Chapter 71
From what we pieced together after the fact, the Parkers owed everybody and their brother, including a certain unsavory businessman who specialized in high-interest loans of the leg-breaking variety.
Apparently, the Parkers were fond of their legs, if not their pets, which over the last ten years had included a couple of Bengel cats in Baltimore, a parakeet in Tampa, and a Siberian Husky in upstate New York.
When they ran out of money, they did what they always did – hired some sucker to keep up appearances while they set up shop in a new town under a new name.
Their house was leased, their furniture was rented, and most of their portraits were totally fake, including every single one that included Mr. Parker, the so-called retired surgeon who had also posed as an architect, a hedge fund manager, and a personal injury lawyer.
Although I didn't realize it at the time, I'd met Mr. Parker after all. Turns out, he was the flashy financial guy who'd shown up on that doorstep with a wad of cash. Why they paid me anything at all, I didn't understand, until Lawton put it in perspective.
"They needed you to stick around," he said. "You were the fall girl, the one who'd pay the price when the bills came due."
"But I didn't have any money," I said.
"I'm not talking about money," he said. "Think about it. The Parkers give you this wad of cash, which they're probably planning to steal right back anyway. Then later, when someone comes looking for the big money, they're long gone. But you're not."
"But that night," I said, "I told that guy I wasn't Mrs. Parker."
"Yeah. Because nobody lies when they're about to get their legs broken."
"But they would've found out eventually," I said. "I mean, let's consider the worst-case scenario. Let's say they killed me—"
"No," he said. "We're not saying that, even as a what-if."
"But the point is," I said, "those guys would've found out pretty quick that I was just someone staying there."
"Yeah. But so what if it's the wrong person? You were living there, taking care of the dog, handling all their stuff. It would be easy for someone to get the idea the Parkers wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to you."
Over the course of the next few days, I talked to the police, the FBI, and even a couple of guys from Homeland Security. I told them all the same thing, that I'd mostly quit the job a few weeks earlier, when the checks started bouncing.
That's where the lie came in. If the neighbors were watching, they'd certainly know that I'd been in and out of the Parkers' house. But with my car dead in the driveway and a bunch of dead plants inside the house, thanks to whatever Lawton did that night, the lies made a weird sort of sense.
But all this misinformation wasn't for the police or anyone else in law enforcement. It was for the boss of the two leg-breakers left half-dead in the Parkers' house.
Officially, I wasn't there. And Lawton wasn't there. And Chucky, well, he'd supposedly run away the previous week. How sad.
As for the Parkers, well let's just say that a certain businessman in downtown Detroit isn't too happy with them right about now. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't take kindly to someone not just stiffing him for a whole bunch of money, but also jumping the guys who came to collect.
We were snuggling on our favorite sofa about a week after Thanksgiving when some other pieces started clicking into place. I turned to Lawton and said, "You know what? I know what your big secret is."
"You do, huh?"
"First," I said, "you've got to agree. If I guess right, will you tell me the truth?"
"Maybe."
I gave him a serious look. "No maybes. You won't lie to me, will you?"
"Never."
"Alright," I said. "You, and Bishop —" I narrowed my gaze "—is there anyone else?"
"That sounds like a question," he said, "not a guess."
"Hard-ass," I said. "Fine. Here's my guess. You fix things."
He raised his eyebrows. "Like cars?"
"Oh shut up. You know what I mean. You right wrongs."
"Interesting theory."
"It's more than a theory," I said. "Look what happened with me and those two guys in ski masks. You and Bishop, you did to them exactly what they were gonna do to me." I bit my lip. "Well, I guess not exactly, since you beat them up too, but I'm thinking that's mostly incidental."
"Mostly incidental, huh? Where have I heard that before?"
"Stop distracting me," I said. "Am I close?"
"Keep going," he said.
"Alright," I said. "So then with the Parkers, they were trying to get me in trouble for the things they did. But the way you worked it out, they're not just on the hook for all that money, but also for beating up a couple of their enforcers."
"Since when," Lawton said with a grin, "do you talk about enforcers?"
"Since I started hanging out with the likes of you."
"So you're saying I'm a bad influence."
"Definitely." I edged up to lean my forehead against his. "Am I right?"
"Ask me in three months," he said.
"Why? What happens in three months?"
"You'll see."