AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lorna broke into a wide smile.
“Let’s take a look at the calendar downstairs in the office, shall we?” she offered.
As she led them to the stairs, Kat gave Mitch her patented “are you sure?” look and he responded with his familiar “of course I am” grin. They held hands as they followed Lorna down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Kat’s phone buzzed with a reminder, and she glanced at it.
Suddenly, the joy drained from her body. The reminder was regarding an event she had in twenty-four hours, one that she dreaded, but could not avoid. She shoved the phone back in her purse, making sure that Mitch didn’t see it.
This was a happy moment, and she didn’t want to ruin it with the coming unpleasantness. There would be time for that later. Right now, she had to choose a wedding date.
CHAPTER TEN
Jessie tried not to be annoyed.
While it would have been vastly preferable to meet with Ava Martell’s husband at the police station or the morgue, she could understand why he wanted to have it at his office.
According to his assistant, who had set up the appointment, he claimed that it would be too overwhelming to talk to them in such a fraught environment. And as Harrison Buhner was currently a witness and not a suspect, they’d agreed to meet him somewhere he felt more comfortable, even if that was exactly the opposite of what they wanted.
But until he returned to town later this afternoon, they decided to pursue another task: confirming Nina Kirby’s alibi. The drive from the lawyer’s Brentwood office to the giant Century Court Hotel in Century City where her legal event took place was only fifteen minutes, so they headed over.
Kirby was sending Jamil and Beth in research the list of the other attendees at her table, as well as authorization to check her GPS data for last night and this morning. But even those things wouldn’t alone verify her alibi.
What if Kirby had left her table—and her phone—for a long stretch while she took a cab to find and kill her almost-client? It was a long shot, but until they could follow up with Ava’s husband, Kirby was their only credible lead.
Once they arrived, Ryan pulled into the driveway of the giant semi-circular hotel and flashed his badge to a valet, who directed him to a parking spot near the main doors. They got out and made their way into the enormous central lobby, with a giant chandelier hanging from a ceiling easily fifty feet high. They approached the concierge desk, where Ryan once again showed his police badge.
“How can I help you?” asked the gorgeous, raven-haired young woman, apparently unflustered by a detective flashing his badge. Tall and tan with sharp, angular features, she looked like she was taking a break from her modeling career to moonlight here.
“Yes, thanks,” Ryan said. “We understand that the hotel hosted a ‘Women in Law’ event yesterday evening?”
“That’s correct,” she said. “I think it was called “Breaking Through the Barrister Barrier.”
Jessie couldn’t help but smile at the title.
“We’d like to speak to the person who ran the event,” she said.
“That would be our senior event coordinator, Mary Portnoy,” the concierge said. “I can see where she is and have her meet you, if you like.”
“That’d be great,” Ryan said. “We’ll just wait over by that sofa.”
“Of course,” the concierge said.
They moved over to the couch and marveled at the opulence of the place, which Jessie had never been to.
“Maybe Kat and Mitch should consider this place for their wedding,” Ryan suggested, half-joking.
“Don’t even mention the idea,” Jessie warned. “Kat’s so stressed over the cost of everything that even playfully suggesting a place like this might make her burst into tears, that is if Kat Gentry was the ‘burst into tears’ type.”
Jessie felt for her friend. She’d even offered to help defray the cost of the celebration but was flatly rejected.
“This is my responsibility,” Kat had said with an intensity that surprised Jessie.
“But if your parents were still alive, you know they would have helped,” Jessie insisted. “Let me fill that gap.”
“Just buy me a nice gift,” Kat had told her. “Besides, I know you’ve got a fortune, but with all your medical bills, you should hold onto a little chunk of that change. Plus, what if you and Ryan decide to have kids? You’ll need that dough.”
Kat hadn’t known that she’d stumbled onto a sore spot and Jessie didn’t let on. She already felt pressure about starting a family from Ryan. She didn’t need to inadvertently let Kat in on the situation.
“You know,” Ryan muttered, snapping her out of her thoughts, “I wonder if we’re spinning our wheels here.”
