Where Secrets Lie

Kara was hot and salty with sweat. She had been working out all day. When she discovered there was a gym on the property, she nearly celebrated. She chastised Alyssa for not telling her sooner, but Alyssa simply acted as if her sister were crazy for actually wanting to exercise.

Living at the Caswell mansion was like living in a small city that had everything Kara needed. While she still didn't love it there like Alyssa, it was pretty convenient to have everything all in one spot. As she left the gym and headed back to take a shower, Henry's voice interrupted her thoughts. She jogged to catch up to him across the lawn.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Michael needs you right away. He's at the Ayers Historical Museum."

"Did he say why?"

"Sorry, no."

Still thinking about the other night, she grew worried and hurried to take a shower. She arrived at the museum to find it surrounded by police and reporters. Barricades blocked the entrance, but she simply walked passed them. At the door, however, a young, female officer stopped her. Kara recognized her, but she didn't know her well. She had joined just before the Mancini case.

Fired? Kara had no idea what she was talking about, but she didn't have time to ask as the answer came from an all-too-familiar voice.

"No, she's a has-been and shouldn't be near this case." The woman's deep and raspy voice showed just how long she'd been smoking.

"Nice to see you too, Grace," Kara said.

"I'm sure you meant to say 'Detective Grace King'" she gloated as she proudly tapped on her badge. "but I'm choosing to overlook it."

Grace was a tall slender woman with frizzy yellow hair. She wore a gray pantsuit and a pair of sophisticated, wire-rimmed eyeglasses. Kara and Grace trained together at the local police academy, and to Kara's dismay, Grace always considered Kara her rival.

"It's about time you moved up the ladder." Kara winked, taking pleasure in Grace's scowl that resulted from it.

"Still cocky I see. That's amazing for someone who got fired for stealing drugs out of evidence. What are you doing with your life since you left APD? As a matter of fact, where were you at 10:00 P.M. last night?"

"You have got to be kidding me." Kara laughed, "I never imagined that you would be one to believe childish gossip." Grace's face reddened at the chastisement.

"She was me with me." Michael walked out of the door just in time to save Kara from a tense situation. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her in close, and pressed his soft lips upon hers, giving her the biggest kiss. Kara's heart nearly burst out of her chest. "We were at an art showing last night. There are many people who would be willing to confirm that," he said with a smug grin and began leading Kara into the museum.

When they were out of earshot, Kara punched Michael in the arm. "What was that for?"

He rubbed his arm and pouted. To Kara's shock, he was actually being endearing. "You could have just kissed me on the cheek or something. Christ."

"I couldn't control myself," he said in such a sultry way that it made Kara's body temperature rise. Delighted by the effect he was having on her, he winked and licked his lip. "I overheard her giving you a hard time. I'm the only one who's allowed to do that to you. Plus, she's been flirting with me all afternoon. I thought that you'd enjoy making her jealous that you have a wealthy, handsome lover. Was I wrong?"

He had managed to get a smile out of her. "No, you're not wrong. As for having a wealthy, handsome lover though: wealthy, yes. Handsome? That's debatable. But thank you."

Michael feigned emotional distress at her comment, and she rolled her eyes. As much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to enjoy the back and forth banter she shared with him.

"So why did you call me here?" she asked.

He returned to his former serious demeanor. "The Caswell clan provides historical relics and documents to this museum, and last night something important was stolen."

"And you want me to find who stole it?"

"Please, Kara. Help me." She knew that she could not say no to him. Something about the way he asked evoked a strange, forgotten emotion in her. She wondered why this missing item was so important to him.

"Of course I'll help you."

As soon as the words left her lips, she started her investigation. Her first stop was the museum director. She found him in his office, and while he didn't seem pleased to see her barge into his office, that didn't stop her.

"I'm Detective Kara Everitt, and I'll be needing a list of all museum employees. ASAP."

"Why?" A hint of doubt hung on his question.

"It was an inside job," Kara explained. "There is no way someone could get past this alarm system."

"That's right," said the director. "It's a superb system. We check it quite frequently to ensure that it is working properly."

"And when was the last time it was checked?" Kara asked.

"Yesterday," said the director, beginning to realize what Kara was suggesting.

"We have a suspect."