflection made Cindy think Timothy had assaulted her while her question implied Timothy had people who would like to see him dead. “No, but if you know of anyone that had reason to…?” Talking to one of Timothy’s enemies could reveal something useful.
“Forget I said anything. It’s just whatever this is about, I want nothing to do with it. Besides, I can’t talk about Timothy Hanson, so if that’s all…”
Not exactly… Sabrina knew something damning, and Cindy was determined to get out of her what that was even if it took using her earlier words against her. “You’re right. He’s out of reach for the justice system, but it also means he can’t hurt you.”
Sabrina shook her head, and tears beaded in her eyes. “Oh, no, that’s still possible.”
“How is that?”
“His son runs this company. If Edward finds out I spoke against his father, then I’ll be fired.” Her shaky voice made Cindy want to offer a hand of reassurance—a gentle touch on her arm or shoulder—but she didn’t dare.
Respect a person’s individual space… Her training officer had beaten that into her too. But Cindy suspected Sabrina’s fear was about more than getting fired. Was she afraid for her life? “You are safe to talk with me. The police can protect you.”
“Not from the”—Sabrina leaned forward—“Hansons.” She added the latter part at a lower volume.
“If you are in fear for your life, let me help—”
“Please. Just leave.”
Cindy imagined there might be another reason Sabrina refused to talk. Even why she went so far as to say she couldn’t talk about Timothy. “I will go if you’ll answer one more question for me. Did Timothy Hanson have you sign an NDA?”
Sabrina met Cindy’s eyes. “I’m begging you. Leave. I need to get back to work.”
Cindy would take that response as a big fat yes.
“Thank you for your time.” She handed Sabrina her card and hoped that she’d reconsider and call.
But Cindy felt like she’d messed up going right to Timothy’s character.
It had clearly touched a sore spot and caused Sabrina to withdraw.
So much for tapping Sabrina for more information on Timothy’s inner circle.
That conversation was shut down before it could even start.