The pain overwhelmed me, but I managed to stand and I limped my way back to the safety of my car.
I had my hands on the steering wheel and my key in the ignition when Parker’s front porch light turned on. Clad in a pair of striped flannels and a cotton shirt, he opened the door. The envelope dropped to the ground. He didn’t seem to notice it at first when he crouched down to retrieve the newspaper. But then his eyes fixated on it and he picked it up and turned it over in his hand. He threw the newspaper into the house and then reached inside the envelope and extracted the index card. Parker stared at it for a moment and then took a step backward into the house and flipped a switch and the entire front yard lit up. It wouldn’t take long for him to see the prints I made in the snow. In his bare feet, he took a few steps further and focused his attention on the footsteps that went up the driveway. He scratched his forehead and then turned back toward the house. Right before he reached the door he spotted my size seven footprints in the snow and followed them across the lawn. He didn’t make it far before his bare feet reacted to the cold and he turned back toward the house. I didn’t wait for him to return.
CHAPTER 15
The next day the afternoon sun struggled to shine through the clouds that served as a blockade against it. I sat on Parker’s street and waited. Parker’s car, a Porsche 911 that resembled the color of a canary, came as no surprise to me. All flash and flare and probably paid for in full with his daddy’s money. It was parked out front which meant it had already been out to play that day.
After some time my stomach indicated its discontent. I removed the lid off my bowl of brown rice and broccoli and reached for my water on the passenger seat and took a sip. It would have served as a healthy lunch would it not have been for the bag of chocolate chip cookies I had in my bag for dessert.
I glanced at my watch. Three hours had passed and there was no sign of Parker or the pudgy man in black. With my book read, my food gone, and Parker’s car still asleep in the driveway I took my leave. I didn’t have long before he would fly out again.
CHAPTER 16
Nick answered the door clad in a black apron and gave me a complete 360.
“What do you think, is it me?”
“Lose the clothes and keep the apron,” I said.
He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me inside.
“Not so tight,” I said.
“Why?”
I set Lord Berkeley down and undid my jeans. I shimmied them down a few inches and revealed the outcome of my haphazard attempt at fleeing the scene the night before.
Nick pointed a pair of tongs at me.
“You’ve got some explaining to do.”
The bruises had taken on a nice purplish-blue effect which reminded me a of New Zealand sunset—almost.
Lord Berkeley smelled the aroma of beef and made his way to the kitchen. He sat about a foot away from Nick’s feet and stared and waited.
Nick cocked his thumb and trigger finger and aimed straight at him.
“Pow!”
Lord Berkeley fell to the ground. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes and gave up the ghost. He remained still for a few dramatic moments until Nick gave him the okay signal and then sprung back to life to claim his treat, a pint-sized bone of beef.
“I should leave him with you more often,” I said.
“Out with it then,” Nick said. “I want to know about those bruises.”
“Last night I staked out Charlotte’s ex-boyfriends place.”
“And?”
“He wasn’t home at first so I waited,” I said. “And this guy pulls up with an envelope which he shoved into the door jam and then he left.”
“That’s strange.”
“I thought so too so I checked it out.”
He smiled.
“Couldn’t leave it alone, could you,” he said.
“Of course not. But Charlotte’s ex came home before I made it back to my car,” I said.
“Let me guess. He saw you on his property and beat you on the butt with his snow shovel.”
I
I had my hands on the steering wheel and my key in the ignition when Parker’s front porch light turned on. Clad in a pair of striped flannels and a cotton shirt, he opened the door. The envelope dropped to the ground. He didn’t seem to notice it at first when he crouched down to retrieve the newspaper. But then his eyes fixated on it and he picked it up and turned it over in his hand. He threw the newspaper into the house and then reached inside the envelope and extracted the index card. Parker stared at it for a moment and then took a step backward into the house and flipped a switch and the entire front yard lit up. It wouldn’t take long for him to see the prints I made in the snow. In his bare feet, he took a few steps further and focused his attention on the footsteps that went up the driveway. He scratched his forehead and then turned back toward the house. Right before he reached the door he spotted my size seven footprints in the snow and followed them across the lawn. He didn’t make it far before his bare feet reacted to the cold and he turned back toward the house. I didn’t wait for him to return.
CHAPTER 15
The next day the afternoon sun struggled to shine through the clouds that served as a blockade against it. I sat on Parker’s street and waited. Parker’s car, a Porsche 911 that resembled the color of a canary, came as no surprise to me. All flash and flare and probably paid for in full with his daddy’s money. It was parked out front which meant it had already been out to play that day.
After some time my stomach indicated its discontent. I removed the lid off my bowl of brown rice and broccoli and reached for my water on the passenger seat and took a sip. It would have served as a healthy lunch would it not have been for the bag of chocolate chip cookies I had in my bag for dessert.
I glanced at my watch. Three hours had passed and there was no sign of Parker or the pudgy man in black. With my book read, my food gone, and Parker’s car still asleep in the driveway I took my leave. I didn’t have long before he would fly out again.
CHAPTER 16
Nick answered the door clad in a black apron and gave me a complete 360.
“What do you think, is it me?”
“Lose the clothes and keep the apron,” I said.
He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me inside.
“Not so tight,” I said.
“Why?”
I set Lord Berkeley down and undid my jeans. I shimmied them down a few inches and revealed the outcome of my haphazard attempt at fleeing the scene the night before.
Nick pointed a pair of tongs at me.
“You’ve got some explaining to do.”
The bruises had taken on a nice purplish-blue effect which reminded me a of New Zealand sunset—almost.
Lord Berkeley smelled the aroma of beef and made his way to the kitchen. He sat about a foot away from Nick’s feet and stared and waited.
Nick cocked his thumb and trigger finger and aimed straight at him.
“Pow!”
Lord Berkeley fell to the ground. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes and gave up the ghost. He remained still for a few dramatic moments until Nick gave him the okay signal and then sprung back to life to claim his treat, a pint-sized bone of beef.
“I should leave him with you more often,” I said.
“Out with it then,” Nick said. “I want to know about those bruises.”
“Last night I staked out Charlotte’s ex-boyfriends place.”
“And?”
“He wasn’t home at first so I waited,” I said. “And this guy pulls up with an envelope which he shoved into the door jam and then he left.”
“That’s strange.”
“I thought so too so I checked it out.”
He smiled.
“Couldn’t leave it alone, could you,” he said.
“Of course not. But Charlotte’s ex came home before I made it back to my car,” I said.
“Let me guess. He saw you on his property and beat you on the butt with his snow shovel.”
I
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