“This drop-off in business is temporary, and you know that my grandfather will never sell.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m dealing with you and not him, goodbye gentlemen,”
Parker called to him as he walked out of the room.
“Hearn, that black Lexus out there, is that yours?”
Hearn smiled. “It is, along with the blonde in it.”
“I thought that you and Rachel were dating?”
“That’s also true,”
“I see.”
“Yes Detective, I bet you do.”
After Hearn left, Parker asked Taggart why he was there.
“He wants to buy the bar.”
“Why is he talking to you if you don’t own it?”
“I don’t, but I will someday when my grandfather dies, and well, the man is nearly a hundred.”
“Ah, so he wants you to give him an option to buy, which will come into play after you inherit?”
“Essentially, yes,”
“Interesting,” Parker said.
“Have you had any luck in finding Nico?”
“Not yet,”
“I was going to call you; my grandfather wants to meet you at our home.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning, say eight o’clock? My grandfather is an early riser.”
“Fine, my partner and I will be there then.”
Patrick made a face.
“My grandfather is... not liberal minded. He won’t be happy that your partner is a woman, or black, for that matter. Would it be possible for you to come alone?”
“This case is as much Detective Knight’s as it is mine, or have you forgotten that she risked her life here yesterday the same as I did?”
“You misunderstand, I have no problem with women or minorities, but my grandfather is set in his ways.”
“I don’t care what your grandfather likes or doesn’t like. We’ll come by at eight, if he wants to talk, fine, if not, that’s fine too.”
Patrick nodded. “All right, and I meant no offense,”
“None taken, as you said, it’s your grandfather’s prejudice, not yours,”
***
Parker returned to the front and sat at the bar, but Heather pointed at an empty booth in her section, and then told him that she had a break coming up.
He ordered a sandwich to go with his drink before taking out his phone to call Jo.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Mr. Taggart, grandfather Taggart, wants a meeting at his home tomorrow morning at eight, I accepted.”
“Okay, but what’s it about?”
“I don’t know, but maybe we’ll learn something that could help.”
“Why don’t we meet there since it’s so early?”
“Do you know where the house is?”
“Yeah, that big house just the other side of the lake; I’ll meet you at the gates.”
“Good, oh and just so you know, the old man might have a problem with you being there.”
“Because I’m a woman or because I’m black?”
“Both, according to his grandson,”
“Don’t sweat it; it’s nothing I haven’t faced before.”
“I hear you, but listen, there’s something I need you to check out.”
“You’ve got a lead?”
“Maybe, now here’s what I’m thinking...”
***
As Parker hung up from talking with Jo, Heather placed a tray of food on the table and then slid across from him in the booth.
“I’m taking my lunch and break together, so we can take our time.”
“Good,” Parker said, and then he just stared at her.
“What?”
“You’re so beautiful that it takes my breath away sometimes.”
Heather laughed.
“You’re a charmer, Rick,”
“It’s not a line; it’s the truth,”
“You give me goose bumps too. It must mean we have chemistry.”
Parker looked around and counted only eleven other patrons, at a time when the bar is usually nearly full.
“The trouble we had here yesterday seems to have scared off the customers.”
“Not just the customers; two of the other girls called out, and so I’m working until closing, but I expect the tips to be light.”
“Don’t you need time to study?”
“I did that this morning; I’ve been up since five.”
“Are you always an early riser?”
“Only if I have something to do, and that’s true about four days a week, but my travel time for school has been cut down. Starting next week I’ll be taking classes at the new hospital, which is also a teaching hospital.”
“And you live at home, right?”
“Yeah, but it’s just me and my mom. My dad passed away a few years ago, a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, but where do you live?”
“On Maple, close to the new mall,”
“Maple is all single-family homes, you own a home?”
“The bank owns it; I just get to put my name on the mailbox. I was going to sell it after the divorce, but I like the place a lot, and so I used a chunk of my savings to give my ex her share of the equity.”
“Your ex, Rachel? I noticed she seems to still have a thing for you.”
“It’s too bad she didn’t have it while we were married.”
“Do you still love her?”
“I... don’t know,”
“I see.”
“She cheated on me twice, Heather. If she didn’t kill my love, she certainly destroyed my trust.”
“I understand; trust means a lot to me too.”
As they ate, Parker asked her more about her schooling to become a doctor, while she asked him about being a cop. He was surprised to find that they had things in common, despite the difference in their ages. However, he had come to a decision the night before, and he knew that the sooner he acted on it, the better it would be.
“Heather,”
“Yes?”
“I obviously like you, but despite what I might have said in the past... I don’t think we should ever date.”
“Why?”
“I think we’re just too far apart in age.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then looked as though she suddenly understood something.
“You, you’re not getting back together with your ex-wife, are you?”
“No.”
“No, then what is it?”
“Like I said, it’s our age difference,”
Heather shook her head.
“No, that bothers you a little, but there’s something else, isn’t there?”
Parker sat back in his seat and looked down at the table.
“You’re right, despite the age difference I think we would be good together, but I’m not looking for a one-night stand or a fling, and I don’t think that we could go the distance. I think it would be just a matter of time before you dumped me, and I... I can’t go through that again. I can’t.”
He looked up at her as she took his hand, and found that she was smiling.
“You’re very sensitive aren’t you? I wouldn’t have guessed that, and no, I don’t know if we’ll ‘go the distance’, but I’m not looking for a fling either. I want something real just like you do.”
“You must think I’m an idiot. I’m trying to dump you and we haven’t even gone out yet.”
Heather laughed.
“I don’t think you’re an idiot; I think you’re sweet, and honest, so I’m going to be honest with you, as soon as you solve this case and we can see each other, expect me to come find you. Maybe you won’t ask me out, but I will ask you.”
Parker placed money on the table for the food and then stood.
“I need to go.”
“All right, but where are you going?”
He smiled. “I have a case to solve.”
“And then we’ll
figure things out, right?”
“Right,”
Heather walked him to his car and stood beside it as he started the engine.
“I don’t work tomorrow, but I’ll be in the next night. Stop by, okay?”
“I will.”
“Or you could call, just to talk?”
“I’ll call you tomorrow, just to talk,”
She leaned down with her arms resting on the door and stared in at him through the open window.
“Hey Rick,”
“Yeah?”
“One kiss wouldn’t hurt, would it?”
“You’re still part of an ongoing case, but then again, I am technically on medical leave.”
Heather grinned, leaned in, and they shared their first kiss.
When they separated, she blushed,
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.”
“It’s crossed my mind once or twice too.”
Heather sighed.
“I have to get back to work.”
“All right,”
“Hey,”
“What?”
“I’m not your ex, you know?”
“I know.”
“Good, now go catch the bad guy,”
He smiled. “I’ve never wanted to solve a case more.”
7
That evening, Parker called Jo from his home and could hear the smile in her voice.
“You’ve found something?”
“Yes, your hunch was right. Timothy Hearn and Nico Umbria do know each other. On the night Umbria was arrested for the B&E, one Timothy Hearn was arrested for a DUI. They were cellmates until their lawyers appeared.”
“And now they’re possibly partners. If I hadn’t run into Hearn at Taggart’s I never would have thought of there being a connection, but I found his interest in buying the bar too coincidental. I think he hired Nico to harass the Taggarts into selling cheaply. Patrick Taggart told me that he would love to sell the bar, but he doesn’t own it, his grandfather does.”
“Do you think Hearn can lead us to Nico?”
“Not willingly, and right now all we have is conjecture.”
“Do you think he knew about Nico murdering Woolley?”
“I don’t know, but I think we can use what we know to lure Nico in, and once we have him, we’ll sweat him about the murder.”
“Maybe we’ll learn something useful when we meet with the old man tomorrow.”
“I am curious about why he wants to talk. I’ve always heard that he hated cops, a holdover from his days as a bootlegger.”
“Speaking of meetings, how did your meeting with Heather go today?”
“We had a very nice lunch, and, we grew a little closer I think.”
“I bet you’d like to get real close, hmm?”
“You have a dirty mind.”
“Like you don’t?”
“Guilty as charged,”
“Well, I hope things work out there. She and I spoke some while I was playing bartender, and I like the girl, she reminds me a bit of my daughter.”
“I forgot; you have a daughter her age, don’t you?”
“Yeah,”
Parker sighed.
“What’s the sigh for?”
“I’m too old for Heather.”
“Did she say that?”
“No.”
“Then go for it,”
“Yes ma’am,”
“Don’t call me ma’am; it makes me feel old.”
“Welcome to the club,”
***
The following morning they entered the study of the Taggart home and met Nathanial Taggart.
The man was little more than a shrunken bundle of wrinkled flesh until you looked into his eyes. Once your eyes met his, you knew that despite his advanced age that he was as sharp and aware as anyone.
When the old man’s eyes fell on Jo, his mouth opened in a nearly toothless grin.
“Young lady?”
Knight eyed him suspiciously. “Yes sir?”
“If I was fifty years younger I’d be all over you,” The old man looked up at his grandson. “You didn’t tell me the frail was a sweet piece of ass... and she’s just barely a Negro,”
Jo gave a little laugh.
“That’s insulting on so many levels that I don’t even know where to start.”
Parker stepped closer to the old man.
“What did you want to talk about?”
The old man spoke in between a series of gasps, his breathing obviously affected by his age.
“I didn’t want you cops involved... but since my grandson is spineless, you are involved... and since you are, what are you doing to... to stop this asshole Umbria?”
“For one thing, we suspect that someone is behind his actions, and we’ll be talking to that someone when we leave here.”
The blue eyes twinkled amid the puckered face.
“You’re talking about Timothy Hearn.”
Parker and Knight said nothing and were impassive at the old man’s insight, but his grandson looked shocked.
“Tim Hearn is behind our trouble?”
“He’s someone we want to talk to,” Parker said.
Patrick’s face screwed up in confusion.
“I was his father’s best friend in high school, why would he send an animal like Nico after us?”
The old man waved away the question.
“It’s just business,”
“Actually it’s murder,” Jo said, then added, “Is there anything else Mr. Taggart?”
“No doll, but I will say this... either you two end this soon... or I will. No punk like Hearn is gonna muscle in on... on my bar.”
Parker looked over at Patrick.
“We’ll keep in touch, and we’ll let ourselves out.”
Once they were back in the driveway, Parker asked Jo a question as he massaged his bad shoulder. He had taken off the sling and just let his arm hang loose, but it had put pressure on the stitches.
“What do you think?”
“That’s one nasty old man, but he’s sharp, although we didn’t learn anything new.”
“I did get one thing of value from that meeting,” Parker said.
“What’s that?”
“After meeting him I feel as young as springtime.”
***
Five miles away, in the rear parking lot of a donut shop, Timothy Hearn was in his car, meeting with Nico Umbria.
Nico had just climbed into the passenger seat when Hearn shouted at him.
“Those punks you used nearly killed a cop!”
“You want to say that a little louder? I don’t think everyone heard it.”
Hearn looked around. “There’s no one else back here.”
“Still, I don’t like being yelled at. The last guy who yelled at me was Charles Woolley.”
Hearn hung his head.
“You killed him, didn’t you?”
“It was self-defense. He had me in a bear hug and was crushing my ribs, so, I had to use the knife.”
“All right, but what about the other day? You never said anything about shooting up the bar. I thought that they were only going to cause some damage.”
“It’s all good, since it got the same result; you told me on the phone that the place was dead.”
“Yeah, but Taggart still won’t give me an option to buy.”
“Why do you want that dump anyway?”
“I want the land more than the building, and once I have it, I can remodel the bar and bring in a bigger crowd.”
“Good, that gives me an idea,”
Hearn gave him a worried look.
“What kind of idea?”
“Never mind, you got the money you owe me?”
Hearn passed over an envelope that held three thousand in cash.
“There’s something else we gotta talk about.” Nico said.
“What?”
“My alibi.”
“What alibi?”
“You, you’re gonna be
my alibi for Charles Woolley. If the cops ask, I was with you that night at your house. You were home that night, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, but I can’t do that. If they tie you to the murder then they’ll indict me too.”
“I’m in this mess because I was working for you, so either way you’re involved, and if you don’t give me an alibi and I get caught, I’ll say I killed him under your orders.”
“No one will believe that.”
“The cops will, they would love to get two for the price of one.”
Hearn cursed, and when he remembered that Parker was the one investigating, he grew cold from fear. He had slept with the man’s wife, was still sleeping with her. There would be no benefit of the doubt there.
“I’m screwed if they ever arrest you.”
“That’s right,” Nico said, “but as long as we stick to our story that we were together at your house, they won’t be able to do shit.”
“All right, but you can’t hide from them forever.”
Nico grinned. “I don’t plan to.”
***
When Parker and Knight returned to the station, Parker learned that he had a visitor.
When she was pointed out to him by the desk sergeant, he saw that she was a good-looking woman in her fifties with auburn hair. She was seated near the windows and looking over at him with a quizzical expression.
As he grew closer, he saw the resemblance, and knew that she must be Heather’s mother.
“Mrs. Jones?”
“That’s right, and you’re Detective Parker?”
“Yes, how may I help you?”
“May we speak somewhere in private?”
“Sure, um, follow me back outside.”
Parker led her around to the side of the building where a white, wooden gazebo sat amid rows of flowers. There was a bench inside, and they sat and stared at each other.
“Is this about Heather?”
Lyla Jones studied him.
“You’re a big man, Detective. How tall are you?”
“Six-four and a half,”
“And you’re handsome too; I see she was right about that.”
Parker waited, mostly because he didn’t know what to say.
“Heather doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Why are you here?”
“I wanted to get a look at you, and frankly, I want to know your intentions.”
“My intentions?”
“She’s never directly said that you two were dating, but I know my daughter, and I know when someone has won her heart.”
Homicide! (Parker & Knight Book 2) Page 4