“They found boxes of condoms, foam contraceptives, plus her birth control pills.”
Brittany shrugged. “She’s a woman who likes to be extra careful. After all, she was seeing Mr. Romeo Reeder.”
Kurt chuckled. “There’s more. They asked the neighbors if she had any boyfriends, and nobody saw her with anyone. Gibbs and Tyrone discovered that she had made large deposits in her bank account in the last two years, and yet we can’t see that she even had a regular job. They also found a receipt from the drugstore where she purchased these items.” He arched an eyebrow. “They showed Hillary’s picture to the store manager, and he said she’d been a regular customer for about two years.” He licked his lips. “And didn’t you just tell me Reeder said he briefly knew Hillary?”
“Yes, something like that.”
“Don’t you see, Britt?” He stood and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hillary had been a call girl for two years. That explains the expensive jewelry and the birth control contraceptives.”
Brittany gasped. “No wonder Romeo had mentioned paying me last night. He must be a regular John. And Derek…must be involved, too. Reeder talked about his friend getting him women all the time.”
Disgrace swept through her, churning her stomach, just like it had done yesterday. For years she’d tried not to look like a floozy in front of men. She’d wanted them to see her for her mind, not her other attributes. And now…she felt almost as low as the call girls, especially since a wealthy, and very handsome man thought that way about her, too.
She didn’t know how she could remove this feeling, but she needed to do it, soon. She couldn’t work this way.
“All right, so Hillary is a call girl.” Brittany cocked her head. “What does this have to do with me seeing Romeo again?”
He laughed and sat on the edge of the table again. This time, he took her hand loosely in his and gently stroked her fingers. The only time Kurt got mushy like this was when he desperately wanted something. He’d even gone as far as to bat his big hazel eyes and pout!How pathetic.She definitely didn’t want to hear what he had to say, only because she knew she’d lose her breakfast all over him.
“Well, I got to thinking…since Reeder thinks you are a call girl already, you could play along until you get him to confess.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. Her heartbeat hammered wildly. “Do you honestly believe he’s guilty?”
Kurt’s hesitation made her nervous, but finally he gave her a slow nod. “Actually, I do. Reeder is a wealthy man. The other men on the list that was in Hillary’s robe pocket didn’t have as much money. Reeder moves to the next woman quickly, and that tells me that he didn’t care about what happened to our victim. Women like Hillary are expendable to men like him.”
“But what’s his MO?”
Once again, Brittany could see the wheels turning in his head as he paused in deep thought. He kept his blue eyed gaze on her. This man was easy to read. Of course, working closely with him, she learned how to understand his expressions.
Finally, his eyes widened and he grinned. “I’m willing to bet money Hillary was going to blackmail him. Powerful men in the community—like the men on her list—would be an easy target to blackmail.”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe you’re correct.”
“So? Does that mean you’ll go undercover and play the part as a call girl?”
Frustration rose inside of her quickly, and she balled her hands. Her first instinct was to turn him down, but in her conscience, she knew he was correct. She’d have to find a way to be aroundthat manwithout feeling any lower than she felt already.
“Fine, but I willnotdo what call girls, um…do. There’s no way I’ll do that. Not for the job…not for anyone!”
Kurt’s expression relaxed. He winked and playfully punched her shoulder. “I don’t expect you to. In fact, we’ll figure out a way to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
She blew out a defeated breath of air. “Will Captain Martinez go along with this?”
Kurt nodded. “I’ll convince him that this is the best course of action.”
“Good, because I don’t think the captain likes me very much.”
She stood and folded her arms across her chest, mainly to keep herself from the dread shivering inside of her. “You got my back?”
“Don’t I always?” He cupped her face with both hands. “You can count on me. I’ll never let you down.”
