by Carsen Taite
The session wrapped up, Skye and the prosecutor gathered up the evidence and escorted the defense team back through the courtroom. While Morgan spoke to the prosecutor about the logistics of obtaining copies of the evidence they had reviewed, Skye grabbed Parker by the arm and pulled her aside.
“Would you like to tell me what the hell you are doing here, working on this case?”
Parker struggled to ignore the fact Skye’s lips were so close she could feel the intense vibration of her angry tone. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t be coy. You know what I mean. Since when did you cross over to the dark side?”
Parker couldn’t believe Skye could ask such an impudent question knowing all Parker had gone through and that she was the cause of much of her pain. Parker made no attempt to hide her anger, and her voice shook with intensity. “Since standing in the light burned away my soul.” Shrugging off Skye’s hand, she turned to leave and ran smack into Dex and Gerald talking to Ford. All three men stopped their conversation and stared at her with gaping mouths. Annoyed she would have to make up some explanation for the exchange, Parker mowed past them and made long and purposeful strides away from the courtroom.
*
Morgan raised her hand to knock on the door, but lowered it again. She’d walked from a nearby coffee shop having no idea the skies would open and douse her with a pounding torrent of rain. Cursing herself for not paying closer attention to the weather, she surveyed her appearance. She was drenched, her silk suit ruined.
She was only half surprised when Gerald and Dex told her Parker had already left the courthouse by the time she emerged from the prosecutor’s office. They had no answer for her questions about Parker’s abrupt departure. Ford, who showed up after his hearing, pulled her aside and whispered questions of his own. Morgan was determined to find answers. Something happened between Parker and the lead investigator Skye Keaton. She wasn’t sure if it had happened that day or sometime in the past. The two women clearly knew each other, and the heat emanating from their interaction was clearly visible to Morgan’s watchful eye. She refused to acknowledge the real reason behind her desire to know more about what she had witnessed. Instead Morgan rationalized she had a duty to check on Parker—who, according to the guys, had stormed out of the building. She navigated her way to Parker’s lower Greenville neighborhood. Something, perhaps the desire to fortify herself, made her stop at a nearby strip of businesses where she sought guidance in the form of cappuccino. Caffeinated, she left her SUV and walked the block to Parker’s house.
Now, standing in front of Parker’s door, she hesitated. She looked frightful, her once crisp suit now splotched and bunchy from the rain. Parker had looked amazing at the courthouse. Morgan had grown accustomed to seeing her dressed in jeans and T-shirts and was as thrown by the sight of her in a well-tailored suit as she was to see her engaged in intimate conversation with Detective Keaton. Surveying herself, Morgan decided not only did she look frightful, she wasn’t confident she would be welcome. What if Parker wasn’t here and one of her roommates answered? The thought wasn’t fully formed when the door swung open and she was face-to-face with Kelsey James.
“Oh my God, you’re soaking wet!” Kelsey grabbed Morgan’s arm and pulled her into the foyer. “Let me get you a towel. I’ll be right back.”
Morgan stood dripping on the cool marble tiles, unable to muster a response to the display of spontaneous hospitality. For a moment, she contemplated leaving, but she knew her sudden departure back into the swirling storm would not only seem odd, it would probably result in her catching a cold, and she couldn’t afford to be ill right now.
Moments later, Morgan joined Kelsey in the kitchen and watched her as she fixed a welcome cup of tea. She was as dry as a towel could get her, but she shivered in her wet clothes.
“Seriously, Morgan, I think you should change. Between your wet clothes and the air-conditioning, you’re going to catch a cold. I’m going to get you a pair of scrubs. Doctor’s orders.”
When Kelsey returned with a well-worn set of light green scrubs, Morgan excused herself to the bathroom to change. She surveyed herself in the mirror and once again questioned her judgment in showing up on Parker’s doorstep. Kelsey hadn’t asked her why she was here, and at this point, Morgan was embarrassed to admit she was trailing around after Parker. She wondered what Kelsey knew about their relationship besides the fact Morgan had spent the night on at least one occasion. Was Parker even home? She tried to ignore the fact she was now barefoot and dressed in loose-fitting scrubs, and reentered the kitchen with a confidence she did not feel. Kelsey’s smile was warm and the tea she handed Morgan was welcome. For the next few moments, they sat in silence.
Finally, Kelsey broke the ice. “I imagine you’re looking for Parker?”
“Yes.”
“She’s not here. I haven’t seen her since lunch. She said she was heading to the courthouse.”
Morgan nodded.
“Actually, I thought she would be with you,” Kelsey ventured.
“She was. But she left suddenly and I didn’t get a chance to discuss an important issue with her. I was hoping to find her here.” Morgan’s voice trailed off and she glanced away.
Kelsey plunged in. “Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“I know Parker’s one of your students.”
Morgan waited, knowing she wasn’t finished.
“And I know there’s something more personal going on between you two.”
Morgan didn’t know how to respond. Certainly, what she had shared with Parker in the room upstairs was personal in the same way naked want and need was personal. How could she explain to her the contrast between feeling physically intimate with Parker and feeling as if she knew nothing about her?
Kelsey saved her from her dilemma. “Look, I know you’ve slept together and I know your respective roles have to put some strain on the situation. I also know I haven’t seen you around here since we met at breakfast a few weeks ago, and Parker’s been moping around lately like she lost her best friend. Since I’m her best friend, I figure it’s something else. Now you show up here in the middle of a thunderstorm, soaking wet, and I can’t help but wonder if your feelings for my friend transcend your reservations about propriety.”
Morgan couldn’t conceal her surprise at the blunt discourse and she stared at her. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say I’m right. Say you care about Parker and not merely her worth as a future lawyer. Say you’ll be true to your feelings and you won’t hurt her.”
Morgan looked away. “I do care about Parker, but as you say, we’ve only shared a bed.” She winced at the harsh assessment, knowing they had shared much more. “We don’t know anything about each other, and the only reason we even know each other’s last names is because I’m her teacher and she’s my student—a situation I can’t do anything about.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I don’t know. She was upset when she left today. I want to know why. I want to know if I can do anything about it.”
“What was she upset about?”
“I don’t know. She seemed to be upset after talking to a detective at the courthouse. At first, I didn’t understand why, but I think I may have a little insight now.”
“A detective? Who was it?”
“Skye Keaton. Why, do you know her?”
“I’ve only met her once.”
Morgan smiled at the evasive answer. “Ms. James, you didn’t answer the question.”
“Touché. I don’t really know her. Not personally. I know about her.”
“And you’re not going to tell me anything else?” At Kelsey’s nod, she continued, “Even if I tell you I know Parker was on the force?”
Kelsey couldn’t hide the look of surprise. “How did you find out?”
“Seriously, the courthouse is like the smallest community on earth. Parker was a homicide detective. You don’t think there are more than a few attorneys who know who s
he is?” Morgan’s words were edged with anger and she wasn’t sure why. After Parker’s hasty exit, Ford supplied some of the information she needed to piece together why Parker had acted so strangely around Detective Skye Keaton. Yet, in this moment, Morgan wasn’t sure which part of the story surprised her more—Parker’s former life as a detective or Parker’s obvious feelings for Skye Keaton. Why didn’t Parker tell me? Even as she asked herself the question, she wasn’t sure which of the new revelations she had expected Parker to share. Face it, she told herself, neither of you has shared anything more personal than flesh on flesh. All you’ve done since the day you discovered her sitting in the rows of your classroom was push her away. Did you expect her to respond by sharing her life story with you? And why do you care now?
Morgan didn’t have answers to the questions posed by her silent self. She only knew one thing with certainty. She had to see Parker and she had to see her now. Her compelling need drove her to push past Kelsey’s reluctance and treat her like a hostile witness.
“Are you telling me you don’t know where she is or do you know and you’re not going to tell me? Which is it?” Her tone left no doubt she would not relent until she got a satisfactory answer.
“Stand down, Counselor. I don’t know where she is.”
Morgan read the pause and posed her next question. “But you might have an idea.”
“An idea about what?”
They both turned toward the new voice in the conversation. Parker stood in the doorway of the kitchen, dripping wet. Water ran down the lines of her rumpled suit and puddled at her feet. Despite her soggy appearance, her jaw was set and her eyes were crisp with anger. She glanced from Morgan to Kelsey and back again. Though she was staring hard into Morgan’s eyes, her question was clearly directed to them both.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Morgan stood, her confidence always stronger when she was on her feet. She faced Parker and was suddenly overcome. She wanted to wipe away the trails of wet the rain had left and wrap Parker in her arms, kissing away her anger.
But Morgan knew how to read people, better than most, and she read Parker’s bold anger and crushing hurt. Though she didn’t fully understand the source, she wanted to, and the revelation shook her to the core. Her desire for Parker wasn’t limited to craving her caresses. She wanted to know everything about Parker, past, present, and future. Relying on her instincts, she knew now was not the time. Glancing at Kelsey, she said, “Parker, I was worried when you left the courthouse so suddenly. I came by to check on you.”
Parker made a show of looking Morgan up and down. She reached for Morgan’s sleeve and rubbed the soft cloth between her fingers. Her eyes met Morgan’s and held them with fierce emotion.
“Decide to get comfortable while you waited for me, did you?”
Caught off guard, Morgan blushed, only then remembering she was dressed in Kelsey’s scrubs. She barely heard Kelsey’s outraged cry of protest as she delivered her own response.
“Parker, you are way out of line.”
“I’m out of line? I’m out of line?” Her voice increased in volume. “Don’t you think it’s a little out of line for a professor to make house calls on her students?” Parker pointed to the door, her intention clear as she spat her words. “I want you to leave, Professor. Now.”
Morgan stood her ground. Though moments ago she had entered this house with only a vague idea of what drove her, now that she was here, she desperately wanted to stay. But as unsure as she was about her motivation for being here, she was equally sure Parker did not want her to stay. Not now, not like this. She reluctantly resolved to give Parker what she professed to want in this moment. Painfully conscious of her inability to make a dignified exit, she strode through the kitchen, grabbing her shoes and purse as she passed her drying clothes. Ignoring Kelsey’s call to stay and talk, she found her way to the porch and paused just long enough to slip into her heels and ponder whether or not the Palomar had a back entrance.
*
“What in the world was that about?”
Parker sank into the closest chair and cradled her head in her hands. “Honestly, James, I don’t know.”
“Well, you can’t sit there and drip-dry. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Moments later Kelsey reappeared with another set of scrubs and she ordered Parker to change. In a daze, Parker stripped naked in the middle of kitchen, toweled off, and pulled on the soft, worn fabric. She knew Kelsey was waiting for her to talk about what was bothering her, but she couldn’t seem to find the words. The pain of betrayal stung and she felt paralyzed.
“Casey, look at me.”
Parker gazed, unseeing, at her.
“I know you saw Skye today.”
Parker could only shake her head, willing away the memories spilling in. How much pain could Skye Keaton possibly inflict in this lifetime? She had buried her head in the sand. She had been foolish to think she could work in the Dallas legal community and not run into her former lover.
Kelsey gathered her close and whispered, “It’s okay, sweetie. Everything will be okay.”
Parker heard the soothing murmur of her voice, but couldn’t agree less with Kelsey’s conclusion. Everything would not be okay, and as long as she was haunted by the pain of her past, it never would be. She lashed out.
“No, it won’t! You have no idea!”
The look on Kelsey’s face was a combination of surprise and worry. “You’re right. I don’t. I don’t know why you’ve chosen to keep what happened bottled up inside. I can only tell you whatever secret you’re hiding will grind away at you until you bring it out into the light.”
Parker faced her and, perhaps for the first time, realized she had never shared the whole story with anyone, though many close to her knew bits and pieces of what had happened. Even now, as she was consumed with the implications of the past roaring back into her present, she still wasn’t ready to share it all.
Chapter Nine
“I had no idea Parker Casey was going to be part of the team. Wow! What a coup!”
Ford had a busy day in court ahead, so Morgan had agreed to meet him for an early breakfast at his favorite hole in the wall. In his usual exuberant way, Ford waved his food, this time a piece of bacon, in the air. Morgan’s thoughts were momentarily distracted from the painful memory of the tortured expression on Parker’s face the day before, and she swore she would never work as a public defender since they seemed to eat only in greasy diners. She willed her mind away from the distractions it sought and focused on the issue at hand.
“Ford, I had no idea Parker used to be a cop. If I had, I’m not sure I would have allowed her to work on this case.”
“What the hell?” Ford returned his bacon to his plate and stared her down. “Morgan, this case is a homicide. What better choice for the team than a lawyer who used to work homicide? Didn’t you know what you were doing when you picked her?”
“First off, Parker’s not a lawyer. Second, I didn’t select the team members. Yolanda and Jim Spencer conducted the tryouts. Third, the fact she worked on the force makes me question her motivation in wanting to work on this case, on this side of the issue.” Even as she spoke this last, Morgan knew it wasn’t true. During the past few weeks of class, she had observed Parker’s passion for defense and a thinly veiled hostility for the prosecution. True, these exercises were far from real-life courtroom experiences, but if Parker was merely acting, she was damn good.
“No need to worry about her motivation. Parker Casey has plenty of reasons to champion justice for the little guy. Her law-and-order experience certainly left a bad taste in her mouth.”
Morgan’s nod told him to continue even as she mentally willed him to stop. She couldn’t help feeling torn between wanting to know everything there was to know about Parker, this multilayered woman, but at the same time she wanted distance: distance to do her job, distance to keep her own potentially volatile feelings in check, distance from the pain she
witnessed on Parker’s face and her own surging desire to soothe it away.
“Parker was a rising star. She made detective in record time and was hand-picked for homicide. She received tons of commendations and was on the fast track to become lieutenant, though I suspect she had no desire to be part of administration. She was great on the stand—a perfect prosecution witness—unflappable. Cross-examine her and you got objective facts, delivered with an engaging personality. Juries loved her, her higher-ups loved her. Detective Casey had it made.” He stopped his story and waited. Morgan knew Ford well enough to know his pause was designed to make sure he had her full attention before he relayed the “and then” portion of his story.
She decided to play along. “And then?”
“And then she got set up. Skye—you remember Skye, right?” At Morgan’s puzzled look, Ford urged, “Skye Keaton? Lead detective on this case?”
Morgan nodded slowly, wary of the new direction to this tale.
“She and Parker were at a suspect’s house waiting around to question him. You’ve probably read about the case. The guy was suspected of being the Trinity River Killer. Two other detectives joined them because the guy was expected to arrive shortly and he was believed to not only be armed and dangerous, but a total whack job.
“No one knows what really happened, but apparently the guy came home and died of a gunshot wound shortly thereafter. Turns out the guy wasn’t the Trinity River Killer after all.”
“Why do I feel like there’s more?” Morgan hesitated to ask more for fear of what might follow.
“The guy was shot in the back and even though the police administration did their best to keep that little fact out of the news, the guy’s family sued the city for a host of infractions. As a result, the autopsy results became public record. The DA’s office opened a public integrity investigation and the four officers involved in the case were all suspended pending investigation.”
