Studfinder (Busy Bean #5) - L.B. Dunbar Page 0,66

me here. I’ll be meeting his nephew today as well as his nephew’s fiancée. Having not been back to Jake’s house, I haven’t crossed paths with Nolan, but I’m hoping for the best as today is his son’s day.

As the ceremony ends, people gather in the crowded vestibule and spread to the outdoors while awaiting the graduates to find their families. I stand outside by myself, waiting on Jake.

“Rita?” Turning at the sound of my name, I’m surprised to see Parker Avery. Instantly, I recall that Parker prosecuted the case that involved Ian’s death, which means she prosecuted Jake.

“Parker.” She walks toward me with a man at her side. He’s dressed in the academic robes of a professor.

“Rita, I haven’t seen you in years.” Parker reaches for me, offering a hug I don’t expect. We didn’t cross paths much despite us both being lawyers. Parker had eventually been connected with the State, taking on more criminal cases. She often encountered my father as a judge in our area. Her embrace reeks of sympathy from years past, and I grin and bear the pity in her eyes. “How are you?”

Dismissingly, I wave my hand. “Life is good,” I say, finding I mean it. Jake and I are working through things together while experiencing terrific sex. We’re enjoying one another, as he said.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“This is my husband, Lance.” He’s a nice-looking man with streaks of gray at his temple and sharp cheekbones. A firm hand reaches out for mine, and we shake in greeting.

“Nice to meet you.” I didn’t know Parker was married.

“Lance has been teaching a course here this last year. What are you doing here?”

“I’m waiting on a friend. His nephew graduated.”

“Oh, really? Who?” Lance asks me.

“Rory Drummond.”

Lance slowly smiles. “Ah, Rory. Great student. He’ll make an excellent lawyer. He’s the one I was telling you about.” Lance turns to his wife, but Parker is looking at me.

“His uncle is Jake Drummond,” Parker states as if I should recognize the name.

“Actually, that’s the friend I’m waiting on.” I wink at her. Parker’s forehead hitches upward, causing her blond hair to shift in her tight ponytail.

“You know who he is, don’t you?” Her voice is full of concern and compassion, and once again, the sound grates on me.

“I believe you prosecuted his case a few years ago. A fire, correct?” I meet Parker’s eyes, letting her know I’m aware of Jake’s case.

“Honey, I’m going to go congratulate some of the students,” Lance interjects. “Nice meeting you, Rita.” He steps away, but Parker remains.

“You know, I never really thought he did it,” Parker states, surprising me once again. “I remember that case. It’s one of those that haunt you once it’s over. The evidence was so sketchy.”

I’d love to ask how she can prosecute such a case, but I know the objective is to prove the guilt of the innocent from her position. If he was innocent, she’d have no case against him.

“Why would you say that?” I still question.

“There was just something about him. His background didn’t match the criminal mind of a pyrotechnic, nor did he have any prior convictions or even complaints within his department. There wasn’t a scrape or dent on his record. Factor in the circumstantial evidence of his background, linking it to the crime with no proof, and I never felt good about that case.”

I stare at Parker for a long moment, wondering if one day I would have become like her. Hardened to the truth, in the name of winning, not justice.

“Who do you think did do it then?”

Parker shakes her head. “I don’t have a clue, but I suspect someone else in the department. Someone lower in the ranks. Maybe someone passed up on being a chief. When budget cuts occurred, those candidates would have been the most upset if they didn’t have other income.” Parker shrugs. “It had to have been someone who understood fire mechanics and maybe electrical work, but that could have been anyone.”

Passed up for being a chief. I remember Jake telling me Nolan had been up for that type of promotion. It would have been a paid position within the department.

“So you’re dating him then?” Parker questions, interrupting my sudden thoughts.

“Something like that,” I state, flippantly dismissing a label for us.

Someone who understood fire mechanics but also electrical work.

Drummond Brothers Electrical had been a discussion . . . Don’t tell Nolan, I didn’t trust him to be responsible.

Parker’s brows pinch, and she looks