by Taylor Lee
Marion had the decency to flush, although Sky couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. The hostile woman seemed to consider her response then met Jude’s hard gaze. “He was sedated, Jude, for most of the day. Toward evening he became more alert, but still wasn’t himself. I didn’t think he was up to talking with either of you.”
She shot Skylar a dismissive glance then faced Jude, making it clear she didn’t intend to back down.
Jude pressed. “And yet he was up to leaving his house and coming over here?”
Marion glared at him. “For God’s sake, Jude! Do you think I knew Blake left the house? That I would have let him? Drive the car? In the state he was in?” Her voice rose sharply as she barked out her incredulous questions.
“When did you discover he was gone?”
For the first time since Jude began questioning her, Marion lost her bluster. She glanced at her sisters who were sitting across from her, their arms around each other.
“When…when Charlotte called me. I thought she must be crazy. I knew—or thought—that Blake was upstairs in his room.”
Jude shifted his attention to the two pale women huddling on the sofa. “Tell me why you decided to go over to your parents’ house.”
Charlotte answered him. “We had just finished dinner and decided to have an after dinner drink in the garden. Alicia thought she heard something, but we ignored it at first. Then I also heard something or someone. I…I…Neither one of us wanted to go over there to see what it was.”
“So why did you?”
Alicia spoke up. “I didn’t think anyone was there but there have been a lot of curiosity seekers coming around the house.” She added bitterly, “Apparently, there are a lot of sick people who like to visit crime scenes.”
“Was Blake dead when you got there?”
All three women startled and stared at Skylar. Alicia answered first. “For God’s sake! What do you think? He was…God…” Her voice broke in a sob and she covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.
Charlotte put her arm around her sister and glared at Skylar. “Of course he was dead. He was hanging from the chandelier.”
Marion turned a harsh gaze on Skylar. “How can you be so cruel?” She whirled on Jude, “What’s wrong with her? Why is she here? I—”
Jude held up his hand stopping her angry tirade. “As you well know, Marion, Ms. Hughes is my partner. Moreover her question is a legitimate one. It is important for us to establish the time of Blake’s death.”
He turned to Charlotte and Alicia. “Let me ask you both one more time. Was Blake dead when you arrived at your parents’ house?”
***
“Please understand, Jude, my findings are preliminary, but I can at least confirm that in addition to Paxil and other drugs, Blake was taking Sildenafil.”
Jude was incredulous. “What the hell? Blake was taking Viagra? I don’t get it, Doc.”
“I know it’s surprising—”
Skylar interrupted. “Not necessarily. One of the side effects of Paxil is erectile dysfunction. Blake was likely taking Viagra on a regular basis. But tell me, Dr. Evans, did you find evidence of cocaine or heroin?”
The coroner nodded, a slow smile crossing his face. “You know I did, Ms. Hughes.” He added, “I’ve given up being surprised by your astute analysis, my dear. Your father—”
Jude interrupted him before the doctor could finish praising Sky’s famous father. “Yes, Doc, we’ve all learned that Ms. Hughes is without a doubt the most complex and, yes, surprising woman to grace our police force—and our lives.” He turned to Sky. “Help me out, Squirt. So the cocaine or heroin boosts the effect of the other drugs, essentially becoming a speedball?”
When Skylar nodded in agreement, Jude understood.
“Which gave him the strength to toss that cord over the chandelier and climb up on the stool?”
“Yes, that and the fact that—”
Jude interrupted her with a grim smile and finished her sentence. “That and the fact that he’d had practice. Twice before.”
Jared whistled in astonishment. “Holy Christ, are you two saying that Blake really did kill his…” He stopped, unable to finish his sentence.
Jude put his arm around Skylar and faced his brother. “Yeah, bro, I think we can safely say it’s a damn good possibility that Blake is responsible for the death of his parents.”
Chapter 31
Skylar knew she should wait for Jude, but there was no telling how long he’d be tied up with the press. He and Jake were being hit by every media outlet in the state, and now the national media had climbed aboard the bandwagon. She’d spent the afternoon in her office staring out the window, going over the folders in her encyclopedic brain. She knew she was close to solving the murders. So tantalizingly close she could taste it. But she needed to test her hypothesis.
Which was why she couldn’t wait for Jude. He would understand her urgency, or she hoped he would. Blake’s dead body had provoked a series of questions that begged to be answered. She knew the only way she could hope to answer them was to return to the scene of the crime. She scribbled a note to Jude, then hopped in her Spider and headed for the Parker Mansion.
Skylar stood in the middle of the library, staring up at the chandelier. Focusing on the massive fixture, her vision cleared. One by one she pictured the three bodies that had hung there. She saw the mother, the father, and their only son ghoulishly twisting in and out of each other’s spheres. The re-creation allowed her to grasp what she’d been searching for. As if they were hanging in front of her, Skylar concentrated on each of their expressions. She studied Hank Parker’s terrified visage, Blake’s peaceful one and Carol Parker’s missing eyes and tongue. It was then that she knew. Finally, the clues and the murders fell into place.
Too late, she heard a sound and turned to see the Parker sisters advancing on her. She’d always been struck by how much they resembled one another. It wasn’t the color of their hair, or their eyes, or even their figures, which were all different. No, it was the anger that emanated from them. It was the one thing that had struck Sky since the first time she had met them. It showed in their grim expressions, their twisted smiles, and the malevolence flashing in their eyes. The more compelling similarity at the moment was that each of them was carrying a handgun, each pointing at her.
Marion’s voice was hostile as always, but her smile was taunting, demonic. “Of course you would come back. Why wouldn’t you? But who would have thought you would be foolish enough to come by yourself, or that Jude Justice would allow you out of his sight?”
She grinned at her sisters who chortled in response. “You’ve made it easy for us, Ms. Hughes. Everyone knows sick thrill-seekers have been haunting this house. How unfortunate that the prowler we had to shoot was none other than you—our nemesis.”
***
Frustrated by the barrage of questions the insatiable press corps was throwing their way, Jude finally put up a hand and ended the inquisition. “Sorry folks, that’s it for now. Commander Justice and I need to get back to work. If anything changes or we get new information, we will let you know. As of now, the only thing that we can conclusively tell you is that Blake Parker is dead. We found him hanging from the chandelier in the Parker Mansion, and as many of you have noted, on the same fixture we found his parents. It appears that Blake Parker died from asphyxia.”
Ignoring the shouted questions raging behind him, Jude strode to Sky’s office. His brain was teeming. The questions the press had rightly been tossing at him and Jake were the same ones that were assaulting him. Was Blake’s death a suicide, or as Jude was now certain, something more? If so, what? While he hadn’t said it to the press or even to his brothers, in his gut Jude was convinced that Blake couldn’t have done it alone. He’d had help. But from whom?
Jude needed Sky. He’d seen her studying the scene. She was as preoccupied as he was. Together, they would be able to put the pieces in place. Annoyed that she wasn’t
in her office, he marched to his own and barked at Bernice, “Have you seen Sky?”
“No, Jake. She left about ten or fifteen minutes ago, but she left a note on your—”
Jude was in his office before Bernice completed her sentence. His gut hit the floor when he saw the note.
I think I’ve figured out why they did it. I need to see the scene one more time to confirm how.
Jude was strapping an assault Colt M4 Carbine to his leg and shoving a Heckler & Koch HK45 into his double rig as he passed Jared’s office, screaming for him and Jake to join him. “Grab Solly and every assault weapon you have. Sky’s in danger.”
He yelled at Marion to call the SWAT team. “Order them to surround the Parker Mansion and tell ’em we’re going in dark and hot. And to wait for my signal!”
As they dashed for the parking lot, Jared asked, “She said she knew why they did it? Christ, does that mean what I think it does?”
Jude had the squad in gear as they flew from the parking lot. “Yeah, she figured it out. But holy Christ, why couldn’t she wait for me? Why the fuck did she go there alone?” He answered his own question, “Because, goddammit, that’s who she is. I’m telling you, as God is my witness, when I get hold of that young woman she won’t be able to sit down for a week.”
Jared agreed. “I hear you, buddy, but let’s get her first.”
Jude eased the squad in next to her Spider. Leaping from the squad he felt the 458’s fender, gratified that it was still warm. He could only pray that they had arrived in time, but he was terrified they hadn’t. Turning to his brothers, he went into special-ops mode.
He murmured, “Hand signals only. God only knows what we’re gonna find, but I have dammed good idea what we can expect.”
Jude’s heart was in his throat as they slipped into the big house. Hearing the murmur of voices, he signaled to the hallway leading to the library and motioned for his brothers to each cover one of the side entrances to the library. Like the highly-trained operatives that they were, they moved stealthily, a pride of lions approaching what Jude hoped to hell was a herd of unsuspecting gazelles. The main library door was slightly ajar, allowing him to see inside. Jude knew he’d see the horrific sight in every nightmare he had until his dying day.
Skylar was tied to an armless chair, a bungee cord tightly wrapped from her waist to her neck. Marion and Alicia were sitting in comfortable armchairs on both sides of her. An occasional table was between them, with a bottle of Maker’s Mark and three full glasses. The sight was so ordinary, they could have been simply enjoying an afternoon cocktail except for the fact that both women were pointing what looked like army issue Sig Sauer 226s at Skylar’s chest. And standing behind Sky, pressing a Glock 19 against the base of her skull, was a grim-faced Charlotte.
***
Marion asked, “I’m curious. How long have you known?”
Sky shrugged. She didn’t want to say that at some level, a level she hadn’t been able to fully access, she’d always known. She decided that if she was going to die, she would at least make sure she had her facts straight. Not acknowledging Marion’s question, she instead commented, “It was your mother’s eyes and tongue.”
When Marion and Alicia frowned, Sky explained, “She always watched, didn’t she? And never said anything, never told anyone?”
Marion growled. “You’re right, goddammit. The bitch let him do whatever he wanted. As long as she could watch.” She hesitated, then sneered. “I was nine when he started. Do you know how small your anus is when you haven’t even reached puberty? Trust me, by the time I was twelve, you could have rammed a four-inch pipe up my ass and I wouldn’t have felt it. But by that time, he’d tired of me. He said he wanted something fresher, tighter…” She stopped and glared at her sister. “So Charlotte got to be the chosen one. And finally, Alicia.”
Alicia took a sip of her whiskey then picked up the narrative. “Then, Blake came along.” She giggled, a jarring sound. She winked at her sisters. “You have to admit, Daddy did have his quirks. Thought it was disgusting to do boys. But since we couldn’t stand the thought of men, boys seemed like fun to us. Especially Blake.”
Her voice was dreamy. “Do you remember how at first he’d cry? Said he didn’t like us to shove things in his ‘hidey hole’.”
Charlotte snorted. “He was so fucking pitiful.”
When all three of them were silent, Sky prompted. “Your mother liked to watch, not participate?”
“Yes. She was a fucking voyeur if there ever was one. We let her watch everything we did that night to Daddy. Since she’d been so careful never to tell anyone what was happening, we decided that her tongue wasn’t much use to her.” Marion glanced at her sister and said admiringly, “That was Charlotte’s idea. Brilliant.”
Sky nodded. “That and poking out her eyes?”
Charlotte sniffed. “Yes, we thought it was high time she stopped watching.”
Alicia mused. “It still amazes me. Our parents were honestly surprised. Stunned actually. I think they thought we liked it.” She added with a shrug. “And in a way I guess we did. At least it sure was fun doing it to them.”
Praying that Charlotte didn’t see the flash by the door, Skylar forced herself to take deep, regular breaths. She had known Jude would come. She could only imagine how angry he was that she hadn’t waited for him. God, why hadn’t she waited for him? She consoled herself, but then he would have been in grave danger…like she was.
Determined to keep them talking, Sky asked, “Did Blake help?”
“Of course.” Marion glanced up at the chandelier. “Have to give the little freak credit. He was the one who figured out the pulley system. We had to get them up there somehow.”
Alicia agreed. “He was actually strong if you gave him enough E combined with LSD. And you have to admit, the little pussy would never have been as helpful as he was if he weren’t zonked out on Paxil and crystal.”
Marion grimaced. “The problem was, we couldn’t depend on him.”
“Was Blake stealing from the corporation?”
“No, why would he? We just made it look that way. From the beginning, we intended that he would take the fall.” Marion was dismissive. “He was always unstable, and it just kept getting worse. We never knew when he would crack. For God’s sake, Daddy spent millions buying off that freak Claxton when Blake told the shrink what we all did for entertainment.”
She turned to her sister, “Which reminds me, Charlotte. We need to add a dose of crystal to the good doctor’s next cocktail along with his Viagra. You know he’s going to hit us up for another million knowing we offed Blake.”
Even though she knew the answer, Skylar asked, “Did Blake commit suicide?”
All three sisters laughed. Alicia managed to control her amusement enough to snigger, “Let’s just say it was an assisted suicide.”
Marion chortled in agreement. “I truly think the little freak believed us when we told him that mother and father were waiting for him up there.” She added in a disbelieving tone, “Jesus God, he was positively giddy when we explained to him what we planned to do and how we needed him to help us. After all, he was the one who knew how to work the pulleys.”
Charlotte pressed the Glock harder into Skylar’s neck. “We probably wouldn’t have had to kill him if it wasn’t for you. For some reason, he decided that he needed to talk to you. In his crazy, drugged-out euphoria, he’d gotten it in his head that it was important that you know the facts.”
Marion took a hearty swallow of her Maker’s Mark and glared at Sky. “Charlotte’s right. God, what is it about you that men are drawn to? Even that hunk, Jude Justice. You were screwing him, weren’t you? Is he as good as all the women say he is?” She sniffed. “The question is, what could he possibly see in you?”
“Why did you kill Charlie?”
Sky was gratified at the surprised glances the sisters exchanged.
Marion shook her head. “You actually figured that out? Hmm, that explains w
hy Jude kept you around. You really might be a psychic or something, instead of just a freak. As for Charlie, he knew too much. He was threatening to blackmail us.”
***
Jude saw the glint of Jake’s and Jared’s weapons, signaling that they were in position. They had to be to take out each of the shooters. His shot was the most critical. He had Charlotte in his sights. Unlike her sisters, who’d been so consumed by their hideous tale that they’d let their guard down, Charlotte’s Glock was still pressed against the base of Sky’s neck. He knew Sky had seen him. Her demeanor had changed ever so slightly. He had to believe that she understood her task. As if to confirm, she planted her feet firmly on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and twisted her head as if she were stiff.
Jude expelled the air in his lungs and shouted one word, “Sky!”
His pinpoint shot hit Charlotte between the eyes. The bullet from her Glock exploded in the wall beside him. Marion and Alicia’s screams confirmed that Jared and Jake had hit their targets.
Skylar had crashed her chair to the floor. He was at her side in seconds. Kicking Charlotte’s body out of the way, he had Sky untied and in his arms before he allowed himself to take another breath.
Chapter 32
Jude didn’t know when he’d be able to tamp down the adrenaline that had consumed his body. In the flurry of swarming men and frantic activity, he barked out a series of commands and captured Sky against his chest. In minutes, Marion and Alicia were in cuffs, screaming to be released. The medics arrived and tended to Marion and Alicia’s gunshot wounds, then loaded Charlotte’s body onto a gurney. Jared took over the crime scene, shouting orders to the arriving CSI team.
Carrying Skylar in his arms, Jude moved into the front room away from the crowd with Jake at his heels. He stood Sky on the floor, ignoring her insistence that she wasn’t hurt. Running his hands over every inch of her body, Jude finally acknowledged that the only bruises he could find were the ones on her wrists and cheek from where she’d hit the floor.