The next few days involved retracing Frank’s activities for the past few weeks and up to the time of the murders. During this time the forensic accounts where reviewing the financial records of the three companies involved in the Baker’s Realty construction bid. It was necessary to cover the money reason for murder.
People kill because of passion or money.
I was home asleep when I got another late night phone call. You wouldn’t believe the words screaming inside my head. This time though Helen wasn’t disturbed by the call. It was the night desk sergeant telling me he just had two patrols respond to a report of gunshots at a motel downtown. The room Frank was staying at was shot up pretty bad.
He wasn’t hurt but terribly shaken up. He was being treated by the medics when I showed up. Glass shards from the shattered window nicked him up but that was it. He was still in shock by someone trying to kill him but refused a trip to the hospital. He instead asked to be allowed to find a safe place to stay before the person who tried to kill him came back to finish the job.
I felt for him and thought about letting him stay at my place but I wasn’t about to put Helen in danger for Frank or anyone. He would have to spend the night at the station house until we could make better arrangements.
Later the next morning, Frank received the call from Baker’s Realty on his new phone. His company was selected for the construction job, but not the maintenance contract. The nervous guy I seen in the lobby was the third bidder and his company received the maintenance contract. He was happy with that.
He mentioned the president picked him not only because of his reputation but also because his closest competitor, Hugh’s Consolidated Builder’s, was putting unwanted pressure in his selection process, which he resented. Those actions became another factor in his decision making.
I knew the president of Baker’s was an upstanding guy. He also liked giving the little guy a chance to prove himself with the maintenance contract.
Forensics caught a break that linked the two shootings. They found a finger print on the door handles of both Frank’s house and his motel room. The print belonged to a career criminal with a bad reputation. Getting him off the street would be a joy.
While Frank began the process of setting up for the build, he received a few threatening anonymous calls and emails. While it lead us in a different direction, it also gave us motive. This time the threats were against his company. The possibility of equipment failures, accidents, and fires were only a few.
With Frank taken care of for the moment I decided to start following up on the movements of Beverly. According to Frank, my wife and a few others, it was obvious she lacked discretion when it came to her affairs. Her credit card purchases for the last two months showed a variety of visits to mens clothing stores, restaurants and a five star hotel downtown. Two or three times a week on average she was out enjoying the high life with boy toy.