Murder! (Parker & Knight Book 1) (2 page)

“Yeah, I’ve had that happen to me once or twice. When’s Colton getting here?”

Colton was Jasper Colton, a retired general practitioner who worked as the town’s coroner.

“Jasper’s letting me go solo on this one.” Stella said.

Parker looked at her in surprise.

“I thought you had to be a doctor to be a coroner?”

“You don’t have to be a doctor to be a coroner, that’s only for M.E.’s, but I am a doctor, I received my degree two weeks ago.”

“Get the hell out of here; you’re too young to be a doctor.”

Stella laughed. “How old do you think I am, Rick?”

Parker shrugged. “Twenty-three, twenty-four?”

“I’m thirty-one, and if I hadn’t wasted time at law school I would have been a doctor years ago.”

Parker stared at her. Stella Harvey was shapely and as fit as anyone he knew. He’d seen her running in the park often, while he had been putting in his own miles. Her brown eyes were large and devoid of surrounding wrinkles and the only lines on her face could be classified as laugh lines.

“Damn Stella, I thought you were just a kid. Should I start calling you Dr. Harvey?”

“Yeah, right after I begin calling you Detective Parker, for now, let’s keep it Stella and Rick,”

“All right; and when can I expect the autopsy?”

“There are two ahead of her from that car wreck last night out on I-95, but I think Colton will let me put her to the front of the line. He’ll also be assisting me, in case you’re worried.”

“I wasn’t worried. If Colton thinks you’re ready then that’s good enough for me, but excuse me, I think it’s time I go and talk to the homeowners.”

“You mean suspects, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess in this instance they’re one and the same.”

The homeowners were Alex and Mandy Kent, and it wasn’t lost on Parker that either one or both of the Kents probably murdered Tiffany, since the killer had reset the home’s burglar alarm upon leaving. Whoever killed the girl was very familiar with the house.

The house was part of the old Washington, the picturesque town. It had been built back in the 1950’s and kept in good shape by the Kents.

The home and its neighbors had once been as alike as a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The developer that built them had used the same basic theme. When first built, they were a line of two-story rectangular boxes with brick at their base and aluminum siding over the rest. It wouldn’t have surprised Parker to learn that they had all been the same color.

The past sixty or so years had wrought changes on the homes however, and now they were as different as their underlying sameness would allow.

Some homes had decks or pools out back while others had squat additions that likely housed another bedroom or a home office. Aluminum siding was still dominant on most, but the shades and styles varied greatly and were interspersed among neighbors who preferred stucco, and one or two had even applied cedar shingles.

Landscaping also set the homes apart, and especially so in the case of the Kent home. The lawn was a green wonder and sat behind manicured hedges. Even the trees looked manicured, or at least well-trimmed and Parker had taken a quick look at the large garden in the back, as well as the oversized shed.

The inside of the medium-sized home was richly decorated and the flat screen bolted to the living room wall was one of the biggest televisions that Parker had ever seen.

The house said middle-class, but the Kents had money, the two late model, luxury cars told you that before you ever stepped inside, but they also had a dead woman lying just inside their front door, and Parker intended to find out who killed her.

Parker walked into the dining room and found Alex and Mandy Kent seated at opposite ends of a table that could seat eight. The physical distance was a telltale sign of trouble in a marriage that Parker knew well.

When he had first learned of his wife’s betrayal with Timothy Hearn, he found himself steering clear of her, despite the fact that he still loved her. It had taken a few days for him to get over the hurt, and he wondered if the Kents were going through a similar thing, and if so, was the victim, Tiffany Grace, a contributing factor.

Parker said nothing for a moment, but just let his eyes take in the couple.

Alex Kent was handsome, in his late-thirties with dark hair and a tall, athletic build. His blue eyes met Parker’s dark gaze without hesitation and held a look of worry. Kent was wearing a pair of chinos with a green polo shirt and, beneath the table, Parker saw that his feet were clad in sneakers.

Kent’s wife, Mandy, was also in her late-thirties. She was wearing a dark green pantsuit, business attire, along with a touch of make-up and shoes with two-inch heels. Mandy Kent was a good-looking woman, short, with dark hair and green eyes, although she seemed to be slightly overweight.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kent, my name is Detective Parker.”

After introducing himself, Parker grew quiet to see if either of them would speak, but they just stared at him.

He once introduced himself to a so-called innocent bystander and the man babbled at him non-stop for ten minutes, ten minutes in which he described how he had killed the victim and why.

Ever since that day, Parker paused for a moment after introducing himself. You never knew when lightning would strike twice.

He took out his notebook and sat down, but as he went to open his mouth again, his phone rang. When he looked at the caller ID, he saw that it was his boss, the chief of police calling.

“Excuse me,” Parker said, and then he stepped back out of the room and into a short hallway. “What’s up, Gabe?”

The voice on the other end of the line sounded more like a college professor than a cop, and belonged to Chief of Police Gabe Howard.

“Rick, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I wanted to let you know that you’ll be joined there soon by Detective Knight.”

“Joanna Knight? But I thought she didn’t start until Monday?”

“That was the plan, but she heard about the murder and volunteered to start early.”

“She sounds eager.”

“That’s good, right?”

“It can be, and given her reputation I’d say that it was. How soon can I expect her?”

“Any minute I would guess.”

“Fine,”

“Treat her well, and, let me know how she does.”

“I’ll do both, Gabe.”

“Right, talk to you later.”

Parker put his phone away and walked back out towards the body. When he got there, he saw that Joanna Knight had already arrived and was crouched down and studying Tiffany Grace’s body.

Parker watched her for a moment, taking her in. He had met her briefly on the day she was first interviewed and liked what he saw. Knight’s reputation was as good as his own and, like himself, she had worked homicide before.

Knight had been a cop in Trenton for twelve years and a homicide detective for five of those. Joanna Knight was a light-skinned black woman, tall, with dark-brown hair that framed a beautiful face. She looked her age, thirty-six, and her brown eyes held flecks of green and gold in them that only added to her good looks.

Parker smiled. There was worse duty than being partnered with a beautiful woman, and his last partner had been a washed-up male cop who smoked and smelled of garlic.

Knight stood, and as she did so, she spotted Parker and nodded.

Parker called to her.

“How’s it going, Partner?”

Knight grinned. “I’m good, Detective, how about you?”

Parker walked up to her and offered his hand.

“It’s Rick, and I hope I can call you Joanna?”

“Actually, my friends call me Jo, Rick,”

“Then Jo it is, so, what’s your take so far?”

Knight sighed.

“My first thought is that this child was too young to die, but my second thought is that it was obviously a murder, although there’s no murder weapon present.”

“Oh, we have the murder weapon. It was found lying in the kitchen sink.”

“You’re kidding, what is it?”

“A letter opener, long, thin, and sharp, with a wooden handle,”

Knight nodded.

“The length would explain the punctured heart, but make my day and tell me there were prints found on it.”

“Sorry Partner, no prints, it looks like someone ran hot water over it after they tossed it in the sink, but the coroner is certain it’s what killed her.”

“Have you done any interviews yet?”

“No, once I heard you were coming I decided to wait.”

Knight smiled.

“Excellent, I love doing interviews, as long as they’re not bereaved relatives.”

“Then let’s get started.”

W
hen Parker returned to the dining room with Knight, the Kents were in the midst of an argument, but stopped talking the moment the two detectives walked into the room.

Parker repeated his name and introduced Knight, before opening his notebook and looking towards Alex Kent.

“What was your relationship with the deceased, Mr. Kent?”

Kent looked taken aback by the simple question.

“Relationship? There was no relationship, she just babysit our daughter sometimes.”

Parker heard an evasive tone behind the words, he also heard Mandy Kent make a derisive sound under her breath.

“Mrs. Kent, do you disagree with what your husband just said?”

Mandy Kent smirked.

“Oh, no, Tiffany used to babysit for us, that is, when she wasn’t busy sleeping with Alex.”

Alex Kent slammed a fist on the tabletop.

“I never slept with that girl! How many times do I have to say it?”

His wife waved a hand at him and crossed her arms over her chest. The movement stirred the air around her and Parker caught a faint scent of liquor.

Parker looked over at Knight and saw an impassive face. He liked that, it meant that she was taking it all in without letting her opinion show. He then spoke to Mandy Kent.

“What was your relationship with Tiffany Grace?”

“There was no relationship. She babysat for a while, but when I found out about her and Alex I fired her.”

Kent opened his mouth to deny the affair and Parker pointed at him.

“Please be quiet sir, you’ll get your chance to talk after I’m done with your wife, okay?”

Kent nodded, but appeared sulky, and Parker went back to questioning Mandy Kent.

“I assume that you confronted Ms. Grace when you suspected that she was involved with your husband, yes?”

Mandy Kent unfolded her arms and sat up straight.

“I didn’t kill that girl, Inspector. I called her a few choice names when I found out about her and Alex, but I wouldn’t kill her.”

“It’s detective, ma’am, not inspector, and no one is accusing you at the moment. Right now, Detective Knight and I are just out to gather facts. Now, this alleged affair, when did it take place?”

“Alleged? Are you on his side?”

“I’m on Tiffany Grace’s side and Detective Knight and I will figure out who killed her and bring that person or persons to justice. Now please, answer my question.”

The anger left Mandy Kent’s face and she spoke quietly.

“Last week, I found out last week that she was after my husband.”

“How did you find out?”

“From her brother, Steve Grace, he told me what was going on and then I saw proof of it with my own eyes.”

Alex Kent pointed at his wife.

“There’s your affair, Detective, my wife and this kid, Steve. In fact, she slept with him just last night.”

Mandy Kent leapt to her feet. “What?”

Her husband made a face of disgust as he shook his head.

“Don’t even try to deny it. I came by last night and saw him squeeze through the hedges and head for the back door.”

“You’re crazy. Steve wasn’t here last night.”

“I saw it with my own eyes, Mandy.”

Mandy Kent retook her seat and did the hand wave at her husband again, and again Parker caught the scent of liquor.

“Steve Grace,” Parker said. “I take it he lives next door also, as his sister did?”

“Yeah,” Kent said. “The Grace’s moved here a few months ago and only a short time later the parents were killed in a car accident while driving to New York City. That left Tiffany and Steve with the house.”

Parker looked back and forth at the couple.

“We’ll need to speak with your daughter, could you please bring her to us.”

“I want to be present when you speak to her.” Mandy said.

“Not a problem, and I also understand that she and her friend discovered the body?”

“Yes, and she’s very upset, she liked Tiffany, and finding her like that was devastating. She’s upstairs getting ready to leave. There’s no way we could sleep in this house tonight and... I’ll go get her.”

Kent stood after his wife left the room.

“Is it all right if I go get something to drink?”

“Absolutely, but I will want to talk to you again.”

“Right,” Kent said, and then he walked out a door at the rear of the room and entered the kitchen.

Parker looked over at Knight.

“What do you think?”

“I think we’ve got a mess here. One or both of them could have been fooling around and jealousy is a powerful motive for murder.”

“I want to talk to this Steve Grace, but he hasn’t been tracked down yet.”

“Mrs. Kent says that the brother told her his sister was sleeping with her husband, doesn’t that seem odd to you? I mean, why would he involve himself?”

“He must have disapproved of the affair, if there was one,” Parker said.

“She was found in this house, maybe Kent was meeting her here, maybe he did meet her here and she enraged him somehow.”

“Possibly, but listen, after we talk to the daughter, why don’t we split them up? You stay here and interview the missus while I talk to the mister outside.”

Knight grinned. “I was going to suggest that myself.”

Mandy Kent returned with her daughter, Allie Kent. The girl was twelve but looked even younger because she was so small; however, she had inherited her mother’s good looks and was a cutie.

When he introduced himself, Allie Kent looked up at Parker with a pair of red eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to find your friend that way, Allie, I’m sure it was tough.”