Page 20 of Heat of Justice

He shifted in his chair, keen to explain, and she was treated against her will to a flash of hairy belly flesh protruding between two tight buttons of his expensive shirt. Everything about this guy was flashy and expensive, from his Gucci three-piece suit to the gold Rolex on his pudgy wrist.Just goes to show that accessories don’t make the man…Kim forced herself to look interested as her potential new client went on outlining his case.

“She can never truly reimburse me for the cost of her new breasts because, through our divorce, she will be granted a few million of my hard-earned savings. Payback or not, it’s still my money she’ll be using.”

“I see.”

“So, I want her to go back to being no-boob-Rita.”

“I beg your pardon?” Kim blinked once, mystified.

“Yes, that’s what she was known as at the time. Haha!”

He slapped a hand over his short thigh and let out a thick, gravelly laugh.

“My cheating wife did not have much going for her before I draped her in diamonds and made her Mrs. McAllister, I’ll tell you that. Then, she thought she was someone special. Started to believe her own bullshit. Now, we are going to wipe the slate clean and return things to their original state. Give her a much-needed reality check.” He flashed her a fat wink as if they wereco-conspirators in a good prank. “Flatten the pancake, Ms. Reed, if you see what I mean.”

Yes, Kim did see very well, except probably not in the way he hoped. This was, she decided, so trivial! Really, the height of pettiness.

“Mr. McAllister, as a divorce lawyer, I can help you with a lot of things…” she started.

“Good!”

“Yes, but it won’t go as far as forcing your wife to undergo surgery she doesn’t want.”

“If she has any sense of justice, she will want it,” he asserted with a righteous nod.

“Okay. Well.” Kim outlined what she would be able to pull off for him if he hired her as counsel, which did not include his wife’s‘boobs’. “Think about it and let me know,” she concluded. “Take your time.”

Hoping he would use it well, perhaps choose someone else to represent him and save her from having to decline, she saw him out and checked the time. Going on eight P.M. Another late evening, but all good as far as she was concerned. Hopefully, keeping busy would prevent more psychic occurrences. Kim reached for the card on her desk and stared at the name on it.Cody Miller.The detective had been on her mind one hell of a lot, on and off, since their first encounter the previous night. Kim realized with a pang of guilt that it was not only because of the missing, and presumably dead, Cassie Winters. Something else entirely kept bringing the image of the blond-haired, blue-eyed cop flashing back in front of her eyes. The impulse to call her, not just for news of the case but to hear her voice, also had not left her all day.

“You are losing it, Kim…” But she did take out her phone and dial the number.

“Miller.”

The woman had struck her as extremely professional the other night… so the fact that she answered even before the end of the first ring should not have surprised Kim so much. Still, for an instant, her mind went blank. Might have had something to do with the sound of that attractively deep, warm, and confident voice, indeed. Either way, her hesitation prompted a sharp note of impatience to creep into it.

“Hello?”

And damn if this was not also very attractive. Would Miller prove herself as demanding in other ways?Oh, come on! Don’t give her any more reason to believe you’re crazy!

“Yes, this is Kim Reed, Detective,” she said firmly.

“Ms. Reed. How are you?”

Was it all just in her mind, or did a little bit of extra warmth come back into her voice? Was there a smile there? Kim also did not expect to be preoccupied with this sort of question.

“I’m fine,” she said softly. “How are you?”

“Not bad. Can I see you?”

“What?”

“I need to talk to you about Cassie.”

“Oh, God, have you found her?” Kim exclaimed.

Her heart began to race. Hit with a sudden wave of light-headedness, she grabbed hold of the edge of her desk to steady herself.

“Not found her yet, no,” Miller answered. “I just have a few more questions for you.”

---