It Should Be a Crime (28 page)

Parker channeled her thoughts into a simple answer. “Yes. And if she was poisoned before she was shot, it raises some doubt as to the identity of her killer or even as to whether she was already dead when she was shot.” Her words were directed at Morgan and for the next few moments it felt as if they were the only ones in the room.

“What support do you have for the proposition she was poisoned?” Morgan’s question was direct and Parker felt like she was on the witness stand.

“I was looking at the crime scene photos and realized something seemed off. Teddy Burke told the cops he heard a gunshot and within moments called nine-one-one. The first police unit arrived on the scene within fifteen minutes. The autopsy report puts the time of death right around the time of the nine-one-one call.”

Parker paused and Ford prompted her along. “Nothing out of the ordinary there.”

“Look at the photos,” Parker responded. “These were taken by the crime scene investigator, about an hour after the first unit arrived on the scene. Camille Burke is in full rigor.” Parker pointed at one of the photographs. “No gunshot victim goes into rigor that fast.”

“How do you make the jump she was poisoned?” Ford asked.

“It’s a hunch. I worked a case once where an angry wife put a heaping dose of strychnine in her husband’s morning coffee. She waited till he finished convulsing and called for an ambulance. She told the paramedics who found him dead under the kitchen table that he had a history of heart disease and that he had probably suffered a heart attack. The hospital doctor was suspicious about the condition of his body and ordered a toxicology report. The guy, like Camille, was in full rigor mortis, just an hour after he had died. The toxicology report showed the presence of large amounts of strychnine, which causes the body to experience such strong convulsions that the victim’s body contorts into weird positions and rigor mortis sets in almost immediately after death. That just doesn’t happen from a gunshot wound.”

Ford pressed. “What were the toxicology results?”

“No report was done.” Parker took a deep breath. Even as she spoke, she sensed Morgan and the others doubted she had the expertise necessary to draw the conclusion she had. She ended with a statement designed to bolster her supposition. “When I discussed this information with Dr. Williams, I detected a reaction from her. If this were her case, she would’ve ordered a tox screen to see if she could confirm the poison angle.” She instantly regretted her words.

Morgan came up out of her chair. “You discussed this with who?”

“Dr. Williams. A medical examiner. Not the one who did the autopsy. She said we would need to get the prosecutor or detective to instruct her to run additional tests or obtain a court order.”

“Parker, what the hell were you thinking? She’s a county employee. Anything you tell her, she’s going to run off and share with the prosecutor. If you had a valid theory—big if—then we would bring in an independent expert to determine if it was something worth following up on. Now, even if you are onto something, the other side knows it and can do whatever they think necessary to subvert our efforts. Typical cop—not thinking things through.” Morgan was so angry, she didn’t realize she had spoken the last thought out loud, but she could tell her words cut Parker to the core. She could see the pain in Parker’s eyes and she fought dueling desires to comfort and to push away. She decided the latter was the best path for both of them and she resisted the urge to soften her blows. “I’m tempted to ask you to leave the team.”

Parker hid her hurt, but let her anger show full force. Staring directly at Morgan, she pronounced, “No need. Consider me gone.”

Morgan felt foolish as she watched Parker stalk out of the room. She hadn’t expected her to actually leave. She’d imagined they would exchange more angry words but would then put their differences aside. The last thing she wanted was for Parker to quit the team, especially now that she had decided to forgo a chance at a relationship. If Parker quit now, she wouldn’t get any credit for the long semester’s work. Addressing the group, she suggested they take a break. The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Jake and Dex shot out of the room. Ford pulled up a chair to sit beside her and asked, “Do you want to talk about what’s going on?”

“You mean my lack of temperament for this teaching job?” Morgan knew what he meant and she wondered how many of the others caught the undercurrent of the conflict between her and Parker. She loved Ford like a brother, but she couldn’t get into the details now. She needed every ounce of her composure for the battles of the week ahead. Avoiding his eyes, she said, “I’m sorry for the outburst. I’m not used to being ambushed by someone on my side. I know she was trying to help, but her methods took me by surprise.”

Ford looked at her for an extended time as if divining her true thoughts. Finally, he spoke and his words were layered with meaning. “She’s not your average law student.”

*

Parker’s strides were long and carried her quickly down the hall. She heard light footfalls behind her but ignored them in her haste to get away.

“Parker, wait. I want to talk to you.”

Parker glanced back and saw Gerald trying to catch up to her. What the hell was he doing?
Of all the people I thought might try to get me to come back, he’s the last candidate. Besides Morgan,
she added.
After all, she’s the one who wanted me to leave so badly she would shame me in front of the rest of the group.
Curiosity overtook her desire to flee and she stopped.

“What is it, Gerald?” she snapped.

“Don’t be mad at me. I’m not the one who threw you off the team.”

Parker tempered her tone. “Sorry. Look, I’m in a hurry to get out of here. Is there something you want?”

“I was checking to see if you were all right.”

The gleam in his eyes told Parker right away he was lying.
Checking to see if I’m all right. Fat chance.
More like he was gloating at her distress.
This guy isn’t even human.
Parker wasn’t up for another confrontation, though, and she decided it would be easier to play along.

“I’m fine. I just need to get out of here. Did you need something else?” The question was dismissive. Parker wasn’t remotely prepared for Gerald’s next words.

“I mean, it must hurt to have your lover betray you, especially in front of so many others.”

Parker felt a slow sour curl in her belly and the taste of bile rendered her speechless. Gerald took her silence as tacit permission to continue his ramblings.

“She’s not all that. You could do so much better. I know it must have been nice to be her favorite, considering you’re so focused on beating everyone else out to graduate first in our class. I know you would do anything to achieve your goals, but her? She’s washed up. If she isn’t, then why is she here teaching? How lucky for you she’s a man-hating dyke. Too bad she’s also a user. She used you for a good time and gave you nothing in return. Bet you were counting on a much bigger return on your investment. Well, you’ll be happy to know she won’t be teaching here much longer, so I guess all your efforts were for nothing.”

Roaring rage blacked out all other emotion. Parker grabbed Gerald’s shirt and slammed him against the wall. She twisted the cloth of his shirt and watched with satisfaction as red rose from his constricted neck to his scared and darting eyes. She twisted harder, ignoring the pull of strong hands on her shoulders.

“Parker, for crying out loud, let him go.” It took both Dex and Jake to pull her off the whimpering Gerald. She was in kill mode and continued to fight against their grasp even as Gerald ran down the hall, far away from her fury.

With Gerald gone, Parker directed her anger at the others. “Leave me alone.”

Dex grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Why? So you can beat the hell out of Gerald? What did he say to you?”

Parker struggled to regain her composure. She had no desire to rehash what had transpired. More than anything she wanted to get away from this place since it no longer held familiarity and comfort. Getting involved with Morgan was the stupidest move she had ever made. She had broken her rule of mixing work and pleasure, and the price she paid was safety. Years of education, her stellar GPA, her class standing—all were no longer safe because she traded a few grabs at lust for the prize of scholarship and success. Apparently, the lessons she learned from her lost career had been for nothing. All she wanted right now was to be alone—her only sanctuary.

She faced him. “Dex, let me go. I swear I won’t go after him.”

He held her for several seconds longer as if unsure whether to believe her assurances. Finally, he released his grasp. “Wanna talk about what just happened?”

“No.” She started to say more but saw Jake standing patiently behind Dex. “Not right now.”

“Forget about him. Come work out with me.”

“I don’t have the energy.” Parker knew Dex was trying to distract her from the swirl of thoughts and maybe he was right. A brutal hour of weightlifting might be exactly what she needed. Trade one kind of pain for another. She was torn, but her desire to be alone and safe won out. “All I want to do right now is leave here.” Seeing the hurt look in Dex’s eyes, she tossed out a compromise. “Let’s talk later. Call me.”

He nodded and she almost felt bad. She knew she wouldn’t answer when he called. She was already erecting walls and couldn’t risk her safety by allowing anyone in. She would say whatever was necessary to leave in peace and begin her task.

*

Parker heard the doorbell and ignored it. She didn’t want to see or talk to anyone. The doorbell kept up its insistent ringing and she willed her mind to another place. Finally, she heard the front door open and the ringing stopped. The sound of a woman’s insistent voice roused her from her stupor.

“I need to talk to Parker. Now.”

Kelsey’s reply was forceful. “Look, Detective. Unless you have a warrant, you don’t have any right to push your way in here. Tell me what you want and then I’ll decide if it’s worth bothering her.”

“Kelsey, I know you’re trying to protect her, but I’m only here to help. I have some information Parker asked me to get. I think she’s going to want to see it.”

“Go away, Skye. Don’t you think you’ve caused her enough pain in one lifetime?”

Skye entreated again. “Please, Kelsey. I know Parker doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, but I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important.”

Kelsey relented. “Come in, but wait down here. I’ll ask if she wants to see you. If she doesn’t, I’ll need you to leave. Understood?”

As Parker listened to Kelsey climb the stairs, she wondered what Skye was doing on her doorstep on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe it wasn’t Sunday. Parker couldn’t really be sure. Kelsey didn’t knock before she entered. The room was dimly lit, but Kelsey’s gasp told Parker she’d been spotted. Parker looked over at the mirror and saw she was dressed in the same clothes she’d worn home Friday night. Dark circles surrounded her red-rimmed eyes. Her usually wavy hair hung limp and lifeless. Kelsey sat on the arm of her chair and drew her close. Stroking her head, she murmured endearing comforts. “Honey, whatever it is you’re going to be okay. We’ve gotten through worse before, I’m sure of it. Let it go, sweetheart, let it go.”

Parker leaned into Kelsey’s arms and tried to let go of the hurt, the pain. She’d spent the last two days thinking, and her thoughts were driving her further inward. She knew it wasn’t healthy. She knew action had the greater power to heal, but she wasn’t ready to heal. She had only enough energy to wallow in her pain, soak it in, and make sure the memory of it was so ingrained in her being she could never allow it to catch her by surprise again.

Kelsey held Parker for a long time before broaching the subject of Parker’s visitor. “Parker, Skye’s downstairs. She insists she needs to see you.”

When the doorbell rang, Parker had half expected it to be Morgan. She had refused to take any of Morgan’s many calls. Kelsey had finally unplugged the phone. Parker told herself seeing Morgan was the last thing she wanted, but she had to admit it wasn’t completely true. Even so, Parker experienced relief that the woman who showed up on her doorstep was Skye.
Things have certainly changed.

“What does she want?”

“I don’t know. If you don’t want to see her, I’ll gladly send her packing. She has a folder and said she has some information you want.”

Parker had no doubt Kelsey could send Skye firmly on her way, and normally, she would enjoy watching her loyal friend drive Skye from the house. But her inner voice told her it would have taken a complete submersion of pride for Skye to show up here again so soon after being rejected. Parker’s curiosity won out.

“As much as I’d like to see you kick her ass, I want to know what’s she’s got to show me more.” Parker glanced down at herself. “I’m pretty ripe. Let me grab a quick shower and I’ll be right down.”

Kelsey smiled. “I’ll tell her you’ll be down when you’re damn well ready.”

*

“Skye?”

“You look pretty ragged.”

Parker managed a grin. “You always know the perfect thing to say.” Waving off a retort, she added, “Should’ve seen me thirty minutes ago.” Pointing at the folder in Skye’s hand, she asked, “Kelsey said you had something for me.”

“I do.” Skye shoved the folder toward Parker, but held tightly to one end. “I haven’t shown this to anyone else.”