“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 exactly is that?”
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?”
