Lie Catchers (28 page)

She stiffened, eyes snapping. “We do what we have to.”

“Women run this town.”

“The best we can.”

“You stay out of each other’s business.”

A nod.

“You don’t give answers until you’re asked the question.”

She closed her eyes for a moment.

“And you endure pain with little complaint. Except for the occasional ‘uff da.’” He smiled, but she didn’t.

“You counseled me to let go of the guilt I have over the death of my old girlfriend.”

She nodded, staring at the newspaper, but the finger in the handle of her mug shook.

“Yet you keep your own guilt bottled up inside.”

Jenny set her hands on the table, palms down and gazed upon them, puzzled, seeming surprised the swollen, veined appendages were hers.

“She made terrible choices.”

“You can’t protect her, Jenny.”

She fastened her eyes on his, quizzical. “Greta?”

“Mallen.”

Frowning, Jenny asked, “Mallen?”

Parker slid Liv’s chart from under the column and pointed to a row. “On October 28
th
, you vouched for your granddaughter’s presence in your hotel room.”

“I did. We went to bed early after we’d done a lot of shopping for the B&B. We were tired.”

“You took a sleeping pill.”

Jenny blinked. “I usually do.”

“You slept in separate bedrooms.”

“Yes.”

“Mallen could have left the hotel and returned without your knowing.”

“Absolutely not. I would have known.”

“I’ve made noise coming in late at night on three occasions, Jenny. You never woke up. I’ve listened to the alarm that alerts you in the morning. Sometimes you don’t hear it and Mallen has to rouse you.”

She pointed to her ears. “Old.”

“You’ve said you’re losing weight. The dose of the sleeping pill might be too strong for you.”

When she began to protest, Parker said, “Mallen met with Everett that night. She returned to the hotel, but he didn’t.”

With her hand over her mouth, Jenny said, “No.”

“I think so. And I believe you’re aware she’s guilty.”

“Mallen couldn’t...you have no proof.”

“In the beginning I thought she was protecting you, but now I surmise she’s hiding her own guilt. I’m talking to you first, Jenny. She’s next, after she returns from her run.”

“She’s unhappy,” Jenny said, tears welling in her eyes. “But she wouldn’t kill a man.”

Parker patted her hand. “Revenge and rage have poisonous effects.” He cleared his throat. “And now I have to see the guns you’ve got in this house, Jenny. Right now, before Mallen returns.”

****

“No more subtlety, folks. All our next moves will be transparent and brutally frank.” Parker waved his fork, a quarter of a Swedish meatball stuck to its prongs. “We’ve gotten nowhere with the usual strategies.”

“Accusing Mallen of killing Everett isn’t ‘frank,’ it’s fucking stupid.” Liv’s brother glared at Parker, but when their mother tut-tutted, he turned to her. “Sorry, Mom. I’m ticked.” Eyes back on Parker. “You sneaked over to my Mom’s for dinner. How transparent is that?”

Parker regarded Liv with a warm smile. “I still think Liv is safer if the town thinks we’re aren’t working together. I made sure no one knows I’m here, including Nilson.” He turned to Harriet. “These are delicious. My compliments to the chef.” Dredging his meatball in a pool of gravy on his plate, Parker popped the meat in his mouth.

Something about the fire in his eyes and a new ring of confidence in his voice created a pulsing and a pulling in Liv’s abdomen. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her, and because she was so curious about his behavior and relished his bold attention, she watched him closely.

Suddenly it was quiet at the dinner table. Liv took her eyes off Parker to see her mother and Chet grinning. Ivor glanced alternately at Parker and Liv, made a face and said, “Shit. Oops. Sorry again, Mom.”

Harriet laughed. “A little hot in here, isn’t it? I’ll get some ice cream for dessert. Cool things down.”

Rising along with Harriet, Chet said, “I’ll help.”

Parker smoothed the tablecloth as he chewed. “Look, Ivor. Liv’s doing the heavy lifting by drawing attention to guilty people in this town and setting herself up as bait. I have to find ways to shake up the town, too. You’re fond of Mallen, so maybe it’s hard for you to see she’s hiding something. It’s my job to figure out what it is.”

“You’re on the wrong track, Browne. Mallen didn’t kill Everett.”

“Maybe. But by flushing out Mallen, we might scare other guilty quail out of the bushes.”

Liv and Ivor listened while Parker explained Jenny’s deep-sleeping habits. When Chet and Harriet came in with the ice cream, Liv picked up her spoon and twirled it. “So you’ve got Mallen upset; my Sing Lee article will flush out Bob Halley, Susanna, Josh and Tuck. I’ll hit the Coffee Hüs, the grocery stores, and the Wild Asparagus Gift Store daily, letting people know new dates are coming to me like freight trains.” She turned to Ivor. “And you are?”

“Interviewing assault victims and trying to find two perps in my fishermen brawl. Now that we know Tilly had a date rape drug and an overdose of sleeping pills in her system, we’re looking for another murderer, I think.” He sighed. “We’re slammed.”

Parker held up his hand. “I’ve got Nilson helping you with Tilly’s death; he’s also following up on the money trail in the Caymans with my boss.” Parker stared at Liv and pulled out his phone.

“What?” Liv asked.

“My sister.”

Chet frowned. “Pepper?”

An eye roll. “Yeah. Pepper wants a picture of Dad with Harriet and Liv. Your sitting together reminded me of her harangue.” He held up the phone. “Smile,” he ordered, peered into the screen and said “1, 2, 3,” and snapped. Once he’d typed on the screen, he gave Liv a wry grin and said, “Done.”

Liv laughed. “You’re a good brother.” The urge to kiss Parker was so strong at that moment she could barely stay seated. The draw of the man was irrepressible, especially when he showed reverence for his sister and father. And to her. He’d seen her strange closet and he still looked at her like she was eatable, not a freak. With his brown hair mussed and the shadow of a beard, he looked rough and tumble tonight, not smooth and classy as he usually appeared. She was drawn to him either way. But why the change in his behavior, this public show of his affection for her?

As if to answer her question, Parker turned his attention to her, his smoldering eyes on her mouth first, then her breasts, and back up to her eyes.
I want you.

“Uff da,” Harriet said, rising. “I think we’ll need more ice cream.”

****

Liv walked Parker to the back door, wishing he didn’t have to leave. His presence had the effect of an ‘on’ switch: warmth coursed through her, while a sense of well-being and feeling favored made her heart pound. She couldn’t help but stare at him, examining his features for a clue of what it was about Parker that appealed to her so much.

“For one thing,” she said aloud, “You’ve never lied to me.”

“Hmm?” he asked.

“You’re the only man who hasn’t argued with me about dates and times and what you said and I said and on and on.”

He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “I know better. Your other boyfriends were stupid.”

Encircling his waist, she said, “
Other
boyfriends? Which means you are…?”

Blinking his surprise, he said, slowly, “I guess I am.”

“You’re different tonight, Parker. With me, I mean.”

He nodded. “Back at your place, when I watched you typing away at your computer and you said you identified with Bernadette. That got to me. She loved tripping up the bad guys, just like you do. Hell, I do, too. I couldn’t have stopped her from doing her job.”

“In the same way you can’t stop me.”

“She was a professional, Liv. We’re going to have to work even harder to keep you safe.”

Lifting her hand to stop him, she said, “I know, I know. But there’s more. Between you and me.”

With a shrug he said, “I like to be wherever you are, Livy.”

“You’ve seen my closet and you still—”

“You never let the other guys see your collection, did you?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? They would have dashed out the door if I’d shown them what organizes my life.”

He kissed her eyebrows. “Was that fair to them Livy? I mean I know I called them stupid, but you didn’t let them in on an important part of your life.”

Leaning close so she whispered in his ear, she said, “They failed the initial litmus test; they weren’t…they’d never be ready to see what you saw.” She rubbed her chin against his stubble, amazed at how much she liked the feeling when the other night, he’d shaved for her and the smoothness of his chin turned her on.
It’s not logical.
She pulled away and looked deeply into his eyes. “I like everything about you, Parker.” She shook her head. “And I’m usually so critical.”

He laughed. “Don’t talk to Pepper. She’ll give you a list of my issues.”

Hugging him tightly to contradict Pepper’s criticism, Liv felt Parker’s arousal and hummed in appreciation. “I don’t want you to go.”

With a groan, he said. “Same here. But first we have to solve this case.”

“Keep our minds sharp, careers in the balance, a town’s well-being, etcetera, etcetera,” she sing-songed.

He fingered the amber stones around her neck. “I’ll remember this night, Livy. This set of jewelry and the promise we made to each other. Let these be our placeholder,” he said as he twirled her earrings between his thumb and index finger. “Your skill was born with amber; you and I will begin with the same stone.”

She hugged him tight before she let him go out the door, her heart full with his vow. But when she closed the door, he took all the warmth with him. Even when she touched her necklace in the place he’d held it, the stone was cold.

“Nilson’s missing.”

Ivor jerked his head up, eyes wide with surprise, while Parker paced in front of Ivor’s desk.

“He didn’t sleep in his bed last night; I checked with my boss in Fresno and no one there has heard from him since yesterday morning.”

“God dammit.” Ivor pounded a fist on the table so hard that pens bounced in the air. He stood, his chair shooting to the wall behind him. “What have you done to find him?”

Parker said, “I checked with Fresno, with Mallen and Jenny at the B&B, who know zip. He had no friends in Petersburg I could contact, that’s for sure. I dragged him to the Landing the other night, so I checked there. No dice. Last time I saw him was before I sneaked over to your mother’s house.”

“What does your boss say?”

“He blew up. Thinks Nilson has gone AWOL.”

Ivor pushed his fingers through his hair. “Jesus, we have to put out an APB on a Federal Agent? Where the hell did he go?”

“I checked the airlines, boat rentals, car rentals. Nothing. Mallen said he left the B&B shortly after I headed for your mom’s. When I returned, I went straight to my bedroom and worked awhile. I assumed he was doing the same…that’s been our habit. Sometimes he goes back to our workroom in the Municipal Building at night, but we don’t typically check with each other.”

“He’s a loner, all right.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Parker said as he looked out the office window on Nordic Drive, where the first snow of the season fell. Two deaths and a shooting. Now a missing agent. Anxiety crept up his neck and made his head itch. “We need help.” He turned to Ivor. “Where’s Chet? Tell me he’s with Liv.”

“He is. Working in the store while Liv writes.”

Parker let out a sigh. “Good. We’re here and they are there. At least we can count on one thing.”

****

Liv stood and stretched her arms to the ceiling, working out the kinks. Her neck ached and her eyes smarted from peering all day at the computer screen while she kept an eye on Tuck’s front door. She’d been on watch ever since the special edition of the
Petersburg Pilot
came out. If Tuck’s habits hadn’t changed, he’d already read the e-mail version of the paper, enraged about Liv’s veiled accusations in her latest Sing Lee article as well as the gossip around town about Liv’s newest date revelations.

Her mom had taken charge of the store and gone home at 4:00 p.m., and Chet was doing last minute clean-up in the workroom before they joined Harriet for dinner. Parker had reported in by phone, hip deep in a search for his partner who’d gone missing sometime last night. Ev and Tilly gone. Now Nilson. What was happening?

Liv skimmed fingers over her amber necklace. For the first time in her life, she’d worn the same jewelry two days in a row.
Parker made a promise on this set of stones. I’ll wear it until he makes good on his vow. We’ve turned a corner, and I don’t want us to forget it.

Pressing her hand to her heart, she marveled at how happy she felt. Even in the midst of murders and missing people, she felt more carefree than she could ever remember.
Time to celebrate.

Opening her apartment door, she yelled, “Chet! Come on up; let’s take a wine break before we go over to Mom’s.”

Silence and darkness enveloped the downstairs, a little light spilling from the workroom off to the right. “Chet. Stop what you’re doing. Come on up.”

“Liv…I,” Chet said weakly.

“Chet,” she said, running down the stairs. Did he fall? Did he have a heart attack? Was he sick? “Chet?” She rounded into the lighted workroom. “What?” He lay on the floor, his face pinched in agony and an arm outstretched.

“Liv,” he said, shaking his head.

Fear flushed her body as she added up the mistakes she’d made by rushing down the stairs. Without a phone. Without a gun. Movement behind her made her stiffen as she glanced at the open back door of the workroom. She could run for the exit, but that would leave Chet here, on the floor with the person behind her. She pulled in a breath to get ready for whatever came next, and whispered, “Parker.”

****

“Parker? Where are you?”

“Harriet? I’m in the Municipal Building. What’s wrong?”

“Liv and Chet aren’t here yet and no one answers the phone at the store. They promised to come to dinner at six o’clock and it’s fifteen after.”