Under Wraps

Lorraine didn’t meet my eyes. “Maybe he was ready to move on.”

 

 

“He has always been fair. And the whole Underworld looks up to him—he was voted in as president of the UDA. He didn’t even ask for it. He isn’t power hungry! Not enough to”—I looked sadly at the ruins of UDA—“not enough to cause this kind of destruction. He had to know what leaving UDA would do to our clients.”

 

“Maybe he just didn’t care,” Lorraine said quietly.

 

I bit my lip, pausing, before knocking on Parker’s office door. With Sampson going missing, the murders, and the imminent heart attack that was Parker Hayes, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I popped another Tums, chewed, and rapped on the door.

 

 

 

“Come in.”

 

Parker was hunched over his desk, his big hands cradling his head.

 

“Oh, Lawson, it’s you,” he said without looking up.

 

“Did you hear about UDA?” I asked, taking a seat across from him.

 

Parker nodded, and I saw that his eyes were bloodshot. His tie was crooked and his face was pale. “The chief let me know earlier. I don’t know how we’re going to put all this together. I don’t know if we’re looking for a vampire, a werewolf, a troll, the bogeyman …” He wagged his head, blowing out a sigh.

 

“Well,” I said, trying to pump some cheerfulness into my voice, “the bogeyman isn’t real. So, we can strike that one from the list.”

 

“Up until a week ago vampires, werewolves, and trolls weren’t real either. What about the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, the abominable snowman? I mean, who are we looking for here?”

 

“Well, I don’t want to shoot down all your childhood fantasies….”

 

“Seriously, Lawson, how do you deal with this and keep your head screwed on straight?”

 

I shrugged, and a tiny smile escaped Parker’s pressed lips. “Oh, that’s right—you’re a little left of center.”

 

I wanted to be annoyed, but it was good to see him smile.

 

“So,” I said, lacing my fingers together. “Have you heard anything more about Officer Franks?”

 

Parker wagged his head. “It’s only getting weirder and weirder. Franks was scheduled to work last night. He was, at some point, armed. He was still wearing his holster, but the gun is missing.”

 

“Oh. Why would a killer who rips out hearts and eyeballs suddenly need a gun? Seems kind of … anticlimactic, don’t you think?”

 

Parker shrugged.

 

“Do you think he really was a victim of our killer? Maybe Franks wasn’t on the killer’s hit list, but he got too close? It doesn’t seem right. No gore, no”—I wrinkled my nose—“missing body parts, lack of fluids. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

 

“Nina says that kind of stuff doesn’t happen with …” Parker paused, choosing his words carefully. “Those people. And besides, there just aren’t coincidences like that. In my experience I’ve learned that there are only three main reasons why people kill: love, power, or money.”

 

I crossed my arms. “What about the truly depraved who kill just for the fun of it?”

 

“Four main reasons then.”

 

“Well, supernatural or not—closet cop not included, maybe—it seems to me like we’re dealing with a hard-core number four. I have a hard time figuring out where eyeballs, blood, and a human heart fall into the love-power-money spectrum.”

 

“Good point.”

 

I bit my lip. “But I might know where they fall in the supernatural spectrum. Nina and I saw Lorraine today—the witch, from HR?”

 

“Right.” Parker sat back in his chair. “The one who knows more than she lets on.”

 

“Well, she’s letting on more. She said that the stuff—that the stuff taken from the victims? It can be put together to create something.”

 

“Like some kind of macabre macaroni necklace? Gross.”

 

I sighed. “No. Like something that can give the creator—or gatherer or whatever he would be—absolute power.”

 

Parker’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that sounds ominous.”

 

“It’s been your experience that people tend to kill for three main reasons. Power …”

 

“Power and power.” Parker ticked it off on his fingers as he spoke. “Miss Lawson, I think you’ve just given us a motive.”

 

Parker Hayes bounded over his desk and gathered me up in his arms, my breasts crushing against his solid chest. His breath was moist and warm on my neck as he muttered, “Baby, I knew you could do it.” Then his lips were on mine….

 

“Lawson? Lawson?” Parker was on his feet, waving his arms airline traffic controller style. “Are you okay?”

 

My face went hot and red. I cleared my throat and clamped my knees together. “Sorry just … trying to work on the case.”

 

Parker’s face broke into that sexy half smile and he leaned against his desk. “Sophie Lawson—dedicated player. We make a good team.”

 

“If you only knew,” I muttered under my breath.