Homicide! (Parker & Knight Book 2) by Donald Wells Page B

center.
    ***
    U pstairs, Joanna Knight sat at her desk and smiled at Parker.
    “That’s a new tie, isn’t it?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s very nice, and is that a new sport coat too?”
    “Yes, I, ah, did a little shopping.”
    Jo’s smile widened.
    “You got it bad, don’t you?”
    “I don’t know what you mean,” Parker said, but he knew exactly what she meant.
    “She should be here any minute; would you like to interview her alone?”
    Parker hung his head.
    “You think I’m a fool, don’t you?”
    The smile left Jo’s face and she reached across and touched Parker’s hand.
    “Hey, Rick, I don’t think it’s foolish for you to be attracted to Jones, and I’ll tell you something else, I think it’s mutual. Every time we’ve talked to her, she’s asked you to come by the bar.”
    “She was just being nice, and besides, she’s now part of an active investigation.”
    “We’ll solve this case and then that will end, when it does, ask her out. The worst that can happen is that she’ll say no.”
    Parker shook his head in disagreement.
    “That’s not the worst; the worst would be if she said yes.”
    Jo gave him a puzzled look, but then the phone rang and she answered it. When she hung up, she grinned.
    “The lady is on her way up.”
    ***
    P arker watched Heather Jones as she stepped off the elevator.
    The woman was stunning, with a gorgeous figure, thick red hair and large green eyes.
    She was wearing a black skirt that displayed her legs, but wasn’t so short that it couldn’t be worn on any occasion. Her blouse was cobalt blue, and Parker noted that it matched her shoes perfectly; he also noted that it gapped slightly, and displayed just a hint of cleavage.
    Her make-up, if any, was understated, and the only jewelry she wore were a pair of gold earrings and a turquoise ring.
    As he and Knight approached her, Heather smiled and Parker felt his knees weaken. Only one other woman had ever affected him that way, his ex-wife, Rachel.
    He shook her hand.
    “Ms. Jones, thank you for coming in, we’ll try to make this quick.”
    “I’m in no hurry,” Heather said.
    Jo suddenly sniffed the air, as a mouth-watering aroma reached her nose.
    “Oh my God, what have you got in that bag, is that barbeque I smell?”
    Heather grinned.
    “It is; I thought I’d bring you some of Taggart’s ribs; they’re the best in town. There are two rib dinners in the bag, one for each of you, just a show of appreciation for solving Tiff’s murder.”
    “That’s very kind, but not necessary,” Parker said.
    “I would have been in sooner, Detective Parker, but I thought I might see you at the bar, in fact, I was looking forward to it.”
    Jo reached out and took the bag from Heather.
    “I’ll take this and put it in the break room while Rick interviews you about the case. Rick, why not use Interview Room C?”
    Parker looked at his partner, wondering if she could be any more obvious. Interview Room C was where lawyers met with their clients. There were no one-way mirrors and no listening devices and was arguably the most private spot in the building. Parker nodded in agreement and led Heather down a corridor to the right as Jo walked off with the bag of food.
    Interview Room C was a cramped space with a single table and two chairs. Parker held out a seat for Heather and she sent him a smile.
    “I see you’re a gentlemen; Detective Parker, there aren’t many of you left.”
    “You can blame my mother, she drilled certain behaviors into me and one of those was to always open a door or pull out a seat for a lady.”
    Heather said nothing in return, but only smiled at him.
    “Um, thank you for the food; that was very kind of you.”
    “I meant what I said; I’d like to see you at the bar sometime.”
    “You’ll be seeing me there for certain now that Charles Woolley has been found murdered.”
    The smile left Heather’s face.
    “I don’t know how I can help, as I told you before, I barely knew Mr.