The Other Path

Chapter 43

Rick comes out of the suite bathroom just as Kate is putting away her phone. "Was that Espo?"

"Yeah. Luke Parker spent a year serving on the same ship as Grover Evans before Luke went for SEAL training."

"They were probably already friends," Rick figures. "Fayetteville isn't that big. If they went to High School together, it would turn up in a yearbook."

"Could be, Kate acknowledges. "And we can check on it. But whether they did or not, we have a connection. What we have to do is trace Luke's movements before the murder. I can have the Squad start checking flight manifests. And if he drove, he would have turned up at tollbooths between West Virginia and New York. They can check that out too."

"So, are we staying to keep an eye on him?" Rick asks.

"We should. We have motive and method for Luke. If opportunity checks out, I can have Simmons work with the West Virginia cops to help us pick him up. But Jeffrey Evans may have already spooked him. We'll need to make sure he hasn't taken off already but stay out of his orbit until we're ready to make a move."

"If Evans has him looking out for us, he'd be watching for the truck," Rick points out. "We should be fine in the SUV. Or we could order some equipment for delivery to the hotel and see who shows up."

"If Jeffrey tipped the Parkers off, they'd recognize our names," Kate protests.

Rick grins. "Not if we go through my sapphire concierge. I suspect it's often applied to interests other than equipment purchases, but discretion is part of the service."


Kate watches through her binoculars as a van marked "Parker Equipment" pulls up to the hotel. The driver opens the rear door and unloads two heavy-duty cartons. Kate puts down her binoculars. "Have you got that picture of Luke Parker?"

Rick holds up his phone. "Right here. Is it him?"

Kate lifts her binoculars again. "I think so. I need him to turn a little. Yeah, that's him. I guess he didn't run."

Rick's eyebrows roll. "Maybe he thought we were on a fishing expedition. So you want to keep him under surveillance? The car has a wi-fi hotspot. I can take the laptop and do more research on him while we're waiting to hear if he was in New York. I bet we can get the hotel to pack us a lunch."

"Might as well. We can't get the locals to pick him up until we have something more solid than Luke's service record. What are you going to do with that equipment anyway?"

"I can sell it on Craig's List," Rick suggests, drawing a sharp look from Kate. "No, I found a non-profit that uses that stuff. They take teens who couldn't otherwise afford it on fishing trips. I can arrange for them to pick it up from the hotel."

"You're sweet."

"I'm always glad to provide you with samples."

Kate checks back out the window. "Oh, Luke's taking off. We'd better get moving."

"I live to serve."


Rick balances his laptop on his thighs. "There's only one high school within Fayetteville. The resolution of the pictures could be a lot better, but Luke Parker and Grover Evans graduated the same year. They were both football players and on the swim team. Luke was a champion swimmer. Going for SEAL training would have made sense for him. Grover had ambitions to be a doctor. He probably joined the Navy to help pay for it."

"Yeah. Espo said Grover was a corpsman. That would have been a good start."

"Not much going on out there," Rick notes. "How long do you think it will be before you hear about Luke's travel history?"

Kate stretches in her seat. "I don't know. It will depend on how soon Simmons' people get a hit – if they do. So what did the hotel put in the cooler the manager handed you?"

"I didn't look," Rick admits. "You want to find out?"

"Yeah. It's something to do, and I think it's going to be a long day."


Rick is fighting the urge to fall asleep when Kate pokes his arm. She holds her phone up so he can see the message on the screen. "This is it."

Rick scans the text. "Luke drove to New York the day before Menkin was killed and drove back after the murder. Opportunity, the third of the magic three. So, time to call in the troops?"

Kate scrolls down. "Simmons is already coordinating. We'll just have to make sure Luke doesn't disappear before the paperwork's done."

"How long is that going to be?"

"Hopefully, before the store closes."


Kate gazes across the table in the Squad interrogation room at a silent Luke Parker. "We have a lawyer coming in for you, Luke. But whether you decide to say anything or not, we know most of what happened. The DA will know too. But the public won't. Buck Paulson has a lot of people believing Marion Menkin killed her husband. You can make that right.

"Look, I understand. Anyone would understand. Joe Menkin took away the money for your father's health care. And he was working on screwing over Petal and Violette. He was a sonofabitch. I get why you'd want to kill him. But all this time, Marion Menkin's been taking care of her daughter and granddaughter. She's a good woman. It's not fair that she has the blame for her husband's death coming down on her, is it?"

Shaking his head, Luke stares down at his hands. "I never meant for Ms. Menkin to be blamed."

"Then fix it! Tell the whole story, so the world will know she's innocent."

Star attorney Justin Belvedere comes through the door. "That's enough, Detective. My client isn't saying another word."

Kate's eyes widen. "Counselor, I was expecting someone from legal services. Mr. Parker is not part of your usual clientele. And he doesn't have the bank account of your usual clients, either."

"I'm aware of that, but I take pro-bono work occasionally," Belvedere explains,
"when there's a truth that needs to bust through the wall of crap the media's putting out. But I also want to make sure that whatever my client's real story is, he gets the best possible representation. So, turn off the microphone, get out of here, and let me talk to him. And then maybe we'll see what the DA has to offer."

Kate shrugs, rising from her chair. "Good luck, Counselor. You, of all people, know what a circus this case could be."

"That's why I'm here, Detective, to ensure the public knows which players are the clowns."


"We have a problem," Leitch tells Loch. "Marion Menkin's been cleared of Joe's murder. Justin Belvedere is defending the little shit who killed Joe. By the time he's finished, Joe will be the worst man who ever existed, and his killer will look like a hero. Worse, Paulson has egg all over his face. That won't do much for putting our message out there."

Loch takes a draw on his cigar. "He'll be fine. He'll claim that he never said Marion was guilty, that he was just reporting the facts he had. Paulson denies stuff he said all the time. His faithful always buy it."

"Except that the bitch on MSKKB is already running the video. And MSKKB is putting it in their promos, claiming that they're the place to come for the truth. They've also put ads in some of our Facebook groups. If Paulson does his usual dance, they'll make sure he looks like a total fool."

Loch stubs out his butt. "A mirror would do that. All right, tell FIX that Paulson needs to spend more time with his family. Until this blows over, he can do podcasts or something. So, who else have we got?"

"Lana Graham."

"F**k!"