Disclaimer: In first chapter.

Chapter 27

“He’s your son?” both Jarod and Miss Parker questioned with disbelief. 

Mr. Cox gave a heartfelt pat on Brad’s shoulder as the younger man’s smug grin never wavered.  “Well Jarod, it’s still a shock to me too, but it is the truth.  Brad is, without a doubt my son.”

Jarod couldn’t believe what he just heard as he stared at the two men with wide eyes, still shaking his head.  “Andrew, I’ve known you for fifteen years and I never once heard you ever mention anything about having children.”

Mr. Cox smiled at Jarod.  “I know how shocked you must be, believe me, I’m still amazed by the news myself.”  Pausing for a moment, Mr. Cox glanced over at the detective.  “Lieutenant, could you take my son into your office.”

“Sure.”

Once Brad and the detective were gone, Mr. Cox looked back at Miss Parker and Jarod.  “I dated Brad’s mother a few times back when I was in law school.  Well, needless to say, you can see what happened from the last time I saw his mother.  I never knew I had a child out there in the world until seven months ago, when the young man showed up on my doorstep, saying that he was a by product of our affair.”  Cox paused for a moment, looking in the direction of the detective’s office before continuing, “I know Brad is a handful.  From what I gather, his mother wasn’t very attentive when it came to his upbringing, always leaving him alone with strangers, so of course, Brad and his mother never got along.  There’s no denying it, Brad hated his mother with every fiber of his being.”

Hated.  Alarm bells began going off in Miss Parker’s mind.  Mr. Cox talked as if Brad’s mother was…”Is his mother dead?” she asked with trepidation.

Mr. Cox breathed a heavy sigh as a somber look danced across his face.  “Brad’s mother had an accident eight months ago.  She was taking a bath with the radio playing nearby when it slipped off the shelf and fell into the water, electrocuting her to death.”

Miss Parker could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising as she felt someone watching her.  Gazing behind her, she found Brad watching her through the window of the detective’s door.  His forehead and hands were pressed against the glass as he stared her down with a sinister smile.  Taking his left hand off the window, he reached to the side to grab something.  A moment later, he pressed a sheet of white paper against the window.

Not able to read the writing, Miss Parker sauntered over to the door, her eyes never leaving Brad’s.  Once she was close enough, she took a sharp intake of breath as she read the words on the paper…

Better be careful.  I would hate for you to end up like my mother and suffer the same fate.

My God, the kid was truly sick, she thought.  How in the hell did Sarah get mixed up with him?  Here he was, practically telling her that he murdered his own mother.  Miss Parker looked up at him and could see the cold, devoid look in his eyes that danced with madness.  His smiled never faltered as he replaced the first page with the second page.

You won’t keep me away from Sarah.  Try it and see what happens.  Just like you, I don’t make empty threats.

She watched in a daze as Brad put the pieces of paper into a shredder nearby.  And just like that, any traceable evidence that could be linked back to him was gone in a blink of an eye.  Quickly turning away, she walked back over to Jarod and Mr. Cox, but not before taking a fleeting glance at the young, crazed man standing behind the door.

XXXXXXX

As Mr. Cox left to be with Brad and Detective Wilkins, Detective Henderson came out to greet them a few seconds later. 

“Sorry about the wait folks, it’s just been one of those nights,” the detective apologized.  As they followed the detective down the hall, he opened his file folder and said, “So, you four are the parents of, let’s see, ah yes, Debbie Broots, Eli Walker, Sarah Hunter, and Josh Hunter.  Am I right?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Yes, that’s correct,” answered Jarod.  “Can you tell us what happened?”

“I will, when I get to your kids’ holding room.  It should be the second to last door on the right…ah, here we go.”  Opening the door, the detective quickly ushered them in.

“Dad,” said Debbie in a small, almost childlike voice as she ran to her father and hugged him fiercely, afraid of letting go.

“Debbie, what’s the matter?  Are you okay?” Broots asked softly as he pulled his daughter away at arms length.  One look at her and he knew she wasn’t.  Turning to the detective he asked, “What happened tonight?”  Looking back at Debbie, Broots saw something on Debbie’s neck.  Pushing her hair away, he saw a small bruise surrounding a small hole.  Looking closer it looked like a needle mark.  Eyes shooting back up, he asked the detective in an anger filled voice, “I want to know who did this to my daughter?”

“Sir, if you would please…” Henderson said, trying to calm down Broots.

“No, God damn it!  Don’t tell me I need to calm down over this.  She’s my daughter and if someone tried to hurt her tonight I want to know who it was,” Broots spat out.

Miss Parker’s head shot up from where she was standing next to Josh.  She’d never seen Broots as angry as she did right at this moment.

“Dad, please don’t be angry.  It’s my fault that I didn’t protect myself against him,” Debbie sobbed out as she grabbed her father’s arm, trying to pull him away from the detective.  “I tried to fight back, but he was too strong for me to overpower.”

Broots looked back at his daughter and could see the tears streaming down her face.  Concern over his daughter’s welfare overtaking his anger, his face softened as he embraced her, hoping to calm her down.  “Sshh Debbie, everything’s okay now.  You’re safe, that’s all that matters.”  But Broots couldn’t shake Debbie’s words from his mind.  By the way she talked, it almost sounded as if she was…No, Broots thought, he didn’t even want to go down that horrible road.  He couldn’t imagine what he would do if they told him his little girl was raped by some monster. 

Steering her over to the couch nearby, he eased her down.  He was about to sit down beside her when Josh came over and offered to stay with her while he and his parents talked with the detective separately.  Patting Josh on the shoulder he whispered to him, “Take care of her.  If anything should…”

Josh smiled at him.  “Don’t worry Mr. Broots, if anything should happen you would be the first to know,” the young man reassured him.  Nodding his head, Broots walked back over to the other four adults in the room, huddled in a corner.

When he reached them, Miss Parker turned to him and asked, “Is she okay?”

“I…I really don’t know.”  Looking back, he could see Debbie resting her head on Josh’s shoulder as she continued to weep.  “But, whoever caused this much pain for my daughter will pay.  I’ll see to it,” he vowed.   Miss Parker tried to stifle the small smile that tugged at her lips.  Seeing this, Broots frowned at her and asked, “What?”

“Sorry Broots, but you’ll have to pardon my shock.  I’ve never seen you so gung ho before,” she answered with astonishment.  Miss Parker knew she embarrassed him as he looked down at the floor, cheeks slightly reddening.  Shaking her head she teased, “Come on Rambo, let’s go find out about what happened tonight.”

Chuckling to himself, Broots followed behind her as they were led into a small room where cops watched through a two way mirror while someone was being interrogated.  Settling down in their chairs, Broots leaned over and asked, “How’s Sarah doing?”

Miss Parker glanced over at Broots, seeing the concern written in his eyes.  Her lovable moron, she smiled to herself.  Another person in her life who she took for granted.  No matter how many times she berated him he always remained loyal to her.  Even though she would never admit it to him, she always thought of him as a brother.  Sighing she answered, “Well, all I can say is that she’ll have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning.”  Becoming more serious she added, “Hopefully though, she will be okay.”

Hearing someone clearing their throat both turned their attention to the detective.  “The reason why your children are here is because we got a 911 call from one of them.  When we arrived on the scene, we found a rather lively party going on inside this frat house.  Of course, once all these college kids saw us, they made a break for it.”

“Could you move this along,” Miss Parker said impatiently.

“Okay, okay,” the detective smiled slightly, “You people sure aren’t patient are you?”  The detective swallowed down the lump in his throat when the four pair of eyes staring back at him weren’t laughing.  Shaking his uneasiness away he continued, “Well, we found your kids in the upstairs bathroom, along with three unconscious bodies.”

“My God, what happened in there,” Sam demanded.

“Apparently from what I gathered, Josh and Eli received a call from Debbie asking to pick her and Sarah up from the house.  It seems Sarah had a few too many drinks.  Debbie told us that Brad, Sarah’s boyfriend, supposedly drugged her drinks with a date rape drug…”

Miss Parker bolted from her chair.  Grasping the table, she leaned towards Henderson.  “He did what!”  Letting go of the table, she began pacing back and forth.  “That little, good for nothing bastard,” she hissed out.

“Did he rape my daughter?” Jarod asked with an eerie calm as he squeezed his fists together, trying to remain calm.

“No, he didn’t, but Debbie thought he was about too if she hadn’t found Sarah as soon as she did.”

Broots chimed in.  “Is that how Debbie got the needle mark on her neck, from him?”

Miss Parker stopped pacing as she waited for the detective’s answer.

“That’s what she told us.  It seems Brad didn’t like the little intrusion, so he wanted to teach your daughter a lesson about trespassing.”

Broots remained silent as he leaned back in his chair.  He was beyond angry.  He wanted to bolt from the room, find Brad, and wrap his hands around his sleazy little neck, slowly squeezing the life out of him.  But, Broots remained seated, knowing he had to hear the whole story.  “What did he inject her with?” he asked evenly.

“He didn’t inject her with anything.  He pricked her skin with the needle, but didn’t have a chance to push down the plunger down when someone knocked on the door disturbing him,” the detective replied back.

“What was the drug he used on Debbie?” Miss Parker asked.

“From what are analysts said, it seems the drug he used was completely harmless.  It was a placebo used in test studies by the college.  We’re guessing Brad must’ve had someone working for him on the inside in that certain department for him to get his hands on that certain placebo.”

“You guess?” she sneered. 

Detective Henderson shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he turned away from Miss Parker’s cold, ice like stare.  “Well, see, we…weren’t able to find the vial or his other drugs as Debbie said they would be.”

Jarod leaned forward.  “Then how do you know this was a placebo?  You had to get some kind of sample to test, am I right?”

“Well, yes, you’re right.  One of our officers found a liquid filled syringe lying on the ground, under Brad’s desk.  We’re assuming that Brad was careless when he was taking his box of drugs out of the room, hiding them somewhere.  As for where he hid them, he wouldn’t say,” Henderson responded back.

Miss Parker stalked over to him.  Resting her hands on the table she leaned forward and said, “You assume?  That’s just a fancier word for guess.”

Detective Henderson never felt so intimidated as he did at this precise moment.  “Ma’am if…if you don’t mind,” he stammered out.

Glaring at him for a couple of more seconds, Miss Parker pushed herself away from the table.  Walking over to the mirror she commented caustically, “I swear, I feel like I’m dealing with Mayberry RFD idiots here.”

Straitening in his seat, the detective cleared his throat and replied back.  “Now Ma’am, there’s no need for insults.”  When he locked gazes with the brunette he knew instantly he said the wrong thing.

Miss Parker quickly walked back over.  Grabbing the detective by the tie, she roughly pulled him out of the chair.

“Parker!” the other three men in the room yelled out in unison.

“Listen here you little paper pusher.  I’m getting real tired of your sorry excuses.  This whole case is being lead by incompetent idiots who can’t get their heads out of their asses.  Now,” pausing for a moment, she pushed him back in his chair.  Straightening her stance, she crossed her arms and continued, “Do you have anything substantial to use against Brad or are you just going to guess,” she bit out.

Adjusting his tie, Henderson remained quiet for a moment before speaking, gaining back as much composure as he possibly could.  “Listen, I know how frustrated you are right now, so I’ll pretend that the previous incident didn’t happen, but you have to remain calm and understand what kind of predicament we’re in right now.”

“What are you talking about?” Jarod asked as he walked over to Parker hoping to keep her from throttling the man’s neck.

“Well, we’ve had problems in the past with Brad before.  And now that we know who his father is, it’s going to be even more difficult to charge him with anything,” Henderson answered back.  “I’ve worked on a few cases that went against Parker, Raines, & Cox, but every time they’ve gotten their clients off scott free.  No matter how much damning evidence went against their clients, we could never get them for anything, so you can see why we have to be careful at what we say and do.  Just one mistake on any of our parts and Mr. Cox will use it as a ‘get out of jail free’ card for his son.”

As Henderson’s words were sinking in, Miss Parker turned around and stared out the two way mirror.  Letting her eyes roam around the interrogation room she found Sarah still sleeping on the couch, oblivious to the world that surrounded her.  Staring in wonder, Miss Parker smiled at something she just noticed about Sarah.  The young girl slept like her father as her right hand rested over her heart.

Then, just as fast, her smile faltered as she remembered what happened earlier with Brad and his threatening notes.  There was no way she was going to let him anywhere near Sarah.  Still keeping her eyes on the girl, Miss Parker asked, “What has Brad done in the past?”

“Mrs. Hunter,” the detective warned, “You don’t want to know.”

Turning around, Miss Parker noticed the pale look on his face.  “What has he been suspected of?  We can’t protect Sarah if we don’t know what he’s been questioned for,” she shot back.

Rubbing his face, the detective let out a tired sigh.  “For the past two years, the state police in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey have been on the lookout for a serial rapist/murderer.  Back when I was in Dover, we had a case that fit the profile.  It happened about nine months ago. 

The girl was young, only seventeen years old.  Her family reported her missing when she never came home from work one night.  Some campers found the body in a ravine, dumped over the side as if she was yesterday’s garbage.  When we questioned some of the girl’s friends, they all told us about a guy she was recently seeing.  His name was Brad.  They told us they were having problems due to the fact that Brad was very possessive of the girl.  Always questioning where she was and who she was with.”

The detective paused for a moment.  Taking a sip of water he continued, “They said he beat her a few times, but she never pressed charges against him.  We asked her friends why she never pressed charges and they told us because she said he’d always loved her.

Well, the night of her disappearance, Brad came into the place she worked calling her a whore and slut, saying she would pay for her betrayal, then quickly walked out.  The girl’s body was brutally battered.  The coroner estimated she was tortured and raped repeatedly for four hours before she was strangled to death.  In all my years of being on the force, I’ve never seen a case as disturbing as that one.”

“And let me guess, Brad’s father’s law firm got him off the hook, right?” asked Miss Parker with disgust.

The detective shook his head from side to side.  “Actually no, the kid had an alibi that night, but I never did buy it.  Unfortunately, my superiors did and eventually dropped him from the suspect list.  But, my gut feeling tells me this kid is the serial rapist we’ve all been looking for, but the hard part is proving that he’s the one.”

Standing up, the detective walked over to Miss Parker and Jarod, and stared out the mirror.  “I know your daughter is dating him right now, but you have to keep her away from him, no matter how much she fights you on this.  Because, the last thing I want to do is to come to your house telling you we found your daughter’s lifeless body in a ravine somewhere.”  Walking to the door he said, “If you’ll excuse me for just one moment, I’ll call the labs and see if they came up with anything on the drug Brad gave your daughter.”  With that he was gone.

“My God, Jarod, what kind of monster has Sarah been dating?” Miss Parker asked with concern. 

Jarod didn’t know what to say, still to stun by what he heard.  Catching movement inside the interrogation room, Jarod’s eyes zoomed in on the person walking into the room with their children.  Who he saw chilled him to the bone.  “Shit!” he cursed out loud.

“What is it?” Miss Parker asked.

“It’s Brad!”

Whirling around, Miss Parker saw Brad walk into the room, heading towards Sarah.

XXXXXXXX

To Be Continued…