There was a brief pause, followed by, “Got it. Lot of names here.”
“It’s a list of Cori’s friends. I suspect some of them were out with her last night.”
“Gotcha. Give me half an hour. I’ll hit you back when I’ve located them. Where’re you headed?”
“Gonna stop by Cori’s apartment. Call me when you know somethin’.”
“Will do.”
Brantley disconnected the call, let Reese key in the address Dante had sent via text.
Reese still wasn’t saying much and Brantley had to wonder if it was because of their abrupt wakeup call or if it had something to do with last night.
Last night.
Holy fuck.
The memory was still vivid in his mind. He could practically feel the heat of Reese’s body. Had it not been for that wakeup call, he probably would’ve been balls deep inside the man again now. As it was, it was an ache he hoped to quench again in the very near future. Thinking about it damn sure wasn’t going to help though, so he made a mental note not to bring it up. Not even to himself.
Once they reached San Antonio Street, Brantley parked the truck in the garage closest to Corinne’s apartment complex. With Reese in tow, they headed into the building. The lobby was empty but there was movement in the leasing office off to the left. Rather than stop to chat with anyone, they got into the elevator, up to the third floor. Unit 3810 wasn’t too far down the hall. He entered using the key Dante had given him.
Admittedly, it was rare for him to visit a woman’s apartment. Well, a woman who was not one of his sisters. The only real female friend he’d ever had was JJ and he’d yet to make his way inside her place now that she’d grown up and gotten one of her own. Last time he’d been in her personal space was when she’d lived at home with her parents and rocked boy band posters on her walls.
As he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the powdery floral scent. He assumed it was Corinne’s perfume lingering even though she wasn’t. Two thousand square feet of luxury overlooking Lady Bird Lake in the heart of downtown Austin. As was the design of most things these days, Corinne’s apartment boasted hardwood floors, cream and tan tones on the walls and trim. The appliances were stainless steel, the countertops white quartz, cabinets a high-gloss brown. But that was where the simplicity stopped. Corinne had an eye for color and she’d designed the space to draw one’s attention where she wanted it to go. A decorative mirror framed in faux brick, a large silver clock, jewel-toned throw pillows on the overstuffed sofa, a beige rug with turquoise stripes running through it.
He glanced around, noticing everything had a place and it hadn’t been disturbed. It appeared as though Corinne was as meticulous as her brother, and her apartment reflected the same obsession with cleanliness and distaste for clutter that he’d witnessed with Dante.
They went their separate ways, perusing the space. The first of two bedrooms was for guests, the bed made, closet and drawers empty. Next bedroom was hers. Queen-size bed with an antique iron headboard and footboard, nine-drawer dresser with mirror, a couple of nightstands, and a cheval mirror in the corner. Only decorative lamps on the nightstands and a charging cord for her phone. The bathroom was equally tidy, towel hanging on a bar near the shower, dry to the touch. The countertops were wiped down, nothing on top except for a lighted makeup mirror and a vase holding a single orchid. The small bench was tucked out of the way between the two cabinets holding the sinks.
Brantley opened the closet door and smiled. This was where the disarray was. The seventy-five-or-so-square-foot space looked as though it had been hit by a tornado.
Corinne had more clothes than any one person should and it looked as though she’d tried on a large majority of them last night. A couple of dresses were haphazardly tossed over one of the hanging rods, three pairs of shoes scattered on the floor, boots tucked under a row of jeans, one on its side. And the jewelry chest was open, a variety of earrings and necklaces sparkling in the overhead lights, tossed about as though she could not make up her mind.
Considering all the sparkling baubles, he had to believe nothing was missing. Well, other than Corinne.
Reese joined him, coming to a stop in the closet doorway. “It doesn’t look like she came home last night.”
That was what Brantley was thinking.
“I know what her mother said, but there’s plenty of places a twenty-four-year-old college student could go,” Reese mused. “She could’ve crashed at a friend’s place, or maybe she met someone, went back to his place.”
It was certainly possible. From what he’d learned about her from JJ, she was a normal twenty-something who’d been pinned down beneath her parents’ thumb all her life. It made sense that she would want to have some fun.
