Page 19 of Ghost of You (Haunted Souls #24)

Two hours later, Cope sat in the backseat of Fitzgibbon’s SUV as they headed toward Derby Street where Ambrose Watson lived, for the moment at least. If Fitz didn’t slap the handcuffs on him today, it was likely the man would flee to parts unknown.

If it were Cope, he’d fly to the south of France, get a little plastic surgery done and live out his life quietly, with a boatload of cash in the bank.

With a million dollars and friends in high places, the sky was the limit for Watson.

“Slow down, it’s the third house on the right.” Ronan pointed. “With the U-Haul truck in the driveway, it wouldn’t have been hard to pick out which house was Watson’s.”

Fitz parked the SUV several houses down and appeared to be studying the property. “Jude, do a search on the house. See if it’s listed with a realtor or if it’s been recently sold.”

“It’s not for sale and hasn’t been sold,” Cope said from the backseat. In this instance, they didn’t need the internet. Cope could read the situation like a book.

“Well then who the hell is moving out?” Ronan asked, as two men closed the truck’s cargo door and climbed into the cab.

“Count to ten.” Cope snickered. “You’re about to find out.” He’d seen what was about to happen in stunning clarity. Under other circumstances it might be funny, but not with Frankie Adams dead and a million stolen dollars in the wind.

“Go fuck yourself, you cheating bastard!” A woman screamed as she burst through the front door.

“I hope that skinny, titless bitch was worth it.” The woman was gorgeous, even as angry as she was.

She was tall with long blonde hair that reached to her waist. It flew out behind her as she stormed toward her car.

Dressed in a crop top with her boobs threatening to spill out and yoga pants that left nothing to the imagination, Cope could see what attracted Watson to her.

“Parker, please!” Watson shouted at the woman. He ran out the front door and stumbled down the stairs. “Just listen to me. It’s not what you think. Briana means nothing to me. She’s just another whore on the grift.”

“Then the two of you are perfect for each other, aren’t you?” Parker floated down the driveway toward a newish looking Toyota sedan. She started the car and shifted it into gear.

“Parker, wait!” Watson sprinted in front of the revving vehicle. He stood his ground with his hands out in front of him. “Stop! Fucking stop!”

“Okay, let’s go!” Fitz shook his head. “Ronan, you and I will grab Romeo, Jude, you’ve got Juliet. She’s angry, make sure you use her anger against her to get whatever you can from her. Cope, stay with Jude. We’re gonna bring Watson back into the house and you can work your magic on him then.”

“Got it,” Cope said. He and Jude got out of the SUV and headed toward Parker, who was shouting for Watson to get out of her fucking way.

“Mr. Watson?” Fitzgibbon called out, flashing his badge. “I’m Captain Kevin Fitzgibbon from the Salem Police Cold Case Unit. My colleagues and I are here to talk to you about Francesca Adams’s murder.”

“Can’t you see I’m fucking busy!” Watson’s eyes never left Parker, who looked like she wanted to run him over.

“Come with us, Mr. Watson,” Ronan said, taking the man’s right elbow. Fitzgibbon grabbed the left.

“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 than you 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.”

“That dirty bastard. I wouldn’t put any of this past him. Killing no, embezzling under someone else’s name, yes.” Parker reached for the door handle. “I’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

Jude handed her his phone. “Type in your number. We might have more questions for you at some point.”

Parker looked less than enthused over giving a detective her phone number.

“Your evidence could be what puts Ambrose in prison.” Jude waggled his eyebrows.

Parker managed a small laugh. She typed her number and gave the phone back to Jude before climbing out of the SUV.

“Call me when they convict the SOB. I want to be there when he’s being hauled off to jail.

His big dick won’t be able to save him then.

” Slamming the door shut, Parker hurried toward her car.

Jude snorted. “You get anything else from Parker?”

“She’s a sweet girl who actually thought Watson was her one and only,” Cope said. “She had a whole life planned out for them in her mind. I feel bad for her, because it’s only going to get worse from here.”

“Worse, how?” Jude asked,

“She’s pregnant. Two weeks along. Parker doesn’t know yet, but I can feel the baby and his sweet little soul.

” Cope smiled, there was no happier news than that a new baby was coming.

“Watson’s arrest is going to fire up a shit storm.

Not just for Watson and the Salem City Council, but for the First Salem Bank, not to mention when all the past lovers start creeping out of the woodwork with what they know about Watson and his big dick. ”

“Promise me that if we ever get divorced that you don’t throw my big dick around as a strike against me.” Jude grinned, waggling his eyebrows.