by L. Wilder
“What exactly is this plan of yours?”
“Well, if she’s truly concerned about this client of her father’s finding and harming her, then I think we only have one option...and that’s taking the worry off the table.”
“And how the hell do we do that?”
“We kill her,” he answered nonchalantly. “Or more precisely, she kills herself.”
“Excuse me?”
“We set a stage, Menace. Put on a show that will draw the attention of the media and convince these men who are after Parker that she is no longer with us.”
“You can do that?”
“I can, and I will.”
“But I can’t pretend to be dead.” Parker gasped. “I have to testify at Rossi’s appeal hearing. It’s the only way I can make sure he stays behind bars and pays for killing my family.”
“That simply isn’t an option,” Billy replied.
“But it has to be. If I don’t testify, Rossi will get off, and my parents will have died for nothing.”
“Don’t you see, if you even attempt to go to that hearing, these men will kill you. And let’s just say you happen to survive long enough to get on that stand and testify, they’ll still come after you. I’m sorry, but you don’t go against the mafia without paying a price. And in your case, the price will be your life. I can guarantee you that.”
“He’s right.”
“No, I can’t just let this guy get off scot-free.” Anguish crossed Parker’s face as she told him, “I watched him kill my mother. They gave him fifty years to life and he was denied an initial appeal, but after almost a year, his stupid lawyer presented some new evidence for the case and managed to get the appeal he and Rossi were hoping for. Because of this new absurd evidence, there will be a second trial with an entirely different judge. Rossi could actually get off, and I can’t let that happen. I owe it to my family to do whatever I can to keep him behind bars.”
“You gotta know that they wouldn’t want you putting your life in danger to make that happen, Parker.”
“I have to testify, Menace. I just have to.”
“There might be a way.” Billy pursed his lips as he thought for a moment, then after muttering something under his breath, he nodded. “Yeah, it might just work.”
“What?” I pushed.
“She could record her testimony. It could be part of her suicide message to the world, but it would have to be done in just the right way. I’ll look into it and see if it would be admissible in court, but for now, I think it’s best for us to proceed with the plan at hand.”
“And how do we do that?”
“First, I’ll need some information from Parker.” Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, then offered it to Parker as he said, “It’s vital that you give the exact location for each of these, otherwise, the plan will never work.”
Parker glanced down at the paper, then looked back up at Billy. “You need to know the name of my dentist?”
“And your childhood doctor.”
“But why?”
“That’s one of those things we can’t discuss.” I was relieved Billy didn’t go into detail about his “plan.” Even though she’d figure it out sooner or later, Parker hadn’t considered what it’d take to make it look like she’d committed suicide. He’d need a body. One that looked like her and had the same dental and medical records. That’s where I would come in. I’d hack into the databases for both the dentist and the doctor and swap out records to match the corpse Billy would use to stage the scene. Parker wasn’t ready to hear about all that, and Billy knew it. His eyes skirted over to me. “You and I will discuss that later.”
“Understood.”
“You both need to be prepared to settle in for a while.” Billy stood as he announced, “It will take some time to put all the pieces together, but I feel certain it can be done.”
“Thank you, Billy. I really appreciate you doing this for us.”
“I’m glad I can be of service.” Before heading inside, he said, “I’m going to my office to get started on things. Just let me know if either of you need anything.”
“Will do.”
Once he’d gone back into the house, I thought Parker would start hammering me with questions, but she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t say a word. Instead, she just stared off into the woods with a blank expression on her face. I knew this whole thing had to be hard for her, so I left her to her thoughts and stared out at the woods right along with her. I had no idea how long we’d been sitting there in silence when Parker whispered, “You know, he could be out there right now creeping through those woods, watching and waiting for us.”
“Who? Rossi?”
“No... Bigfoot.”
“Come again?”
“Bigfoot...also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, a giant, hairy creature that lurks in the forests of North America.”
“I know about Bigfoot.” As a kid, I was completely obsessed with all things Bigfoot. I read books about him, watched documentaries, but never once found anyone who thought he was legit. All my friends thought it was just made up bullshit, and for the most part, I felt the same. “You don’t really think he’s out there, do you?”
“It’s doubtful he’s in Billy’s woods, but I believe there’s a possibility that he’s out there somewhere.” She shrugged. “It’s fun to think so anyway.”
Testing to see just how strongly she felt about the matter, I said, “There’s not a lot of evidence that proves he exists.”
“Maybe not, but my father always said the absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.” When I didn’t respond, she said, “Just because they haven’t found it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
“I know what you meant, babe.”
“Mm-hmm.” She giggled as she teased. “Sure ya did.”
“I did, smartass.” I gave her a playful nudge with my elbow. “Here you are talking about fucking Bigfoot, and you’re giving me a hard time?”
“You saying you don’t believe in him?”
“Didn’t say that.”
“So, you do?” she asked excitedly. “Did you see that documentary on the History Channel about the FBI investigation they did on him?”
“I might’ve caught a few minutes of it.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” she rambled off like she was about to pop. “What about the one they did on ancient aliens?”
“Ah, hell. You believe in aliens too?”
Her smile faded and was replaced with a look of embarrassment. “I don’t know. I just think the universe is awfully big for us to be the only ones living in it.”
“I’ve always thought the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there are little green body snatchers running around out there just waiting to take us over, but hell, ya never really know.”
“No, we don’t.” Parker inhaled a deep breath, then looked over to me with worry in her eyes. “Can I ask you something?”
I nodded, then listened as she asked, “Do you really think Billy can pull this off?”
“We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“I never thought I’d find a way out of this whole mess.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along and offered to help me.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re a smart girl. You would’ve figured something out.”
Parker
“Has Billy said anything else?”
“About what?”
“About me?” I whispered.
Billy wasn’t much of a talker—unless it had something to do with his plan to free me from being discovered by Rossi. I still didn’t know exactly what he intended to do. Neither he nor Menace had let me in on any of the details, but there was one thing I knew for certain—they were both obsessed with making sure they had every detail of my life and my death in order. They were both constantly asking strange
questions, like what was my height or my weight, whether or not I had any birthmarks or had ever broken any bones. Menace walked over to the kitchen counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Nope.”
“Seriously? What’s taking him so long.”
“These things take time.”
“But we’ve been here for days.” I stepped over to him and eased up on my tiptoes as I whispered in his ear, “Have you been down to the basement yet?”
“No, and I don’t plan on going down there.” His eyes grew intense as he snapped, “He made it clear it’s off-limits.”
“But why is it off-limits?” I’d meant it when I told Menace that I felt like we’d stepped into that old Julia Roberts’ movie. I just kept waiting for Billy to lose his shit over the towels not being just so or from a random speck of dust. Thankfully, that hadn’t happened—mainly because we were doing everything we could to make sure it didn’t. “Do you think he has someone down there? Maybe a woman chained to the wall?”
“Parker,” he scolded.
“Oh, come on, grumpy pants. You know I’m just kidding.”
Before he could respond, Billy came into the room with a piece of paper in his hand and announced, “I found some information that might be of interest to you both.”
“What is it?”
“I know you were worried about not being able to testify, but I think I found something to ease your concern.”
“We’re listening.”
Billy nodded, then looked down at the paper in his hand as he read, “‘California Evidence Code Section 1291 states that former deposition testimony is admissible in the event the party against whom it is offered had the right and opportunity to cross-examine the declarant with an interest and motive similar to that which he has at the hearing.’ So, the district attorney can pull your prior testimony and use it to ensure that Rossi doesn’t get off.”
“That’s great, but do you really think my old testimony is going to be enough?”
“I would imagine so. It’s the law after all,” Billy replied. “But if it would make you feel better, you could always record yourself restating what occurred that night with your mother and sister.”
“Not a bad idea.”
“Good.” I could see the wheels turning in Billy’s head as he looked up at the ceiling and bit at his bottom lip. After several moments, he nodded and said, “Things are coming together.”
Without saying anything more, he turned and headed back into his office, closing the door behind him. A warm look crossed Menace’s face as he stepped over and placed his hand on my hip. Our eyes met as he whispered, “Good news.”
“Yes, very good news.”
I liked the feeling of having his hand on me. I liked it a lot, but even more so, the way he was looking at me. There was hunger in his eyes, a hunger much like my own. I could feel the need radiating from his body as he held my gaze. For a brief moment, I thought he was actually going to kiss me, but then he pulled his hand away from my hip and stepped over to the counter. Disappointment washed over me as I watched him reach for his cup of coffee. He casually brought it up to his lips and took a drink like the thought of kissing me had never even crossed his mind.
A frustrated sigh slipped through my lips, drawing Menace’s attention back to me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just tired.”
“You could go back to the room. Take a nap or something.”
“Not that kind of tired.”
I didn’t bother trying to explain. I could see it in his eyes that he knew what I meant. I could also see that he wasn’t going to do anything about it, so I turned and walked out of the kitchen and onto the front porch, leaving him alone to finish his coffee. I stood there for a moment, taking in a few cleansing breaths as I looked over to the pond. It seemed to be calling out to me, so I went down the steps and walked through the fresh-cut grass towards the pier. I started thinking about Menace and how hard he was trying to help me out of this mess with Rossi. The man was just determined enough to help me get my life back. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when it was all over. There was a time when all I could think about was running again, but now it scared me to think that I might actually have to leave Nashville and never see Menace or Marlowe or the brothers ever again.
I was saddened by the thought. I didn’t want to start all over again, but more than that, I liked where I was. It was fun working with Marlowe and the girls. I liked the brothers, especially Menace. I liked him a lot—even more now that I’d gotten to know him better. He wasn’t only handsome and incredibly smart, he was funny and easy to talk to. I was standing at the end of the pier, staring out at the pond, considering all of my life choices when I heard Menace ask, “You looking for the Loch Ness Monster out there?”
“No such thing.”
“What?” He huffed. “You believe in Bigfoot and aliens but not the Loch Ness Monster?”
“Nope.”
“Hmph. All right then.” He stood next to me and leaned over the rail, studying the water as he asked, “What about dinosaurs? Do you believe they existed?”
“Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. There are plenty of people out there who don’t.”
“Well, I’m not one of them.”
“Good to know.” He turned his attention back to the water. “You know, you never told me where you went after the Brants were killed. I know you said Mr. Brant had left you a car with money and clothes, but you never mentioned where you actually went.”
“There’s not much to tell.”
“I’d still like to hear it.”
“Honestly, I can’t remember much about those first few days or even the first few weeks. I was pretty out of it. I basically lived in the car Mr. Brant had given me. I rode from state to state and survived on peanut butter and crackers. Later, I got really crafty with my survival skills, and I’d sneak in and snatch a stale bagel from the continental breakfast at various hotels along the way. I’d use the showers at trucks stops or camping grounds and sleep in my car.”
“You never considered going to the cops?”
“It crossed my mind, but after what had happened with the Brants, I knew they couldn’t help me. I had no choice but to figure it out on my own.”
“Damn, that had to be tough.”
“It was. I was scared and lonely.” I had to fight back my tears as I repeated, “Very, very scared and lonely. Needless to say, it was not a good mix.”
“You should’ve taken Mr. Brant’s advice and come to see us sooner.”
“I know that now, but honestly, I needed the time to process everything that had happened. I’m still processing it.” I turned and watched the light dance along the water. “Sometimes it gets the best of me, and those are bad days, really bad days, but there are times when it doesn’t, and those are really good days. I’m hoping there will come a point when the good ones outweigh the bad.”
“There will.” He inched a little closer. “You’re a rare gem, Parker. You deserve all the good days the world has to offer, and I’ll do everything I can to see that you get them.”
“You’re gonna need to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Being sweet.”
Without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving Menace on the pier. I went back inside, and as usual, Billy was nowhere in sight. The man practically lived in his basement. I was beyond curious as to what he was doing down there, but I heeded Menace’s warning and steered clear. The last thing I wanted was to upset the man who held my life in his hands.
I needed a temporary escape, so I wandered into the living room and started searching Billy’s bookshelves for something to read. There were tons of science journals and history books, but to my pleasant surprise, there was also quite a selection of romance novels. Most of them were older with Fabio on the cover, but there were a few that were more recent. I found it doubtful that they were Billy’s, but I had no
idea who else they could’ve belonged to. He hadn’t told us anything about his family, just that there was a possibility his daughter might be coming home. It was just one more perplexity that was Billy. After I found a book that looked interesting, I grabbed it and took it back to the bedroom, then made a comfy spot on the bed and started reading.
From the very beginning, I was sucked in by the story. It was nothing like I’d expected. I’d initially thought it was a crazy sci-fi book about blue aliens on an ice planet but quickly discovered it was something more—much more. By the time I’d gotten midway through the story, I was practically fanning myself. It was smoking hot, which probably wasn’t the best choice of reading material for me, considering Menace’s no sex rule. Right as I was getting to a major scene, Menace opened the bedroom door and peeked his head inside. “You ready for dinner?”
“Yep.”
I quickly lowered the book, trying to shield its cover as I got up. I realized I’d failed to hide it from him when he asked, “You’re literally into this alien shit, huh?”
“What?”
“The book you were just reading. It’s about aliens, right?”
“Umm... Yes, but it’s a good bit more than that.”
“How so?”
I got up and brushed past him in the doorway. “Let’s just say I’d be way more into aliens if they were like the ones I was just reading about.”
When I reached the kitchen, Billy was already sitting at the table waiting for us. Like all of our previous dinners, he’d fixed another big spread; tonight’s meal included baked chicken with new potatoes and green beans. As Menace and I sat down, I smiled and said, “This looks amazing. You are quite the chef.”
“Thank you, dear. I enjoy cooking.” He placed his cloth napkin across his lap as he said, “It helps to ground me.”
I waited as he lowered his head and said a quick prayer, then I asked him, “If it’s not too much of an intrusion, would you mind me asking about your family?”
“Well, my wife passed twelve years ago. An unforeseeable reaction to a new medication for her migraines took her life.” His voice was monotone with little emotion as he spoke, which I found odd at best. “That’s when I walked away from my career in forensics and branched out on my own. It gave me more time to spend with my daughter—not that it matters now. She’s attending college upstate, and I rarely see her. She comes home when she can, but not as often as I would like. Little I can do about that seeing as she has a life of her own to lead.”
