The Warhol Incident

by G. K. Parks

  Arriving home, I checked the time. I promised Martin, once I was liberated from the government bureaucracy and both of our lives settled down, we would give our relationship another try. The only time we attempted to date, Murphy’s Law had reigned supreme. First, a sadistic crime boss had gotten in the way, and then Martin was busy vetting his company’s new VP and undergoing surgery to remove scar tissue from an injury sustained during my first private sector job, working as his bodyguard. I counted the weeks in my mind, trying to determine if his rehab would be completed by now. By my best estimate, he still had another week or two to go.

  Even though it was after one a.m., I dialed his number. It had been a month since I heard his voice, and I missed him. The phone rang five times before his voicemail picked up. After leaving a message for him to call whenever he had a chance, I went to bed. There was no reason to rush things since I was a free agent once more.

  * * *

  It felt as if I had only closed my eyes when the phone began ringing incessantly. My bedroom was bathed in a warm glow, and I knew it must be morning; although, people should know better than to call this early on a Saturday. Grabbing the receiver, I answered, “Parker,” out of habit.

  “Miss Parker?” a voice I didn’t recognize responded. “Alexis Parker?”

  “Yes,” I grumbled. I had a feeling this was a telemarketer. “I’m not interested.” And I hung up. It was too early in the morning to deal with someone selling subscriptions to cable television. Rolling over, I buried myself under the covers. The phone rang again, and I sighed loudly and picked it up. “What?” I snarled.

  “Miss Parker, this is Alan Ackerman,” the voice identified himself. “Are you still under contract with Martin Technologies?”

  “Uh-huh.” Calls this early never bode well, and I knew something was wrong.

  “Miss Parker,” he continued, “I’m James Martin’s attorney. Have you been watching the news?”

  “What’s happened?” A feeling of fear and dread settled in the pit of my stomach. “Is he okay?”

  “It’d be best to discuss this matter in person.” He rattled off an address. “Please do not speak to the press or anyone from the media until we have a chance to meet.”

  As soon as our conversation was concluded, I turned on the television. Flipping to the local news channel and turning the volume up, I dressed and prepared to depart for Ackerman’s law office. Mr. Ackerman hadn’t provided any hint as to what was brewing, and given Martin's recent history, I hoped he wasn’t hurt or worse. How many times could a person be threatened in the span of one year? Thankfully, before my musings could become more morbid, I went into the living room and caught the story toward the end.

  “The police are still investigating the suspicious death of Caterina Skolnick, a model rising to fame at the Tate Agency. Skolnick was discovered on a yacht belonging to CEO James Martin. As more information becomes available, we will continue to update you,” the news anchor informed the viewer before the story changed to a scene of a fire at a preschool.

  Taking a deep breath, I left my apartment for the law office. I was irritated. The reason I had stayed away from Martin for the last month was to keep him out of trouble and protect him from the dangers associated with my line of work. Apparently, he was talented enough to get into hot water with or without my presence.

  Arriving at the office building that housed Ackerman’s law firm, Ackerman, Baze, and Clancy, I waited impatiently for more information. The assistant indicated a few empty chairs in the lobby and promised Ackerman would be available momentarily. While I sat in an uncomfortable chair near the reception desk, my phone rang. I hated being this popular.

  “Parker,” Detective Nick O’Connell’s voice instantly calmed my nerves, “have you heard what’s going on?”

  Nick was a good friend. We had a general understanding of quid pro quo. He had come to my rescue when I was Martin’s bodyguard, and he had risked his neck to watch my back when dealing with the sadist from one of my recent cases. My work had helped him earn a commendation, and typically, I tended to make his job much easier. Although, we weren’t always in agreement on that last part.

  “Only tidbits,” I responded. I would have loved to ask some questions, but now wasn’t a particularly pertinent time.

  “I can’t say anything, but I wanted to let you know Martin’s in holding.” I swallowed and shut my eyes. Great, he was arrested for murder. Could today get any better? “I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he’s okay,” Nick promised.

  “Thanks.” I didn’t know what else to say. A man emerged from an office and gestured for me to join him. “I’ll be by as soon as I can.”

  “Miss Parker,” Ackerman greeted, extending his hand, and we shook.

  “Alex, please.” He ushered me into an office and shut the door. “What’s going on?”

  He picked up a file and flipped through some pages. “You’re on retainer as security consultant for Martin Technologies. It’s also been indicated that you originally worked private security for James Martin, prior to your position at his company.” I nodded. “Former federal agent, meritorious service award, excellent percentage of closed cases, and you have a private investigator’s license and your own consulting firm.” I didn’t need this jerk to read my file to me. I wanted to know what was going on with Martin. “It appears Mr. Martin is in need of an investigator at the moment, and he holds your skills in high regard.”

  “Fill me in.”

  Ackerman flipped over a confidentiality agreement to sign, along with who knows what other types of forms. I didn’t bother to read; I just put my John Hancock seamlessly on each of the Xs and waited.

  “Last night, the Coast Guard received a distress call from Mr. Martin’s yacht. When they boarded, they found Caterina Skolnick’s body on the main deck. Only the preliminary ME’s report has come back, but she was stabbed repeatedly and suffocated. The only other person on the yacht was James Martin.” Rubbing my face, I leaned back in the chair. “Mr. Martin placed the distress call, but given his proximity to the body, he’s been arrested on suspicion of murder.”

  “His call wouldn’t have done anything to alleviate such suspicion,” I replied, automatically running through basic police procedures. “Has it been turned over to the locals?”

  “Yes. Until other suspects are identified, it is in the best interest of our client to hire a team of investigators to look into the murder as well.”

  “Martin and I have,” I paused, “had, might have had, a personal relationship.” There was no easy way to categorize our past history, but I needed to divulge this information. Even though I was positive he hadn’t committed murder, he couldn’t afford any part of his defense to be tainted with impropriety. Ackerman acknowledged this without any surprise. After all, personal relationships with employees were an all too common occurrence in Martin’s past.

  “Okay,” he pressed his lips together in thought, “don’t investigate on your own, but if your law enforcement friends offer any relevant information, please pass it along. Or if you can convince them to drop the charges altogether, I wouldn’t mind that either.” Excusing myself, I left the office and went to the precinct.

  Pulling into a parking space near the out-of-service patrol cars, I noticed some news vans lingering near the front of the building. Apparently, they couldn’t wait for a few tantalizing snippets on this high profile murder. I headed to O’Connell’s desk in the major crimes unit and found him flipping through some casework.

  “Hey, Nick,” I greeted, sitting down in his partner’s chair. He looked up, smiling slightly.

  “Funny, I thought you would have been here twenty minutes ago. Now I owe Thompson ten bucks. What took you so long?”

  “I’m glad you’re taking things so seriously,” I growled. I bit my lip and shut my eyes, trying to force myself to be more pleasant. “What can you tell me? Can I see him?”

  “I can’t tell you anything. It’s an ongoing investigation, so do
n’t look in this file.” He pointed to the folder on his desk. “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee. Do you want one?”

  “Yes.” I eyed the folder, glad that he had dropped the by-the-book attitude he had when we first met. “Cream, sugar, and shaved chocolate on top would be nice. Maybe you need to run to the store to get some.”

  He snorted. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  As soon as he was gone, I glanced around the room. No one was paying any attention, so I picked up the folder and began reading the report. Caterina Skolnick was stabbed three times to the left side of her torso; however, the cause of death was asphyxiation. I skimmed through the crime scene photos and located the possible murder weapon. There was a standard bed pillow next to the body. From the coroner’s report, there were obvious signs of sexual activity prior to her time of death, but there was no tearing or injury to indicate it was anything other than consensual. No semen or DNA was present, but spermicide was found. Whoever she had been intimate with wore a condom. I swallowed and continued to the next page.

  From Martin’s statement, it was clear he had no recollection of what happened once they arrived on his yacht. He claimed to have passed out, and when he came to, he found Caterina, attempted to perform CPR, and radioed for help. There was a note indicating a toxicology screening was ordered for both Martin and the deceased. Hopefully, this would help to exonerate him.

  Closing the folder, I placed it back on O’Connell’s desk and tried to process everything I just read. If Martin slept with her, it would add to his suspicion. I didn’t want to think about that possibility either, but it was in the report so personal feelings needed to be pushed aside for the moment. Although, if there was spermicide, then where was the condom?

  I grabbed the folder again and carefully scanned through the crime scene photos, cross-referencing the scene markers with the list of evidence. There was no condom present. Maybe she had sex before getting on the boat. This could point to a plethora of possible sexual partners and would help cast some aspersion on Martin’s guilt since there was the possibility of an unknown third party being involved. Spotting O’Connell returning with the coffees, I put the folder down.

  “I brought you a regular, black coffee. This is a police station, so I couldn’t find your fancy chocolate shavings,” he teased, setting the cup in front of me. He lowered his voice and leaned down. “I don’t think he did it.”

  “Me neither. Why don’t you cut him loose?”

  “It’s out of my hands.” He took the folder to a filing cabinet and stuffed it inside. “It’s not my case. I’ve got too much past history with the accused.”

  “A lot of that going around. When can I see him?”

  “I’ll find out. The last I heard, his lawyers were working on getting him released. I’m sure he’ll be out of here in a few hours. He’s only been here since four this morning, anyway.” I waited for O’Connell to return. I hadn’t seen Martin in a month, and this was not the way I intended our reunion to go.

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  About the Author

  G.K. Parks received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. After spending some time in law school, G.K. changed paths and earned a Master of Arts in Criminology/Criminal Justice. Now all that education is being put to good use creating a fictional world based upon years of study and research.

  For the latest updates on novels by G.K. Parks, please visit the author’s website at

  www.alexisparkerseries.com

  Full-length Novels in the Alexis Parker Series:

  Likely Suspects

  The Warhol Incident

  Mimicry of Banshees

  Suspicion of Murder

  Racing Through Darkness

  Camels and Corpses

  Lack of Jurisdiction

  Dying for a Fix

  Intended Target

  Muffled Echoes

  Crisis of Conscience

  Misplaced Trust

  Whitewashed Lies

  On Tilt

  Purview of Flashbulbs

  The Long Game

  Prequel Alexis Parker Novellas:

  Outcomes and Perspective: The Complete Prequel Series

  Assignment Zero (Prequel series, #1)

  Agent Prerogative (Prequel series, #2)

  The Final Chapter (Prequel series, #3)

  Julian Mercer Novels

  Condemned

  Betrayal

  Subversion

  Reparation

  Retaliation

  Liv DeMarco Novels

  Dangerous Stakes

  Operation Stakeout

  Unforeseen Danger