by Carsen Taite
“Maybe they’re working out a plea. And then we can go back to the way things were.” Parker intended every layer of meaning and she silently willed Dex to hear her plea.
“Maybe they are. Frankly, I’d prefer we go to trial. I’m beginning to appreciate seeing things from another perspective.” Dex feigned nonchalance, but Parker knew him well enough to peel away the indifference. Knowing he relied on her to maintain a stoic front, she rewarded his overture of friendship with a simple nod.
“Good point. Let’s go make sure we get to trial.”
He pointed to the door. “Are you ready to go?”
Parker glanced at the closed door of the DA workroom, then at her watch. Even if she waited for Morgan, it was doubtful she would have a chance to talk to her alone. The entire group was meeting for lunch in twenty minutes. She decided to leave with Dex and catch Morgan alone later. As they left the courtroom, Parker locked arms with Dex, grateful they had reconnected.
Chapter Fourteen
The trial team gathered for lunch at Market Diner. Ford saved them one of the only large tables in the back. Morgan resigned herself to having to eat greasy diner food for the duration of the case and gave a recap of the morning’s action against the noisy backdrop of the lunch crowd. Gerald, who had not attended the hearing, had a ton of questions, and his tone insinuated he didn’t think she knew what she was doing.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t try harder to suppress Luis’s statement. Especially after all the time and research that went into preparing the motion.”
Morgan started to respond with an observation that Gerald couldn’t take any credit for the hard work on the motion, but Parker and Dex both started talking at once. Dex punched Parker in the shoulder and won the right to deliver his response first. His tone was engaging, as if he was trying to win the grumbling student over. “She made the prosecutor think she didn’t want the tape in evidence, which means it’s definitely coming in. And she reserved the right to challenge it again at trial.”
Gerald wasn’t buying it. “My father says you should never concede a point to the other side.”
This time it was Ford who responded first, and he shut Gerald down. Ford said, “I know your father well and I can assure you if he knew the situation, he would have made the same decisions Morgan did.” Ford’s tone made it clear he would not tolerate any more grousing from Gerald.
Morgan smiled a look of appreciation. Ford had not been able to attend the pretrial hearing because of a conflict in another court, but he embraced Morgan’s strategy as if they had planned it in advance.
With the issue of Luis’s statement resolved for the time being, Morgan decided it was time to talk about the defense investigation. Trial was two weeks away and the investigator assigned to work with the public defenders was clearly pulled in too many different directions. Ford was able to name three cases set for trial in the coming weeks the investigator was working on, all of them “top priority.” Ford hadn’t been able to get a solid answer on the status of the work on this particular case and he expressed his concern to the group.
“I think we should file a motion asking Judge Thompson for money to hire a private investigator,” Ford suggested. “We’ll just explain the situation about the PD’s in-house investigator.”
Morgan agreed. “We don’t have any time to waste. We need to start interviewing people we think are going to be on the State’s witness list. We should draft the motion and take it to the judge today. Any volunteers to write the motion?”
Dex, who had been exchanging whispered conversation with Parker, was quick to answer. “I’ll do it.” Morgan caught him exchange a conspiratorial look with Parker and wondered what was up. “Okay, I’ll need it by three. Gerald, talk to Ford about some additional items he wants to include in the trial notebooks, and, Parker, I’d like you to prepare a list of proposed jury instructions.” Morgan let her gaze linger on Parker. “I’ll be in touch soon to go over your first draft.” She wondered if Parker realized she didn’t want to talk about jury instructions, or evidence, or anything else related to this trial. She only wanted to see Parker alone so they could reconcile the blazing passion of their first encounters with the tender intimacy of their last night together. She wanted to explore her feelings, figure out if the connection between them was forged from stronger stuff than a physical craving. Even as she had the thought, she decided it would be a mistake to delve any deeper. It was obvious Parker was still smarting from the betrayal she had suffered from her fellow officers, Skye in particular. She didn’t need to be the subject of Morgan’s self-discovery, didn’t need to have her feelings put at risk. Better they stick to the clearly defined roles of teacher and student than to wade into murkier waters.
*
Parker drove Dex back to the courthouse to retrieve his car. Once they got in the car, Dex couldn’t wait to unveil his plan.
“I think you and I should do the investigation ourselves.”
Parker gave him a look that indicated she thought he had lost his mind. “Morgan—” Seeing Dex’s raised eyebrows, she hastily said, “I mean, Professor Bradley, will never go for it.” While Ford had insisted the students call him by his first name, Morgan had not made a similar offer.
“Why not?” Dex asked.
“I think she has a healthy dose of cynicism about law enforcement types.”
“Most PIs are former cops. She has to know that.”
“I’m sure she does. We just might not be ‘former’ enough. Besides, we’re technically the lawyers on the case. We can’t testify.” Parker voiced what they both knew. A non-lawyer investigator was necessary, especially for witness interviews. If a witness took the stand and said something different than they stated in a previous interview, the person who conducted the interview would be called to the stand to impeach the witness’s credibility, which meant they were done in their role as the attorney. A lawyer testifying in his or her own client’s case was too confusing for juries and raised too many questions about bias and motivation.
“I know, I know. But if we help with the investigation, then we’ll be able to get it done more quickly. We can type up the witness summaries and we’ll have firsthand accounts to pass along to Ford and Professor Bradley.” Dex was excited about the prospect of doing something other than research and writing. “Come on, this is right up our alley. Especially yours.”
Parker had to admit the prospect was exciting. The one thing she missed about her former career was the challenge of sifting through pieces of information to solve the whodunit puzzle. Though the State believed Luis was the only possible answer to the question of who, why he had killed Camille Burke was still a missing piece. Parker couldn’t help but think if they could find out why someone had wanted Camille dead, the resulting picture might not be what everyone expected.
“All right. I’m in. But you have to do the asking. By yourself. Do it this afternoon when you take the motion to Morgan.” Parker gave up trying to remember to call her Professor Bradley with Dex, but she didn’t want to admit she didn’t want to risk seeing Morgan outside the formal bounds of their teacher-student relationship. The fast pace of trial preparation meant she hadn’t spent any time alone with Morgan since she had poured out her soul in Morgan’s hotel room the week before. In the context of preparing, she had seen her plenty and on every occasion she heard Kelsey’s words, whispering truth. She struggled to ignore her feelings, knowing there was no hope they would be returned. Morgan was her teacher and had expressed clear regret every time she had crossed the line of propriety. Parker figured if Morgan felt something more than physical attraction, she would find a way to disregard the boundaries, but obviously that was not the case. Parker pondered whether she should let Morgan know about Gerald’s accusation. If he decided to, he could try to make trouble for them both. But it wasn’t as if Gerald had said anything directly to her. If she told Morgan, she’d have to admit Dex knew something was going on between them. She decided telling Morgan
would merely heighten her anxiety about the impropriety of their relationship, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Besides, it was pretty clear there wasn’t going to be a relationship anyway, so Gerald’s supposed bombshell would turn out to be a dud.
*
Hours later, Parker sat in her room pretending to study. Dex was supposed to come by this evening and let Parker know where things stood. Parker was finding it hard to be little more than an observer in the case and hoped Ford and Morgan would allow them the more active investigative role. Waiting to hear from Dex contributed to her inability to focus, and when she heard the doorbell, she jumped at the sound. Before she could make it to the hall, she heard Erin call out, “I’ll get it.” She waited upstairs, knowing Erin would tell Dex to go on up. Moments later, she looked up to see Erin in her doorway with a furrowed brow.
“Hey, Parker, there’s someone here to see you. Not Dex.”
“Any idea who it is?” Parker asked.
“Not a clue and she wouldn’t tell me. She said she wanted to surprise you.”
Parker smothered a grin. Of course, Erin hadn’t met Morgan so she wouldn’t have a clue who she was. Well, except for the fact Dex was supposed to show up any moment, Morgan’s visit was a very pleasant surprise. Though they had agreed on friendship, it seemed their chance encounters were laced with something more. Each had stolen glances at the other during class and trial preparation, and more than once their surreptitious outreach happened simultaneously. When it did, the effect was smoldering. Parker refused to let herself reflect on the meaning of the physical force she felt every time she caught Morgan’s eyes locked on her. For once in her life, she chose to revel in the feeling and ignore the consequences. If they were nothing more than friends, then surely these feelings would subside at some point. In the meantime, she felt good, right, and warm. She wasn’t in the mood to let meaning steal those feelings away.
Parker told Erin she would be right down, then glanced in the mirror and ran her hands through her unruly hair. Straightening her shirt and smoothing out the wrinkles in her pants, she smiled at herself before she turned to head downstairs. She took the steps two at a time, not caring if she looked like she was skipping with excitement. As she reached the bottom of the staircase, she saw Skye Keaton waiting for her in the foyer, balancing a pizza box on the fingers of her right hand. Parker lurched to a stop.
“Skye! What the hell are you doing here?” Parker stayed on the last step.
“Helluva greeting for someone with dinner on board.” Skye smiled as if Parker’s visceral reaction had no effect. Shoving the pizza box toward Parker, she said, “I brought your favorite.”
Parker was furious, but fought down her emotions. She had no desire to let Skye see she could still have such a strong impact on her. Coupled with her anger was piercing disappointment at seeing Skye instead of Morgan. Imagining Morgan and then seeing Skye instead left her reeling with feelings she put aside to examine later. She struggled for an even tone. “Skye, you don’t know me well enough to know what my favorite anything is. Now, take yourself and your pizza and leave.”
“I see you’re going to need a little more time to come around.” Skye spoke as if Parker had merely said, “I’m in the middle of something, can you come back later?” Setting the pizza box on a table in the entryway, Skye leaned toward Parker and hugged her. “I’ll check in with you later. After all, we’ll have lots of opportunities to see each other now since you’ve managed to get a gig working on my biggest case.” Turning toward the door, she called over her shoulder, “Enjoy the pizza!”
Parker watched her leave, unable to move from where she was rooted on the stairs. Erin poked her head in the foyer and, seeing the pizza box and Parker standing alone, asked, “Is everything okay?”
Parker started to answer, when the doorbell rang.
“Don’t answer.”
Erin stared at her, trying to decipher her strange behavior. “Parker, what’s wrong?”
The doorbell rang again.
“Nothing. Don’t answer. She’ll go away.”
A fist pounded on the heavy wooden door and Erin looked back and forth between the door and Parker, trying to decide what to do. A voice yelling from the other side made the decision clear.
“Parker, open the door!” The voice was loud, male, and Dex’s. Parker moved past Erin and opened the door herself.
“What took you so long? I know it’s a big house, but I swear I was standing out here forever.” Spying the pizza box, he asked, “Was the chick who just left the pizza delivery person? She was hot. What kind did you get?”
Parker almost closed the door right in his face but instead resigned herself to having to explain. “You dope. She wasn’t a pizza delivery person. She was Skye Keaton. Great powers of observation you have.” Ignoring the shocked look on his face, she said, “And I wager the pizza is from Campasis, all the way, well done.” It was still her favorite and of course Skye would remember. For all their differences, Parker had to concede Skye was a stellar detective with amazing powers of observation and ability to memorize detail, though Parker wasn’t particularly impressed Skye remembered her favorite kind of pizza.
“Well, we may as well eat while you tell me what’s going on.” He picked up the pizza box and waited for Parker to follow him to the kitchen. Erin followed along and joined them at the table. Dex grabbed a slice of pizza and nodded toward Parker, urging her to start talking.
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know why she showed up here tonight.” Parker didn’t feel like getting into the fact Skye had asked her out this morning. “Asked” wasn’t the word for it anyway. She had more like ordered Parker to go out with her. Her authoritarian ways had always been a source of contention in both their personal and professional lives. Parker often told Skye she needed someone much more pliant, someone who actually liked being bossed around. Skye’s consistent reply had been that it wouldn’t be as much fun if the other person gave in without a fight. Funny, Parker thought, for someone who professed to like a good fight, Skye sure had caved when Parker asked her to fight for what was right. It may be she just likes to fight. Parker rolled the revelation around in her mind and decided the assessment fit. Skye liked conflict, and she and Parker had been consumed with it when they were together. The heat of their conflict inflamed both passion and anger by turns, but at the end of the day, Parker decided she craved the consistency of compromise.
She gave Erin an abbreviated explanation. “Skye used to be my partner on the force. She’s the lead detective on the case we’re working on now. I saw her this morning at the courthouse and she expressed an interest in meeting. I said it wouldn’t be appropriate, but Skye has her own ideas about what’s appropriate and what’s not. I sent her packing.”
Dex interjected, “But not without getting her to leave the pizza—smooth move, Parker.”
Erin sighed. “As usual, your life is way more exciting than mine. I’m on my way over to Bob’s. Mind if I grab a few slices to take with?”
After Erin left Dex casually finished off the pizza. Parker begged off, her stomach shut down after the events of the day.
“So,” Dex asked, “are you going to tell me the real reason Skye was here?”
“Pretty much what I told Erin. If Skye had some other reason for coming here than getting under my skin, I don’t have a clue what it was. I didn’t exactly invite her in for tea and conversation.”
“Weird.”
“Not if you know her. She probably wanted to pump me for information on the defense. Skye’s scruples allow her lots of leeway when she’s working on a case. Speaking of cases, what’s the word on our little side project?”
Dex’s face lit up. “It’s a go. Professor Bradley’s hired an investigator who works with Ray Ramirez’s firm. If the judge denies our motion, Morgan will foot the bill herself. You and I will team up with him to interview witnesses and go through the rest of the evidence. We have our first meeting tomorrow.”
“Piece of cake. Way to go!”
Dex shook his head. “It wasn’t as easy. Professor Bradley required a lot of convincing. You were right. She has a bit of a hang-up about having us former law enforcement types doing the investigating. Has she never worked the other side?”
“No, she hasn’t. But remember, my friend, up until this semester, I never would’ve pictured you working for the defense. Did it ever occur to you her reservations might be because we’re students and this is a high-profile murder case? She might be a little worried about trusting us because of our lack of legal experience.”
Dex threw a pizza crust at her. “There you go. Sticking up for your girlfriend. I knew this is how things would shake out.”
Parker’s mouth fell open and Dex quickly added, “Parker, I was kidding.”
His expression was earnest and Parker rolled his words around in her head. At first she wanted to beat him over the head with the pizza box, but one word in particular gave her pause. Girlfriend. She repeated it silently to herself. Despite her growing pessimism about any sort of future with Morgan, she had to admit “girlfriend” had a nice ring.
Chapter Fifteen
“Why, if it isn’t Parker Casey. How’re ya doing, girl?”
Jake Simons hadn’t changed one bit since the last time Parker saw him. He was still the same grandfatherly man, dressed in a tan poplin suit, smelling of tobacco and peppermint. Parker speculated he must own at least half a dozen of the same suits, since she had never seen him sporting any other outfit. His close-cropped hair was whiter than she remembered. Parker had known Jake since she graduated from the academy. A former cop himself, he had been a regular fixture at the department, always scouting out leads and keeping up acquaintances with those who had the power and resources to funnel information his way. Parker had had only a few interactions with him and, frankly, she was surprised he remembered her.