The bitter chill of winter nipped at my face as I raced to the warm sanctuary of Nick’s car. Fog hung in the air like a wedding veil, and the roads were saturated with rain. Snow plow workers pushed it off the streets into steep, ten-foot mounds on the side of the road that resembled heaps of dirty glaciers. The elements could do their worst. With Parker on the hook, nothing would stop me from being there.
Coop grinned at me when we entered the station.
“You’re too late,” he said. “You missed the dog-and-pony show.”
He wasn’t about to break my spirit, not today.
“I’m here to view the recording.”
“I like the new headdress,” Coop said. “Looks great on you.”
The chief stepped out of his office, shook his head at Coop, and summoned me to his office.
“How’d it go?” I said, sitting down.
“Parker lawyered up so we couldn’t get much out of him,” he said.
“Figures. Who questioned him?”
“Coop.”
That figured as well.
“He denied any involvement in what happened to Charlotte Halliwell, of course. Said he was in New York at the time.”
“Can anyone back up his story?”
“A woman.”
“Who?” I said.
“Kristin Tanner.”
My mystery woman had a last name after all.
“Have you tracked this friend down?”
“She lives in New York, but she flies in tomorrow for the weekend.”
“Let me guess; she’s staying with Parker.”
He nodded.
“How hospitable of him,” I said. “What about the abuse?”
“Denied it,” he said.
“Of course he did.”
“Since no one has come forward, and I don’t have any evidence, there’s not much I can do.”
“What about me? That asshole had me in a headlock.”
“And he’s the one with the broken fingers,” he said. “It’s his word against yours.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I didn’t say that,” he said.
“You might as well have.”
“Damnit, Sloane, it’s not a question of whether I believe you; you know I do. I had no grounds to hold him.”
“So we let him walk, free to roam the streets, striking women at his leisure?”
“You’re being ridiculous,” he said.
“Parker Stanton should be in a jail cell, and I’ll bet Daddy Stanton did what he needed to do so his precious son could stroll right out of here.”
I stood up, ready to walk out the door until the chief leaned over the desk, his pointer finger aimed straight at me.
“Shut the door!”
I didn’t want to shut the door. I wanted to slam it. Ever since the accident I hadn’t felt like my usual self. I didn’t know what to blame it on: the prescription drugs, the lack of a decent night’s sleep, or maybe because I still hadn’t found Charlotte’s killer.
I faced the chief, but remained at the door.
“I put a tail on Parker,” the chief said. “I’m not letting him go for nothing.”