“Yeah. Or, wait, maybe that’s Colombo.”

Alex stood up. “Okay, Dave, what did you find?”

If it was possible, David’s smile got even bigger.

“Remember Kittredge Clothes Company?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, it seems they didn’t exactly tell Rick the truth.”

“About what?”

“They don’t have hundreds of places that sell their clothes. They’re too exclusive for that.”

“I see. And that’s important?”

“Well, it told me something was up. They have the same agreement with all of their outlets, and the only place I can confirm you can order their clothing is on their website.”

“Okay. So, they exagerated their size when Rick talked to them?”

“Just wait, Alex, it gets better.”

“I can’t wait.” She sat back down, and motioned him to do the same. “Tell me, before you bust something trying to hold back.”

David settled into the chair, holding a yellow legal pad on his lap.

“Okay. The company name is Kittredge Clothes Company. Right?”

“Right.”

“And their line of coats is called Klaser, with a ‘K.’ Right?”

“Okay.”

“They have another line of clothes, a blazer, which is called Kabel, with a ‘K.’ Now, their website address is Kittredge-dot-com. On that website, they have their list of exclusive labels, and they have it in this fashion.” He put the tablet on the desk in front of Alex and wrote the three label names one on top of the other. Then he circled the first letter of each name.

Alex’s eyes grew wide. David saw it and grinned.

“Yeah. My thoughts exactly. So, I decided to do some checking. Guess what?”

“What?”

“Kittredge Clothes is a subsidiary of Atlantic Properties, which is a subsidiary of the Talcott Companies. Talcott Companies is also the corporate owner of East Penn Telecom, which is the company that employs one Kyle Brogan.”

Alex opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“Oh, I know that’s not much, but it gets better. Kittredge is located in a little town just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. When they decided to build their factory, the town gave them some serious tax breaks. They basically gave them the land the factory sits on.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Well, guess who the Mayor of that small town is?”

“I don’t think I really want to know.”

“Sure you do. It’s a man name John White. His daughter Anne is the one I spoke to in the sales department.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. You want the final kicker?”

“Go ahead.”

“We always thought that Derek changed his name because he wanted to. We were wrong. He actually broke tradition, and took his wife’s last name. I guess he thought it made a stronger statement.”

“His wife’s name is Lisa.”

“Yep. And her sister’s name is Anne.”

“That means John White is …”

“You guessed it. The mayor is Derek’s father-in-law.”

Alex just stared at the tablet on her desk, with the circled K’s.

“Oh, one final little fact.”

“Dave, I don’t think I can take anymore.”

“The major shareholder in the Kittredge Clothes Company is Mayor John White. Second largest shareholder is his son-in-law.”

Alex glared at her partner.

“David, I really hate it when you gloat.”

*******************************************************

David agreed to drop Alex off at Sarah’s, since they were late leaving work. Looking at her watch, Alex knew she’d never make it by 7:00, and her friends wouldn’t be happy.

“Tell Sarah it was my fault, Alex.”

“Sure. After all, it was your fault.”

“Hey, I was joking.”

“I’m not. If you hadn’t insisted on going through every record on Kittredge, we would gotten out of there on time.”

“Maybe, but you were the one that insisted on calling the IRS. I never would have thought of asking about audits on the company. It was you that made us late, trying to sweet talk that revenue guy into sending us those records tomorrow instead of Monday.”

“Yeah. But you’re not going inside, so Sarah won’t yell at you. I have to spend the evening there, and I’d rather she blame you than me for my being late.”

They pulled into the driveway.

“You enjoy yourself tonight. And don’t forget, great sex is safe sex.”

“In the interest of our partnership I’m going to forget you said that.” Alex opened the door, and climbed out. David waved as he left. Alex took a deep breath, and walked towards the front door.

It opened before she got there, and she smiled as Sarah held open the screen.

“You’re late, Alex.”

“Yeah, well, blame David.”

“Right. It was probably your fault, but he agreed to take the blame.”

“Would I do that to my partner?”

“Yes. Now get in here and give me a hug.” They stopped just inside the doorway, and Alex felt her friend’s arms wrap around her. She sighed. Sarah had always given the best hugs.

“God, Alex, you’re thin.” Sarah pulled back and looked down into Alex’s eyes. “You haven’t been taking care of yourself.”

“I’m fine. I just haven’t had much sleep.”

“It’s the Dabir murder, isn’t it? I’ve tried to stay away because I know you hate anything breaking your concentration on a case. But, Alex you really need to take a break once in a while.”

“I am. I’m over here, aren’t I?”

Sarah smiled, and stroked Alex’s hair. “Yeah, you are. And I’m glad.” She hugged Alex again, then led her towards the kitchen. “Maggie’ll be happy to see you, too. It’ll give her another pair of hands in the kitchen.”

“You mean dinner’s not ready? Darn. I thought if I was late, I wouldn’t have to help.”

“Un-huh. Just for that you get to build the fire.”

“Aw, Sarah, you know I’m terrible at that kind of thing.”

“Then, maybe you can ask Teren to teach you.”

Alex stopped for a moment. “Teren?”

“Yes. You remember, our fourth dinner partner?”

“Her name’s Teren?” She resumed following Sarah, and they turned the corner into the kitchen.

“Yes. She’s our karate instructor. She teaches a class at the women’s center on Monday and Wednesday nights.”

Maggie looked up from the pot she was stirring on the stove. “Hi, Alex. Ready for dinner?”

“I told her since she’s late she has to build the fire.”

“Good. Teren is in the dining room setting the table. I’m sure if you ask her, she’ll help you with the fire.”

“Right. I’ll just go ask.”

There was a tingling on Alex’s neck, and her stomach muscles were clenched. She took the several steps through the kitchen, and out into the dining room.

Teren Mylos was calmly setting silverware on the table.

She looked up and smiled. “Hi. You must be Alex. I’m Teren; it’s nice to meet you.” She winked

Alex just blinked.

Chapter Nine

Dinner was actually pleasant, if a littler quieter than other dinners at Sarah’s. Alex tried to watch Teren without being obvious, while Teren chatted away with her hosts, smiling at Alex whenever their eyes met. Once in a while Sarah or Maggie would try to coax Alex to join the conversation by asking her a question. Alex would smile and answer in the shortest terms possible. Then she’d go back to watching Teren.

“So, Alex, how are you doing on this case you’re working on? Sarah said it had to do with Reginald Dabir’s death?”

Alex looked at Maggie. “Yeah. I’m trying to find who killed him.”

Teren looked up. “That’s right, you work for the FBI, don’t you?”

Their eyes met. Alex’s voice was tense as she answered, “Yes, I do.”

Sarah had noticed Alex watching their guest, and she could see something was wrong with her friend, but she had no idea what. Whatever it was, she decided, was probably unimportant. Sarah was determined this was going to be a good evening.

“Alex is one of the best agents they have. Her and her partner David were even given special citations after they caught a serial killer in Minnesota.”

Teren’s eyes went wide. “You were on that case?”