Page 93 of M for Murder

‘Who is it?’ she asked, crossing the room.

‘It’s Peterson, wanting Hickok. Can he be disturbed?’

Rebecca thought back to the situation she’d just left, Hickok angrier than she’d ever seen him and Parker smugly knowing he had got one up on her.

‘I’ll take it,’ she said, snatching the receiver. Hankins pulled a face at her and she turned her back on him. ‘Hal, it’s Rebecca.’

She heard Hal Peterson’s voice on the other end of the line. ‘Where’s Hickok?’

‘He’s busy. What do you want? I’ll give him a message.’

The line crackled and Rebecca heard what she thought was a snort. It didn’t surprise her. Vic Boaz wasn’t the only officer who seemed to think she’d landed herself a cushy number since the Feds had arrived. She waited patiently for Peterson to speak.

‘You’d better make sure he gets this, Angell. It’s important.’

‘Gets what?’

‘One of the girls whose prints we took earlier…’ He paused and Rebecca heard the flutter of pages as he consulted his notes. ‘Renee Lewis,’ he confirmed. ‘Turns out she was real good friends with Emma Keeley. She was telling us all about how Emma was totally infatuated with this guy. Even gave her the key to her room so they had somewhere private to go.’

‘Really?’ Rebecca felt her heartbeat quicken. ‘Did this guy she was seeing have a name?’

Peterson let out a gruff laugh. ‘Yup… Want to know who it was?’

Rebecca glanced in the direction of the room where Hickok was still hounding Lawrence Parker. She felt a smile crease the corners of her mouth.

‘I think I’ve already got a pretty good idea.’

Parker fixed Joel with a bored look. ‘Okay, so I slept with Emma Keeley. Happy now?’

Joel, sitting instead of pacing now he had the upper hand, ran his hands back through his hair. ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before?’

‘Because I didn’t want my wife to find out.’ Parker shifted forward slightly. ‘I still don’t want my wife to find out, Agent Hickok. Are we clear on that?’

‘Are you threatening me?’ Joel asked, amused.

‘No, I am merely making sure you’re aware of the delicate situation.’

‘Delicate situation?’

Parker nodded. ‘Kylan is… how can I put it. She’s fragile. And she doesn’t need any unnecessary trouble.’

‘She doesn’t need you screwing your students behind her back either,’ Joel added.

Parker glared at him and leaned back in his chair.

‘So, Lawrie, Emma’s dead, you wanted another fling. Is that when you took up with Justine Orton?’

‘I never had anything to do with Justine Orton outside of class.’

‘Really?’ Joel pulled a face. ‘Funny that, because Justine Orton seemed to have a lot to do with you outside of class.’

‘Implying what?’

‘Did you know that she kept your picture in her room?’

‘My picture?’ Parker looked almost pleased. ‘So one of my students had a crush on me, that doesn’t mean anything.’

Joel flipped open the notepad that sat on the desk. He studied the page and regarded Parker with a dry smile. ‘Let’s go back to your alibis.’