Decker said, “Well, like Stan said, I think your father does see you as his perfect little girl.”
Dawson said firmly, “I don’t think there’s any such thing.”
WHENDECKER ANDJAMISONreturned to the hotel, they found someone waiting for them.
Shane McClellan rose from a seat in the lobby and came over to them. He was dressed in jeans and an untucked gray shirt. His hair was slicked back and he had a few days’ worth of stubble on his face.
He gazed anxiously from one to the other. “Hal Parker?” he began.
“What about him?” said Decker.
“Heard somebody took him and left a gal dead in his shed.”
“What’s it to you?” asked Decker.
“Hal was one of my best buddies. We would go hunting all the time.”
“We actually saw a picture of you with him at his house on one of those hunting trips,” said Jamison.
“Do you know what happened to him?”
Decker said, “We’re working on it. Mind if we ask you some questions now that we know you two were friends?”
“Sure, whatever I can do to help.”
Decker led them over to a seating area next to the lobby. When they were settled in he said, “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Two days after he found that woman’s body. I went out to his place to pick up some stuff and he told me about it. It shook him up bad.”
“Did he tell you about the wolf he was tracking?”
“Yeah. He was hunting it when he found the lady.”
“Did Parker know a woman named Pamela Ames?”
Shane’s brow furrowed. “No, not that I know of. Is she the gal they found dead there?”
“She was. Now, what we foundmightpoint to Ames having been there for paid sex. Knowing Parker, do you think that’s plausible?”
“Hal? A hooker? No way. Why the hell would you even think that?”
“We found some evidence that suggests it might have been the case,” said Decker vaguely.
Shane folded his arms over his chest and looked at them stubbornly. “Well, I’ll never believe that. Hal liked to hunt and fish and drink his beer. And that was about it.”
“When you saw Hal, was he worried about anything?”
“Not that he mentioned. He was upset about the lady and all, but that was it. We were planning on doing some hunting soon. He was excited about that.”
“I’m surprised you have time considering all the things you’re doing with your father,” interjected Jamison. “He seems to keep you pretty busy.”
“He’d keep me busy every minute of the day if I let him, but I got a secret weapon.”
“What’s that?” asked Jamison.
“I don’t give a shit about what he really cares about, which is making money from pulling oil out of the dirt.”
“You have a farm?” said Decker. “Near the Air Force station?”