First Family (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 4)

Frank Maxwell came forward and put out a hand to help up his daughter. “You okay, baby?” he said anxiously.

CHAPTER 63

I TOOK THE PHOTOS of the license plates because I knew there was a party going on next door. I got the list of the people at the party and then compared it to the owners of the cars on the street that night.”

Frank Maxwell put down his cup of coffee and sat back.

It was the next morning and they were at police headquarters. Donna Rothwell had been arrested for the murder of Sally Maxwell and the attempted murder of Michelle Maxwell. She had been taken to the hospital to have her hand wound treated from where Frank Maxwell had shot her. Doug Reagan was in the hospital in stable condition with a hole in his chest from when Michelle’s gun had dropped and accidentally discharged. He was expected to fully recover, if only to be charged along with Donna.

Bobby Maxwell said, “How’d you get the car records?”

“I have a buddy at motor vehicles.”

“You found Mom dead in the garage and you just went out and started taking pictures?” Michelle said incredulously.

Frank Maxwell’s gaze swiveled to his youngest child. “She’d just been killed. No pulse, pupils unresponsive. There was nothing I could do to bring her back. The body was still warm. I knew the murderer was still in the area. I wasn’t in the shower. I was in the living room. I heard a sound in the garage and then a door slam.”

“You didn’t tell the cops that,” Bobby pointed out. “Hell, Pop, you didn’t tell me that.”

“I had my reasons. Anyway, I could’ve just called the cops and then sat crying next to her body, but I know how critical it is to get an early jump on a homicide, and I didn’t plan on wasting a second of it. I ran to the garage side door and opened it. I didn’t see or hear anyone. I ran up and down the street but saw nothing. I also didn’t hear a car start up so I figured that the perp was either on foot or hadn’t driven off yet. I heard the sounds coming from the pool party next door. I debated whether to go there, tell them what had happened, and see if anyone was there who didn’t belong there, but I opted for a different approach.

“I knew I didn’t have much time. I ran to the house and grabbed my camera. I snapped the pictures of the car plates. After that I went back into the house and phoned the cops. It took all of maybe two minutes. Then I ran back out to see if I saw anyone, but I didn’t. Then I went back to the garage to be with Sally.” He said this last part softly, his head down.

“You’re sure you didn’t see anyone?” asked Sean, who was sitting across from Frank.

“If I had I would’ve done something about it. As it turns out, when my friend ran the plates the car parked at the very end of the street was Doug Reagan’s. I didn’t believe that he’d been invited to a teenager’s birthday party. I confirmed that with the invitation list. It was the only vehicle unaccounted for. The other’s were people either at the party or who lived on my street.”

“Nifty piece of detective work,” noted Sean. “But why didn’t you tell the police?”

“Yeah, Pop,” added Bobby. “Why?”

Michelle was staring at her father with a mixture of anger and sympathy. The latter finally won out. ?

?He obviously wanted to work the angle to make sure he was right. So he wouldn’t waste everyone’s time,” said Michelle.

Frank looked at his daughter. Michelle thought she could see a glimpse of gratitude on his features.

“So you believed Reagan was involved. How about Rothwell?” she asked.

He said, “I never liked her. There was just something off about her. Call it cop’s instinct. After Sally was killed I started doing a little digging on the pair. Turns out that in Ohio about twenty years ago two people very closely resembling Rothwell and Reagan, but using different names, were charged with using a power of attorney to embezzle millions from a retired CEO. Then the old man was found dead in his bathtub one morning after his children started getting suspicious. The pair skipped town and were never heard from again. I don’t think that was the only time they did it. I found a couple of other similar instances that I believe they were involved in, but no one could ever build a case. People like that, that’s how they make their living. A dog doesn’t change its spots.”

“So her story of her husband being a retired CEO who she lived the good life with was bullshit?” said Michelle.

“It’s easy to make up a past, particularly these days,” added Sean. “She comes here as a wealthy widow who has traveled the world and sets up shop. Who can prove otherwise?”

“So her ‘recent’ steady Doug Reagan has actually been working with her for decades? Preying on old, rich people,” said Bobby.

“I believe so, yes,” answered his father. “But I had no real proof.”

“But why target Mom?” asked Michelle. “It’s not like you two are rolling in dough.”

Frank Maxwell looked uncomfortable. He stared down again, his hands clenching the Styrofoam cup tightly. “I don’t think they were targeting us. I think… I believe your mother enjoyed Doug Reagan’s company.” He paused. “And he enjoyed hers.” He fell silent and no one in the room apparently wanted to interrupt that quiet.

He continued. “He’d been everywhere, done everything, knew everybody, at least so he said. Stuff Sally had never been exposed to. He was handsome and wealthy and moved in certain circles. He was charming. He had a way about him. I was just a cop. I couldn’t compete with that. Hell, I could understand why she’d be intrigued.” He shrugged, but Michelle could tell that her father couldn’t really understand his wife’s infatuation at all.

“And Rothwell found out about it?” said Sean.

“Donna Rothwell is not the sort of person you ever want to cross,” said Frank tersely. “I didn’t know her all that well, but I knew her kind real well. I notice things other people don’t. Just the cop’s eye again. I’d seen how she looked sometimes when she wasn’t the center of attention, or when lover boy was paying some woman more attention than he was her. She was obsessive, she was controlling. And she couldn’t admit to anyone, much less herself, that she wasn’t in control. And that made her dangerous. Even on the golf course she was competitive beyond all reason. Would get pissed off if she was losing.”