Parker & Knight

by Remington Kane

  “You were injured badly, a head injury, that was back in late August, it’s now May.”

  The man’s eyes grew large with astonishment at the news.

  Becca appeared in the doorway and stared in at them.

  “The ambulance is on its way.”

  After months in a coma, Nico Umbria was back.

  Chapter 23

  Taggart’s was packed with happy couples on the occasion of its grand reopening.

  The new owner and operator, Timothy Hearn, had gone to considerable expense in renovating.

  The inside of the bar had been gutted and remodeled. The new seating arrangements were designed to accommodate more patrons, yet also left room for a small dance floor near the new bar.

  Modern lighting and flat screen televisions gave the place a more contemporary look and even the menu has been upgraded. In addition, the old bandstand in the rear has been renewed and is a huge part of the opening’s success.

  Four bands were hired to provide live music, all of them were local, and to Rick Parker’s untrained, but appreciative ear, the bands sounded good.

  He was working, as was his girlfriend, Heather Jones. Parker had decided to work overtime when he learned that she had to wait tables. He wasn’t there as a detective tonight, but as just another cop.

  He was dressed casually, jeans and a black T-shirt that had the word POLICE written on the back in bright yellow. His gun sat in a holster over his right hip and his badge was displayed on his belt.

  Heather, on the other hand, was dressed in far less, as the new waitress costumes were much like the old ones, shorts and a top; however, Hearn’s choice of tops had plunging necklines and revealed a generous portion of cleavage.

  Parker saw her and the other waitresses make frequent adjustments after they made any movement that required bending over, such as every time they delivered a meal to a table.

  As if she were reading his mind, Heather joined him by the end of the bar and pointed at herself.

  “Do I look like a floozy, because I feel like one,”

  “I wouldn’t arrest you if I saw you loitering on a street corner, but that outfit does lack modesty.”

  “I hate it, we all do, but I have to say, the tips are fantastic.”

  “Are you still looking for other work?”

  “Yes and no, I could get a job at the diner near my house tomorrow, but I’ll make as much here on the weekend than I would there all week, and medical school is expensive. There’s no way I’m going to let my mom pay for everything.”

  Parker looked at her and sighed.

  “I understand the finances, but I hate that outfit, and don’t think that I didn’t see that guy pawing at you before.”

  “I handled it.”

  “I know; I saw that too, it’s why I didn’t butt in.”

  Heather leaned closer.

  “How would you like to paw me after work?”

  “Absolutely, but I thought you were going home?”

  “I changed my mind, and besides, half my stuff is at your place anyway.”

  A loud noise rose from the crowd clustered by the bar, and Parker looked in that direction.

  “It looks like a fight.”

  He rushed over and saw two large men in their twenties circling each other; one of them had a bloody nose, while the other man had an eye that was quickly swelling shut.

  “Break it up guys and go home before you get into real trouble. I’ll even walk you out.”

  The two men turned to face him and he realized two things at the same time. One, the men were brothers, locals who ran a gas station he sometimes stopped at, and two, they were both drunk,

  The brother with the busted nose, the taller of the two, raised his fists and yelled.

  “You can’t tell us when to go home, who the hell do you think you are?”

  His brother forgot about their fight as well, he also turned his wrath on Parker.

  “Let’s kick his ass, Billy.”

  The man lunged at him and Parker stood still, but as the man grabbed his shirt with both hands, Parker shot a knee up into his gut. The hands left his shirt and the man began retching as he doubled over.

  The tall one, the brother named Billy, throw a left hook aimed at Parker’s head. Parker leaned back to let the drunken blow fly past, and then sent a quick right jab to the man’s chin. The man fell to the floor, dazed, and landed beside his brother, who was in the process of throwing up.

  Two cops in uniform rushed over, to make their way through the crowd watching the show. When they made it to the scene, they began cuffing the two men.

  The cops were a male and a female, Ed and Sierra. They were the newest members of the force, but Parker thought that they both did their jobs well.

  Sierra smiled at him as she hauled the much larger Billy to his dazed feet, to cuff him.

  “Do you want to make the arrest, Rick?”

  “Nope, they’re all yours,”

  “We’ll charge them with drunk and disorderly and assault on a police officer,” Ed said.

  “Skip the assault charges; I think the D and D will give them the appropriate amount of grief, also, drop them at the station and process them later, and oh yeah, place them in separate cells.”

  As Ed and Sierra hauled the brothers away, Heather came over and took Rick’s hand.

  “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

  “I’m fine, but I’ll be glad when this night is over.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t get off so that we could just enjoy it.”

  “They’ll be plenty of opportunities, the summer is just beginning, and, I have a surprise for you later.”

  Heather grinned. “What surprise?”

  “I’ll tell you when we get home, but right now I better make the rounds. We’re a little short-handed until Ed and Sierra get back.”

  “I’m taking a break at midnight; meet me at your car?”

  “You got it.”

  When Parker reached the bandstand area, he saw his partner, Joanna Knight, dancing with her boyfriend, Matt Hooper.

  She smiled and waved over at Parker as she and Hooper danced to a Latin beat. Parker waved back, before continuing through the crowd and pretending not to see the marijuana being smoked.

  He didn’t care about the weed. He had smoked his share while still a kid going to concerts at the old Philly Spectrum, and he hated to be a hypocrite.

  At the rear of the crowd sat a new structure that granted its inhabitants not only a great view of the bandstand, but also a view of the lake. Parker thought that it looked like an overgrown lifeguard station.

  Taggart’s new owners, Timothy Hearn and his bride, Rachel, were enjoying themselves up there as they looked down on all the little people.

  Rachel Hearn, who was also Parker’s ex-wife, watched him as he passed by. She had a smile on her face, and after checking to see that her husband wasn’t looking, she sent Parker a wink.

  Parker sighed, looked away from her, and went back to performing his duties.

  With the night finally over, Parker and Heather returned to his home.

  Over the last few months, Heather had been spending as much time there as at her mother’s house, as she and Parker had grown closer.

  Heather showered first, and when Parker emerged from the bathroom, he found her lying in bed watching an old movie. He no sooner lay beside her, then she put her arms around his neck and smiled.

  “What’s this surprise you were talking about?”

  Parker reached inside his pillowcase, and pulled out plane tickets.

  Heather’s mouth dropped open.

  “The Bahamas?”

  “Yes, have you ever been?”

  “No, oh, but Rick you know I don’t have much free time.”

  “I know, but look at the tickets, they’re for next month, and you will have a few days free then.”

  Heather kissed him.

  “Oh thank you for this baby, but there’s a chance I won’t be able to go
.”

  “Why? You won’t have school then,”

  “No, but remember that I applied for that research project? If I’m chosen as an assistant than I’ll be too busy to get away.”

  Parker hung his head.

  “I’d forgotten about that, but maybe the start date will be pushed back again.”

  “Or maybe I won’t be chosen to participate. I’ve made it past the first two rounds of applications, but there are still twelve of us hoping for three positions.”

  “You’ll get it, and when you do, we’ll hold off on the trip. I know how important this is to you.”

  “Important? Oh my God, it would be like a dream come true. Not only would I gain experience, but the position comes with paid tuition.”

  “Great, then you can quit Taggart’s.”

  Heather made a face.

  “You hate it that I work there, don’t you?”

  “A little, I mean you’re working for Tim Hearn and my ex-wife. Those are the last people I want you working for.”

  “I know, but I really need the money.”

  “I could help out.”

  “I’m not taking your money, besides, you’re a cop; I know they don’t pay you a fortune.”

  “That’s for sure, but the offer stands, and I still have a little money saved.”

  Heather grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

  “Enough talk,”

  Parker lifted the cover and looked beneath it at the silk nightie Heather was wearing.

  He then sighed while giving her a look of disappointment.

  “What’s that sigh for?”

  “I was hoping you’d wear your uniform to bed.”

  Heather laughed.

  “Oh, do you fantasize about that?”

  “Actually, all my fantasies involve you being naked.”

  Heather slipped out of the nightie.

  “Well then, you’re in luck,”

  Chapter 24

  Two weeks later, Taggart’s was still bustling with activity when Heather walked in to begin her shift.

  The bartender called her over to talk.

  “Hi Jerry, what’s up?”

  “The boss lady wants to see you; she’s back in the office.”

  “Mrs. Hearn? Did she say why?”

  “Nope, she just told me to send you back there.”

  “All right, thanks,”

  She entered the kitchen and was greeted by several people, most of whom she had worked with for years.

  Heather walked toward the office with a growing feeling of dread. She knew that Rachel didn’t like her, and that despite her recent marriage, she still had a thing for Parker. There was also a rumor floating around that Rachel wanted to fire her, but that Timothy Hearn wouldn’t let her.

  Heather didn’t know if that was true, but as she knocked on the office door, she began to wonder if she were about to be let go.

  “Come in.”

  Heather stepped inside and found Rachel sitting on the right at a large desk, while on the left was a long sofa and a coffee table.

  During the renovation, Patrick Taggart’s old office was converted into a pantry while a new addition was built on to add a proper office. The space wasn’t very big, but it did contain enough room for a small bathroom and a tiny kitchen set-up. It also had a separate entrance so that the Hearns didn’t have to maneuver their way through the kitchen to enter it.

  As Heather walked closer to the desk, she noticed the room had a clean smell to it, an odor of newness, of beginnings. How ironic, Heather thought, when she figured her time at Taggart’s was about to come to an end.

  “You wanted to see me Mrs. Hearn?”

  Rachel stared up at her, and then smiled.

  “Hello Heather, how are you?”

  “I’m good, and you?”

  Rachel sent her a smile with a bit of mirth in it and Heather’s heart sank. Not only was she about to be fired, but the woman was going to enjoy doing it.

  “I am doing very well, thank you, but it’s come to my attention that you’re not happy here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Rachel rose from behind the desk and Heather noticed that she was wearing a polo shirt that had the name Taggart’s embroidered on one side. The shirt was tight and along with the designer jeans she was wearing, Heather could tell that Rachel had a very good figure.

  Rachel stood before her, looking up slightly, as Heather stood a few inches taller. That’s when Heather spotted the barrettes in Rachel’s blond hair. She wore a large, silver, horseshoe-shaped barrette on each side, and they sparkled under the ceiling lights.

  “I understand that you and the other waitresses are unhappy with the new uniforms?”

  “Oh, well, yes,” Heather looked down at herself. “They are a bit... immodest?”

  Rachel smiled.

  “Actually, I would say that it makes you look like a slut.”

  Heather saw the glee in Rachel’s eyes as the last word left her mouth, but she kept silent, wondering what was coming next.

  Rachel pointed to herself.

  “The shirt I have on will be the new uniform top. I expect they’ll be delivered sometime this week.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely, we’ll also begin selling them at the bar. As I explained to my husband, the name Taggart’s means something around here, and I intend to market it fully.”

  “These new shirts will be for everyone, even the waitresses?” Heather asked.

  “Yes, does that please you?”

  “Yes, and thank you,”

  Rachel smiled, as if at a private joke.

  “It’s the least I can do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Rachel waved the question away.

  “Nevermind, and please pass the word along to the other waitresses.”

  “I will, is there anything else?”

  “No, oh, but you are working until closing, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, now please start your shift,” Rachel said, and again Heather saw the private smile.

  As she opened the door to leave the office, Tim Hearn appeared, his eyes went directly to Heather’s cleavage.

  “Oh, how I am going to miss these uniforms.”

  “Hello Mr. Hearn,”

  “Heather, please, call me Tim,”

  “All right, but if you’ll excuse me I have to begin work.”

  “Right, I’ll see you around,”

  Heather squeezed past Hearn and went to her locker, where she grabbed an order book and her work apron. As she walked out into the bar and began taking orders from a table of six, she remembered Rachel’s wry little smile, and for some reason, it gnawed at her.

  Hearn shut the door and sighed.

  “I cannot believe that girl is wasting herself on that loser ex-husband of yours.”

  “Oh don’t worry, that will be ending soon,”

  “How do you know?”

  Rachel smiled.

  “Because I have a plan, and when I’m through she’ll want nothing to do with him.”

  Hearn studied her for a moment.

  “Why are you trying to break them up? You still want him don’t you?”

  “We’ve been married for less than a year and I know that you’ve already strayed several times, so don’t preach to me. We both know that we’re not good at monogamy.”

  “Parker may sleep with you, but he’ll never take you back.”

  “I know that, and I’m very happy being your wife, I just can’t stand seeing him with that girl.”

  Hearn walked over and sat on the edge of the desk.

  “This plan of yours will really break them up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let me help you with it,”

  “Why?”

  “Well, the poor girl will need someone to console her, won’t she?”

  “Yes she will, and if it’s you, Rick will be less inclined to ever take her back, so yes, you can help.�
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  “So, when does this plan of yours begin?”

  Rachel stood and placed her arms around Hearn’s neck.

  “I’ve already planted the first seed.”

  Nico ran a hand through his hair as he looked at himself in the mirror. The man that looked back was barely recognizable.

  His long silken hair was dull and half its normal length, having only eight months to grow back after the operation to remove the .32 slug that had penetrated his skull. He was skinnier than he’d been in years and looked as if he aged a decade, but at least he was alive.

  He had no memory of the shooting, and couldn’t believe that he had nearly been turned into worm food by a ninety-nine-year-old man. He scowled, while thinking that if the old bastard hadn’t died of a heart attack that he would have killed him.

  A lot had changed during the eight months he was in the coma. One of his girlfriends had moved away, taking his daughter with her, and he had no idea where she had gone. The mother of his other daughter had taken up with the man who owned the bodega in her neighborhood, a huge man who was an ex-wrestler. She was six months pregnant with the man’s child and said he treated her better than Nico ever had.

  Learning of the death of his son’s mother shook him. Of the three women he had impregnated, she was the only one he ever had feelings for. She had overdosed on heroin, and his son was now in foster care.

  It seemed to Nico as if the whole world had changed while he slept. Dos, the leader of a gang called Muerte Soldados or Death Soldiers, had been murdered by a rival gang, and the Muerte Soldados were no more, as their territory had been swallowed up.

  Nico had grown up in that gang and the loss of it hurt deeply. It had been the closet thing he had to a family.

  He limped back over to the chair in his cheap motel room, his left side noticeably weaker than his right. While in the hospital, he had heard the nurses talking about the re-opening of Taggart’s, and Timothy Hearn didn’t know it yet, but he was soon getting a new partner.

  He picked up a five-pound dumbbell and began strengthening his left arm. Five pounds was pathetic, but even it was a strain. The bullet to the right side of his brain had rendered the left side of his body nearly unresponsive, and the months in bed had withered the rest of him.