Branded by Cindy Stark Page A

spent the evening
with her, do you mean…”
    “Not sex.”  Although they had shared one hell of a
kiss.  The continuing bulge in his jeans was proof of how much she’d turned him
on.  But he and Sam wouldn’t be discussing any of that.  “We only talked.”
    “That’s too bad.  She’s pretty fine.”
    “Hell, Sam.  Is that what you do with all of your
suspects?  Bed them and extract information through pillow talk?”
    Sam chuckled.  “I’ve never been lucky enough to
land someone who looked like her.  Hunter always sends me the ugly losers, not
the sweet-looking thieves.  In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t keep her for
himself.”
    Xander cracked his window to allow some of the rain-soaked
air to come in and cool him.  “Can we forget her body and get back to business?” 
It irritated him that Sam seemed focused only on her looks.  He agreed Nicole
was a looker, but Sam didn’t need to discuss her as though she was a street
corner hooker.
    “Sorry, man.  It’s just that it’s not often I get
to deal with someone so pretty.  As a cop or in Hunter’s escapades.”
    “I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful women who
come into the police station.”
    “Not many.  Some that might have been pretty
before they got into drugs maybe, but not most of them.”
    Xander shook his head to clear it as he crossed a
bridge.  “Anyway,” he said, trying to redirect Sam’s focus.  “A couple of
things came up during our conversation.  Were you able to locate any actual
witnesses that placed her at the scene of the crime?  And she’s wondering why
the video didn’t pick up the real thief.”
    “Because she’s the thief.”
    “ I know that .”  Why were he and his friend having
such a hard time communicating tonight?  “I’m wondering if there were any actual eyewitnesses who placed her at the scene of the crime.  Someone who
could testify against her, back up what the video shows.”
    “Not that we’ve come across.”  Sam sighed, sounding
like he’d had too many long days.  “There are hundreds of people who work in
that building.  We haven’t had time to interview them all, and we have to wait
until Monday, until they return to their positions to finish.”  He paused for a
second.  “Besides, she admitted she was there when I questioned her.  She’s hasn’t
changed her story, has she?”
    “No.  What did she say when you questioned her?”
    “All she said was that she’d gone back for her TriMet
pass, but I didn’t get an exact time out of her.”
    “Still, I’d feel better if we have an actual
eyewitness when this thing goes to trial.  She’s an extremely smooth operator,
and I don’t want her getting off on some technicality.  If I didn’t know
better, I’d believe every word she says, and a jury might, too.”
    “Good point.  I’ll ask for an update from the
officers who’ve been interviewing.  See if we have anything solid yet.”
    “Another thing.  When I asked her how she got her
job, she mentioned that a head-hunter company had contacted her.  She seemed
pretty vague, like she wasn’t quite sure.  It raised some red flags with me. 
Can you check with the company and see how she got hired on?”
    “Sure thing.  Did you get any info on her father?”
    “No.  That’s another thing.  I tried to get her to
talk about her parents, and she totally shut me down.  Like I said, she’s
smooth.  But there are a couple of cracks in her veneer, and I think if I keep
prodding them, something is bound to break.  Especially, if I can get that information
from you.”
    “Okay.  I’ll be in touch.”
    Xander tossed his phone onto the passenger seat
after Sam signed off.  As annoyed as he’d been with Sam, he respected and trusted
his friend beyond measure.  The five of them had an interesting relationship,
and at the base of it all was trust.  It had to be.  Some would accuse them of
wrongdoing.  Sam would suffer the most if their