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up-close glimpse of her. He’d had to test himself while he was alone to minimize his risks; she wasn’t a slow woman.
    As it worked out, it was good that he had tested himself privately. Caron Chalmers was more than just not slow; she was extraordinarily fast on the uptake.
    The stunt had cost him. After she’d recognized him, she’d become distant, and from there, things had zoomed downhill.
    Finally she got out of her car, locked the door and started toward the restaurant. The wind caught her hair and blew it back from her face. Harlan had been right; Caron Chalmers was a knockout...and she was a fraud. A missing child, and no report? Get real.
    Harlan had failed. But Parker would take care of it.
    The woman was going down.
     
     
    From the corner of her eye, Caron saw the Porsche parked under the streetlamp. She pretended not to, and went on inside Shoney’s. Before she talked with Parker Simms again—his unexplained turnaround still gave her the willies—she had to talk to Sandy.
    In a hallway near the rest rooms, she saw a pay phone, and fished a quarter from her purse.
    Sandy surprised her by answering right away; he hated phones. But he probably thought it was his “hot caller” phoning back. Parker flitted through her mind and, annoyed, she said, “I’m miffed with you. You promised not to tell anyone about me. So why did you tell Parker Simms?”
    “We’ve been through this.”
    Calm and reasonable. How could he twist a knife through her heart and still sound that way? “I trusted you. I knew better than to do it, but I trusted you anyway, and look what—”
    “I’m sorry, honey. I know people have made it hard for you. But considering the circumstances, I thought—”
    “Sandy, please.” She didn’t want to hear it again. She didn’t want him to remind her that she’d blown a case. And she didn’t want to visualize Sarah lying there dead. Not again.
    Watching a doodlebug inch across the carpet, Caron forced herself to calm down. The damage was done, and no amount of complaining could undo it. “Parker met me on the street over here. He’s offering to help on the case.”
    “I’m not sure we have a case. I’ve been watching the re ports filed all afternoon, and I’ve checked with Gretna, Marrero, Westwego—all of the surrounding cities. There’s nothing on a kidnapping in any of them.”
    So now his doubt was out in the open. It hurt her more than him telling Parker about her gift. And it angered her. Sandy knew how many cases she’d successfully solved.
    She kicked the paneling with the toe of her sneaker. “The girl has been abducted, Sandy. That’s not in dispute or the issue. Parker Simms is the issue.”
    Sandy hesitated.
    Caron prodded. “Well?”
    “Let him help.”
    Sandy didn’t just doubt her, he thought she’d lost it and gone off the deep end. Though she knew she shouldn’t, she felt even angrier and more betrayed. He was trying to protect her, but she didn’t want his protection. She wanted his faith. “You know I work alone. I always have.”   Of all people, she should have to explain why to him.
    “What I know is that Simms is sharp and he has connections.” Sandy dropped his voice. “If there is a case, he might give you an edge.”
    “There is a case!” Caron squeezed her eyes shut. A year ago today, she’d thought she didn’t need help. She’d been wrong, and Sarah had paid the ultimate price for Caron’s mistake. “So you’ll vouch for him?”
    Again Sandy hesitated. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll vouch for him. I walked the beat with his father for twenty years, Caron. Charley Simms never crossed anybody. And no son of his could be a demon from hell out to get you. Parker’s one of the good guys. Give him a break.”
    “Give him a break? He doesn’t believe me.”   Because she wished he did, she again kicked the paneling with her toe.
    “Most people don’t believe you,” Sandy argued. “That’s never slowed you down before. Why is Simms any