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Chapter11
The guard led us through a series of metal detectors and checkpoints. It had been a long drive up to Jacksonville, and I was feeling exhausted. I had eaten an entire bag of M&M's on the way and drank a lot of coffee, but it didn't seem to help much. And now, I felt guilty about eating all that junk. I had gotten better at staying away from that sort of food, and my weight had gone down, but now and then, I fell back in, and it bothered me.
We were shown inside and walked down the sterile, fluorescent-lit hallway of the prison, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the concrete walls. I felt a mix of nerves and excitement, unsure of what to expect. I really hoped we could get some answers here, but I also knew it could be a long shot.
His daughter was missing, yes, but chances were he wouldn't talk to us about it. Why would he?
The guard stopped, finally depositing us in a sterile visiting room. As we stepped into the room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. We looked around anxiously, trying to spot Rachel's father.
And then we saw him. He sat at a table across the room, his face stony and unapproachable. We took a deep breath and walked over to him. I had read his case file. He was convicted of murdering his own daughter – Rachel’s sister - when she was fourteen years old. That was the last time he had seen any of his children. I suddenly understood why the mother didn’t want to talk about him. He claimed to be innocent during the whole trial, but the evidence against him had been too convincing. He smirked when he saw us, then tilted his head.
"Detectives, welcome to my humble abode. What can I do for you?"
I tried to push the gruesome details of his past out of my mind and focus on the task at hand. "We're here because we're investigating the disappearance of your daughter, Rachel. We were hoping you could answer a few questions for us," I said, trying to keep my tone neutral.
He raised an eyebrow. "Rachel? I haven't seen her in years—since she was a young child, if I remember well. We don't exactly keep in touch," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
I exchanged a glance with Matt. We both knew he was lying. We knew he had been in contact with Rachel just days before she disappeared.
"Mr. Parker, we have reason to believe you spoke to Rachel before she went missing. Can you tell us about that?" I asked, cutting right to the chase.
He leaned back in his chair, a smug expression on his face. "Oh, I see. You think I had something to do with her disappearance. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I haven't spoken to Rachel in years. And even if I had, why would I have any reason to harm my own daughter?" he scoffed.
I could feel my patience wearing thin. "We're not accusing you of anything, Mr. Parker. We just want to find Rachel and bring her home. If you have any information that could help us, we urge you to come forward," I said, my tone firm. "Did she come to see you? Did she plan to come here?"
He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "I don't know where Rachel is. And even if I did, do you think I would tell you? You're just trying to pin this on me because of what happened in the past. I’m already serving time for something I didn't do. I’ve been in here all this time; how on earth could I have hurt Rachel?" he muttered, his tone turning defensive.
Matt stepped in, his voice calm but assertive. "Mr. Parker, we're not trying to punish you for your past crimes. We're just trying to find your daughter. When she called, what did you two talk about?"
Mr. Parker looked at Matt with a seething gaze, "I already told you; I haven't spoken to Rachel in years. And even if I had, I wouldn't share our private conversations with you two. You're just trying to manipulate me into giving you information you can use against me," he growled, his fists clenched tightly.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my cool. "We understand you might be hesitant to share information with us, Mr. Parker. But please understand that we're trying to help Rachel. She's been missing for days, and we're running out of time. Any information you can give us could be the difference between finding her safe and sound or not," I said, my tone gentle.
He glared at me for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, his face expressionless. "Fine. Rachel did call me a few days ago."
Mr. Parker's expression changed at the mention of their conversation. He looked down at the table, his hands fidgeting with the edge of the table. "She, uh, she called me because she was in trouble. She said she needed some money and a place to stay for a couple of days. I told her I couldn't help her," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" I asked, my voice stern.
He looked up at us, his eyes hardening. "Because I didn't want to be involved. As I said, I haven't seen Rachel in years. She's an adult now; she can take care of herself," he said, his voice cold.
Matt leaned forward, his eyes locked on Mr. Parker's. "But you sent her the money, didn't you?"
Mr. Parker's eyes darted away, unable to meet Matt's intense gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.
"Mr. Parker, we're not stupid. We know you sent her money," Matt said, his voice steady.
Mr. Parker's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know that?" he asked, his voice betraying his fear.
"You just told us," Matt said simply.
"Fine. Yes, I sent her some money. But that's all I know. She didn't tell me where she was or what she was doing," he said, his voice defeated.
I leaned forward, my eyes locked on his. "Mr. Parker, if Rachel is in trouble, we need to know. We can protect her, but we need to find her first. Please, tell us everything you know," I pleaded.
He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. And then he spoke. "That's all I know. I swear."
I could see by the defeated look on his face that he was telling the truth and let it go.
