CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER
THEY DROVE FOR A FEW hours on the way back, then stayed the night at a hotel. They were back on the road at the crack of dawn.
Later, as they sat idling in the middle of a traffic jam, Temple said, “Next time we take my jet. My body’s stiff as a board and I’m sick of breathing in gas fumes and wasting time.”
“Must be nice to be a billionaire,” muttered Nash.
“It should be. But I’m not there yet.” A few moments later, he exclaimed, “Hey, I just got an idea about finding Nash.”
“What?” said Nash.
“The woman who was with Nash’s dad at the end? What was her name again?”
“Rose Parker? What about her?”
“When we went to her house she was acting funny. I didn’t believe what she said. I think she knows more than she told us.”
Nash felt the acid building in his gut. “I didn’t see it that way. She seemed clueless.”
“Not to me. And what other lead do we have? And like you said before, we need to show Steers we’re trying.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Let’s go see her.”
“What, now?”
“Yeah, now. What else do you have to do?” Temple shot him a suspicious look.
Nash had no choice but to say, “Okay, but when we come up with zilch, I will tell you I told you so.”
Later, as darkness fell they pulled into Nash’s old neighborhood.
The house looked the same, but the neighborhood was perhaps a little grungier. Nash spied a VW bug parked in the driveway and thought that either Parker had a visitor or she had used some of her inheritance from his father to buy a car.
He pulled to a stop and they got out.
Temple knocked on the door while Nash stood behind him and off to the right.
When Parker opened the door, she glanced at Temple with a startled look and then saw Nash, who mouthed one word: Sorry.
“Yes?” she said to Temple.
“You remember us?”
“You were here asking about Walter Nash. I still have no idea where he is. Apparently nobody does.”
“Look, we’re sorry to bother you again, but could we come in and ask you some questions? You might remember something and it’s really important.”
Nash glanced over Parker’s shoulder and was relieved to see that the picture of his father and Shock had been removed.
Parker looked at Nash, who nodded, and then said, “Well, all right. But I have to head out soon to meet someone.”
“Sure, sure it won’t take long. Hey, is that your car?” Temple added, pointing at the VW.
“Yes, it is.”
“Fun set of wheels.”
She led them into the small front room, where they sat down.
Temple glanced around the space. “So this is where Walter Nash grew up. Who’d ’a thunk?”
“It’s a nice house,” said Parker defensively.
“Oh, sure, I know. I just mean that he really moved up in the world. Before he moved down again.”
“He was innocent of everything they accused him of.”
Temple eyed her intently, and Nash did not like that look at all. “Sounds as though you like the guy even though last time we were here you said you didn’t even know him.”
“I don’t know him. I just know what I saw on the news. And I would feel sorry for anyone that went through that and who turned out to be innocent. It’s just not right.”
Temple nodded. “We agree with you, it wasn’t fair.”
“So why do you want to find him?” she asked.
“We think we can help him,” said Temple.
“How?”
“Well, that’s really something we need to talk with Nash about directly.”
“Well, I have no way to help you.”
“So, he never visited this place after he grew up?” asked Temple.
“I don’t know. He never came here while I’ve been here.”
“Now, see, that’s strange,” said Temple.
Nash suddenly realized what was coming and tensed.
“What do you mean by that?” said Parker nervously.
“Nash Senior left you this house, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your concern.”
“But he did leave you the house?” asked Temple again.
“Yes!”
“Okay, now, I know for a fact that Nash was the executor of his father’s estate.
And I was told that he had come by here to pick up some of his parents’ things.
So how could that have happened and you getting the house and maybe some money that you used to buy the VW out there without at least talking to the man? ”
Parker’s features turned even paler than normal, and Nash inwardly berated himself for not thinking of this possible trap.
“Well, Ms. Parker?” said Temple.
“He might have come by here before I had access to the house.”
Nash added, “And did you maybe speak to a lawyer about all this other stuff?”
Parker shot him a glance, clearly realizing he was throwing her a lifeline, and said, “Yes, Ty’s lawyer dealt with me on all that. I had to sign some documents and he told me I have a life estate in the house. And I did get some money from Ty.”
“So you dealt with this lawyer and not Nash directly?” asked Temple.
“Yes,” said a relieved-looking Parker.
“And the lawyer’s name?”
Nash had known that was coming, but Temple would see any signal he could make to Parker.
“I don’t remember offhand.”
“I’m sure you have it on some piece of paper somewhere. We’ll wait.”
Parker rose unsteadily, and with a furtive look at the man she hurried off.
Temple immediately said, “She’s lying her ass off. She knows the guy. Right?”
“She’s definitely uncomfortable,” Nash said quietly.
“This might be our big break.”
“But what can the lawyer tell us?”
“Who knows? But we’ll let Steers know what we think, and she can have her guys tear this place apart and interrogate Parker. They’ll make her spill.”
“Rhett, you want to unleash Steers’s goons on that poor woman?”
“No, I don’t want to. But I’m not looking to end up in the water with concrete shoes or have Steers do to my neck what she already did to my arm.” He added spitefully, “And she doesn’t call me Rhettsan, Dillon. You may be in her good graces, but she’ll crush me.”
“Well, let’s at least talk to the lawyer first before we unleash the hounds of hell.”
“Fine, but the lawyer will probably tell us nothing. Attorney-client privilege crap. But Steers can make him talk, too.”
“Don’t you think the police have already talked to both of them?”
“Maybe. And both of them could have lied.” He eyed Nash with a look of distrust. “If I didn’t know better, I’d start thinking that you don’t want us to find Nash.”
“You knew the guy, I didn’t. I have no skin in that game. But what I don’t want to do is give Steers a lead and an expectation of success that goes nowhere. That would not be good for either of us, regardless of the ‘Dillon-san’ stuff.”
Temple’s suspicious look faded. “Yeah, she can be a real bitch about things like that. Expecting the impossible and if you come up a bit short, you lose an arm or a leg or both. We’ll talk to the lawyer first.”
Parker came back in with a piece of paper and handed it to Temple, who looked at it.
“Morton Dickey? Okay, great, thank you.” He took out a wad of cash and held it out to her. “For your troubles.”
“No, I. . .I don’t want your money.”
Temple looked at Parker like she had lost her mind. After glancing around once more at the modest interior he said, “O-kay, your choice.”
They walked out and got back in the Range Rover.
Temple said, “Let’s go see the lawyer.”
“Rhett, it’s after eight. He won’t be at his office.”
“Oh, I lost track of time. Okay, drive me back to my place. You can have some dinner and say hello to Mindy and the kid.”
Nash drove over to the Temple estate and followed the man inside.
“Time for a drink,” Temple remarked. “I sure as hell need one. A big one.”