Page 7 of Say Nothing
"What did Detective Moore find?"she asked.
"An arrest record for Franklin Howard as long as my arm, and threatening notes directed toward Margaret," Derek said.
Alison knew how that felt.
"Give me a second and I’ll bring the reports up."Derek tapped on the keyboard to open the files Detective Moore had emailed him."Okay, so get this," Derek told her as he read from the files."In the year before the divorce, police were called five times to their residence for a domestic dispute; three times by a neighbor and twice by Margaret.On all five occasions, he was taken down to the station, but he was only charged once, and that came to nothing."
"The same residence she was living in when she was killed?"Alison asked.
"Yeah," Derek confirmed."She must have gotten it in the divorce."
"So, the apple didn't fall far from the tree," Alison said."Or it falls sideways, maybe.Calvin was violent, and so was Franklin.I’d hazard a guess that Franklin was on Calvin’s side when it came to Margaret testifying at the trial.I’ve read dozens of domestic violence reports.I wouldn’t be surprised if Margaret recanted any accusations or was too scared to have them press charges against her husband.Maybe testifying against Calvin was her way of finally breaking free."
"That’s not all, though," Derek said."Franklin wasn’t charged with domestic abuse, but he was charged with one count of assault, and soon after getting out for that, he was charged with a second count of assault.These were both after the divorce.He spent his first sentence in the same prison as his cousin, and the second in a different prison, but apparently, he was active with the prison gangs in both."
"All right, so he knew prison people, and so did Calvin by association."
"Sir?"a young female researcher said from the doorway.
"Yes?"Derek asked.
"I called the prison to ask about any visitors for Calvin Reynolds," she said."He’s only had one visitor over the past six months, his cousin, Franklin Howard.Franklin visits him once a week, every week.Always on Wednesday afternoons."
"Good, thank you," Derek said.
"He’s still close with his cousin," Alison said."That’s Calvin’s link to the outside world."
"He was already the number one suspect after being at the house, but he’s just gone up a notch if that’s possible," Derek said."Calvin’s doing his time no matter what.Maybe the two of them have been plotting this for five years, waiting for the perfect time to take revenge.It’s long enough that they wouldn’t be immediately suspected.They couldn’t have done it right after the court case—Franklin would have been brought in immediately."
"I want to know when the alarm system was put in," Alison said."If it were when they were still married, Franklin would know the system.Maybe the time spent was not about waiting for the right time, but learning how to bypass the system.Although if he wanted to go after her, he could have gotten to her more easily."
"She wouldn’t expect it," Derek said."He took his time to kill her.He wanted to make her suffer.He needed a place where he knew she would be alone and no one would stumble upon them."
"Perhaps," Alison said.
"I’ll call the security company and see when the security system was put in," Derek said.
"Wait, you said there were threats, too," Alison said.
"I haven’t looked at them yet, but that’s the nail in the coffin," Derek said."I’ll send them over, and you can take a look while I make the call."
Alison switched tabs to open her email and download the file Derek sent her.It was far more extensive than she expected.
It seems like visiting your cousin in jail is not the only thing you do on a regular basis.
The file contained copies of emails sent by Franklin and ignored by Margaret.Perhaps not ignored, but no replies were sent.She might have opened some of them in the months after the divorce, but Alison hoped Margaret had ignored them completely after that, sending them straight to the recycling bin.She scrolled through the emails, which came in at two a month on average, except for the two times he was in prison.
A lot of them spoke about the big mistake Margaret had made in leaving him, with one or two over the year mentioning the testimony against his cousin.There were threats mingled among them.He warned her that he would get her back and do what it took to make her his, and if she didn't come back to him, she would be sorry.
There were public threats and insults too on her social media.He called her names that no one should be called in public, and accused her of cheating on him and other things that had destroyed the marriage.The threats on social media stopped two years after they had started.Alison suspected that Margret had shut down her social media in response.
The email threats continued until about two weeks ago, which meant the police had taken no action, and it was unclear whether Margaret had even filed a report.She scanned through the threats.There were a lot, showing that Franklin was obviously someone unhinged and unable to let go.Five years after his divorce, he was still messaging her.It was as if it had become a habit or a ritual—there was always safety and comfort in that, even if they hurt the other person.
She stopped on one message, reading over it a few times.It had been sent to Margaret two months ago.
You need to stop being such a bitch.You know what you did, and you’ll get what you deserve; don't worry about that.I’ll make sure of it myself.
It was vague enough that it wouldn’t hold up in court, but put side by side with the recent murder, it could easily be read as a death threat.
