Game Over! (Parker & Knight Book 3) (7 page)

“I know, Rachel,”

After talking a little longer, Rachel left to return to Hearn’s side and Parker walked over to speak with Jo.

“I can’t work this case, only you can,”

“I know.”

“I told Rachel she was safe, but we both know that Nico is capable of anything.”

He leaned closer and both Jo and Heather saw the hate in his eyes.

“Ex-wife or not, if he harms her I will kill him.”

Jo reached out and gripped his arm.

“I’ll get him, Rick. One way or another, I’ll put him away.”

Parker exhaled loudly,

“Thank you,”

Heather took his hand.

“Let’s go home, baby, Jo will handle this,”

Parker nodded in agreement, and then he and Heather went home.

***

T
hey arrived at Heather’s house at noon. Parker was taking a scheduled day off and the two of them were going to spend the time planning their wedding.

Heather’s mother was working, but Heather wanted to check the mail, hoping to receive her acceptance letter into the research program, however, when the mail came, she received disappointing news.

“I didn’t get in,” she said in a dispirited voice.

Parker took her in his arms.

“I’m sorry, baby; I know how much you wanted it.”

Heather sniffled, as she fought back tears.

“This would have meant so much to us financially, now I’ll be burdened with student loan payments until retirement.”

Parker kissed her.

“
You
won’t be burdened by anything.
We’ll
just have a debt to whittle down, and the two of us will pay it off together.”

“It’s just so much money, Rick, and it’ll be years before I make a good salary. How will we handle it?”

Parker led her to the sofa, where he snuggled with her.

“We’ll handle it; we’ll take it day by day, live simply and get to where we want to go. We’ll just handle it. People do it every day while earning even less than we do. All I care about is you. I have you and life is good.”

Heather stared at him, a look of wonder lighting her face.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby, and we’re going to have a great life together,”

Heather balled up the rejection notice and tossed it onto the coffee table.

She smiled. “Let’s plan our wedding,”

***

H
ours later, Nico Umbria sat in one of the white interrogation rooms at police headquarters.

He had slept the day away, and after teaching Hearn a lesson, some of the old cockiness was back, so much so, that he had decided not to ask for a lawyer.

Nico held up a hand to Joanna Knight, who sat across from him.

“Before we start, has Tim Hearn pressed charges?”

“No, Mr. Hearn has remained silent on the matter.”

“And that hot wife of his?”

“Mrs. Hearn has made a statement. Would you like to read it?”

Nico looked surprised by the offer.

“Sure, I’ll read it.”

Jo slipped a sheet of paper out of a manila folder and passed it across the table to Nico.

As Nico read it, a smile formed on his lips.

“She just backs up what I told you, that Hearn hit me first when I visited their office.”

“Yes, she says he struck you three times.”

“I wasn’t counting, but okay, sounds about right,”

“The doctors estimate that Mr. Hearn was struck over a hundred blows last night.”

“One or a hundred, he came at me with a bat and I defended myself.”

Jo smiled.

“If your goal was to make him terrified of you, it worked.”

“He just thought I was a punk because of my injuries, now he knows better,”

The door opened and a rookie cop, Sierra, handed Jo a sheet of paper. Nico leered at Sierra until she left the room.

“Damn, who does the hiring around here? Whoever he is has got an eye for tasty tail, you included, Detective.”

Jo held up the sheet she just received.

“We found the stun gun you hid in the trunk of your car, along with the roll of duct tape, and the prongs on the weapon correspond with the faint burn marks on the back of Timothy Hearn’s neck.”

Nico cursed silently. One of the other motel guests must have seen him driving the Chevy and pointed it out to the cops.

“I don’t know anything about a car, and Hearn could have gotten those marks anywhere.”

“There’s blood on the walls and ceiling of your room, cast-off from the bat as you continually raised it to strike. If you had only wanted to defend yourself, you could have disabled Mr. Hearn with the stun gun and then called the police.”

“The guy broke into my room in the middle of the night. Maybe I was too scared to think straight.”

“You weren’t scared; you were actually lying in wait for him, weren’t you? You knew that he would try something, didn’t you?”

Nico sent her a sly smile.

“There’s no way to prove that, and anyway, Hearn won’t be pressing charges.”

Jo reached into the manila folder again, and took out several sheets of paper.

“This is a second statement by Mrs. Hearn, in it, she details the conspiracy between you and her husband, the campaign of fear that was used to get Patrick Taggart to sell him the bar. She also states that she was alone with Timothy Hearn on the night of Charles Woolley’s murder, and that you intimidated Hearn into providing you an alibi.”

Nico’s look of self-assuredness slipped a bit, but he shrugged and smiled.

“The bitch doesn’t know anything. That’s... what do they call it, hearsay? And besides, she already told you cops that I was there with them, right?”

“Wrong. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Hearn ever gave a formal statement saying that you were present with them on that date. When you were rendered comatose last year, I suspended the investigation. Mr. Hearn did make a verbal assertion that you and he were together, but we now know from Mrs. Hearn that he made it under a threat of violence.”

Nico stared down at the table and was silent as he thought over his options. When he looked up, he was smiling again.

“Tim Hearn will still tell you that I was there with him. I own his ass now. He would blow me if I told him to.”

“You think he fears you that much?”

“After the beat down I gave him? Hell yeah, he’ll do anything I say.”

“You did beat him severely,”

“And you can’t charge me for it. There’s no way he’ll press charges, because he knows that even if I did time for it, that I’d be back. So, can I leave now?”

Jo stood.

“Yes, I think we’re done.”

Nico stood, and then looked on with wide eyes as Jo took out her handcuffs.

“Nico Umbria, you are under arrest for the murder of Charles Woolley. Please turn around sir, so that I can cuff you.”

“What?”

“We’re arresting you for murder based on Rachel Hearn’s statement, now turn around.”

Nico looked disgusted, but did as ordered.

“This is bullshit! Tim Hearn will back me up and then it will be our word against the wife.”

“I’m sorry to say that Mr. Hearn will be unavailable to comment.”

“Why?”

“Timothy Hearn is dead. He died earlier from a cerebral hemorrhage, a cerebral hemorrhage that the doctors say was a direct result of the beating you inflicted on him. Along with the murder charge, you’re also being charged with manslaughter in the death of Timothy Hearn.”

Nico’s mouth dropped open as the color drained from his face. Jo read him his rights, and then marched him into a cell.

I
n a plea bargain arrangement, Nico Umbria pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Charles Woolley and Timothy Hearn.

Nico was to serve a maximum of only eight years; however, after arriving at prison he received a severe head injury during a prison riot, and later died. The doctors speculated that his earlier cranial wound contributed to his demise.

***

R
ick Parker and Heather Jones married in a simple ceremony at her mother’s home.

The handsome groom and his lovely bride would later fly off to the Bahamas for their honeymoon.

***

R
achel Hearn became the sole owner of the bar named
Taggart’s
.

Two days after her ex-husband’s wedding, she sat alone at the bar drinking, despite the fact that it was only nine a.m.

In less than a year, she had divorced, remarried, and been made a widow. She had also gone from being a nurse to owning a bar and restaurant.

She was not good at being alone; she knew this about herself and also knew that another husband would be in her future. But, where to look?

The front door of the bar swung open and a man walked in. He was in his thirties, handsome, with dark hair and blazingly blue eyes.

Rachel pointed at the door.

“I thought I locked that?”

“Apparently not,”

“Who are you?”

The man walked over and offered her his hand.

“My name is Nate Taggart, my grandfather used to own this bar.”

“Oh, so you’re Patrick’s younger brother?”

“That’s right, from my father’s second marriage. Granddad left me the house and the land, but gave Pat the bar. I can’t believe he sold it.”

“He also moved. He’s living in Florida.”

Nate Taggart gazed around.

“The place looks great, much better than I remember,”

Rachel patted her hair in place and offered a smile.

“Tell me Mr. Taggart, are you visiting, or will you be staying?”

“I’m moving back, and call me Nate,”

She smiled at the new man in town.

“And you can call me Rachel,”

***

A
t that very moment, in a tropical paradise, Rick and Heather Parker had just finished making love.  Parker held his new bride in his arms and sighed.

“I am happier than I have ever been.”

“Me too, so what do you want to do today?”

“The same things we did yesterday and the day before, eat, sleep, and make love,”

Heather giggled. “I hope it doesn’t get too boring for you,”

Parker smiled as he ran a hand along her nakedness.

“Oh, I’m sure it will be murder, pure murder,”

PARKER & KNIGHT

BOOK ONE –
MURDER!

BOOK TWO –
HOMICIDE!

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Donald Wells is the author of numerous short stories and novels, including
The TAKEN! Series, The Caliber Detective Agency, Blue Steele, Monsters & The Reynolds Family Saga.

He lives deep inside a writing cave in the wilds of New Jersey.

However, the cave does have Internet access, and so, you can contact him at:

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GAME OVER!

Copyright © Donald Wells, 2014

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced,

distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,

without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Did you love
Game Over!
? Then you should read
Thrillogy
by Donald Wells!

Thrillogy

by Donald Wells

Author of The Taken! Series, Blue Steele & Caliber Detective Agency

Thrillogy includes the following books

Taken! - Love Conquers All - Book 1

Twenty-three women are dead, murdered by a serial killer who shows no mercy.

All twenty-three women shared the same look as Karen Ryan and now Karen Ryan is being stalked, hunted like prey by a man who will stop at nothing to possess her.

Will Karen become victim number twenty-four?

Or does the prey hide a secret that will bring her predator down?

Blue Steele - Bounty Hunter - Book 1

When murder suspect Vincent Kane jumps bail, Blue decides to hunt him down for the ten thousand dollar bounty.

However, when Kane's guilt comes into question, Blue keeps searching for the man, but not just for the money. She wants answers.

Who really killed Vincent Kane's wife? Was it her lover, or is Kane far more devious then even the police suspect?

In the end, Blue discovers the truth and learns that the human heart holds many secrets.

Caliber Detective Agency - Generations - Book 1

From the plains of Texas in 1875 to present day New York City and the world, the name Caliber is synonymous with heroism.

After the death of his long-time friend and secretary Velma, legendary, octogenarian P. I. Jake Caliber is thrilled to meet Velma's young niece.

However, the beautiful, young woman hides a secret, and only time will tell if she's friend, or foe.

Christopher Caliber is the youngest member of the Caliber clan and unlike his tough as nails brother Jake the fifth, he has no plans to become involved in the family P. I. business.

However, fate has plans of its own, and when the young Caliber finds himself involved in a deadly situation, his choice is to act, or die.

After a dramatic confrontation, Christopher Caliber is reeling and unsure of what the future holds.

However, his future is even more uncertain than he realizes, because there's someone stalking him, someone who wants him dead.

Taken! Prelude!

The events in TAKEN! PRELUDE! take place before TAKEN! 1-6

How exactly was Jessica White chosen?

Why her, and how and when did he first gaze upon her?

Was she even his first victim?

TAKEN! PRELUDE! tells the unknown story of the first contact between Jessica White and her abductor, and reveals that the past mirrors the present.

Read more at
Donald Wells’s site
.