Pulling him off to the side I quietly told him to wait for me outside and not to try leaving as doing so would be very bad for him. His face continued to show concern but when he told me he would be waiting outside, I knew he meant it.
My time with the company president proved beneficial. Turns out the three companies were bidding on a five million dollar office building and a five year building maintenance contract, itself worth millions. It was possible the build and the maintenance jobs would go to different companies, but all were to present bids for both jobs.
I was told by the president that one of the bidders used to be a regional powerhouse until a few construction accidents and shoddy workmanship hurt their reputation. Now they were trying to regain the prestige they had before.
He was a fair man and was willing to give them a shot at redemption but he would be more critical of their proposal than he would be of the others. The third company was an up and comer with positive references. He doubted they had the resources for the construction side of the job but the maintenance side was well within their ability. He was the underdog of the three.
When I asked him of the prospects for Frank’s company he said that Frank and his company were the preferred bidder for the construction but not necessarily for the maintenance portion of the bid.
The president had his own concerns on why I was there asking questions about one of the men he was considering for a major build. I gave it to him straight. That Frank’s wife was murdered during the night and as part of a normal investigation, I needed to confirm his whereabouts.
He asked it I considered Frank a suspect, I told him, as a detective, everyone is a suspect until evidence proves otherwise. However, I explained our prior relationship and if he was the man I once knew, then no, I didn’t consider him responsible for his wife’s murder.
That seems to satisfy him for the moment, but he asked that I keep him informed of any information that, while not impeding my investigation, would be beneficial to his construction project. Too much money and too many people’s livelihood were at stake.
Since I had a possible murderer outside I couldn’t stay away from him for too long. Walking outside the office Frank was waiting by my car just as he said he would be. “What the hell is going on Jacob? Why are you here and why are you after me?”
It did seem that he was genuinely surprised by me being there. “I thought after last night you’d have figured that out on your own.”
“What the hell are you talking about Jacob?”
“Beverly, Frank. You killing Beverly and…”
His eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. Next thing I knew he had tears flowing down his face. He fell against my car barely holding himself up. As a seasoned cop I’ve seen every acting job a person can play to try and beat a murder wrap. But here was a man who actually looked like he did not know his wife was dead.
“Jacob, did you just say ‘I killed Beverly?’ I couldn’t kill her. I loved her.”