Too Many Secrets

NINETEEN

Kurt awoke in a good mood. He finally felt that Brittany was warming up to him. Austin was a difficult competitor, and if this was a race, the rich guy would always win. But as long as Kurt kept reminding her that Austin was still a suspect, maybe—just maybe—she wouldn't fall in love with the man, but with Kurt instead.

However, she definitely could not fall in love with Austin. Men like that deserved to spend the rest of their life in prison. Men like Austin believed themselves to be above the law. Men like Austin were one of the reasons Kurt became a policeman in the first place.

Kurt's father wasn't a great example of being an upright citizen in the community, either. When he divorced Kurt's mother, his father married a wealthy woman, just for her money. That still didn't make him want to pay child support. The few times Kurt had visited his father, it seemed like the new wife and her son walked around as if they owned the town. Kurt always kept an eye on his stepbrother. That kid was sneaky, especially in school. Kurt wondered if he was paying the teachers just to pass him to the next grade.

His stepbrother always seemed to get the girl, which didn't surprise Kurt at all since all those girls saw were dollar signs. His stepbrother enjoyed flaunting his wealth—and women—in front of Kurt. In all those years, he kept reminding himself he was the better person. Once he turned eighteen, he was able to decide for himself whether or not he wanted to be part of his dad's life. Kurt decided against it. He didn't need that kind of influence in his life.

Only one good thing came out of knowing his father's new family. It had instilled the determination inside Kurt to become a policeman and capture crafty criminals who thought they were above the law and throw them in the slammer.

Kurt waited impatiently for Brittany to arrive. Every two minutes, he kept checking the clock. She was never late, but if she didn't walk in the door any second now, she would be breaking her record.

His conscience still nagged at him, reminding him that Brittany was his partner. He shouldn't become romantically involved with his partner. There were too many horror stories of things like that happening on the force. Being attracted to one's partner, made that police officer sloppy. They couldn't think clearly, which of course, a good police detective needed in this line of work.

"Are you ready?"

The sweet voice jerked him from staring at his computer as he looked up at Brittany. She dressed like she did every day—wearing mouth-watering dark blue jeans that hugged her hips—and a nice blouse and her sensible walking shoes. And always, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. But there was something different about her countenance. There was a certain twinkle in her brown eyes, and a lift to her heart-shaped lips.

Silently, he cheered. He'd bet anything that she looked this way because of the kiss they'd shared last night. He definitely had a bounce in his step and happiness in his heart because of their kiss.

"Yes, I'm ready." He pushed away from the desk and stood. "Are you driving or do you want me?"

"I'll drive." She jiggled her keys.

He smiled. He liked when she drove, mainly because it gave him more time to admire her profile. Plain and simple, he loved just watching her.

"Have you heard anything about the other suspects?" she asked, climbing into the car.

As soon as he sat and tightened his seatbelt around him, he turned toward her. "Yes. We know that Robert Phipps and Kevin Shupe are pricey lawyers. Both Reeder and Chad Johnson are wealthy. Tim Beaton is a congressman, and Lenny Lytle is the mayor's son. Each man except one has an alibi."

"Has the alibi's been checked out?" Brittany asked without looking at him as she merged into traffic.

"Yes, and they all seem legit. But, Britt...Reeder is the only one who hasn't given us his alibi."

Her jaw hardened, and her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "I got it last night."

Kurt held his breath as his heart began to slowly crumble. "You...went without me?"

"Kurt," her shoulders sagged, but she continued to keep her eyes on the road, "I had a gut feeling that Austin wasn't guilty, so last night after I left you, I went to see him. I..." Her throat lurched. "I told him the truth about my identity."

"You what?" Anger rose inside him and he fisted his hands. Several times during their year-long partnership, he'd wanted to shake some sense into the headstrong woman. Now was certainly one of those moments.

"I would have told him eventually. You know how I feel about lying."

He gritted his teeth. "Did he give you his alibi before or after you told him the truth?"

"After."

Inwardly, he growled. "Britt, how do you know he didn't lie?"

"Kurt," her fingers moved on the steering wheel as if she was trying to choke something, "I know you have something against Austin, but I feel deep in my gut that he didn't lie."

"What was his alibi?" he snapped.

"Remember when I told you that he'd been in a merger that had lasted forty-eight hours, and that's the reason he was in his penthouse suite that particular afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Well, before the merger started, he was having breakfast with some of his board members. That's where he was around the time Hillary Banks was killed."

"Make sure you get a list of names of these board members so we can check Reeder's alibi."

"Seriously, Kurt?" She shook her head. "I honestly can't believe you don't trust my word or my feelings."

"And I can't believe," he countered back, "that you'd go behind my back to get his alibi. We are supposed to be a team and do this together."

She sat in silence as she drove. He hoped she was thinking about his words. He just couldn't let this one go. Proving Austin's guilt was necessary now. How else could he prove to Brittany how wrong she'd been about the guy?

"What worries me," he continued, "is you're letting Reeder's handsome face, buff body, and especially, his bank account, sway your thoughts. He's just a normal man, you know. He's not some Greek God women like to put on a pedestal. He makes mistakes just like the rest of us."

Finally, she briefly looked away from the road to toss him a scowl. "Kurt, what has that man ever done to you? Why are you acting this way?"

"I'm trying to make you see that just because he smiles pretty, doesn't make him higher-than-thou perfect. He may just be our killer. You just never know."

Grumbling, she turned into a parking lot, eyeing the strip of businesses. One of the signs read: Isabella's Escort Service.

"We're here," she clipped.

They walked into the building without speaking a word to each other. Perhaps the only way to convince Brittany that she was allowing her attraction to run her thoughts instead of her head, was to hold her and kiss her as he'd done last night.

The blonde bombshell with a shapely figure and low-cut blouse that showed an ample view of her bosom, sitting at the receptionist's desk, smiled up at them. Kurt was surprised that her bright red lipstick wasn't smudged on her white teeth.

"Good morning," she said almost seductively. "Welcome to Isabella's Escort Service. How may I help you?"

Both Kurt and Brittany flashed their badges. Kurt began, "We're SPD Detectives, and we'd like to talk to the owner of this establishment."

The woman's eyes grew wide. "Umm...well, Mr. Martin is not here at the moment. Can I schedule you an appointment to meet with him?"

"No," Brittany quickly answered. "You can tell us when he'll be in next so we can come back."

"Well, umm...let me check his calendar." Her hand shook as she scrolled through the computer screen. "It looks like he'll be back around four thirty."

Kurt exchanged glances with Brittany and slowly shook his head. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the photo of Hillary Banks. He showed it to the receptionist. "What do you know about this woman?"

"I...umm, I don't know anything."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "How long have you worked for this office?"

"About five years."

"Then you know her." Brittany pointed to the picture. "Because she worked for this escort service up until about two years ago. And by my calculations, that would mean she would have worked here while you were here."

Color disappeared from the woman's face. Kurt guessed this woman to be in her early twenties. He pushed the picture closer to the woman. Her gaze narrowed as if she were studying the picture. It was obvious by the woman's expression, that she knew Hillary.

"Oh, yes." The woman gave a faux laugh. "That's Hillary Banks. I remember her now."

Brittany smiled and slowly nodded. "I'm relieved to know your memory returned so quickly."

The woman's gaze moved to Kurt. She leaned forward on the desk, giving him a peek show of her plunging neckline. She batted her fake eyelashes and gave him another toothy smile. "What do you want to know about Hillary? She hasn't been around this place in like forever."

"Define for me your phrase, in like forever." He arched an eyebrow. "How long is that exactly?"

She laughed in a flirty way and flipped a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulder. "It means, handsome, that once she quit, she hasn't been back since."

He'd known so many women like this one. They believed all they had to do was show a man a little skin, pout, and bat their eyelashes, and they'd get anything. That's definitely not how he liked to work.

"When she worked here," he continued, "did she have a lot of clients?"

She gave that faulty laugh again. "Oh, detective, you must not know the way things work in this office. The girls don't own their clients. Men—or women—come in here seeking companionship, and we assign them to the type of woman—or man—that fits them best."

"So let me rephrase that," Kurt said, "I need a list of clients that were assigned to Hillary a lot."

She giggled. "I'm sorry, detective, but I can't give you that."

Brittany stepped closer to the woman and glared. "You will once we get a warrant."

The receptionist scowled and pulled back. "Then I'll wait until you can present me one."

Kurt motioned his head toward the door, silently communicating with Brittany. She turned and walked away from the desk. He glanced back at the receptionist. "Tell Mr. Martin we'll be back at four-thirty with a warrant to get the records we need."

When he turned back to Brittany, she stood next to the door, studying some photos on the wall. Most of the pictures were that of the outdoor, but in two of them, was the same man. She waited until he stopped by her side before she led them outside and toward the door.

"I've seen that man in the photo before," Brittany said once they were far enough away from the building. "I also believe I've seen that woman, too."

"The ditzy receptionist?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure just yet. I'll think about it."

She hurried to the car and climbed inside. Once he was in, she looked at him. "I think we're going to need that search warrant."

"Me, too. Let's just hope we can convince Judge Peterson. She's hardheaded."

Brittany chuckled. "Oh, Kurt. She has always liked you. I bet all you have to do is bat your eyes at Judge Peterson, and she'll issue that warrant."

Grinning, he shook his head. "I'm not wearing the shirt with the low neckline." He batted his eyes.

Brittany snorted and started the car. "I just worry that it might be too late. What if Miss Ditz inside deletes all of Hillary's clients?"

"Then we'll arrest her for tampering with evidence."

"Oh, let's hope that happens," Brittany said with a laugh. "I really want to bust that woman for something."

"If I had my way, I'd bust her for indecent exposure."

She laughed and placed her hand on the gear shift, but Kurt reached up to stop her. When her eyes met his, he leaned in closer.

"I like this."

"Like what?" she asked in a small voice.

"I like being silly with you. I like that I can make you smile, and I love it when you can make me laugh."

Her smile relaxed. "I've always enjoyed these moments, too."

"I want more of them."

Sighing, she sank back in the seat, resting her fingers on the bottom of the steering wheel. She stared at her fingers instead of looking at him.

He didn't like the feeling of rejection, and by her expression, he knew he'd experience that very soon.