“Agree.”
They were back in the truck a few minutes later, pulling out of the parking lot.
“Mathis gonna give us any problems?” Brantley asked.
“No. I told him we’d keep him looped in and asked him to do the same.”
“You think he will?”
“I do. I think it’s fair to say we blindsided him this mornin’, so he reacted accordingly. He wants these cases closed, and he knows the more eyes the better.”
“True.” Brantley glanced at Reese. “Which way am I goin’?”
“They live on the golf course.”
“Of course they do.” Brantley took a right at the next light. “You know anything more about Cedric Hawkins?”
“Luca sent me some details. Let’s just say, money doesn’t buy happiness.”
“No, but it buys you a fuckin’ nice house,” he muttered as they weaved their way through the land of the wealthy.
“That it does. It also gets you a wife, two ex-wives, three kids, three vacation houses, six cars, and a couple of girlfriends.”
The last part had Brantley glancing his way again. “Girlfriends?”
“Yep.”
“The wife know about them?”
“Don’t know, but I’ve got the team lookin’ into his and the wife’s email accounts and phone records.”
“That was fast.”
“Maybe. But I’m with you,” Reese stated. “The wife instantly puts up a wall of lawyers. People only do that if they’ve got somethin’ to hide.”
“Or somethin’ to protect,” Brantley added.
*
Reese wasn’t exactly sure what to thinkabout Annie Hawkins, the wife of the missing Cedric Hawkins, but he knew one thing for sure: the woman could stand to lose a good twenty pounds.
Of fucking diamonds.
For the past ten minutes he’d been standing here, doing his best to figure out how she managed to walk around with all that sparkly shit weighing her down. Rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets. Hell, she even had some on her shoes. Hershoes,for fuck’s sake.
He’d bet money she had back problems. If not from the diamonds, surely the needle-thin heels were causing her discomfort. Granted, the five-inch spiked stilettos did make her legs look fantastic. A fact she was well aware of as she did her best impression of Sharon Stone inBasic Instinctfrom her perch in what could only be described as a throne. In her foyer.
Probably would’ve been sexy if it weren’t for the distraction of all that damn glittering shit on her fingers, wrists, and ears.
“Mrs. Hawkins, when was the last time you saw your husband?” Brantley asked.
The bottle-blonde batted her fake lashes at Brantley, her bright white teeth looking all the brighter thanks to the fire-engine-red lipstick.
And fine, Reese would go so far as to say Annie Hawkins was a beautiful woman, if not a little too skinny. Her makeup was flawless, and he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she said it was air-brushed on. And her hair… Reese wondered how much money she spent monthly to get it to shine the way it did.
He also wondered if she owned stock in a jewelry store because … diamonds.
“My client has already spoken to the police once today,” the well-dressed man at her side said.
