Page 51 of Loving a Billionaire

“Yes, but he wasn’t sure what time it actually was. He thought it could have been later than ten, which means—”

“I know what that means. Was he the only one Gibbs questioned? I’m assuming the words board members are plural. Gibbs should have asked more than one person.”

“Talia, will you stop interrupting me, and listen to what I have to say?” They walked into the elevator and Talia pushed the button for the top floor. “The board member told Gibbs that he’s like an art dealer. He finds ancient artifacts and sells them to wealthy people. Reeder just happens to be one of those people. Fred Cheek said he sold a medieval weapon to Reeder only four months ago. The artifact is called Indian Shispar. It’s a flanged mace – the exact weapon that killed Kalama Kane.”

She glared at him. “I know what the weapon is called.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “You don’t need to bite my head off.”

Grumbling incoherently, she raked her fingers through her long hair and looked down at the floor. His mind went into overdrive. Why wasn’t her hair in a ponytail? She really shouldn’t have taken it out. With her hair long and flowing like this, it made her that much more desirable.

“I just don’t understand you, sometimes,” she said, after a few seconds of silence. “Austin has a perfect alibi, and yet you’re still determined to search his apartment for the weapon.” She met his gaze again. “Have you forgotten I was in there a few times? I didn’t see any weapons.”

Kurt leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. “Did you get to see all of his rooms? If I remember correctly, you were only in the living room and the kitchen and dining areas.”

Huffing, she turned back to look at the electronic board as it counted each floor, giving off a small ding when they reached a floor. He wished she wouldn’t be like this. What else could he do to make her see that Austin Reeder wasn’t the man she thought he was?

“Were you with Reeder tonight?” Kurt finally asked the question that had been on his mind tonight.

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped without looking at him.

Kurt knew she had been. She didn’t need to say it. The crushing weight in his chest pressed down harder, making it difficult to breathe. He couldn’t let this affect him. Not until after they’d searched the perp’s penthouse suite.

Just as they reached the top floor, and the elevator doors opened, the second set of elevator doors also dinged and opened. Kurt watched to see who exited the elevator, because he knew the rest of the detectives were already here.

Austin Reeder walked out, his face red with anger. The perp glanced at the other detectives waiting at the front door, and then he moved his attention to Kurt. A scowl crossed the perp’s face.

“What do you guys want now?” Reeder growled.

Kurt motioned toward the door. “We have a search warrant. We would like you to open the door and let us in so we can do our job.”

Feakes moved forward to present Reeder with the signed warrant from Judge Peterson. Reeder switched his gaze to Talia, and his frown deepened. Kurt didn’t want to look at Talia’s face, because he knew it would show the pain and frustration she obviously shared with Austin. Kurt couldn’t take seeing her look so broken.

Reeder opened his door and motioned his arms for them to enter. The detectives moved inside, each going to a separate corner of the room. Kurt went ahead of Talia. When he received his first glance at the wealthy man’s room, he tried not to let his jaw drop in awe. Then again, why would Austin Reeder live any other way? He had luxury when he was younger, so why not now?

When Austin walked past Kurt, he shook his head. “I should have known you were behind this. You always saw the worst in me, and my mother.”

The loud gasp from Talia jerked Kurt’s head her way. Her eyes were wide and accusing as she moved her gaze between him and Austin.

“You two... know each other?”

Austin arched a judgmental eyebrow. “I’m surprised your partner didn’t tell you sooner Talia, but yes, we know each other. His father married my mother when I was ten years old.”

Kurt shook his head. “I never wanted to be related to you, and I feel even stronger about it now.”

“Kurt, why... why... didn’t you tell me,” Talia sobbed out the words. Tears formed in her eyes and her bottom lip quaked.

He wasn’t going to feel guilty over this no matter how much he loved her. “Talia, I had never approved of him or his mother. They both thought themselves to be above the law.” He tossed a glare at Austin. “You were the reason I wanted to become a cop, so I could put wealthy and crooked men like you away behind bars. Your mother should have gone to jail for tax evasion, and you...” Kurt shook his head. “You should have gone to jail for just being a liar. I can’t count how many times you lied just to get out of doing things. Your whole life has been one big lie.”

Austin shook his head. “I don’t know what I ever did to you to make you feel this way. I may have paid a few people in school to do my homework assignments, but that’s as far as I got when it comes to cheating. Just because you didn’t like me, you had to make up stories to tell my parents. Thankfully, your father never believed you. Hamill, I have never been deceitful. My mother has, yes, but I’m nothing like her.”

Kurt snickered. “Yeah, tell it to the judge.”

Kurt moved past him to assist his co-workers in finding the weapon. But within seconds, Tyrone’s voice was heard from one of the rooms. “I found it!”

Before Kurt could think to move, Talia pushed past him with Reeder close on her heels. Kurt passed a bathroom, a bedroom, and a den, before coming to the last room. This was where Reeder kept his collection. Not only were there several pieces of medieval weapons, but there was an assortment of all kinds of weapons from ancient times. If he wasn’t so elated to know they finally found the murder weapon, he’d be in awe of all of the priceless artifacts in this room.

Tyrone held up the flanged mace. Feakes was standing close, examining the sharp tips of the weapon, especially the area where the sharp edge was missing. The sergeant nodded and carefully slid a large, clear bag over the top. This piece would be added to the other evidence involved with this case.