| Unforgiven Sins 19 eight years. That had been a record considering our residential history. I walked along the sidewalk to the bank, and as I reached for the door, it swung open. �Good afternoon Miss DuPont,� the bank Manager greeted. �Good afternoon, Mr. McKenzie. How did you...� �What can I do for you? I assume you�re here for your parent�s funeral. Nasty business that. Please accept my condolences.� �Thanks. Actually, I...� �Please come in. We can talk in my office.� He gestured for me to step inside. I glanced at him sideways as I stepped through the door into the bank. There was something about him that made my skin crawl. Maybe it was his fake, cheesy grin that bothered me, or perhaps it was his bad comb over. I couldn�t quite put my finger on it...but I would eventually. Mr. McKenzie lead the way across the bank to a door leading into the bowels of the building. He opened it and stood waiting for me to move inside. �After you,� he said, bowing slightly and gesturing through the open doorway. Again, I stepped through ahead of him. He closed the door behind him, keying a code into a panel on the wall beside the door, then scurried along the corridor ahead of me. �This way, please, Miss DuPont.� |
| M.A.Anderson 20 We reached a polished, solid wood door. He opened it. 'Please take a seat.' 'Thank you.' I stepped into the elegantly furnished office. Mr. McKenzie hurried across the room and moved around his desk. He stood behind it waiting for me to take my seat. I sat down. �What can do for you, Miss DuPont? I thought I explained everything to you on the phone.� �I know you did, Mr. McKenzie...and I really do appreciate you seeing me without an appointment, there�s just something about this key that has been bothering me and I needed to come down and try to resolve it.� He sat down in his plush desk chair, resting his elbows on the armrests and locking his fingers together in front of him. �Oh?� I reached into my purse and extracted the key. �Have you seen one of these before?� I asked, leaning forward and passing it to him. He reached across, took the key from my hand and studied it closely for some time. The expression on his face told me he had, although he tried to conceal it. �I don�t believe so.� He smiled and handed the key back. �It doesn�t look like a safe deposit key,� he added. I took it from his hand. �No, I didn�t think so.� I watched him for a moment, it was time to make some kind of move. 'Mr. McKenzie, I get the distinct impression that you |
| Unforgiven Sins 21 know something about this key that you're not telling me.' 'Why would you think that, Miss DuPont? I think I've been as forthcoming as I can be under the circumstances. The key isn�t one of ours, that I can assure you. What else do you assume I could possibly know about it?� I knew he wasn�t going to just hand me the information on a silver platter. I had to play it cool for now. �I...I apologize...I guess I�m still upset by this whole ordeal. It�s been an absolute nightmare. Please forgive me.� I stood up and reached across the desk to shake his hand. He quickly stood up and took my hand. �Completely understandable.� �Well, thank you again for your time, Mr. McKenzie, I really do appreciate you seeing me like this.� �Not a problem. If there�s anything I can do just let me know. Your parents were some of our finest clients.� I smiled. It wasn�t a genuine smile, but I don�t think he noticed. He was hiding something, I could feel it. And it was just a matter of time before I discovered just what that something was. He walked across the room and opened the door. �Goodbye, Miss DuPont.� I dropped the key into my purse and walked across the office to the door. �Goodbye. � �Have a safe trip back, won�t you.� �Yes, yes I will.� |
| M.A.Anderson 22 As I walked back along the dimly lit corridor ahead of Mr. Mc. Kenzie to the security door, the mechanism buzzed and as the door swung open, Jake was standing in the doorway. * * * Tim Donohue slammed down the phone and rushed out of his office. Within minutes, he was walking through the Forensics Department doors and into the lab. Allen Mitchell was leaning over a microscope as the detective approached... he spoke without looking up. �That was fast, Tim. What did you do....run?� he said as he waved the detective closer. �Practically. What have you found, Allen?� he asked, stepping around the stainless steel bench and moving closer. Allen sighed. �Well, I think I have the evidence you�ve been looking for. Here, come and take a look at this.� He stepped back and gestured for the detective to place his eye against the microscope. The detective leaned forward, squinting one eye and peering into the eye piece. �What is it?� Tim Donohue asked as he straightened up and moved backwards. �A piece of a highly sophisticated electronic, detonating mechanism.� �What!� |
| Unforgiven Sins 23 �Yeah. It took me a while to figure it out. At first I thought it came from a television or microwave oven, just some of the debris from the explosion. But, after magnifying it 100 times, I knew what it was right away.� �So, what are you telling me, Allen? That the DuPonts were set up to be murdered?� �That�s about the size of it. It wasn�t a gas explosion as such, that came directly after. I�d say what happened was, when Mrs. DuPont pushed in the knob to the gas jet that�s what set it off.� �Can you narrow down where the device came from?� �I�m already on it.� �Get back to me the minute you know something. You can reach me on my cell phone.� The detective was already moving toward the doors. �Sure. Where are you heading now?� �To Miami. I think it�s time to do a bit of nosing around down there, see if I can get under someone�s skin. Maybe whoever�s involved will get a little nervous and slip up.� He pushed open the door and walked out. �I hope you're right,� Allen said to the back of the closing door. * * * |
| M.A.Anderson 24 I�m almost certain that Jake noticed the surprised look on my face. I didn�t say a word as I stepped through the doorway. Jake took me by the arm and smiled uncomfortably. I glimpsed the strained look he gave Mr. McKenzie before turning and directing me toward the door leading onto the street. His grip was hurting me and as we reached the door, I shrugged out of his grasp and stepped outside ahead of him. �How did you know I was in the bank?� I asked accusingly as I turned to face him. �I saw you go in,� he said. �How, Jake? You were gone by the time I walked along the sidewalk toward the bank.� I folded my arms across my chest. �I forgot something and had to come back for it. That�s how. What�s with the twenty questions, Amanda?� I felt the tension mounting throughout my entire body. Something was very wrong with this whole situation. Jake was lying and I knew it, but why? I had to bide my time. I shook my head. �I don�t know. I�m sorry, Jake. I�m still upset over everything that�s happened. That�s the only excuse I can give you.� I smiled at him. No one knew that I had any knowledge about what had really happened to my parents, and as far as I was aware, at this stage, Detective Donohue�s team were the only ones who knew the truth. |
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