don’t intend leaving behind a witness to point the finger.”
Parker sat forward in his seat, his hands bunched into fists under the table. “You may not like what you’re hearing, but I’ve learned my lesson. If a woman tells me no, it means no. Got that?”
The guard walked past them in a passive-aggressive move to let everyone know he was still around, making sure nothing got out of hand.
“I have a question for you,” said Parker. “Actually, it’s from my lawyer, but I want to know too. Are you going to speak at my hearing?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On the answer to my last question.”
Parker frowned, but said nothing.
“When you stabbed me and left, did you expect me to die?”
Parker didn’t answer.
“Did you want me to die that day?”
“Yes,” he replied without an ounce of remorse. “Yes, I did.”
CHAPTER TEN
G wen felt a change in air pressure as she left theprison, as if she could breathe more easily. She barely noticed the corrections officer who saw her out.
She reached her car and realized that she no longer felt nauseous and frightened. She’d faced Parker and come out the other side. She’d even managed to put a scare into him. She smiled at that one.
She pulled out her cell and called Paul.
“How’d it go?”
“OK. It was something I had to do.”
“I’m proud of you. Celebrate isn’t the right word, but let’s go out somewhere. Just us. I’ll get a sitter for Kirsten.”
“OK. Sounds good. I’m going to work. See you tonight.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she said and hung up.
The smile didn’t last. She couldn’t shake the feeling Parker would get his parole. He wouldn’t hurt her. She believed that. Not physically anyway. But what stopped him from turning up on her doorstep, eating lunch outside her office, or sitting next to her when she took Kirsten to the movies? She’d robbed him of fifteen years of his life. He wasn’t the kind of guy to forget that.
She could do without Parker adding to hertroubles. Ingram said he’d have his investigation wrapped up in two weeks, and he’d have enough on Tarbell to fire him. Whatever damning evidence and strong-arm tactics he used on Tarbell, there’d still be issues. Ingram couldn’t prevent Tarbell from suing Pace. No doubt she’d have to go to court and before that would happen, there’d be a war of words. She’d been there before when Parker went to trial. The idea of Parker being free to witness this debacle was too much. She dialed Jerry Naylor’s number.
“I want to speak at Parker’s parole hearing,” she said.
“I heard you just finished up with him. Did something happen?”
“No. He was fine. He behaved. But fifteen years isn’t enough for what he did to me. I don’t want him getting out.”
“I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”
She hung up on Naylor and looked over at San Quentin. It looked more like a castle perched at the edge of the bay to protect those inside from evils that lay outside its gates. She drove away from the prison, glad to put distance between her and Parker.
She pulled into Pace’s parking lot just before lunch. The lot was close to full and all the spots close to the building were occupied. That meant a long and exposed walk to the building.
How long will this continue ? she wondered. How long will I keep viewing my environment in terms of threats? It had taken her years to stop acting and thinking this way after Parker. She hoped it wouldn’t be that long this time. She told herself that as soon as Tarbell was out of the way, she’d stop. It sounded like junkie thinking. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
She went up to her office. A couple of people joked about her being a part-timer. She said her hellos to her staff and went into her office. She leaned down and flicked on her PC and when she sat up, Tarbell was standing in the doorway. He smiled.
“Yes, Steve?” Startled, she’d forgotten to use Tarbell’s
Parker sat forward in his seat, his hands bunched into fists under the table. “You may not like what you’re hearing, but I’ve learned my lesson. If a woman tells me no, it means no. Got that?”
The guard walked past them in a passive-aggressive move to let everyone know he was still around, making sure nothing got out of hand.
“I have a question for you,” said Parker. “Actually, it’s from my lawyer, but I want to know too. Are you going to speak at my hearing?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On the answer to my last question.”
Parker frowned, but said nothing.
“When you stabbed me and left, did you expect me to die?”
Parker didn’t answer.
“Did you want me to die that day?”
“Yes,” he replied without an ounce of remorse. “Yes, I did.”
CHAPTER TEN
G wen felt a change in air pressure as she left theprison, as if she could breathe more easily. She barely noticed the corrections officer who saw her out.
She reached her car and realized that she no longer felt nauseous and frightened. She’d faced Parker and come out the other side. She’d even managed to put a scare into him. She smiled at that one.
She pulled out her cell and called Paul.
“How’d it go?”
“OK. It was something I had to do.”
“I’m proud of you. Celebrate isn’t the right word, but let’s go out somewhere. Just us. I’ll get a sitter for Kirsten.”
“OK. Sounds good. I’m going to work. See you tonight.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she said and hung up.
The smile didn’t last. She couldn’t shake the feeling Parker would get his parole. He wouldn’t hurt her. She believed that. Not physically anyway. But what stopped him from turning up on her doorstep, eating lunch outside her office, or sitting next to her when she took Kirsten to the movies? She’d robbed him of fifteen years of his life. He wasn’t the kind of guy to forget that.
She could do without Parker adding to hertroubles. Ingram said he’d have his investigation wrapped up in two weeks, and he’d have enough on Tarbell to fire him. Whatever damning evidence and strong-arm tactics he used on Tarbell, there’d still be issues. Ingram couldn’t prevent Tarbell from suing Pace. No doubt she’d have to go to court and before that would happen, there’d be a war of words. She’d been there before when Parker went to trial. The idea of Parker being free to witness this debacle was too much. She dialed Jerry Naylor’s number.
“I want to speak at Parker’s parole hearing,” she said.
“I heard you just finished up with him. Did something happen?”
“No. He was fine. He behaved. But fifteen years isn’t enough for what he did to me. I don’t want him getting out.”
“I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”
She hung up on Naylor and looked over at San Quentin. It looked more like a castle perched at the edge of the bay to protect those inside from evils that lay outside its gates. She drove away from the prison, glad to put distance between her and Parker.
She pulled into Pace’s parking lot just before lunch. The lot was close to full and all the spots close to the building were occupied. That meant a long and exposed walk to the building.
How long will this continue ? she wondered. How long will I keep viewing my environment in terms of threats? It had taken her years to stop acting and thinking this way after Parker. She hoped it wouldn’t be that long this time. She told herself that as soon as Tarbell was out of the way, she’d stop. It sounded like junkie thinking. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
She went up to her office. A couple of people joked about her being a part-timer. She said her hellos to her staff and went into her office. She leaned down and flicked on her PC and when she sat up, Tarbell was standing in the doorway. He smiled.
“Yes, Steve?” Startled, she’d forgotten to use Tarbell’s
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