Grinning at her, Jude added, “Sorry Squirt, you’re just going to have to accept that once again your level-ten computer-brain has all of us lumbering, fist-dragging cavemen grunting in appreciation.”
Knowing from Sky’s strained expression how uncomfortable she was with the focused attention, and determined to get the spotlight off of her, Jude let the silence stand for a long moment. Eying each of the four people at the table, he expelled an audible breath. “Which brings me to the next step. It should be evident why this is a private meeting. It’s essential that Charlie’s murderer or murderers think they were successful. For that reason, we need to keep this information on the down-low at least for a couple of days. We’ll let the word spread that Charlie’s death was likely caused by his being intoxicated. A lousy thing to do to the guy and his family, but we will correct it as soon as we can.”
He nodded to Jake. “I invited you for obvious reasons, Jake. While I’m leading the investigation, as the DPD Commander, you’ll handle most of the PR and contact with the community at large. You can make sure the media gets the information we want them to have when we want them to have it. Jared is backing me up, and Sky is…Sky.”
He winked at her and then narrowed in on Solly. “As for you, dude, you’re the only member of the crime scene squad who knows that Charlie was poisoned. You’ll need to make sure that it stays that way until we’re ready to release our findings.”
Jude paused for effect, then grinned at Skylar and said with a chuckle, “Since you’re the one who figured it out, you wanna tell the rest of us just how important this information is, Squirt?”
Sky breathed a hard sigh, not hiding her relief that they were on the same page. “You’re right Jude. Knowing the poison they used is helpful in more ways than one. Given the shelf life of acetone, we know that it had to have been put in Charlie’s drink at the party. And I think I can narrow the time frame even farther. I heard him jock-talking with a group of men. He was cheerful and articulate. Twenty-five minutes later when he verbally attacked me, he was sweating, angry, and unsteady.”
Her dark eyes flashed behind her thick-rimmed glasses, signifying that she could barely contain her excitement. “Which means that whoever killed Charlie put the acetone in his drink at the party sometime between 8:35 and 9:00.”
‘Right on, Squirt. Of course you
would
know the precise time you spoke with Charlie.” At the chuckles from the other men at the table, Jude conceded their challenge with a self-deprecating laugh. “Granted, we will need to narrow the field a bit. But at least we now know that one or more of the 175 honored guests at the Judge’s Summer Solstice Celebration murdered Charlie Berkley, and, not incidentally, Hank and Carol Parker.”
Running his fingers through his tousled hair, he muttered, “And the fucking party was already the most famous shindig in the Upper Midwest. Whew. Dateline NBC, here we come.” Jude leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. “That said, we need to narrow that 175-person field. Let’s start with the people who might actually be able to help us do that—the Parker siblings.”
At Jared’s raised brow, Jude explained, “As Skylar said from the beginning, either sex or money is at the base of these hideous crimes. At this point I think we need to look at the money angle. From what the Judge said, Hank and Carol Parker had no dearth of people they’d wronged, in many cases, people they ruined. Which brings me back to the Parker siblings. Let’s look at the people who
they thought might have it in for their parents. Everybody on the lists they gave us was at the party last night.”
“You’re right, Jude. That’s the best place to start. At least that only gives us seventeen suspects instead of 175. Make that thirteen, since Charlie was on all four of their lists. Which brings me to the question I’ve been wrestling with all night.” Jared included Skylar in his questioning gaze. “Why the hell did someone kill Charlie? And, not incidentally, why was he on all four of the Parker sibs’ lists?”
Jude looked to Skylar and raised a brow. “You want to take that one on, Squirt, or do you want me to?”
Skylar gave him a saucy smile and shrugged. “Please, I’d like to hear your theory.”
Jude laughed. “Ah, the pressure’s on. You daring me to perform, Squirt?”
Relishing the rosy blush that flooded her cheeks at his double entendre, knowing that it was as obvious to his brothers as it was to Sky, Jude chuckled. “Although I’m usually up for a challenge, I know when I’m in over my head. Instead of conjuring up a theory of my own, I’ll latch on to yours, Specs. As you brilliantly summarized this fucking mess from the beginning, it’s either sex or money. In Charlie’s case, I’d add knowledge. Chances are, since he was part of the family even though they were in the process of throwing him out, he likely knew the people who hated Hank and Carol as well as their children did. And he just might have been angry enough to expose that person.”
“Or blackmail him.”
Jude whistled at Skylar’s interruption. “Fuck it, woman. And to think at one point I might have underestimated you.” Leaning back in his chair, he studied her and allowed a slight smile to quirk his lips. Seeing his brothers both smirking at him, he nodded in agreement. “Yep, I should have listened to you two assholes. But then, I did say from the beginning the squirt was the most damnably disquieting woman I’d met.”
He didn’t add that he’d also called her the most
unappealing
woman he’d met. From the rosiness staining her cheeks, he knew Skylar understood his reference. Given that last night they’d forever put to rest the notion that fucking her was a non-issue, he delighted in her obvious embarrassment. Although, he was the one who should be embarrassed. Hell, fucking her was all he had thought about since he saw her leaning over the bridge railing. The memory of that miniscule dress riding up her backside showing off a pair of gorgeous legs and a curvy ass had his cock straining at his zipper.
With a sigh, Jude admitted that Skylar had intrigued him from the beginning. She’d challenged him in a way he wasn’t used to being challenged, particularly by a woman. She’d gotten under his skin, made him want to know what made her tick. But instead of acknowledging that he was impressed with her formidable brain and uncanny instincts, he’d focused on how odd she was. And chauvinistic asshole that he was, he rated her the way he did all women—with a peremptory thumbs-up or down, based solely on their rack to ass ratio.
Staring at her now, Jude marveled that he’d been too blind to see what his brothers and others had seen. Behind those crazy glasses were stunning, multi-hued eyes that he now knew could flash with fury and blaze with lust. Under the weird clothes she wore to camouflage her beautiful body was a sexy, passionate woman. His cock hardened at the memory of her earthy moans and whimpering cries when she wrapped her gorgeous legs around him and rode his iron-hard dick.
Christ, he had to give his dick credit. The damn thing was a hell of a lot better judge of women than he was. To think that he’d made do with the likes of Jerri the Juggernaut and her look-a-likes when the sexiest, most surprising woman he’d met was right there beside him. Jude stifled a groan, knowing what he planned to do to her tonight. Looking up, he saw Jared and Jake grinning at him. He shrugged in acknowledgement. Christ, thank God for tight jeans and tabletops or his aroused condition would have been as obvious to Sky and Solly as it was to his randy brothers.
He forced himself to focus. “Solly, you need to get back to the team and head up the onsite investigation of Charlie’s ‘accident’. It’s imperative that the guys assume we’re dealing with a DUI. I had a long conversation with Doc Evans and he knows the importance of reinforcing that conclusion.”
Turning to Jake and Jared he said, “I’ll catch up with you both later, maybe over lunch. Right now, Sky and I are going to go interview the Parker siblings.”
At her surprised start, he explained, “I told Bernice to let them know we wanted to talk with them. Alicia asked if we could meet at their boutique. Blake’s office is a couple blocks away so it will be convenient for him to come there.”
“Do I need to come, Jude? I had planned to go back to the Larson, McClellan offices. Mr. Larson agreed that I could have access to the Parker financials. I want to examine the ventures that involved people on the lists.”
“That’s important, Skylar, and you can do that this afternoon. But this morning I want you to go with me to interview Blake and his sisters. They’re all obviously on guard, and hostile isn’t too strong a word to describe the sisters. By double-teaming them we’re likely to get more information than one of us could alone. Besides, I want to see how those nasty women treat you after last night. They have to have been impressed with your, shall we say,
altered
appearance.”
He caught up with her at the doorway and murmured in her ear, “And to think all the sisters saw was your designer dress. Wonder how they would have reacted if they saw what was underneath it.”
***
As they prepared to walk into the Second Chance Boutique to meet with the Parkers, Jude pulled her up next to him. “Hope for your sake you did as you were told, Squirt.”
When she frowned up at him, not understanding, he laughed. “I’m just being protective, little girl. I’d hate for you to have to wear the same clothes tomorrow morning that you have on today. Might make the guys wonder where you spent the night.”
Not waiting for her to respond, he opened the door to the Second Chance Boutique and ushered her in.
Chapter 19
Marion greeted them at the door. To say she was cool made an iceberg seem like a steam bath. Surveying Sky’s ill-fitting pants and t-shirt, Marion’s thin lips tightened further with obvious distaste. Answering Jude’s pleasant greeting with a stiff nod, she motioned for them to follow her. Striding through the boutique to the back of the store, she pointed to the door at the end of the hallway. Her voice was curt. “My brother and sisters are waiting for you. I’ll be there shortly.”
Skylar exchanged a raised eyebrow with Jude at Marion’s rudeness, then followed him into what looked like a studio apartment. A sitting area with a sofa, comfortable chairs, and several occasional tables was off to one side. A kitchenette with a full retinue of appliances stood along the opposing wall behind a counter with four stools at the front. A large rectangular table was in the center of the room, Blake sitting at one end. Alicia and Charlotte were sitting on both sides of him.
Skylar didn’t resist when Jude reached for her elbow and pulled her next to him. Given the openly hostile glares the two sisters were shooting her way, Jude’s powerful presence was comforting.
Unlike his stony-faced silent sisters, Blake was on his feet and beside them in seconds. Grasping Skylar’s hand in one of his and Jude’s arm with the other, Blake said, “Thank you both for coming. This is a terrible, terrible day. None of us had heard about Charlie’s awful accident until your sergeant called us, Jude. Thank you for notifying us. We were all stunned, horrified.”
Clearly flustered, he pointed to the table. “Please, please sit down. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water? I…I can make tea if you prefer, Skylar. I mean, Ms. Hughes.”
At that moment, Marion entered, closing the door firmly behind her. Glaring at her brother, she said impatiently, “For God’s sake, Blake, sit down. If either of them wants something, they can ask.”
As Blake hurried back to his seat, Jude strode to the table and pulled out a chair for Skylar. Choosing the place next to her at the head of the table, he said to Marion, “A bottle of water will be fine for me, Marion.” He raised an inquiring brow, “Skylar, can Marion get something for you?”
Sky nodded as she settled into her chair. “Yes, thank you, Jude. I’d also like water.”
Not hiding her annoyance at Jude’s requests, Marion marched to the refrigerator and yanked out two bottles of water. She plunked them on the table in front of Jude and without speaking, sunk into the chair next to Alicia.
Jude let the silence stand as he opened each of the bottles of water and handed one to Sky with a smile. She murmured her thanks and took a sip. Even she was startled when Jude turned to Alicia. “Was your husband an alcoholic, Alicia?”
“What…what do you mean?” The disconcerted woman made a visible effort to control herself. “And don’t you mean my
former
husband?”
Jude responded coolly, “I didn’t know your divorce was final, Alicia. Or are you referring to the fact that Charlie is dead?”
Charlotte gasped and stared at Jude. She recovered quickly. “Really, Jude, you needn’t be crass. And no, Alicia’s divorce was not final, but would have been soon if Charlie hadn’t decided to kill himself.”
Blake groaned. “Good God, Charlotte, and you too, Alicia. I…I can’t believe you’re talking like that about Charlie. He…he just died last night. We don’t even know how it happened.”
Marion broke in. “Actually, we do. Lars Larson called me shortly after Jude’s sergeant did. He told me that after Charlie stormed out of your grandfather’s party, he drove off the Pinetop cliff. Lars indicated that Charlie was intoxicated.” She glared at Jude. “But if anyone knows how he died, I presume it’s you.” She looked at Skylar for the first time. “Or you
.
”
Jude answered smoothly. “We haven’t listed a final cause of death yet, but yes, it would appear that Charlie was intoxicated. A number of people who attended the party reported that Charlie had been drinking.”
Blake tentatively agreed. “I…I think they’re correct. Charlie and I only spoke briefly, but I did notice that he seemed rather belligerent… as though he had been drinking.”
Alicia broke in. “He was always belligerent, and to answer your question, Jude, Charlie usually drank too much.”
Charlotte pinned them both with a hard stare. “Why
are
you here, Jude, and
you
?” She hesitated, and said to Skylar, “Speaking of the party, that was an interesting dress you were wearing. For a moment I thought it might be an Ana Sui, but it was clearly a knock off.”
Sky smiled, “I’ll be sure not to tell Ana you said that when I see her next.”