Free Twisted: A Tracy Turner Murder Mystery Novel (The Tracy Turner Mystery Series Book 1) by Keyla Hunter Page A

smiled.
    “What? You don’t believe we were soul mates?”
    “I have no doubt…” I wiped the smile off my face and stared back into her eyes, with what I hoped was a solemn expression. Inside I felt a giggle growing in my belly.
    “Anyone could see it,” she said, gazing up at the ceiling.
    I sighed sympathetically and redirected the conversation to the matter at hand.
    “Did anything else happen recently that seemed suspicious?”
    “Huh?”
    “Was there anything that made you worry about Frank?”
    “Now that you mention it, there were some prank calls, weird hang-ups and such. I thought it was another woman.” She had a foolish smile on her face and shrugged. “Frank had needs and I made sure that I was the one satisfying him.”
    “Of course. I would do the same in your situation,” I mumbled.
    “So I put a tap on the line. It was not a woman, but a man. Called himself Burns. Once I picked up the call and he demanded that Frank pay the quarter of a million dollars that he said Frank owed.”
    “Frank said he’d take care of it after the divorce and told him not to call the house because it would frighten the missus. See, he was always considerate like that.”
    “Did he say anything else?”
    “No, he just hung up.”
    “Did you ask Frank about it?”
    “No, I knew my Frankie had money problems. Like I said, we had a plan. We were going to work it out and start over.”
    “Did you tell the police?”
    “The police? Do you think they’d want to hear from me?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her chest heaved in response. “No, now it’s all over. Anyway, no one hated him like that except Katherine. I’m sure as the sun rises in the sky that she killed my Frankie.”
    “I heard that Frank and a man named Burns had it out in the casino last night.”
    “You’re saying that piece of crud touched my Frankie? You think that he killed my baby?” Her voice rose into a sharp squeal and cracked.
    “It is a possibility, Gina.”
    “No, no that’s not right. Frank would have made it good. He told Burns that he would, and he is no liar. I know it’s that whore. She killed him.” She growled the words and her nose changed into a curious shade of maroon.
    In the next instance she regained her composure. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my meditation. Thank you for checking on me. Nobody thinks of my loss, you know.”
    “Thank you for your time, and once again my sympathies.” I moved fast toward the door in case her emotions got the better of her again.
    “Oooouuummm…”
     

     
    My conversation with Katherine earlier that day had me thinking that Gina, Frank’s mistress, had killed him for the insurance money. Having spoken to her, however, it seemed that there was no policy. Had Katherine been trying to throw suspicion on Gina to hide her own wrong doings? I wondered if there was a way to verify Gina’s story. My chat with her earlier that day left me with the notion that she couldn’t do up her own shoelace, let alone murder a man and frame another for his killing.
    The next question was, who was this man Bruno Burns? His name came up so many times today. Could he have killed Frank because he had not been making good on his debts? Then again, what good would Frank be to him dead? Perhaps he knew that Frank was filing for bankruptcy. Could that have made him angry?
    I wondered how I could find out more about Burns. I Googled his name, but nothing came up. I bit my lower lip in frustration and ran another query. A LinkedIn entry popped up of an Anthony B. Burns as a CEO of a global conglomerate. His business interests included a stake in Katherine’s confectionery company. Was this the same man who fought with Frank in the casino? What if he and Katherine were in on this together? I tapped out an electronic note.
    I reached for the telephone on my desk and punched zero for reception. Imogen Adair responded.
    “Hey, Imogen, it’s Tracy from PR and Events.