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Kit had to smile. “Jane and Janey don’t stand a chance. Between Marian and Mom, they’re going to be mothered.”
Baz chuckled. “Jane and Janey? Really?”
“No. Sam found them this evening, and those are the names they gave us. Jane is the leader. She hasn’t decided if she trusts us, so she’s leaving them an out.”
“Sounds like someone I used to know.”
Kit nodded, because Baz had known her since she was fifteen years old and so angry over Wren’s murder. “Yep.”
“So…you got Frank Wilson’s case.”
It didn’t surprise her that Baz had already heard. She imagined it was all over San Diego PD by this point. Baz was retired, but he stuck close to the gossip mill.
“Frank Flynn,” she corrected. “He changed his name.”
Baz nodded soberly. “I heard that. I also heard that he married a man after he and Sharon split up. Dammit. I wish he’d been free to be out.”
Baz wouldn’t have blinked at a cop sharing about their sexuality, but not every cop was like Baz. Sad but true.
“I know. I think he had a happy life with his husband, though. They ran an antique store in San Francisco until ten years ago when he and Ryan came back to San Diego to live at Shady Oaks with Ryan’s sister and brother-in-law.”
“I asked around. He only went to Julio’s Bar once after he retired. That was the day I introduced him to you. I introduced him as Frank Wilson and he didn’t correct me. Didn’t give me his new married name although he’d changed it nearly fifteen years before.” He shrugged. “I dug into his background a little after hearing the news. I guess he still didn’t trust us, even ten years ago. You know, SDPD in general.”
Unfortunately, that made sense. “I checked his records at Shady Oaks. He and his husband Ryan moved into the retirement home the day after we saw him.”
“We saw him on your twenty-first birthday. Easy date to remember.”
“Exactly. Do you know why he picked that day to go to Julio’s?”
Baz shrugged. “Nope. I asked around and nobody was having an anniversary or promotion. Maybe he just wanted to experience it one more time. Julio’s, the atmosphere.”
They might never know why, and that made Kit sad. “And he never went back to Julio’s?”
“Not that anyone remembers. Shock waves are crashing around SDPD, kid. You pulled another big case. Have the brass started demanding updates?”
“Probably, but Navarro is shielding us from all that for now. We have a second murder that appears to be related.”
“The head of security at Shady Oaks.” Baz shrugged again. “Cops have been calling me all day, pumping me for information. They think you tell me everything.”
“I do. I just haven’t yet. Connor and I are still trying to get the facts straight.”
“Could this be related to one of Frank’s old cases?”
“I mean, it’s certainly possible. Especially if Kent Crawford was forced into disabling the camera so that Frank’s killer could get to him. Whoever tossed Frank’s apartment was looking for something and may have brought the knife with them. Who can I talk to to find out if there’s anyone who might have wanted revenge for Frank putting them behind bars?”
“Henry Whitfield lives in La Mesa, and he was Frank’s partner for years. He might be a tough nut to crack, though. He isn’t the most open-minded guy.”
Great. “Hopefully he’ll want justice for Frank.”
“Hopefully. I heard that Frank had some money.”
Kit thought of the house in Russian Hill. “Quite a lot of money. Why?”
“Have you checked his bank accounts?”
“We froze the account that was linked to his Shady Oaks expenses. If there are others, we haven’t found them yet. His killer could have been searching for account information, I suppose. Did you know that Frank had a son?”
Baz tilted his head, thinking. “Yes. And no. I never met the son, but I went to the ceremony when Frank retired thirty years ago. There was an empty seat in the front row, and I remember someone saying that he’d saved it for his boy, but he never showed up.”
