Page 34 of Loving a Billionaire

“Bad news?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yes and no.” She released a heavy breath and managed a sympathetic smile. “It kills me that I need to end our date, but I do.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. She wanted to do more, but if their mouths met together in a passionate kiss now, she’d never meet Kurt on time. “Can I get a raincheck on our date?”

Austin nodded. “Anytime you want.” He stood and took her hand. “I’ll walk you back to your car.”

“Ah, my hero.” She winked.

He laughed and wrapped one arm around her shoulders as they headed back to her car. “Tomorrow, I’m going to be at the Sheridan Hotel most of the day, but if you want to come by to see me, and let me show you around, please drop by and surprise me.”

She nodded. “I think I will.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“If I remember correctly, isn’t it downtown?”

“Yes, it is.” He kissed her forehead.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist as they walked. Being with him like this was so cozy. She never wanted it to end. But back in the dark recesses of her mind, she also knew this wasn’t a fairy-tale, even if she wanted Austin to be her Prince Charming.

When they stopped at her car, he cupped her face to give her another kiss, but she kept it short and sweet. Because of the way her whole body melted whenever they were together, she knew if she participated fully in the kiss, she would want to stay in his arms all night.

“I’ll call you or drop by the hotel tomorrow,” she said as she climbed into her car.

He stood and watched her drive away. His energetic smile would be etched in her memory forever.

When she reached the crime lab, Kurt was just climbing out of his vehicle. He waited until she was parked before he opened the door for her.

“Hi,” he said in a tight voice.

“Hi,” she replied. “Thanks for texting me and letting me know. I’m anxious to hear what Conover has found.”

Kurt nodded. “Conover has been very precise in a lot of his findings. I trust him fully.”

“I agree.” She hurried up the stairs and into the building with Kurt following.

She hoped he wouldn’t ask about her evening. She didn’t want to lie to him. They still hadn’t talked about their kiss or their confessions the other night. But more than that, she wanted to discuss the reasoning behind his thoughts to why Austin should still be considered a suspect, especially, when she thought completely opposite. Maybe she’d try to get him to talk to her tonight about everything. He didn’t smell as if he’d consumed a whole barrel of beer this time.

They walked into the medical examiner’s room, and Conover stood over the body. Sergeant Feakes was here, along with Tyrone, but the others were absent.

Conover moved to the body and withdrew the sheet. Talia hated to see dead bodies that had been opened up to examine. Out of everything, this was the thing she hated most.

“The victim died by a fierce blow to the head.” Conover pointed to the injury. “When I examined the skull, however, I found this, embedded inside.” He held up a Ziplock bag with a sharp object that was made of steel.

Feakes and Tyrone examined it and then handed it to her and Kurt.

“Do you know where the piece could have come from?” the Sergeant asked.

“I believe so. After running several tests, I think it’s from a historic weapon.”

Talia shook her head, not believing what she heard. “A historic weapon?”

Nodding, Conover walked over to his desk and picked up a picture of a weapon that she figured was used in medieval times.

“You’d mentioned the victim had a list of names of powerful and wealthy men, correct?” Conover asked, and they all nodded. “If you find the man who has a collection of ancient weapons, you just might find your killer.”

Talia and Kurt exchanged glances. She scrambled to remember if Austin’s place had such a collection, but she honestly couldn’t remember. Besides, why was she even thinking about Austin that way? In her mind, she’d erased him from her suspects’ list.

“There was another thing I discovered,” Conover continued. “When I ran a toxicology screen, I found traces of poison in her bloodstream. I ran tests on the victim’s clothes that were left in the bathroom when she had taken a bath, and they had stains from where she’d vomited. I checked her arms for traces of needles, but there weren’t any. I believe the victim had consumed something which had poison in it.” He shook his head. “If the blow to the head hadn’t killed her, the poison would have.”