Page 94 of M for Murder

He watched Parker roll his eyes, the frustration finally beginning to show, and felt a sense of satisfaction that he might finally be getting somewhere.

‘The night when Scott Jagger was murdered, you weren’t really marking papers in your classroom, were you?’

‘No,’ Parker admitted with more ease than Joel expected.

‘So, what was the deal, Lawrie? Did you meet Scott Jagger in a bar, make out you’re his buddy and buy him a few drinks?’

Parker shook his head, looking Joel straight in the eye.

‘I wasn’t with Scott Jagger. I was with Emma.’

His admission stunned Joel into a moment’s silence. He studied Parker carefully through narrowed eyes, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or, now they’d found out about his affair, if he was trying to use Emma Keeley as an alibi.

‘You were with Emma?’ he said eventually.

‘That’s right.’

‘And where were you the night Emma was killed?’

Parker gave a twisted smile.

‘Waiting to meet her.’

‘What?’

‘The note you found, Agent Hickok, I received it the day she… the day she died. I turned up to meet her, but she never showed up.’

‘And why would I believe that?’ Joel asked, his tone sardonic.

Parker’s lips thinned. ‘Because it’s the truth.’

36

H e couldn’t believe that he had lost her. All of this time he’d been watching her so carefully, probably more often than he should have done, and she’d managed to give him the slip.

He guessed he was partly to blame. Kylan had run into him three times and it was inevitable that she would eventually get spooked, especially after the Feds had decided to go public about the murders. The poor girl probably knew the killer would be looking for her. He should have been more careful. He should have watched her day and night.

With no clue as to where she had gone and at a loss what to do next, he made the call to his employer. He expected to get an angry reaction and he was right.

‘You’ve lost her! How the hell did you manage to lose her?’

‘I guess she got spooked and decided to get out of town.’ He knew his excuse was feeble, but it was the only one he had. The truth of the matter was he’d been sloppy all along. Sloppy because he’d wasted so many victims, so many chances; sloppy because when it came down to getting Kylan he hadn’t been careful enough.

‘What do you intend to do about this mess?’ the voice asked huffily.

‘There’s nothing we can do until she returns.’

‘If she returns…’

‘You said yourself it definitely has to be her. She’ll have to come back eventually and when she does I’ll pay her a visit.’ There was a long pause before the voice answered.

‘You’d better be right. You’ve missed every opportunity so far. Kylan Parker is our last chance. Without her we have nothing. Without her, this whole thing is a waste of time.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll find her.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

He hung up the phone, pondering for a moment, not sure what to do.