Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (reading women .txt) 📕

To her credit, Jenna didn't skip a beat. "I know. That's so weird. But it's nice to finally meet you, Brett. Thank you for talking to us."

"I'm happy to. Come on in. I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee."

Knox didn't usually drink coffee after ten in the morning but if it loosened Brett's tongue, he'd drink gallons of it. They entered into the home which had an open floor plan with a kitchen and living room combination. The steaming coffee pot sat on the rectangular island that "separated" the two rooms, along with three mugs and some cream and sugar.

"Let me pour you a cup," Brett said, a wide smile on his boyish face. "Now let me guess, Jenna. Lori takes hers with lots of cream and a little sugar. Do you do the same?"

"Uh no, I take mine with lots of sugar, just a little cream."

Brett quickly made up three mugs and invited them to relax on the sofa. He sat on a chair to Knox's right while Jenna sat to the left, also on the couch. Clearing his throat, Knox decided to jump right in and see how Brett would react.

"I'm investigating Lori's disappearance and we were hoping you would be able to help us. I'm told that you and Lori worked together at Atwater Marketing, and that you moved on to a new job a few weeks after she went missing."

Knox had been hoping that the man might react to the second part of his statement - about getting a job right after Lori disappeared, but he was disappointed. Hedgcock focused on Knox's first sentence.

"I'd love to be able to help in any way that I can," Brett exclaimed, the smile falling from his face. "You do think she's okay, right? She said she’d be back soon."

"We don't know if she's okay," Knox replied, keeping his tone even and his gaze intent on Hedgcock. He wanted to watch for any nervous tics or other body language. "We're concerned for her safety and we're trying to find out what happened. Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with Lori? Did you know her well?"

Color crept into Hedgcock's cheeks, and he squirmed in his chair.

"I know Lori very well. I mean, we're practically engaged."

Knox could feel Jenna stiffen next to him and he pressed his leg against hers, hoping she'd understand the message. She was dying to ask a question, but Knox needed her to back off just for a few minutes. He wanted Brett to run with this topic.

"Wow, engaged. That's fantastic. Congratulations. So all of this must be terrible for you, wondering and worrying when all you want to do is plan your wedding."

"It's awful. Some days it's all I can think of. But then I remember how much we love each other and how great our life is going to be and I figure that I can be a little bit patient while she works out whatever she needs to. We have our whole lives ahead of us, after all."

Knox was getting that feeling again...the one in his gut that was telling him that Brett might have a reality problem. In that, he wasn't participating in it.

"So you and Lori met at work?"

Brett smiled excitedly, placing his cup on the coffee table so he could clasp his hands together. "It was love at first sight for both of us. We just sort of knew that we'd found our person. It was really magical. Of course, we didn't let many people know since we worked together. They had rules about co-workers dating so we kept it quiet for awhile. That's why I was looking for another job. So we could be open about our relationship. Especially after we started talking about marriage and kids."

"Kids?" Jenna asked, her voice choked. "You were talking about kids?"

"We want three or four. We'll need a bigger house, of course, but this one will be okay for the first two."

Jenna's leg pressed hard against his. She desperately wanted to speak but, thank goodness, she was going to let Brett keep going.

Knox leaned forward so he could look directly into Hedgcock's eyes. "I don't want to make this awkward, but did you two break up at all during your time together? I ask because we know for a fact that she dated Cal for awhile."

Brett was already shaking his head before Knox even finished speaking.

"No, that was just Lori being nice. They were only friends. She was in love with me." Hedgcock jumped up from his chair. "Let me show you some pictures of us together. You'll see that we are in love."

Hedgcock ran down a hallway and then came back, two large picture frames in his arms.

"Sorry, but I had to get one of them down from the wall. I keep this one on the table next to my bed."

This one was a gold-framed photo of Brett and Lori sitting next to one another at a conference table. The same conference table that Knox and Jenna had sat across from Lori's co-workers at the marketing company. Lori was smiling but looking away from Brett. He, on the other hand, was looking directly at her.

Hedgcock had a point. They did look happy, but for completely different reasons. When he looked at this photo, he had to see something that Knox didn't. This was a photo of two co-workers, not two people in love.

The other photo in a dark frame was a picture of Brett and Lori standing outdoors, smiling and laughing on a sunny day. Lori was holding a flower and looking at Brett.