Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Cindy Moore pulled up in front of the second estate of the day.
Neither had stirred any sort of respect within her as she wasn’t swayed by showy display.
Though she felt somewhat intimidated around wealthy people.
Her family never had money, and she had to work several jobs to get herself through college before she ended up in the police academy.
But she had the pride and freedom of doing it on her own terms. Not to discount the cheerleading she received from her family.
She pulled up to the gate, another cruiser behind her. The man in the gatehouse sauntered to the window and had a dopey look about him that suggested she’d roused him from a nap.
“How can I help you, Officer?” he asked, glancing back at her companion.
She wasted no time holding up the warrant and telling him exactly what power that piece of paper had. “This gives us the legal right to search the home office.”
“Let me see that.” The man reached for it, and she willingly handed it over.
“As you’ll see, it is rather limited and only allows us to collect certain documents,” she elaborated.
The man didn’t look up for several minutes. When he did, he lifted the warrant. “Do I keep this?”
That piece of paper would cover his ass if the legitimacy of this search was questioned at a later time. “Yes, that’s a copy.” She’d come prepared. The original warrant was to stay with her.
“Okay, great. Just knock on the front door, and Rupert will let you in. I’ll notify him about the details of the warrant.”
“Thank you.”
“Yep.” He stepped out of view, and the gate opened.
Cindy and her colleague drove through and up the curved drive.
She and the other officer parked at the top of it and walked up the front steps.
It took one press of the doorbell to receive a response.
The rendition of some classical song was still playing when the door cracked open.
An older gentleman was standing there dressed in a black suit.
Every one of his gray hairs lay in place, and his dark brown eyes studied her and her colleague.
“Are you Rupert?” When he nodded, she said, “I’m Officer Moore, and this is Officer Green.”
“Yes. I was informed of the reason for your visit. If you would kindly wipe your shoes before following me through the home.”
“Of course.” Cindy glanced at Green. Unlike what Larry’s surname might suggest, he was with the MPD longer than her.
If he felt stepped on from her taking the lead on this, he gave no indication.
She would have gladly come alone, but Green had been assigned to accompany her for the sake of efficiency.
“This way then.”
They both wiped their shoes and set off behind Rupert.
Cindy took in all the ornate touches in the home.
The coffered ceilings, the high baseboards, and the many chandeliers overhead.
Their numerous crystals winked as she walked past them.
Though instead of making her feel welcomed, she felt out of place.
While she followed Rupert, she admired how the employees of the home still ran on protocol as if their master were still alive. What kept them busy with him gone was beyond her. She supposed they’d just be biding time while legal matters were sorted out.
“Mr. Hanson’s office.” Rupert stopped outside of a closed room and opened the door for them. “Please do your best not to upset everything. It’s a delicate matter with your being here like this. Disrespectful too, if you ask me, as the man is hardly cool in the ground.”
Cindy had found it impressive Lieutenant Coleman was able to get a judge to sign off on the warrant in the first place.
Timothy’s name, even from the grave, held power and influence.
She’d witnessed that today. “How long did you work for Timothy?” She detected a deep-seated loyalty bred over time and was curious.
“Seventeen years, ma’am. Now if that would be all.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” she kicked back with sincerity.
Rupert dipped his head. “Thank you.”
“Actually, if I may ask you something.” She was straying from their purpose here, but there was an opportunity to learn more about Timothy Hanson.
Possibly even something that could advance the case against the dead man.
Odd as that sounded. Though it was more about who he had used to carry out his wishes.
All she knew was someone had to pay for the injustice of it all.
And what if that isn’t Dale Kramer? She shoved aside the sobering answer. They’d be back to zero suspects.
“If you must.” Rupert squared his shoulders.
Officer Green was trying to get her attention, but Cindy wasn’t going to give it to him. “Rupert—”
“Mr. Rawling, if you wish, Officer.”
“Mr. Rawling,” she corrected, “how well did you get to know Mr. Hanson during the course of your employment?”
“Very well.”
She wasn’t expecting the man would level with her but presumed he’d give her more than that.
What his words weren’t saying, his body was.
His stiffened posture when she first mentioned she had questions, followed by a sharp exhale of breath preceding his reply, spoke to discomfort and impatience.
It also wasn’t missed that his first response was vague and meaningless.
“What type of man was he?” Hopefully that draws him out…
“He left an amazing legacy.”
Straight to Timothy’s professional success, guarding whatever personal knowledge he might possess of the man.
“That he certainly did.” No point in arguing that.
From a financial standpoint, Timothy Hanson certainly made his mark but this wasn’t the intel she was after.
“And the man himself, the one few got to witness? A nice man?”
“Yes.”
Clearly trying to talk to him about Timothy was a waste of time. He was conditioned to honor the confidence of the household. “Thank you for your time.”
“Uh-huh. Shall you need me, I will be here in the hallway. When you’re finished I shall see you out.”
Cindy nodded and turned to enter the office.
Officer Green wedged in ahead of her and beelined across the room to the filing cabinets.
Like the rest of the home that Cindy had seen, this space was grand with a mahogany desk commanding attention at the far end of the room.
Behind it was a line of cabinets. Paintings in gold-gilded frames were displayed on the walls, lights mounted over them.
The canvases showed their age, raised and uneven, some cracked.
She wasn’t an art connoisseur but would bet some of these were priceless originals by well-known Renaissance artists.
Green tugged on a cabinet drawer. “It’s unlocked. What do ya know? How about you start at the other end, and we work toward each other?”
“Sure thing.” The top drawer of the cabinet she tried opened too.
It was interesting that Timothy would leave them that way.
Had someone already been here and cleaned out the NDAs?
Maybe someone got advance word of what they were looking for, or possibly Edward Hanson moved them elsewhere.
That might explain why he parted with knowledge of their existence.
He knew they were someplace safe. Though, maybe this thinking was taking Cindy down a conspiracy rabbit hole.
Timothy’s position in life would have instilled entitlement and cockiness.
He also likely wouldn’t think anyone who got into his office would dare violate his privacy.
His reasoning could even have multiple facets.
Unlocked cabinets suggested his dealings were aboveboard.
The illusion of transparency would fool some into thinking he had nothing to hide.
Not her. Rather it made her more eager to dig in.
From what she’d learned so far, Timothy Hanson held some dark secrets.
Adultery, sexual assault… Possibly rape and murder. She’d put nothing past him.
Rupert popped his head into the room after about thirty minutes. “Water, coffee, tea, or something stronger?”
Cindy imagined Rupert might be pouring himself a couple fingers’ worth of amber liquid when they left.
That was if he had enough patience to wait that long.
“Water, please,” she requested while Green set Rupert straight with “No alcohol while we’re working.
” He didn’t take Rupert up on the offer of anything else.
Cindy noted the look of disdain on Rupert’s face before the man turned and left the room.
“You could have asked for something to drink,” she told Green.
“I’m not thirsty, Moore. I’m here for a purpose, which I intend on seeing through as quickly as possible. Wasn’t that the whole point of them sending two of us?”
As if I’ve been wasting time! Her cheeks heated, but she tamped down her temper, clenching her jaw.
There would have been no advantage to lashing out at him.
For one, he didn’t bother to look at her when he’d responded.
He kept thumbing through the folders. But thinking of the bigger picture, it wouldn’t matter how good she was at the job if she bucked against officers with more seniority.
She’d be seen as disrespecting the hierarchy and never advance.
That didn’t make staying silent easy. She’d love nothing more than to tell Green off. Sadly, it just wasn’t worth it.
Cindy finished off the drawer she’d been looking in and went over to the next cabinet.
She tugged on the top drawer, but it was locked.
That had to mean something. “Green, I may have found what we’re looking for.
” She wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.
There could be any number of documents or items inside, not necessarily the NDAs.