It Should Be a Crime (14 page)

“Casey?”

Parker turned slowly and stood face-to-face with her former lover, Skye Keaton. She stifled a low moan at the raw energy crackling between them and bit out her words.

“Skye. It’s been a long time.”

Skye Keaton’s usually stoic face was flushed, but Parker didn’t truly register the impact of their reunion until she felt Skye’s hand grasp her arm. The touch, though brief and light, branded her with memories. They stood in the tiny hall lined with doors as people pushed past, but to Parker it felt like they were completely alone.

Skye broke the silence and gave Parker a frank appraisal. “You look good, Parker.”

Parker traded looks with equal measure. Detective Skye Keaton looked exactly the same as she had the last time Parker had seen her, tall and blond with velvet gray eyes sporting a jaunty glint. Time had been kind to her former partner in the homicide department of the DPD. “So do you. Bet you never thought you’d see me back here.”

“Not again, no, I didn’t.” Skye stared hard into Parker’s eyes. “You’re not in trouble, are you?” A softness broke through her cop’s tough tone and Parker was touched.

“Good afternoon, Parker.” They started at the approach of Morgan Bradley. Spell broken, Parker registered how close she was standing to Skye, and the flash of Morgan’s eyes told her she had noticed.

Morgan stuck out a hand in Skye’s direction. “I’m Morgan Bradley. And you are?”

Skye shook Morgan’s outstretched hand. “Detective Keaton.”

“I see. Aren’t you the lead on the Burke case?” At Skye’s nod, Morgan continued. “Then you’ll be joining us?”

“Us?” Skye shot a questioning look at Parker. “Uh, yes. I think we’re meeting in the jury room. I’ll get Gibson and meet you there.” Skye looked at Parker again and shook her head before stepping into the DA workroom.

“Do you know her?” Morgan asked, her tone a blend of curiosity and suspicion.

“I used to.” Parker let her answer fall flat. She hadn’t had a moment alone with Morgan since seeing her at the vigil for Camille Burke. The last thing she wanted to do in these few seconds was to talk about Skye Keaton. “Morgan, I—”

Skye emerged from the workroom with a skinny blonde in tow, cutting Parker’s words short. “Parker Casey, Morgan Bradley, this is Valerie Gibson. She’s prosecuting the case.”

Gibson asked, “Shall we get started?”

“Lead the way. Ford’s trapped in a hearing, but we’re expecting two others and they should be here shortly. They—” Morgan stopped short as the outer doors opened and Gerald and Dex walked through. “Here they are. Let’s get started.”

Gibson ran the show, but it was obvious Skye’s knowledge of the case far outweighed the young prosecutor’s. Skye laid out the evidence she and her partner, Detective Peterson, had gathered, which included the autopsy and ballistics reports, crime scene photos, statements from various employees of the Burke household, and the most damning evidence of all, Teddy Burke’s statement placing Luis over Camille Burke’s dead body. As Skye outlined the evidence against Luis, she was as cocky as Parker remembered.

“As you can see here, we have a ballistics match on the gun and Chavez’s prints were all over it. As if that weren’t enough, Chavez’s boot prints were all over the scene, and when he was arrested he was wearing the very same boots, with traces of the vic’s blood on the soles. I guess he was too busy running from his deed to think about buying new shoes.” Parker winced at Skye’s sarcastic tone.

“Detective, I assume you are prepared to provide us with copies of any statements you obtained from our client?” Morgan was the only one who would ask any questions during the meeting.

Skye shot Morgan a withering glance that Parker knew she reserved for all defense attorneys, but Morgan just smiled. “He admitted to being there, all right, but he just made up some crazy story about how he just found the body. Claims he didn’t kill her.”

Morgan pressed her. “And you have a copy for us to review?”

“Sure. You’re welcome to review all the damning evidence against your client before he goes to the pen.”

“Thank you.” Morgan’s tone was syrupy sweet. “I’ll be sure to take a careful look at everything.”

Parker was miserable for the entire hour they spent in the meeting. Morgan was distant, barely looking her way. Parker ached to talk to Morgan privately and resented the need to explain the interaction with Skye. While competing emotions warred within, outwardly she made a show of carefully reviewing the evidence and filed away her thoughts to be shared when the air was clear.

The session wrapped up, Skye and the prosecutor gathered up the evidence and escorted the defense team back through the courtroom. While Morgan spoke to the prosecutor about the logistics of obtaining copies of the evidence they had reviewed, Skye grabbed Parker by the arm and pulled her aside.

“Would you like to tell me what the hell you are doing here, working on this case?”

Parker struggled to ignore the fact Skye’s lips were so close she could feel the intense vibration of her angry tone. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t be coy. You know what I mean. Since when did you cross over to the dark side?”

Parker couldn’t believe Skye could ask such an impudent question knowing all Parker had gone through and that she was the cause of much of her pain. Parker made no attempt to hide her anger, and her voice shook with intensity. “Since standing in the light burned away my soul.” Shrugging off Skye’s hand, she turned to leave and ran smack into Dex and Gerald talking to Ford. All three men stopped their conversation and stared at her with gaping mouths. Annoyed she would have to make up some explanation for the exchange, Parker mowed past them and made long and purposeful strides away from the courtroom.

*

Morgan raised her hand to knock on the door, but lowered it again. She’d walked from a nearby coffee shop having no idea the skies would open and douse her with a pounding torrent of rain. Cursing herself for not paying closer attention to the weather, she surveyed her appearance. She was drenched, her silk suit ruined.

She was only half surprised when Gerald and Dex told her Parker had already left the courthouse by the time she emerged from the prosecutor’s office. They had no answer for her questions about Parker’s abrupt departure. Ford, who showed up after his hearing, pulled her aside and whispered questions of his own. Morgan was determined to find answers. Something happened between Parker and the lead investigator Skye Keaton. She wasn’t sure if it had happened that day or sometime in the past. The two women clearly knew each other, and the heat emanating from their interaction was clearly visible to Morgan’s watchful eye. She refused to acknowledge the real reason behind her desire to know more about what she had witnessed. Instead Morgan rationalized she had a duty to check on Parker—who, according to the guys, had stormed out of the building. She navigated her way to Parker’s lower Greenville neighborhood. Something, perhaps the desire to fortify herself, made her stop at a nearby strip of businesses where she sought guidance in the form of cappuccino. Caffeinated, she left her SUV and walked the block to Parker’s house.

Now, standing in front of Parker’s door, she hesitated. She looked frightful, her once crisp suit now splotched and bunchy from the rain. Parker had looked amazing at the courthouse. Morgan had grown accustomed to seeing her dressed in jeans and T-shirts and was as thrown by the sight of her in a well-tailored suit as she was to see her engaged in intimate conversation with Detective Keaton. Surveying herself, Morgan decided not only did she look frightful, she wasn’t confident she would be welcome. What if Parker wasn’t here and one of her roommates answered? The thought wasn’t fully formed when the door swung open and she was face-to-face with Kelsey James.

“Oh my God, you’re soaking wet!” Kelsey grabbed Morgan’s arm and pulled her into the foyer. “Let me get you a towel. I’ll be right back.”

Morgan stood dripping on the cool marble tiles, unable to muster a response to the display of spontaneous hospitality. For a moment, she contemplated leaving, but she knew her sudden departure back into the swirling storm would not only seem odd, it would probably result in her catching a cold, and she couldn’t afford to be ill right now.

Moments later, Morgan joined Kelsey in the kitchen and watched her as she fixed a welcome cup of tea. She was as dry as a towel could get her, but she shivered in her wet clothes.

“Seriously, Morgan, I think you should change. Between your wet clothes and the air-conditioning, you’re going to catch a cold. I’m going to get you a pair of scrubs. Doctor’s orders.”

When Kelsey returned with a well-worn set of light green scrubs, Morgan excused herself to the bathroom to change. She surveyed herself in the mirror and once again questioned her judgment in showing up on Parker’s doorstep. Kelsey hadn’t asked her why she was here, and at this point, Morgan was embarrassed to admit she was trailing around after Parker. She wondered what Kelsey knew about their relationship besides the fact Morgan had spent the night on at least one occasion. Was Parker even home? She tried to ignore the fact she was now barefoot and dressed in loose-fitting scrubs, and reentered the kitchen with a confidence she did not feel. Kelsey’s smile was warm and the tea she handed Morgan was welcome. For the next few moments, they sat in silence.

Finally, Kelsey broke the ice. “I imagine you’re looking for Parker?”

“Yes.”

“She’s not here. I haven’t seen her since lunch. She said she was heading to the courthouse.”

Morgan nodded.

“Actually, I thought she would be with you,” Kelsey ventured.

“She was. But she left suddenly and I didn’t get a chance to discuss an important issue with her. I was hoping to find her here.” Morgan’s voice trailed off and she glanced away.

Kelsey plunged in. “Morgan?”

“Yes.”

“I know Parker’s one of your students.”

Morgan waited, knowing she wasn’t finished.

“And I know there’s something more personal going on between you two.”

Morgan didn’t know how to respond. Certainly, what she had shared with Parker in the room upstairs was personal in the same way naked want and need was personal. How could she explain to her the contrast between feeling physically intimate with Parker and feeling as if she knew nothing about her?

Kelsey saved her from her dilemma. “Look, I know you’ve slept together and I know your respective roles have to put some strain on the situation. I also know I haven’t seen you around here since we met at breakfast a few weeks ago, and Parker’s been moping around lately like she lost her best friend. Since I’m her best friend, I figure it’s something else. Now you show up here in the middle of a thunderstorm, soaking wet, and I can’t help but wonder if your feelings for my friend transcend your reservations about propriety.”

Morgan couldn’t conceal her surprise at the blunt discourse and she stared at her. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say I’m right. Say you care about Parker and not merely her worth as a future lawyer. Say you’ll be true to your feelings and you won’t hurt her.”

Morgan looked away. “I do care about Parker, but as you say, we’ve only shared a bed.” She winced at the harsh assessment, knowing they had shared much more. “We don’t know anything about each other, and the only reason we even know each other’s last names is because I’m her teacher and she’s my student—a situation I can’t do anything about.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I don’t know. She was upset when she left today. I want to know why. I want to know if I can do anything about it.”

“What was she upset about?”

“I don’t know. She seemed to be upset after talking to a detective at the courthouse. At first, I didn’t understand why, but I think I may have a little insight now.”

“A detective? Who was it?”

“Skye Keaton. Why, do you know her?”

“I’ve only met her once.”

Morgan smiled at the evasive answer. “Ms. James, you didn’t answer the question.”

“Touché. I don’t really know her. Not personally. I know about her.”

“And you’re not going to tell me anything else?” At Kelsey’s nod, she continued, “Even if I tell you I know Parker was on the force?”

Kelsey couldn’t hide the look of surprise. “How did you find out?”

“Seriously, the courthouse is like the smallest community on earth. Parker was a homicide detective. You don’t think there are more than a few attorneys who know who she is?” Morgan’s words were edged with anger and she wasn’t sure why. After Parker’s hasty exit, Ford supplied some of the information she needed to piece together why Parker had acted so strangely around Detective Skye Keaton. Yet, in this moment, Morgan wasn’t sure which part of the story surprised her more—Parker’s former life as a detective or Parker’s obvious feelings for Skye Keaton.
Why didn’t Parker tell me?
Even as she asked herself the question, she wasn’t sure which of the new revelations she had expected Parker to share.
Face it,
she told herself,
neither of you has shared anything more personal than flesh on flesh. All you’ve done since the day you discovered her sitting in the rows of your classroom was push her away. Did you expect her to respond by sharing her life story with you? And why do you care now?

Morgan didn’t have answers to the questions posed by her silent self. She only knew one thing with certainty. She had to see Parker and she had to see her now. Her compelling need drove her to push past Kelsey’s reluctance and treat her like a hostile witness.