A Few Broken Rules

Lane Parker #5

By Kate Kane

A Few Broken Rules is a work of fiction.  Characters, Incidents, Names, and Places are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to any events, locales, or Persons living or dead is completely coincidental.

Copyright 2015 Kane Communications

ebook Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

Thanks to my son Kade for doing the editing – who knew a person could have so many discussions about commas vs. semicolons. (I hope I got that punctuation right … he only edits the actual book.)

Thanks to my daughter Keey for coming up with the idea of questioning Jamie’s paternity to begin with.

Thanks to their friend from Round Lake, Illinois who gave me the football angle.

And, as always, thanks to everyone who listens, encourages me, and laughs with me as I write these adventures.

Other Books by Kate Kane

The Lane Parker Series

Favor for a Friend (re-released 2015)

Family Secrets

Lunch at the Club

Directing Disaster

Coming Attractions:

The Lane Parker Series

Buried Secrets - There’s a dead woman in Tony’s basement

One Wed One Dead - When Phillip and Ralphie get married

The Murder Mayhem and Merlot series

Pat Elliott, Kimber Kay Kellogg, and other members of Lane’s Book Club have their own adventures; need I say more?

 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Italian Translations

Author’s Comments

Preview Lane’s next adventure

Nebraska Hand and Foot Canasta Rules

Chapter 1

Jamison Andrew Parker, Jamie to his friends, had just finished showering and dressing after football practice and was walking to the parking lot with his teammate, Justin Harper who was the team’s quarterback. Jamie shook his head.  “Dang, I left my backpack in the locker room.  I have a test in History tomorrow so I’d better go back and get it.  Catch you later.”  Jamie called as he turned around and began running toward the locker room.

His backpack was on a bench by his locker, right where he’d left it.  He picked it up, pulled it over his left shoulder, and turned to leave.  The team was preparing to play in the state championship game that would take place in St. Louis, just four days away, on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  They’d be playing a team from the eastern side of the state.  It was an old rivalry; with a team whom the school had met in the state championship many times over the years, including Jamie’s freshman year, three years earlier.  Jamie had suited up for that game, but as a freshman, he had spent the whole game on the sidelines.  This year would be a completely different story.  He was a senior and was now the starting tight end.

As he rounded the corner and walked into the student parking lot, he was surprised to see Justin’s Jeep still parked in the lot.  His own Chevy Colorado pickup was parked a couple of rows beyond Justin’s vehicle.  As Jamie approached Justin’s SUV, he could see Justin sitting behind the wheel and slumping over the console as if looking for something in the passenger’s seat.  Jamie tapped on the driver’s window as he passed, but Justin didn’t move.

“Hey, you okay?”  He said loudly as he tapped on the window again.  Justin still didn’t move.  Jamie pulled on the door handle but found it locked.  Jamie made a fist and pounded on the window as he yelled, “Jus, this isn’t funny.  Open the door.”  Still getting no response, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

A soothing female voice answered on the first ring.  “9-1-1 what’s your emergency?”

“My friend is slumped over in his car.  The doors are locked and he’s not answering me.”

“What’s your name and your location?”

“Jamison Parker.  We’re in the parking lot of Rockhurst High School.  Could you send someone?”

“Jamison, what’s your friend’s name?”

“His name is Justin.  Justin Harper.  I’m really worried about him, could you just send someone?”  Jamie tried to keep the frustration out of his voice, but it was increasingly difficult.  Something was definitely wrong with his friend.  He knew the woman on the other end of the phone was doing her job, assessing the situation, and trying to keep him calm at the same time.  It didn’t’ make him feel better.

“We have an officer on the way, Jamison.”

He knew she was trying to keep him on the phone.  But, he’d told the woman who he was, where he was, and what the problem was.  There was no reason to stay on the line with her.  He hung up and dialed his stepfather, Ben Bellini.

“Bambino?  What’s up?”

“Dad, I’m in the school parking lot.  Justin’s slumped over in his car, the doors are locked, and he’s not answering me.  I’ve called 9-1-1.”

Ben’s voice was deep and calm as he replied, “Don’t touch anything.  I’m on my way.”

Ben had married Jamie’s mother about eight weeks earlier, but Ben had been bailing the Parker Kids out of messes for the last three years.  Ben was a criminal defense attorney, probably the best in the metropolitan Kansas City area.  Jamie and his two older siblings all knew that whatever was going on, one call to Ben Bellini would solicit two sentences.  “I’ll handle it.”  Quickly followed by, “Everything’s going to be fine.”

Jamie was the youngest of the three Parker Kids.  This was the first time he’d called Ben for himself.  Last month, he’d made the call for his sister.  Jess was an actress and a stalker who had broken into her condo. Jess had locked herself in the master bathroom and called Jamie who had called Ben.  Ben sent one of his brothers to L.A. in a private jet to get Jess.  Years earlier when Jamie’s brother Jake was still in college, he was pulled over for a routine traffic stop and because an idiot in Jake’s truck had an open container of beer, everyone in the truck had been taken to the police station.  Jake had called Ben who had gotten the charges dropped.

Jamie leaned against his truck and waited for the police, or an ambulance, or Ben.  A black Ford Excursion pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Jamie’s truck.  A man got out and approached Jamie.

“Jamie?  I’m Roy Tanner.  I work for Ben.” He reached out to shake Jamie’s hand. “Tell me what happened.”

Although they’d never met, Jamie knew that Roy Tanner was a retired Kansas City homicide detective, who was now a private detective, and that he worked for Luciano and Bellini, Ben’s law firm.  Ben had never lost a case, and many people gave Roy Tanner at least part of the credit.

Jamie explained about going back for his backpack and then finding Justin, as he was now, in his Jeep.  “We just finished football practice, Justin must be passed out or something, but he didn’t even stir when I knocked on his window.”


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