Around lunchtime there was a flurry of movement, the group split, cars arriving, taxis pulling up. There’d been an announcement from the Ministry of Justice.
Darcy grabbed the arm of a passing CBN cameraman, hoping he spoke English. “What’s going on?”
He reefed the door of a waiting taxi open. “It’s all over.”
Her heart stopped and she swayed.
“You need to get out of the sun.”
“What happened?”
“He’s in prison.”
“Not dead?”
“No.” He laughed. “I lost.” He got in the taxi, barked an instruction to the driver and slammed the door.
Not dead. Not dead. Her heart was still pumping. But how did he go from being kidnapped to jailed? She found shade to stand in and called Aileen McVale again. Again straight to her message bank. Then she called Robert Yee.
“You’re in Shanghai?”
“I’m outside Parker Corp.”
“I didn’t know the Herald was sending anyone. Makes sense it’s you.”
“They didn’t.”
“Come again?”
“Parker sued. I got sacked. I’m here under my own steam.”
“Shit.”
“I need help, Robert.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel responsible for all this. I feel like I need to do something to fix things.”
Robert laughed. “Who are you? You can’t fix this. You don’t have an employer. And you do know he’s been charged with murder?”
“No. Oh God.” Will Parker a murderer? He’d admitted to being a brawler, he had the physique of a boxer, but a murderer? She couldn’t envisage it. He could be hard, vicious even, but he had iron control. Would he have killed to get from Tara to here?
“What are you thinking, Darcy?”
“I’ve got no good reason, but I don’t think he’d kill anyone. Knock them out cold, hurt them maybe, but murdering someone?”
“It could be self-defence. We don’t know. Ministry of Justice isn’t saying much. But it’s pretty damn bad. Being Will Parker sucks right now. But I don’t think he’d murder anyone either.”
“From you that’s gracious. You saw the worst of him. I don’t understand why you didn’t complain. Or why you’d want to give him a break now.”
“Then why are you ringing me?”
“I’m desperate.”
“I feel guilty too. I slipped those two security dudes a tip to make it look like I was being roughed up. They held me down.
Half the yelling Parker was doing was at them to let me up. I wanted to give you a story if I couldn’t give you the photos. He never told you that, did he?”