So Bertie Humber offed himself less than a week after my story was published.

 

 

This hit me hard. Humber was a bad man, and I'd exposed many bad men in my career, but he was the first one who killed himself over it. The first person I killed, that's how I thought of it. I needed to get away, so I booked a trip to Windenburg. I ran into Pedro at the bar, who was doing some business with the Russians.

 

 

Even while I was there, my phone was blowing up with updates about the Humber saga.

 

 

I told Pedro about my conflicted feelings, but he just brushed them off.

 

"I'm glad the fucker's dead. I'm just sad I didn't get to do it myself."

 

 

Then he told me some bad news. Seems Kami had run away from home. Out west to live with some friends from school who were way too close to the porn and sex industry for Pedro's taste, but then, he always knew Kami was headed in that direction.

 

I pointed out that she was still 17, and he could get a legal order forcing her back. But he responded that courts were slow, and she would be 18 in a couple of months, so it was pointless. He also mentioned that her mother was devastated, so he'd probably have to take a trip out there to drag her back himself.

 

 

Of course, my purpose for being in Windenburg was actually to see Luisa.

 

 

It felt weird still, having an official sugar baby, but hey, what else was I going to do with all this money?

 

 

Besides, Luisa made my visits worthwhile.

 

 

And, of course, I knew Pedro would be visiting Zippy while he was in town.

 

 

I still thought it was strange that he turned Dmitry's old mistress into his new amante in Windenburg.

 

 

But then again, since Dmitry did order Charlotte's killing, I guess this was karma.

 

 

Anyway, on the way back home, I had a layover in Willow Creek, and I got accosted by Maggie Justus, that military investigator.

 

 

I was friendly as could be, but I wasn't going to give her anything on Pedro, or any of my other contacts.

 

 

"I know that," she said. "I'm here to say, I liked your story. But I'm disappointed you didn't come to us. I would have loved to have gotten my claws into that Humber pervert before he did himself."

 

 

"What are you talking about?" I asked her. "You'd have no jurisdiction over anything I reported."

 

 

"Oh you have no idea," she said.

 

And proceeded to school me.

 

"Most of what you found was piddly shit. Embarrassing, yes. Criminal, yes. Disgusting, certainly. But what you didn't think about were the implications of Humber's visits overseas. We have a treaty with Tomarang, which says all sex crimes committed by our servicemembers in their territory will be dealt with by a general court-martial."

 

 

"So what?" I asked.

 

"Humber was a reservist," she told me.

 

 

"Served overseas. Obviously, didn't really publicize it during his academic life. But he had a reputation"

 

 

"In Tomarang, he had a habit of trolling the red light district for whores."

 

 

"They liked servicemen, because that meant good pay, at least for them."

 

 

"He got caught with one of them in the upstairs bathroom at a local bar."

 

 

"And let me guess," I ventured. "She turned out to be creepy young?"

 

 

"Oh hell, we have no idea. She could have been forty for all we know. She disappeared. You think this is just about age? Did you ever catch Humber diddling any toddlers? No, this was about control for him. Something far more deep-seated. He kept at it, he was probably going to end up raping and killing some poor girl."

 

 

"Anyway, someone walked in on them who claimed to know the girl, but like I said, we couldn't find her during the investigation, so not much happened, other than he got transferred to Komorebi."

 

 

"Where he got up to the same shit."

 

 

"But again, we could never really pin anything on him. So, like I said, I wish you had come to us. We could have finally taken the fucker down."

 

 

"Well, now I know, I guess. A little late."

 

Then I asked her, "By the way, this stuff you were investigating is over, so why are you still here nosing around?"

 

 

"The killings at the Magnolia had nothing to do with the gang war, and you know it. Investigating them was my cover, but now that's blown, I intend to keep at it. This guy is still out there, and he will strike again. If I don't find him first."

 

 

So, yeah, there you have it. Ms. Justus was sticking around. She had a point about the hookers who got cut up at the Magnolia. Pedro had nothing to do with that, and no one really thinks Dmitry did, either. There's something else going on there.

 

So, anyway, I had been planning on stopping by the Foundry Cove, but this talk of Humber kind of put sex out of my mind, so I just went back to the hotel. But there, I found on my laptop waiting for me, an email from Devon.

 

Connor, my man!

 

Just wanted to catch up and let you know I haven't forgotten about my favorite journalist.

 

 

Also wanted to share a story with you that I can't share with Brooke or the other journos around here.

 

 

My old roommate Britney stopped by. She was a freshman now, and was in town for some big class project, and thought she'd check out my mansion."

 

 

Once I showed her my private gym, she said she wanted to work out. Claimed she was getting a little chubby.

 

 

I thought her ass looked just perfect.

 

 

But I played along, showed her some things.

 

 

Then I pulled the old "Pretend to get knocked down" trick at the punching bag.

 

 

And once she got her hands on this bod, she was hot and ready to go.

 

 

I swear to God, when she lifted up my shorts leg to get a handle on my meat, she said, "I have missed this dick so much."

 

 

So I knew it was on. She sucked me good.

 

 

I fucked her good.

 

 

Then she took me in her mouth again, and swallowed the biggest load I can remember launching.

 

 

I could see her struggling to keep it all in as I came, my sperm squirting out between her lips and my shaft.

 

 

But she still took it down, and stuck out her tongue to prove it, too.

 

 

Then we cleaned up together, and she just straight left.

 

 

God, I love life as an athlete.

 

And I love being a trusted journalist.