Page 38 of Sin With Me

When I caught her gaze, her mouth opened by a fraction, like she was trying to solve a mystery. Again, the level of her cuteness had no limits.

“Where have they allgone?”

“That’s what I would like to know,” I answered honestly.

“Is there a specific last name I should be looking for?” she asked.

The name was a popular in the southern states; I couldn’t see any harm in allowing Kate to helpme.

“Cortez.”

She stilled.

“You know a Cortez?” I asked.

“I used to go to school with a girl…” Her gaze shifted from left to right, then back left again. If I were a betting man, I’d say that she was lying.

“What was hername?”

“Sara. Sara Cortez.”

“You wouldn’t be lying to a priest, now, wouldyou?”

“No, of course not, Father.”

I hadn’t used the priest card before, and now I was ashamed that I had. Kate was one of the most honest women I’d ever met, and her care for those around her truly came from the heart. Yet when I looked at her, something wasn’t right. She no longer appeared as eager to help as she had been before.

“You came across the name in your detective work?” I asked, and she nodded.

“I’m sorry I lied about Sara. It’s just… the Cortez family is dangerous, Father.”

If there was anyone aware of the danger, it was me; and Kate was the last person I wanted to tangle into mymess.

“It’s pretty hot up here, Kate. You don’t have to do this withme.”

“I owe you. After that water accident, I have a feeling that I’ll owe you for a longtime.”

That water accident was way more than an accident. I found it difficult to look into Kate’s eyes each time the image of her hardened nipples flashed through mymind.

“Don’t worry, Kate. If Cortez ever plans to come back, I’ll be the first toknow.”

“How?”

“I will trust God’s guidance.”

That was much better than telling her that I had intel, wasn’t it? Besides, Kate had a ghost looking out for her as well; and as much as I wanted to know why someone needed to protect her, I’d promised my brother I wouldn’t interfere.

“Oh. Hey, why are all the G’s in one spot?” she asked.

For a moment, I thought she mentioned the G-spot, and it took a few seconds before her question made sense.

“I don’t know.” I pulled open another drawer, in a different cabinet. “This one has all the R’s.” I then yanked another one open. “Scratch that, both of these are full of R’s. Kate, this is going to take a while.”

“Have you seen the W’s?” she asked again.

I turned around the room and began pulling out one piece of paper after another, all from different drawers, until I finally found it. Luck must have been on my side with this one. Now, if I could only find the C’s. Her hands flew to one side of the cabinet and she started flipping through the files. “Search for Joanna Williams, born in1960.”

Her chest was falling and raising quicker. It was as if she were on a different mission of her own, and for the first time since meeting Kate, despite the number of times we’d talked, I realized that I didn’t know much about herpast.

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