Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (31 page)

There was a plus.

It was surrounded by nothing but trees and more trees. It appeared after spending time in jail, he wanted to feel the freedom of nature.

They couldn’t blame him. A six by six cell would do that to a person.

As they crossed the driveway, toward the door, the men were cautious. Neither Fed really wanted to be shot. So, they were ready for anything Nolan could throw out.

As they knocked, they heard him moving around.

When the door opened, there stood a clean cut man.

“Yes?”

“Nolan Parker?”

“Yes, who are you?”

They both pulled their badges.

He studied them. “I’ve checked in with my parole officer, I’m gainfully employed, and I’ve been doing my community service. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it’s bullshit.”

Yeah, that’s what they all said.

Nate wasn’t buying it.

Once a criminal, there was always that lure.

“We’re here to ask you some questions about Judge Abrahms, Lucian Monroe, and Dale Plunkett.”

The man didn’t bat an eyelash.

“What about them?”

“When’s the last time you saw the men?”

“That’s easy. Lucian Monroe got me convicted and the judge sentenced me to jail. As for Dale, he did his best to get me off, but it didn’t work. It was about eleven years ago, I guess.”

“And that’s the last time?”

“Yeah, I just got out.”

“Where do you hang out?” Luke asked. “Is there someplace where we can double check everything you’ve told us?”

“I don’t hang out. I work and then I come home. I’ve turned my life around.”

“Uh, okay. Do you have anyone who can corroborate your whereabouts on the last two nights and this morning?”

“I was with my new girlfriend.”

They waited for a name. Finally, Nate knew he wasn’t going to give them anything.

“How about you tell us her name?”

“Her name is Starla and she works at the B & B in town. She’ll tell you I’m not causing no trouble.”

They scribbled down the address.

“She’ll say you weren’t out killing anyone?” Nate asked, staring past the man and into the small house. It was neat, clean, and didn’t set off any alarms.

“She will. I go to work, we have dinner, and then maybe we have sex. I always come home. I have to stick within the parameters of my parole.”

They weren’t buying it.

Something felt off.

Nate could feel it. “Where did you meet this Starla?”

“There was an ad in the paper for a general maintenance man, so I applied. I didn’t think I’d get it, but Starla is a good person. She needed help, and I needed to get back on my feet. Crime doesn’t pay.”

Yeah, they were well aware.

They just weren’t sure he was really rehabilitated after his incarceration.

It didn’t always happen.

“We’re going to head there and have a talk with her. If she corroborates your alibi, we’ll leave you alone.”

“I get it. You’re just doing your job. I’m supposed to be heading to work soon. Do you need me to hold back so you can talk to her alone?”

They stared at him.

“Did you find Jesus?” Luke asked. The man was way too calm, and he was getting suspicious. They’d seen this before with other parolees.

“Yes, I actually did. It’s helped me get over the anger. My life was missing something. It was him.”

They stared at him as if he was insane. To them, they’d prefer the anger. It was less crazy.

“Thank you, Mr. Parker.”

“No problem. Tell Starla that I’ll be a little late. I don’t like to make my lady worry.”

They headed back toward the vehicle.

“That was damn weird.”

“You think?” Nate said.

“I don’t know what to believe.”

“Yeah, me either. Let’s go talk to
‘Starla baby’
. Maybe she can shed some light on the subject. After all, this guy seems to be medicated.”

He was aware.

Hopefully, she’d shed some light on the entire thing.

They were getting nowhere fast.

Chapter Fourteen

He had to save her.

Lucian didn’t want anything to happen to Bishop or her career. He genuinely had feelings for her. There was only one thing he could do to protect her.

He’d have to go to the source.

Pulling out his cellphone, he called the number he’d held onto for a very long time. He saved it not to rekindle, but in case he ever needed to tell her off.

Dialing, as he sat in his office, he waited for her voice to come over the line.

As soon as it did, he regretted it.

“Well, well, well, Lucian Monroe. What do you know? It’s been a long time since you’ve called me.”

Yeah, he’d vowed hell would freeze over.

“What can I do for you, lover?”

“Leave her alone, Wendy.”

There was laughter. Wendy didn’t need to ask who he was talking about. She knew the man on the phone, and of course, he was going to throw himself on his sword for her.

He was pathetic.

“Now why would I do that? She’s taken up with the most mysterious man in the city, and that’s news. Add that to the fact that she’s investigating a murder and you’re involved. That’s even better fodder for the evening news.”

“She’s only doing her job. Cut her a break, Wendy. You’re making it harder for her and easier for the killer.”

She found him amusing.

Honestly, they’d had some fun, but he wasn’t her type. Oh, she loved that he’d gotten her recognition on his arm, but other than that, Lucian Monroe wasn’t worth the effort.

He was too high maintenance for her.

And now…

He was too damn ugly. She wouldn’t let him walk her dog, if she had one. She was photogenic, gorgeous, and going places. He’d lost that luster when he’d been practically blown up.

Still…

She felt sorry for him.

He was a beast. If the sheriff didn’t mind fucking that, more power to her.

“I tell you what, Lucian. Since we go way back, maybe if you explain what you see in her, I’ll leave her alone. Honestly, I can’t figure it out? She’s not your type. She’s not polished, she’s not drop dead gorgeous, and I can’t imagine she’s hot in bed. She’s the sheriff. She is beneath you—or she was at one time.”

He wouldn’t give her anything to use against him or Bishop. “She’s trying to protect and serve. Leave me out of this. Her job has nothing to do with me.”

More laughter.

“Darling, you are this job. Your case has never been solved. I want to dig in, find out what’s going on, and spread the news. Aren’t you curious who nearly killed you, Lucian? Aren’t you curious who blew your sexiness away?”

He wouldn’t let her hurt him.

“What’s done, is done.”

“Not for me. I love a mystery, and I want to find out everything. That’s the difference between us, Lucian. I love information. I love the scary bits that no one thinks about. I love making people gasp and worry.”

“Know what I do wonder, Wendy?”

“What, lover?”

He hated her calling him that, but if he said a word, she’d keep going. Then she’d make it hellish. So, Lucian let it go, like he did with most of Wendy’s BS.

“Why do you hate me, Wendy? You’re the one who walked out on me. I was nearly killed, and you bailed. Why are you being a bitch?”

He was so glad he hadn’t been the one to dump her. When he’d called her, he was going to have her come see him. He wanted to tell her goodbye so he could be with Bishop. If that had happened, Wendy really would have crucified Bishop the last ten years.

There was a small blessing.

“Maybe it was because when I showed up to see you, that red haired cop wannabe was holding onto my fiancé like he was hers.”

He knew that wasn’t it.

Wendy didn’t care.

He knew how she worked. If it mattered, Wendy would have pounced, kicking Bishop’s ass. Instead, she tossed the ring and walked out.

“You saw me and took off, Wendy. I was too ugly to fit into your world. I used to listen to lies all day. I know one when I hear one.”

She laughed. “You’re right, lover. That little moppet had nothing to do with it. Let’s face it. That day, when you nearly died, our ride was over. I didn’t really plan to marry you, Lucian. I don’t like to be tied down. You were fun, but I needed something different in my life. I needed someone who wasn’t going to play Quasi-fucking-modo in that mansion of yours.”

Her words hurt, but he’d swallow them for Bishop. He’d take that arrow right to his already battered heart to save her. She deserved it. This was his last shot at getting Wendy off her back.

“What will it take to get you to cut her a break?”

She thought about it.

Lucian could hear the wheels turning.

This was going to cost him a lot—he could tell.

“You let me do a story on you, what happened, and what life is like now. You come on camera and let the world see how the mighty have fallen.”

That was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t need people staring at him, and he certainly didn’t want their pity. The whole thing made him sick.

“Will you leave her alone?”

“Will you do it, lover?”

“Yes. I’ll sit with you, but not until this case is over. The sheriff doesn’t need the heat.”

“Do you call her that in bed, Lucian? Is she your sexy little sheriff? Does that get you off? Can you even get it up after all these years?”

He bit his tongue.

There was no way he was telling Wendy anything, and he wasn’t commenting on his sex life. Wendy, while she didn’t want him, if she thought Bishop really cared, she’d ruin her whole life. No one said no to Wendy.

She was the queen bitch.

“I’ll do the interview. Leave her the hell alone.”

He hung up the phone, walked to his bathroom and began purging everything in his system. Between the killer, Avalon in his mind, Wendy, and the news ragging on Bishop, he was worn down.

Lucian sat against the wall, his head in his hands.

What had he done?

He only hoped Bishop understood why he’d done it.

And what, in the end, it had cost him.

Everything…

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Courthouse Judge’s

Chamber

They headed in wearing gloves. At this point, she wasn’t taking any chances. If her deputy hadn’t done the deed, then it meant that someone had to have been in the judge’s chambers.

That meant they had been listening.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Wendy Lockwood was as guilty as sin over this one, and she was going to make sure if she’d broken the law, she paid.

This was her father’s legacy, her duty, and she wasn’t going to let a gold digger make a mockery of justice.

It wasn’t happening.

Screw her.

“What are we looking for, Sheriff?” Deputy Alonzo asked, moving around the space.

She honed in on the wall.

There were pictures missing. She’d taken the one of Lucian and the judge, but now there were three others gone.

Shit!

Who had been in there?

“Is there anything that will tie us to someone eavesdropping on our conversation?”

He dropped to the floor and slid beneath the desk to look around.

Bishop did the same, running her hands beneath the bookshelves, feeling for anything.

Nothing.

Maybe the person who took the pictures came back.

“Boss?”

She glanced over.

He was by the water cooler and pulling something from behind it. In Alonzo’s hand, there was a digital recorder.

She’d seen it before.

Or one just like it.

It was the same one that Gaylor Zimmer had in his pocket when she did his interview. He’d taken it out, and it was identical.

They had a spy.

Perfect
.

Now what was she supposed to do about it? Bishop didn’t know much about this kind of thing, but she wasn’t sure it wasn’t transmitting. It was better safe than sorry.

“We need something to transport it in.”

Alonzo found a jar on the judge’s desk with a lid that sealed. He dumped out the candy so Bishop could drop the device inside.

“What the bloody hell?” she asked.

“It looks like someone bugged the judge’s chambers. That can’t be a good thing. If he was talking about cases in here, then that person was privy to everything.”

Oh, she was well aware.

This could mean mistrials out the wazoo. Everything the judge had presided over was going to have to be reviewed.

Heads were going to roll.

“What are you going to do, Sheriff?”

On top of everything else, even if this had nothing to do with the murders, she couldn’t let it slide.

She had to find out who this recorder belonged to, and soon. Then she’d start tracking down that mystery too.

Find a serial killer.

Protect Lucian.

Find a spy.

Do her job.

Holy hell.

She needed a break.

And soon.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Graymoor

Jagger was restless.

He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t eat, and top of it all, he found himself pacing patterns in the floor.

Frankly, it was making Maura edgy. He was normally the calm one. If the shit was about to hit the fan, Jagger would make sure it stayed an even keel.

Now…not so much.

Maura thought back to what Avalon had said about the man and his impending issues. Closing the file she was going through, she opted to reach out to the man.

Avalon was right.

They were a family.

“Are you okay, Jagger? You look like you’re about to peel yourself out of your skin.”

He glanced over. “What?”

“What’s going on?”

He didn’t know.

For the first time in his life, he was confused. This never happened to him before. He knew he wanted to be a Marine.

So he did it.

He knew he wanted to be on Special Forces.

Again, he took care of business.

He knew he wanted to screw the hell out of the doctor.

Yeah, he’d handled that too.

Only…

That’s when it went haywire.

Since when had sex tied him up so much? It was a release. It was a way to get off, feel the endorphin rush, and burn some calories.

Then it was something to forget.

Only his brain was holding on. He was haunted by Roxanne Faust.

Why?

Who the hell knew?

“You can talk about it if you want,” she offered. “We’re here for you. It’s clear you’re tied up in knots. Is this about the coroner?”

He stared at Maura, weighing his options. She might have a clue. After all, she was a woman.

That gave her insight.

The only other female he felt comfortable with was his sister, and he wasn’t calling her to ask about sex.

That was totally weird and crossing a line.

“Am I a dick?”

There.

He asked it.

She started laughing. “You are absolutely a dick.”

“Well, thanks. I feel so much better. Never mind,” he muttered.

He went to leave.

“Wait. Let me explain.”

How the hell was she going to explain that? If he was a dick, he was a dick. It was fairly cut and dried. He just didn’t think Maura would say it.

Then again, she knew about his conquests. She’d once said she’d rather screw a stick than let him use her.

He probably deserved that comment.

“It’s your charm, Jagger. You’re not really a dick. You have this veneer that gives the impression that nothing bothers you, that you’re not reachable, and that you’re cold.”