by Taylor Lee
He shrugged. “Yeah, Squirt, that one’s been niggling at me as well. What’s your take?”
She raised her hands with a ‘how many times do I have to say it’ expression on her face, and shrugged. “While sex was a major factor in the murders, revenge is what drove this appalling crime.”
He studied her then nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Both victims were penetrated—Ms. Parker vaginally and anally. Mr. Parker anally, then castrated. All of the attacks were sexual, but their aim was degradation and searing pain, not sexual release.”
They were both quiet, as if trying to grasp the person or persons who could have planned and executed the gruesome crimes.
Jude noticed his full shot glass across the table and decided a belt of Scotch would taste damn good at the moment. He reached for it and smiled at Sky. “If you promise not to choke, I’ll share this with you.”
Skylar sniffed. “Even after you told Denny to take back the one I ordered?”
Jude shook his head and grinned. “Jesus, Squirt, you don’t miss a fucking thing, do you?”
She tipped up her chin and said with a saucy smile, “No, Detective, I don’t. And no, I don’t want to share your Scotch. I want my own.” With that she boosted herself up over the edge of the booth and signaled Denny. “You can bring my Scotch now, Denny. The one I ordered forty-five minutes ago.”
***
Sky forced herself to take slow sips of her Scotch. She was still horrified that she’d thought she could throw back three ounces of single malt Scotch without choking. She’d made a complete fool of herself. What she had even more trouble believing was how Jude had jumped to her rescue, rounding the table in one fierce bound. It was equally hard to acknowledge that even now the powerful man was sitting a scant foot away from her. Or to forget that for at least five minutes he’d not only been sitting next to her, but had held her in his arms. Most of that time she’d been struggling to breathe and come down from the emotional turmoil that had been racking her psyche since last night. The memory of Jerri’s triumphant glance as she clung possessively to Jude’s arm morphed into the image of Amy sneering at her while rubbing up against the imposing detective. No wonder it had felt good to cower against Jude. Giving into his strong, surprisingly gentle hold blotted out the painful memories, at least for a few blessed minutes.
Skylar knew that Jude was studying her. In that way he was a lot like her. At least as to how they analyzed a scene and how they sized up people. But unlike her, he was big, brash, sinfully good looking, and unbelievably sexy, she admitted, shoving against the turmoil in her groin. She closed her eyes as if she could stifle the unfamiliar sensations heating her core but they were not to be stifled. She chided herself, admit it, Sky, you’ve let the Big Guy affect you. She gave herself room. After all, as Tara had said, ‘every woman within ten feet of Jude creams her panties at the sight of him’. Sky felt her cheeks heat at the lewd phrase, then tried to deal with the fact that for the first time, she knew how those other women felt.
Glancing up, Sky forced herself to meet his narrowed gaze. It wasn’t easy to do. She was sure his frown was caused by the ugly facts they’d been discussing and that his thoughtful expression was due to his concern about their case. But, she admitted, like her, he had to be thinking about their strange situation. After all, they were sitting on the same side of a huge booth with very little space between them. And even after she’d gotten control of her choking spells, neither one of them had chosen to move. Deciding to think positively, she hoped that his actions indicated he’d decided he might respect her after all—which would be an achievement. It wasn’t unheard of. After they got past her oddness, the few men she let get close to her liked and respected her. Jared certainly did, and so did Jake and the Judge.
But as he’d made clear to her and others, Jude wasn’t his brothers or his grandfather. He had a hard shell that the rest of the Justices didn’t have. Jude was exceptionally close to his brothers and the Judge, but Sky didn’t need the gossip to know that while he was widely respected, he didn’t have many friends. That was particularly true about women. Jude had told her explicitly that in his view, women were good for one thing and one thing only. Fucking.
Except, apparently, for her. According to his dismissive take, she was unappealing enough that the idea of fucking her was a non-starter. Looking for the positive, she’d concluded that assessment opened the way for them to be colleagues. Glancing at his arm stretched across the back of the booth, his fingers inches away from touching her shoulder, she tried to ignore his bulging biceps and muscular forearm. God, even his wrists looked strong. She swallowed hard and told herself she should be grateful. Since fucking was out of the question, respect for her gifts wouldn’t be a total loss.
Her phone beeped for the third time. She looked down, surprised to see that while she and Jude had been together, she’d received four messages. All from the Parker siblings. When Jude had asked them to think hard about who might have had a grudge against their parents, the Parkers were unanimously opposed. As Marion summed it up, of course, everyone who knew her parents were was jealous of them. How could they not be? But angry enough to murder them? That was, in a word, ridiculous. But according to the messages she’d received, the Parkers had decided to do what Jude requested. Turning her phone so that Jude could read along with her, she scrolled through the messages. Blake’s list had three names, the number of suspects Jude asked them to send Skylar. Marion’s and Alicia’s lists each had four names, Charlotte’s had five. The name that appeared on all four siblings’ lists was Charlie Berkley—Alicia’s soon-to-be ex- husband.
Chapter 14
“Thanks for joining us on such short notice.” Nodding to his brothers, then turning to his grandfather, Jude explained, “Judge, we believe that the people who murdered the Parkers were acting out of revenge. Our theory is that the murderers believed that Hank and Carol had wronged them to the point that they deserved to be punished in the most grievous ways possible. I asked each of the Parkers to send Skylar three names of people who they thought might have hated their parents to that degree. I wanted Skylar to review the names and triage them. I still do. She can analyze the names with that powerful mind of hers without the prism of familiarity. Because most of the people on the lists are men and women who suffered huge financial losses, and are all people whom you know well, we hoped that you might have insights that would help narrow the list.”
The Judge sighed and rubbed his eyes. Jude exchanged a concerned glace with his brothers. He hoped they would understand that he hated involving the Judge, but the list was too long and the information too critical not to tap his significant knowledge. In her magical way, during the ride to the mansion, Skylar had run the four lists through a complicated program on her cellphone and produced a damning spreadsheet. And it was immediately apparent that the luckless Charlie Berkley was on all four lists. In addition, three names appeared on all the sisters’ lists: Ronald Weiss, Donald Martin, and Wayne Benson. Jude knew that those three were prominent makers and shakers in the financial world. To be more precise, they had all been, before they invested with Hank and Carol Parker.
“Are you sure that this wasn’t a robbery gone bad, Jude? An anonymous act fueled by drugs and greed?” The Judge’s question was wishful, but his frown declared he knew the answer.
Jude shook his head. “No, Judge. Whoever did this knew the Parkers well, very well. It’s clear that the perpetrators had been to the Parker estate many times. They were familiar with the house Hank and Carol’s habits, and knew the couple well enough that the Parkers willingly invited them into the house on the night of the murders.”
Skylar looked to Jude, and at his nod, she turned to the Judge. “The detailed planning that went into conceiving and executing this crime confirms that the people who did this took months, if not years, to plan it. Which makes financial issues that may have happened years ago a possible incentive.”
The judge wearily reached for the bott
le of Maker’s Mark and refilled their glasses. Studying the lists, he snorted. “I’m gonna be honest. I’m not surprised to see any of these names on their lists. Christ almighty, there could be a lot more. But as for these three, when I say that the Parkers robbed them, the verb is accurate. Devastated and ruined also apply.” He shook his head and took a large reinforcing swallow of his whisky.
“Much as I hate to speak ill of the dead, when it came to business—make that when it came to money—Hank was the most devious, underhanded son of a bitch I’ve ever known. Carol was a close second.” Judge took another long pull on the Maker’s Mark, then added, “Your father was on to them, and so was I. Between the two of us, we turned down at least a dozen opportunities to ‘make a killing’, in Hank and Carol Parker speak.”
Judge scoffed at the unintended irony of his descriptive analogy and sipped thoughtfully on his whisky. “To be honest, except for the fact that the Parkers were so supportive of me and you boys after your mother and father were killed, I continued to see them socially but never for business. The problem was that all the people they ruined—and yes, most of them are on this list—were also friends of your parents and mine. I helped the people Hank screwed the best I could, but I’ll tell you, when Hank and Carol Parker took someone out, it wasn’t pretty. They were of the ‘take no prisoners’ school of financial investment, or perhaps a better analogy is the ‘scorched earth’ school of financial investment.”
The Judge was quiet for a moment as tears swam in his pale blue eyes. “But goddamn, son, no financial wrong is an excuse for doing what they did to Carol and Hank.”
Jude agreed. “No, Judge it isn’t. But ruining a family financially, running them into the ground can piss off a whole lot of people. Particularly when in the same venture you quadruple your investment.”
Jared looked at the list. “Damn, it’s amazing that all four of them put Charlie Berkley on their lists.”
Skylar asked, “Does he belong there?”
Jake and Jorden exchanged a glance. Jorden’s lip curled up at the corner.
“I don’t know about you, Commander Justice, but my read is that Charlie Berkley would have paid good money to get out of that marriage, instead of killing his wife’s parents because he didn’t like the settlement or lack of it.” He frowned and then added, “But thinking back to when they first got married, Charlie was elated. That didn’t last long. My understanding was that Carol and Hank didn’t approve of the marriage. Knowing the two of them, they made their views known to Charlie and Alicia. But in their mind no one was good enough for their daughters, or for that matter, their son.”
Jake agreed. “Yeah, it’s noteworthy that with Alicia’s pending divorce, none of the Parker offspring will be married.”
Jared chortled. “Kinda like three of the Justice brothers, right, men?”
At Jorden’s pained expression Jared pulled back. “Sorry, bro. That was a bad joke. We all know the hell you’ve been through with Francine. My apologies, man.”
Jorden raised his hands in defeat. “Yeah, my marriage was a disaster from the get-go. But don’t forget that ‘disastrous marriage’ produced the two most beautiful children the world has ever known.”
The Judge nodded in agreement. “Jorden’s right. Chloe and Emma have made my life, and all of yours, so much richer.” He glared at Jared. “Now if you will just get busy and convince that lovely woman, who for some unknown reason adores you, to marry you, I’d be looking at adding to my treasured great-grandchildren.”
The Judge then studied Skylar’s spreadsheets and a pensive frown deepened the creases in his forehead. He looked at her, then glanced at Jude. “Looking at the names on these lists, even though I pray to God none of them are guilty, every one of them will be at my Summer Solstice Celebration this evening. I know you turned me down, Jude. You acted as though I were inviting you to one of Caligula’s weeklong orgies. I agreed with you. Not about the nature of the party, but because it seemed heartless of me to have an annual celebration in the midst of the hideousness of the murders. But both Jorden and Jake convinced me that we needed to give the reeling Duluthian elites an opportunity to come together—if not to grieve, to at least share in the gossip first-hand.”
The Judge turned to Skylar and pointed to her spreadsheet. “I know you will investigate these people in your own way, Skylar, but it might be good to see them in their customary social setting. I encourage you and Jude to come to the party tonight. It will give you both an opportunity to meet the potential suspects in a neutral setting.”
***
“No, Skylar Hughes. Absolutely not! You are not wearing that ridiculous outfit to the social event of the summer.”
Hailey Michels’s voice was firm. She turned to Tara, her fellow officer, for support. “Help me, Tara. Tell this poor benighted soul how important tonight is. For God’s sake, Sky, the Judge’s Summer Solstice Celebration is renowned in the upper Midwest. Everyone who is anyone will be there. Because of Jake, Jared and now Jude, that includes everyone at the precinct.”
Tara chimed in. “God, honey, people look forward to this party all year. For some of the cops’ wives, except for the Judge’s Christmas party, this is the only formal shindig they get to attend. But after the Parker murders we all assumed the Judge would cancel it.”
Hailey nodded. “Jared said that Jake and Jorden convinced the Judge to go forward with the party as planned. If nothing else, to give their grandfather something to think about other than the murders.” Whirling on Skylar and pointing to her reflection in the mirror, Hailey was fierce. “That is why, girlfriend, we are not going to allow you to go to this party looking like that!”
Glancing in the floor-length mirror on the bathroom door, Sky had to admit the outfit she’d chosen looked ridiculous, especially compared to the formal dresses her friends were wearing. When Mitzi pounded on the door and flounced in wearing a puffy pink satin concoction that showed off her generous curves to advantage, Skylar knew it was a lost cause.
She was torn. Sky knew the Judge and Jude were counting on her to be present. God, the only reason the Judge convinced Jude to attend was to help Skylar interview the people on their list of possible suspects. Looking at her reflection, Sky raised her hands in defeat. Imagining the looks Jerri Ross or the condescending Parker sisters would throw her way, and remembering Charlotte’s pointed observation that their second-hand clothing might make even Skylar look good, she made up her mind.
“Fine, you’re right. All of you. I agree. I look like a fool in this outfit. Which means that I’m not going to the party tonight.”
The chorus of negative shrieks from her well-meaning friends was deafening but useless.
Staring at the shapeless flowered top and baggy black slacks, Skylar conceded. She looked as ridiculous as they all thought she did. Besides, after her unsettling and wonderful day she’d had with Jude, she didn’t know if she could bear seeing him surrounded by eager socialites.
Unfortunately the determined trio was not to be deterred. On a mission, they headed en masse for Skylar’s closet.
Mitzi was the fiercest. “Listen up, girlfriend, I’ve Googled you. You showed up at the fucking inaugural ball of the President of the United Fucking States of America on the arm of that world-famous father of yours. You can’t tell me you didn’t wear a gorgeous dress to that ball, one that would be the envy of us Minnesota hicks.”
Mitzi shouted to her friends as she led the charge into the closet, “C’mon, ladies. We’re gonna ‘out’ this little socialite. Everybody search for garment bags. That’s where she has to have hidden her big-girl wardrobe.”
Skylar knew it would only be a matter of minutes until they found one or two or three of the expensive dresses her father had bought for her. Before they could locate them and insist that she wear one of the high-end couture creations that she hated, Skylar went to the back of her closet and pulled out her favorite dress. It was by Ana Sui, the first designer gown she’d bought for herself. Sh
e’d seen it on a sales rack at a trendy boutique in Chelsea and bought it without trying it on. It was a stunning mix of every shade of blue imaginable, including hints of purple. The gushing sales associate had said that if anyone had made a fabric that matched Skylar’s eyes, it was this silken creation. Her father was horrified when she declared she planned to wear it to one of his many award ceremonies. He could have tolerated the colorful fabric, but it was the length of the skirt and the strapless top that he despised.
Sky remembered his anger and ultimately his scorn. When he’d forbidden her to wear the dress, and she ignored him, he’d thrown up his hands in disgust. “Fine, if you want to look like a harlot, that’s your choice.” He’d added, “Needless to say, you come by it naturally.” Knowing that he was referring to her beautiful mother who had left them when Skylar was four, Sky wore the dress to the event and then tucked it in the back of her closet never planning to take it out again.
It took her rabid friends all of thirty seconds to confirm that this was the dress she would be wearing. Within an hour they’d teased her spiky hair into a chic style and added amazing colors to her cheeks, lips, and mostly her eyes.
Mitzi grabbed Sky’s glasses off her nose and threw them in a drawer. “C’mon, Hailey, you know where she hides her contacts. Get them out because if she doesn’t wear them tonight, Sky’s going in blind.”
Fortunately, Sky loved shoes and had a closet full of modish pairs that added needed inches to her short stature. But even her friends were impressed when she brought out her five-inch stiletto satin heels that were, in a word, wicked. Adding Hailey’s dangly crystal earrings and Sky’s sapphire pendant that her grandmother had given her, Skylar barely recognized the woman in the mirror.
When Jared picked them up for the party, he stood in the doorway, staring at her speechlessly. After a long moment a huge smile wreathed his face. “Holy Christ, short stuff. Do you clean up good or what?!”