Bad Medicine (7 page)

"Sound great. How about if we meet back here for high tea? From what I've heard it's a 'not to be missed' experience."

"High tea sounds wonderful."

"It's a date."

"I'll say good night then." Martine patted Jesse arm, and before he could catch his wits and venture an alternate suggestion, she had crossed to the adjoining bedroom and slipped inside, closing the door firmly behind her.

Chapter Six

Saturday morning Jesse climbed the steps of the two-bedroom ranch at
911 Lotus Street
and knocked. Moments later, a mousy little woman with dishwater blond hair opened the door an inch and peered through the crack.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Ed Parker." Jesse smiled to allay her unease. "It's in regard to their foster children Shannon and Alex."

She opened the door and looked quizzically up at Jesse. "I'm Mrs. Parker. What about the children?"

Jesse smiled again. Mention of the two young people had given curiosity the upper hand. Mrs. Parker still thought of them as children. Her motherly instincts overrode any fears she might have about talking to a stranger.

"My name is Jesse Dancer. I'm assisting Alex with some inquiries regarding
Shannon
's death. I know it must be hard for you to talk about the death of your foster daughter, but I'd appreciate any help you can give me."

"Please come inside." She stepped back and allowed him to pass through the open doorway. "Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be great." Jesse followed her into a neat and tidy kitchen. She motioned him to a seat in one of the straight back chairs pulled up to a small table covered with a bright yellow cloth.

"I'm afraid we haven't heard from
Shannon
since she left here last year. Alex has probably told you that things were strained between us." She set two cups on the table, picked up a pot from the stove and filled them both.

"Alex suggested his foster dad might have visited
Shannon
on one of his trips to the mainland."

Mrs. Parker lifted her cup and drank. After a moment of silence, she shook her head. "I don't think so. Ed was very angry when
Shannon
left."

"So I understand. I was wondering though. Is it possible your husband decided to try reconciliation without telling anyone in case it didn't come off?"

She tilted her head and stared at a spot over Jesse's shoulder. "It's possible I suppose. Ed wouldn't like being rebuffed. Even so, once he's gotten down on someone, I've never known him to change his mind."

"Would it be possible for me to speak with Mr. Parker?"

"He's at a pool tournament today. He'll be out until late."

"Maybe I could stop by the tournament?"

The woman frowned and twisted the dishtowel in her hand. Her subservient relationship to her husband was evident in her demeanor.

"Alex is devastated over
Shannon
's death." Jesse appealed to those motherly instincts again. "Perhaps Alex would know the spot where your husband is attending this tournament?"

"Ed's been going there for years." The frown creasing her brow cleared and Jesse saw that she'd figured out his meaning.

"Why don't I just drop by there and wait for an opportunity to question your husband. I'll make it a point to mention that Alex suggested I might find him there."

"He'll be at Diego's over on
Douglas Street
." She had no hesitation about revealing Ed Parker's whereabouts once she knew Jesse would name Alex as his source of information.

"I'll tell Alex how much you've helped." Jesse smiled and pushed back his chair. "I doubt your husband will have any helpful information, but it'll make Alex feel better to know I've checked with everyone who might know something."

Located next door to the Red Lion Inn, Diego's had all the trappings of a popular sports bar with a number of strategically placed television sets and a large crowd clustered around three regulation pool tables.

Jesse chose a spot at the bar that afforded a view of the pool tables. When a bartender finally strolled over Jesse ordered a beer.

"Looks like you have a tournament going on," Jesse said when the man returned with his beer.

"Yep. Just a local affair, but we get a nice crowd."

"A friend asked me to look up his foster dad. He gave me a description, but I didn't anticipate a crowd like this."

"Anyone I might know?"

"Fellow by the name of Ed Parker."

"Oh sure. Everyone knows Ed. He's in the tournament. That's him next to the shooter, wearing the Budweiser T-shirt. They'll break in about half an hour. I can steer him your way if you like."

"That would be great. I'll get a table and grab a sandwich while I'm waiting."

Fifteen minutes later, after Jesse had polished off a fairly decent club sandwich, an average sized balding guy with a bit of a pot belly, pulled out a chair across from Jesse and settled into the seat. "I hear you've been looking for me."

"You must be Ed Parker," Jesse stuck out his hand. "I'm Jesse Dancer. I got your name from Alex."

"So I hear." Parker said, giving Jesse's hand a brief shake. "Something I can do for you?"

"It's about
Shannon
."

 
"What about her? She ran away to the City. Got in over her head. Now she's dead. End of story." Parker scowled at a point over Jesse's left shoulder.

"Sounds like you still have some issues."

Parker's face flushed. "What's it to you?" He shoved his chair back and fixed Jesse with a belligerent glare.

"Take it easy," Jesse said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out the $500.00 check he'd found in
Shannon
's room. "Alex asked me to go through
Shannon
's room looking for clues to her killer. I found this check and we decided I should come talk to you before turning it over to the police."

"Since when do the cops care about me giving one of my kids money?"

Jesse shifted in his chair, stretched his legs and took a drink from his beer. Then he set the mug down and glanced across at Parker. There were beads of sweat standing out on the older man's bald head and his color didn't look healthy. "It's common knowledge that the two of you have been estranged for more than a year. I'd think that would call for some kind of explanation."

"Yeah. Well maybe I'm not as hard-hearted as some people would like to think.
Shannon
called a couple of weeks ago. Said she was having a hard time, so I sent her a check." Parker stuck his chin in the air and scowled at Jesse.

"Any idea why she never cashed it?"

"No. I don't know a damn thing more than what I've just told you."

"No need to get upset." Jesse kept his voice low to soothe the agitated man. "Alex just wanted me to clear this up before I took the check to the cops. They'll want to verify your story, of course. But the fact that
Shannon
called you and you mailed the check will make a difference."

"Why?" Parker snapped.

"Because of the circumstances. If you'd been in
Vancouver
and had personal contact with
Shannon
they'd want to know the details. The fact that there's been a lot of friction between you and Shannon and now she's been murdered would raise some questions."

"I didn't say I mailed the check," Parker muttered.

"So you did see Shannon in
Vancouver
."

"I didn't say that either. But yeah. I saw her. So what?"

"I guess that depends on when you saw her and under what circumstances. You didn't, for instance, see her last Wednesday. That would be the day she disappeared?"

"No I didn't." Parker scowled and fixed Jesse with a mean glare. I was there a couple weeks ago, and I haven't been back."

"Why don't you tell me what happened? I can't promise anything, but if you're telling the truth about not being in
Vancouver
when
Shannon
was murdered, and I can verify that to the cops they'll likely be satisfied."

"You think?"

"It's possible. Now about your meeting with
Shannon
. How did that come about?"

"Like I said, she called me and said she needed money."

"Was your wife aware of
Shannon
's call?"

"No. It's complicated.
Shannon
wasn't exactly the kind of girl my wife believed her to be."

"How's that?"

"To put it blunt, she was a hooker."

"And you gave her money professionally?"

"What the fuck are you implying?" Parker's face flushed an even deeper shade of red and he bunched his hands into fists.

"Calm down." Jesse spread his arms and shook his head. "I wasn't implying anything. I was asking—same as the cops will when they hear your story. You claim
Shannon
sold sex as a profession. So logically I need to know, did you or did you not seek out her professional services?"

"Sounds like shit when you say it that way," Parker muttered. "Look. I admit the kid kind of got to me and I struggled with it a bit, but no, I did not see her in the course of her profession. Is that straight enough for you?"

"Perfectly. And the money you gave her?"

"She claimed she wanted to get out of the lifestyle. Said she'd gotten herself clean—she'd been smoking crack—the money was the first installment on tuition for hairdressing school. I told her if she enrolled and got herself a part time job, I'd give her the rest."

"Did you tell your wife about this arrangement?"

"No I didn't. I knew
Shannon
might be stringing me. So I figured I'd wait until she enrolled in the program and then if she played straight and got a job I'd tell my wife."

Parker leaned forward and cleared his throat. "My wife was pretty broken up when
Shannon
took off for the city. I didn't want her to know what the girl had been up to in
Vancouver
. I figured if
Shannon
kept her word and started school then I'd surprise Val by taking her over there for a kind of reunion."

"Nice."

"You being sarcastic?"

"No. I mean it. That was a nice thing to do. I'm sure it'll mean a lot to Alex."

"Yeah. Well I'm not a hero, but I'm not a monster either. I didn't want to see that kid throw herself away on the street. I got to get back to my game."

"Sure. Thanks for your help." Jesse said, pushing back his chair and offering his hand. "I know Alex will appreciate your candor."

"You're not going to tell him what
Shannon
was doing are you?"

"Not if I don't have to. I'll simply tell him the check was a down payment on
Shannon
's tuition to hairdressing school and leave it at that."

"I don't know if it's any help, but
Shannon
mentioned some weirdo she'd been seeing. She didn't say who or where, but she did say he was starting to creep her out. I think he was one of the reasons she wanted to change her lifestyle."

"Did she give you any hints about how she knew this guy?"

"Nope. But she said she had a friend who watched her back."

"Any idea who?"

"Sorry. She didn't say. Maybe someone from that place she was staying."

Chapter Seven

"Have they arrested Lyle?" Martine settled into a chair at Jesse's kitchen table and accepted the cup of coffee he handed over.

"No but they're about to. Hanson called last night to tell me their seventy-two hours was up and they've decided to hold him as a material witness."