Chapter Six – Family Is a Strange Concept
That night, Miss Parker sat on her couch brooding about the connections between the links in the chain that was currently her dilemma while drinking a cup of coffee. There was Jarod, whom she had unresolved feelings for; Andrew Stuard, whom she assumed was being employed by The Centre; and Lyle, her brother who had been missing for a month. Raines was also unusually quiet for someone who'd just been made head of The Centre, but she decided to leave him out of the equation for now.
She sat, ruminating like this for quite some time until the silence bothered her. Putting her coffee down on the table before her, Miss Parker stilled, listening for all possible noises. Presently, she became aware of a soft hiccupping noise, the kind which happens when one is in the middle of a cry and is trying to stop. Curiously, she peeked into Jarod's room.
Jarod sat in a corner of the room in the middle of his puzzle pieces. It appeared he had grown bored and had started to draw a picture. This picture he now held in his unsteady hands. Miss Parker watched him look at the family he had drawn on the fragile piece of paper, on the back of which she could make out a family tree where the Charles and Parkers were connected through Ethan.
Knowing there was nothing she could do to help him, Miss Parker quietly closed the door and let Jarod work out his emotions by himself.
The next morning, Miss Parker dumped the contents of the cardboard box she had found the day previous onto the desk in her office. Judging by the colorful book and the packaged food, a kid had introduced Jarod to some more of the world's wonders. And out of all the wonders in the world, the kid had to choose the Simpsons and Lunchables.
She flipped through the red notebook, which recorded another one of Jarod's triumphs. Headlines popped out at her: "4.0 College Student Disappears Few Months Before Graduation" ... "Mutilated Body of Missing College Senior Found in Forest" ... "Liberal Arts College Professor Apprehended and Awaiting Trial". There was also a picture of the student: a pretty girl with auburn hair and a handsome smile. And she had died alone, Miss Parker realized. Reminded of her mother's death at the hand of Raines, she whispered, "No one should have to die away from the ones they love."
There was a timid knock on the jamb of the open door to her office. Miss Parker looked up at the visitor as she picked up the cardboard box and replaced the bound notebook. "Broots," she said. "Take this to Sydney."
Broots held it as he looked inside. "Bart Simpson's Guide to Life? Is this what you found in Bishopville?"
Miss Parker gave him a sharp glance, "Who told you about Bishopville?"
"Well, I was looking for you, and Sydney told me where you went," Broots said, explaining himself. "Something came for you yesterday." He handed her the envelope in his hands. "It's from the genetics lab."
Briefly glancing at the front, Miss Parker turned the envelope over as she returned to her desk and slit it open with a letter opener she had retrieved from a drawer. She looked at the piece of paper inside as she laid it on the table. Procuring a bottle of brandy and a shot glass which she methodically cleaned with a convenient napkin, Miss Parker poured herself a drink and quaffed it. When she poured herself another, Broots took a step forward but stopped as she used it to douse the paper and envelope. Wordlessly, she produced a match and snicked it on the side of her desk. She dropped the match onto the results from the genetics lab, and when they lit up with flames, she strode out of the room, pushing Broots out of the way.
Broots turned to yell after her. "Miss Parker! Miss Parker?" When she did not respond, he returned to the scene before him and became mesmerized. When the rest of the desk began to catch on fire, Broots came to his senses and retrieved the fire extinguisher which sat in a corner of the room, dusty and forgotten. Thanking the heavens when it functioned as expected, he put the fire out and stared at the desk Miss Parker had nearly destroyed with hardly a thought.
Sydney stalked into Broots' office. "Broots!" he said, impatient. "Where's Miss Parker?"
"I don't know, Sydney," he said, flustered and uneasy. "She left sometime before lunch. I don't think she was feeling well." Which was, Broots tried to convince himself, not actually a lie. He just edited the truth.
"She should have been back by now." Sydney slammed the fist into the door jamb. "Where could she be?"
"Her car has a tracking system," Broots offered. "I could hack into it and tell you where she is."
Sydney looked eagerly at Broots. "Can you?"
Turning to his screen, Broots said, "Uh, yeah. Just give me a sec."
There was the sound of rapid typing, interspersed with brief pauses. Sydney paced during the time Broots used to hack. After what seemed like forever, Broots looked up. He moved out of the way, allowing Sydney to get a view of the computer screen. "As you can see," he said to Sydney, "Miss Parker's been at The Reckless Bar for a couple hours now."
Sydney leaned a little closer to the screen, memorizing the address of the tavern. When he was done, he thanked Broots and left.
"No problem," Broots said. When Sydney was gone, he remarked aloud, "One day I'm going to ask one of you guys what today was all about."
Jarod placed yet another piece of the puzzle and admired the way it fit. Then, deciding she should be home by now, called for her by name. "Parker! Parker?" Jarod listened, then added timidly, "I'm hungry."