Frankie's Back in Town

Not even a “Hello, how’s your day?” Classic Karan. But Susanna didn’t mind. Despite Karan’s obvious quirks, she’d always been there when it counted. Like during Skip’s long battle with the non-Hodgkins lymphoma that had finally taken his life. Karan had put to work her connections with the medical community and those connections had been considerable—compliments of two ex-husbands.

“No, I hadn’t heard,” Susanna said. “But Jack has been by a few times. I assumed he was helping out.”

“A few times? And you haven’t called?”

Susanna propped the phone against her ear, reached for the handrail and began to climb in her version of a power walk. Well, power wasn’t exactly accurate, since she was wearing a business suit and practical pumps. But she might as well settle in for the long haul because Karan wasn’t going to hang up the phone until she’d been dished all the details.

If it hadn’t been twenty-six degrees outside, Susanna would have preferred to be on the par course. She’d settle for hoofing it up and down the stairs. Good exercise for her butt which, according to her daughter, was showing the effects of too much time behind a desk.

Thank you, Brooke.

“No, I didn’t call. It’s been crazy around here.”

“Susanna, we’re talking about Jack.” Karan’s tone scolded for breaking an all-important, if unspoken, rule.

Karan was always interested in Jack, regardless of who she was married to. “I was getting there. Between this place and all the nonsense going on with the police investigation, not to mention Brandon made the play-offs—”

“Stop right there, Suze. I do not want to hear your litany of excuses. Just tell me what’s going on with Jack.”

Susanna took the next few steps. “I really don’t know anything.”

“But you said he’s been by a few times.”

“He has. I saw him this morning. He asked me to give you his regards.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” She didn’t admit that she’d had to wheedle the courtesy out of him. Jack never so much as mentioned Karan’s name. Not in all the years he’d been dropping by the house to watch football with Skip. He’d moved on with his life, unlike someone else who would remain nameless.

“How does he look? I haven’t seen him since we ran into each other at Gary’s last five-hundred-a-head dinner.”

Not exactly a surprise. Karan might officially live in Bluestone, but she’d been spending more time in the city, avoiding the gritty reality of her latest marriage meltdown. “No obvious gunshot wounds.”

“Susanna!” came the exasperated reply.

Susanna snickered away from the phone’s mouthpiece then said, “I really don’t know anything else. Jack’s been by a few times. That’s all I know. Frankie doesn’t share that sort of stuff with me. Or anyone else for that matter. She’s professional. Ultra professional. I’ve told you that before.”

“Humph. I know what you’ve said, but I still have trouble believing it.”

“Hard to believe, I know, but there you have it,” Susanna agreed automatically, confirming her position on the right side of a line that had been drawn in the sand years ago. “They did tour the property together this morning, though. I overheard her assistant telling one of the other managers.”

“Really?” Karan’s interested tone reassured Susanna that all was forgiven. “A tour of the property? Wonder what they were looking for. Probably where she stashed the body.”

“Karan.” Susanna winced. “That’s awful.”

Laughter chimed over the line like silver against crystal. “Perhaps, but this is Frankie we’re talking about.”

As if that explained everything. Honestly, some days Susanna wished with all her heart she’d have listened to Skip when he’d wanted to accept the job promotion that would have taken them to Napa Valley. Then, of course, they’d have been clear across the country when he’d gotten sick, with no family or friends as a support system, alone….

“I have no clue what they were looking for,” Susanna said. “The missing wallet that started this whole fiasco turned up a week ago. That much I know for sure. But Becca told you Chuck was off the case. I find that curious.”

“Isn’t it, though? Doesn’t Jack let his minions do the grunt work nowadays?”

“Like I would know. I don’t see Jack that much anymore.” Not since Skip.

“From what I hear, no one sees him much anymore. Makes you wonder what he does with his free time, doesn’t it?”

Susanna sighed. “Not really.”

“Jack’s working this case for a reason. I know it. Unless he’s itching to get his hands dirty again.”

There was no missing the sarcasm. Karan might not admit it aloud, but she still hadn’t forgiven Jack for veering from the path she’d had mapped out for their future. And from the day she’d set her sights on Jack in the tenth grade, Karan had been mapping. She’d intended to become the wife of a high-power attorney from a Bluestone royal family that had deep ties in Manhattan society. That life would have fit her to a T.

Obviously not Jack, though. He’d surprised them all by rolling up his sleeves and diving into law enforcement. Conversely, no one had been surprised at all when Karan dumped him for the first wealthy medical student she could get her perfectly manicured nails into.

Susanna was about to tell Karan she’d keep her informed when the sounds of young laughter and loud music distracted her.

There was an activity lobby on this floor, but the music wasn’t anything she’d expected to hear for line or ballroom dancing. More like something she’d have told Brooke to turn down. Better yet, turn off. What sort of dance class happened on Thursdays? She tried to remember. The activity calendar was so busy she didn’t know how Rachel kept up.

“Hang on a sec,” she whispered to Karan, pushing the door open to get a peek of what was going on inside.

Windows spanned an entire wall, and bright afternoon sun streamed over the wide expanse of carpeted lobby where nearly four rows of residents stood in lines. It was a nice turnout, over twenty people in all, male and female, all casually dressed. Susanna expected to find Roberto, the lodge’s physical therapist and dance aficionado leading the group in the slow motion steps of some dance. Instead, a young girl stood at the front of the group, a lanky young girl wearing tight jeans, layered shirts and a nose ring.

Frankie’s daughter.

Gabrielle was a pretty girl, close in age to Brooke. But that was where the similarities ended. Everything about Gabrielle screamed “Attitude!” From the artfully arranged chunky silver jewelry to the Converse All Star sneakers that looked as though they were the ones her mother had worn twenty years ago. For all Susanna knew they were.

The music stopped abruptly, and Susanna pulled her eye away from the crack in the door, not wanting to be caught.

“Let’s try it again,” Gabrielle said. “Think superhero. Y’know a dude in tights who can leap tall buildings.”

Susanna risked another peek to see Gabrielle demonstrating a dance move vaguely reminiscent of a horizontal swan dive.

Mrs. Gunderson made a valiant attempt, a slow-motion stretch of arms with gracefully pointed fingertips.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Gabrielle said with a straight face. “You’ve got it.”

Paquita Escabar, Auntie Pippa as she liked to be called, didn’t fare so well. She was a tiny woman, who was a lot older than most people knew, and she would have landed on her face had Mr. Patrick not gallantly steadied her.

Exactly why a licensed physical therapist should be teaching this class.

Susanna opened her mouth to tell Karan she’d call back as Mrs. McIlhenny stopped her attempts at the dance moves and waved her in. “Susanna. Come in. The girls are teaching us the Soulja Boy.”

The girls? Susanna stepped inside the lobby, and sure enough another girl was working the boom box and demonstrating the same dance move…Brooke.

“Got to run,” Susanna said and snapped the phone shut.

“Hi, everyone.” Shoving the phone in her pocket, she made her entrance. “So what’s going on?”