Page 73 of Coveted Justice

“Thank you for saying you’re sorry,” Maddie finally said. “This has all been hard for me. I guess I wanted to think that you were different than other parents. That you were perfect and could do no wrong. I realized how stupid that sounded when I was talking to Amanda last night. She wants Tanner to be perfect, too.”

“She’s setting herself up for disappointment,” her father warned. “I’m not perfect, Maddie. I’m far from it. I did the best I could raising you and I think that I did a good job, but I don’t fool myself that you’ve become who you are because of me. You did that because of you. I just helped you get there. Frankly, I don’t want to be perfect. That’s too much pressure for me.”

“I don’t want you to be perfect either. Being human is far better.”

“We’re definitely human. We’re going to screw up. More than once. Probably a lot. There are things in my life I wish I could do over, but pumpkin…. you and your mother? I’d choose you both every single time. I’ve never regretted loving her or you. It’s brought me so much joy in my life.”

Her throat was tight with emotion. She loved her father, and he didn’t have to be flawless to have that love. He’d earned it a long time ago.

“Maybe we should be kinder to one another,” Maddie said, blinking quickly so that her tears didn’t show. “The world is cruel enough without us adding to it.”

“I think that sounds like a good idea. Now, are you going to let me have a bite of your cake?”

“No, I’m going to order you your own slice. You like lemon more than chocolate and vanilla.”

“You know me so well, pumpkin. Lemon sounds delicious.”

They’d both had their say and there was peace between them. They were in a better place. A more honest one, that was for sure. Neither one of them was perfect, and wasn’t that the best way to be? Flawed and human?

“You’re the man running for governor. I’m probably not going to vote for you.”

Those were the first words Janice Gates said to Tanner when he showed up at her office to talk about her business dealings with Marty. He’d called ahead and told her his name at that time, but apparently it hadn’t registered just who he was despite his name and face being plastered all over the news since the murder.

He made a mental note to apologize to Brian who was always talking about name recognition and branding. Tanner had thought it was a bunch of hooey, but clearly he had some work to do in that department.

“I’m not here about my candidacy. It’s fine if you don’t vote for me. I’m here to talk about Marty Parnham.”

“I don’t know what I can tell you, but please have a seat. What do you need to know?”

Janice’s office wasn’t as opulent as Marty’s, but it was decorated with dozens of plants. There had to be a potted plant on every single flat surface and even some hanging from the ceiling or sitting on the floor tucked in a corner. Sometimes it helped to build a rapport if he first commented on something the other person was interested in.

“It looks like you have a green thumb,” he observed. “These plants all look amazingly healthy.”

“My assistant keeps bringing them in. She says they brighten up the office. She takes care of them.”

Okay, that wasn’t going to work.

“How did you meet Marty?”

Keep it neutral. Light and friendly. He could feel Janice’s tension and he wanted her to be relaxed and open.

“Through friends. We both liked to play golf, although I have to say that Marty isn’t all that good at it.”

Alrighty then.

Janice sighed and folded her hands together on her desk. She wasn’t smiling in the least and it appeared that she wasn’t very happy about this meeting. Or maybe she just wasn’t a happy person in general. She might be the all-business type so he tried another tack. No pussyfooting around. Just go for it.

“I’ll get right to it, Ms. Gates. I’m looking into Marty’s murder and we’re talking to his business associates. You and he had a falling out. Is that correct?”

“That’s not correct,” she replied crisply. “While Marty and I disagreed about the development project we never argued or hated each other. The fact is I liked Marty as a person. I just didn’t like the way he did business. I am quite capable of separating the two. Since you’ve cut to the chase, I’ll do it as well. I had no motive to kill Marty. None. He was a nice man with a terrible short game. Nothing more.”

“You lost money on that deal.”

“I’ve lost money before and didn’t kill anyone, but technically I didn’t lose money. I just didn’t make any either. That’s all part of business. I don’t take things personally. It’s business. I made money elsewhere. It happens. It wasn’t enough for me to worry about it, to be frank. Not every gamble is going to be a winner.”

“So you didn’t harbor any ill will toward Marty? You’d invested a great deal of money into that project.”

“And I received it all back.”

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