Chapter 90: Parker
*No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else. – P.T. Barnum*
When parker had walked into the house, Tori had been getting ready for school to start up again. The petite strawberry blonde looked at her fiancée and saw the defeat in his eyes. Setting her work aside, she approached him and wrapped her arms around him.
It took a moment, but he held her close and gave into the angry and frustrated tears. They stood there for several minutes with the only sound being that of the soft music playing in the background.
“I’m sorry.” Parker finally said as he stepped away from his fiancée.
“For what?” Tory asked softly.
“That’s not being very manly.” He condemned himself.
She placed both her hands on his cheeks and made him look at her. “You know how I feel about that *man up* shit. That’s what makes people like Hank Fargo. You’re not like him.”
“I didn’t help Jolene any either. I believed he lies. I believed him.”
“So, you can help her now. Yu can help others like her.”
“She never seemed abused.” He mumbled.
“Looking back, she did. But you know what they say about hindsight.”
“Objects may be closer than they appear?” he suggested, and she laughed before kissing him. “I’m the first person the AG investigators want to talk to.”
“That makes sense.” she said, moving towards the open kitchen. “Matt dropped off a casserole.”
“Your brother’s boyfriend such a girl.” Parker laughed watching her pull the glass dish out of the refrigerator and setting it on the counter to warm up.
“Objecting?” Tori laughed as she walked back towards him.
“Hell, no. He’s also one hell of a cook.” He gave her a quick kiss as she passed him going back to the dining table. “I’m going to get a shower.”
“Okay. I’m almost done.” She told him as she sat down to tweak her lesson plans.
As she was finishing up packing up her books and tools in her collapsible boxes and cart, Parker walked back down the hall in sweatpants and a T-shirt.
“I just put the casserole in the oven. Should be about twenty minutes or so.” She smiled at him.
“Did you see the press conference today?” he asked.
She nodded. “Do you know the others? They didn’t give any names.”
“No.” He admitted as he started pulling the ingredients for a salad out. “I have my suspicions. But, no, nothing that has been confirmed.”
Parker was silent as he prepped the salad and she let him work. They had known each other since high school. Lived together for nearly three years. Tori knew when he needed to be left alone. And she knew when to pull him out of his thoughts.
She waited until they had sat down at the table, and he said a quick blessing over the food. They were eating their salads when she decided that he had been in his own mind long enough.
“Talk to me.” Tori said softly.
“I spent the majority of my childhood watching my father beat and berate my mother. I became a cop to help women like my mom. Before…” he took a rough breath. “Before they also ended up dead.”
Reaching over, she took Parker’s hand in her own and gave him a light squeeze.
Looking at her with guilt and shame, he whispered, “I didn’t even know that my patrol partner was abusing his wife. I could spend twelve hours with him, she was here in our house so many times. I never saw it.”
“He didn’t want you to see it.” Tori said gently. “She was probably afraid and ashamed.”
“How am I going to be a good cop, if I can’t even see what my patrol partner is doing?”
“Because you’re going to learn from this. You’re going to know more about what to look for. You’re going to become a better cop.”
He nodded and squeezed her hand back. “Are you ready to go back to school?”
Smiling, Tori let the subject be changed. He had said what he needed to say and if he needed to go back to the topic, they would. But for now, he was done.
After dinner, they cleaned the kitchen and Tori texted Matt letting him know how good the casserole was. She settled on the couch with Parker to watch their nightly shows.
“I promised I have not watched any of the episodes without you.” Tori told him.
Since his shifts were mainly at night, they watched their shows on demand and streaming services. She was notorious for watching them as they aired and then acting surprised as if seeing it for the first time. But since Thanksgiving, she had avoided watching any TV unless Parker was home.
The news was filled with Hank and Jolene. It had died down after the state police held a press conference. Today, it was back in the news. It was the investigation into their situation the led to the state police looking at the entire department. And now, taking it over.
Matt had called her, and they watched the press conference together over the phone. It was the first time that she had watched the news since November. She had no urge to watch the footage of Jolene being wheeled out, the paramedics working desperately to keep her alive.
They were deep into the reality show, waiting to see who would be voted out when Parker’s phone rang. He glanced at it and saw Hank’s name.
“Does he really think that I want to talk to him?”
“Send it to voicemail. Call the state investigator and let them know.” Tori advised.
Parker did just that. A few minutes after the phone stopped ringing, the little voicemail icon appeared. He didn’t even listen to the message. Instead, he called the police station and asked to speak with an investigator.
Thirty minutes later, Douggie was leaving their house with Parker’s phone in an evidence bag. He promised to return it as soon as they could.
“Keep it.” Parker said as they stood on the small porch. “I was talking about getting a new phone. This is just my kick in the ass to do it.”
“I think that you’re at the top of the list to interview.” Douggie told him from the short path to the driveway. “This," he held up the phone, “will show them that you are not helping him.”
“Hell no.” Parker shook his head. “I wish I had realized what was going on. Give me a chance and I’d-“
“If you say it, it becomes premeditated.” Tori reminded him.
“At this point, I don’t care.”
“I heard nothing.” Douggie assured them. “We’re going to try to get you guys back to work as quickly as possible. And don’t beat yourself up too much. He knew how to hide what he was doing, and she was groomed to act a certain way.”
“I hate the man.” Parker admitted.
“Do you ever see Jolene?” Tori asked the man and he nodded. “Tell her that we’re praying for her, and we only wish her the best. If there’s anything that we can do, we’re willing to do it.”
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