Tessa Stark: Desert Heat

Chapter Thirteen

 "I'm sorry to interrupt your afternoon, but I need to ask you folks some questions," she stated in what she hoped was a tone that would garner no arguments.

"And exactly who are you?" the woman who'd dismissed Jonathan asked.

"I'm Special Detective Stark. This is Chief Deputy Dalton," she introduced.

"Actually, Ms. Stark here is also know as The Shark in law enforcement circles," Senator Whitmore stated, his expression something between a smirk and a grimace. "And if my words had been heeded, she would have swam away by now."

"The Shark?" the woman repeated, her blue eyes widening.

Tessa could only lift a shoulder. "Yes, ma'am. It has something to do with blood in the water, apparently. But, I've been brought in to investigate the death of your...daughter?"

The woman, who appeared to be in her late forties, with a mane of blonde hair and a very glamorous air about her, gave a nod. "I'm Hallie's mother, yes. You were brought in from where? And to do what? Help the first detective?"

"My home base is in Georgia, but I work with law enforcement all over the country. And I'm actually starting the investigation over on my own, Mrs. Whitmore," she replied, watching from the corner of her eye as Richard Whitmore downed the half a glass of liquor that had been sitting on the table beside him.

"Its Mrs. Autry-Whitmore," the woman corrected, fluffing out her caftan that was done in a palm tree print. "But, Jodie is a bit more suitable, seeing as how you've caught us in our swim suits."

"I am sorry to burst in on you," she stated, though she wasn't terribly. "But, since I am starting over, I'd appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to talk to me about your daughter, maybe give some details about her life."

"What exactly is it that you do all over the country, Special Detective Stark?" the handsome man sitting beside Jodie—a man she couldn't help but notice was the spitting image of Richard Whitmore—questioned, looking at her somewhat askance.

"I investigate homicide cases that the local boys are having a hard time solving," she said plainly. "You can call Sheriff Gonzalez if you'd like to check my credentials."

"Do you actually solve the cases the other police officers can't solve?" asked Jodie, eyeing her up and down and with a bit of overt skepticism.

"Almost always," was her response.

"Well, both of you have a seat. We'll tell you anything we can," the handsome man stated, waving them toward two empty chairs.

Fully expecting the senator to object, and fully surprised when he didn't, she hurried across the space and sat down, with Cole following suit. "Thank you for wanting to help. The more questions you can answer, the better it'll be for my investigation."

"As I said, we'll help where we can, but our daughter didn't exactly confide in us regarding her personal life. Most of the time, we rarely saw her for more than a few hours out of the week," the same man stated as Tessa began pulling out her field notebook and pen.

"Do you know where she spent most of her time, Mr. Whitmore?" she asked, getting right into it. "Was she usually with her friends or her fiancé?"

"Its Stephen," the man put in, stretching his long legs out in front of him and spreading his arms out along the back of the sofa, affording her a view of his tanned, well-toned physique, which was enviable for a man who was probably pushing fifty...and who was clad in a pair of swim trunks that more than alluded to his ample endowment. "You've met my wife Jodie. This is our daughter, Cameran, my niece, Trista, my sister-in-law Ellen Autry-Whitmore, and apparently you're already acquainted with my brother Richard."