Page 31 of Ghost of You
“Wait! Stop! You can’t do this. I need to go after Parker. I love her!”
“He’s right,” Cope said with a grin. “Not to mention Heidi, Kellie, Brenda, and a stripper named Cinnamon.”
“Text Fitz with that info. I’ll go see if we can get Parker to talk to us.” Jude left Cope standing in the driveway in front of the silver Camry. He watched as Jude spoke to her in low tones. No doubt his husband was employing every ounce of charm he possessed to persuade Parker to speak with them.
A few seconds later, the engine shut off, and with Jude’s assistance, Parker got out of the car. He ushered her toward Fitzgibbon’s SUV. Cope opened the passenger back door for her. Jude climbed in behind her, leaving Cope to go around to the passenger side. He got into the front seat, not wanting Parker to feel like she was boxed in or trapped.
“Parker, this is my husband, Cope.”
“Nice to meet you,” Parker said, her voice still full of frustration. “You promised to tell me what this was about. Now, talk.”
Jude offered a sheepish grin. He definitely had turned the charm up full blast. “We’re with the Salem Police’s Cold Case Division.”
“Jesus Christ on a trampoline! Do you think Watson killed someone? I wouldn’t put it past him, horny, selfish, piece of shit that he is!”
“Does the name Francesca Adams ring a bell?” Jude asked.
Parker nodded. “Yeah, that’s the woman whose body was found in the woods a few days ago. Ambrose worked with her. Was he fucking her too?”
“Not to the best of our knowledge.” Jude offered the distraught woman a smile.
“Has he ever mentioned Frankie to you?” Cope asked. His gift was turned up to full blast. All he was getting from her at the moment was anger and betrayal. If Jude could calm her down, it was possible Cope could get more information out of her.
“When her remains were discovered he changed,” Parker said.
“Changed how?” Jude asked, biting his lower lip.
“He was irritable and paranoid. The slightest thing would set him off and he was always looking over his shoulder as if he thought someone was out to get him. I assumed there was something going on at work. There always was.” Parker rolled her eyes. “Christ, he was a lousy city councilman and I do mean lousy. His favorite way to earn votes was with his dick. All he wanted to do was cut taxes for the rich and make the poor pay for the cuts.”
“Did he ever mention the stolen money?” Jude asked.
Parker’s eyes widened. “What, the money that Frankie stole from the bank before she disappeared?”
Jude nodded.
“Only to say that it had been the perfect crime. She’d managed to stash the money away without anyone noticing.” Parker sighed. “I guess she didn’t get very far with it.”
Cope could feel Parker’s empathy toward the murdered woman. “Were there ever times when Ambrose had more money thanyou thought he should have had? You know, did he give you expensive gifts or take you on luxury vacations?”
Parker nodded. “We went to Bora Bora last year and he gave me diamond earrings.” She pulled her hair back to expose square cut studs that Cope would guess were a carat each. “Ambrose told me the money had come from a great aunt who’d recently passed and left him an inheritance. I knew that story was bullshit, since he’d mentioned before that both of his parents were only children. I just assumed the money came from one of the rich women he was fucking on the side.”
Cope shook his head. In Parker’s eyes, it didn’t seem to matter that Ambrose was cheating if the infidelity came with perks like jewelry and trips to far-flung tropical beaches.
“Do you think he had anything to do with stealing the money or killing Frankie?” Jude asked.
“He’s too much of a coward to kill anyone. If I had to guess, I’d say he was very capable of stealing the money and making it look like Frankie did it. Ambrose has been very paranoid these last few days. He’s packed bug out bags and has them ready to go at the front door.”
Jude pulled out his phone and handed it to Parker. “Does this woman look familiar to you?”
From where he was sitting, Cope could see Jude had shown her the pictures from the bank security footage.
“Fuck me with a chainsaw. That’s Heidi Coombs. What the fuck is up with that ridiculous wig. Heidi’s a brunette like me. She’s been my bestie since elementary school. Heidi hates Ambrose. Why the hell is she at a bank with him?”
“This woman is dressed to look like Frankie Adams.” Jude showed Parker a picture of Frankie.
“Jesus, they could be twins.” Parker pulled her eyes from the screen and looked at Jude. “Are you telling me Ambrose used my best friend to open a bank account in the dead woman’s name?”
Cope nodded. “We think it’s possible. Although Frankie was still alive at the time.”
