Chapter Eighteen
Simon sat with his laptop balanced on his legs, his feet on the coffee table.
Every so often, Harry or Hermione would pass by, rubbing against his calves or stepping over his feet.
They seemed content that he wasn’t doing anything, which was a far cry from the way their favorite human had been wearing a path in the hardwood for most of the morning.
Violet had taken her pacing and sighing to the bookstore, leaving him at home to work.
In his defense, he did offer to go with her or help with the search for her father. She adamantly insisted that he not do either, telling him it was more important for him to do something other than babysit her or look for a man who had a tendency to disappear when the mood struck.
He wasn’t so sure that was what happened this time, but they were getting updates from Luca and Slade, who were both working to find Harold. Last he’d heard, they were following a lead and would let them know what turned up.
Simon wasn’t holding his breath. He hoped like hell Harold was okay, that he wasn’t locked in some asshole’s dungeon somewhere, but he’d been told not to fret, so he wasn’t.
Yet.
He toggled to the spreadsheet he’d started building with the names of previous and current Censorious members.
As soon as he had seen his name on Archer and Atticus’s task list, he’d been relieved that they were giving him something to do.
Granted, his assignment included finding members of Censorious as well as the history of the group, so it wasn’t anything really glamorous.
Unlike Evan and Becs, who were tasked with getting information from Meredith, or Holly, who was digging into Martin Calloway’s life.
But he figured everyone had to play their part, so he was doing what he’d been told.
He had some details on Censorious from his brief investigation when Holt first told him about his theory. But they needed more. A lot more. Especially if the goal was to take them down once and for all.
And while he was running searches and identifying the connections between members, he was getting updated on what the rest of the team was working on.
Per Archer’s instructions, each person was uploading the data they had as soon as they got it, making detailed notes.
It wasn’t exactly what he needed to build a story outline for the future podcast, but it was something.
It provided him with names that he was adding to his interview list.
Using the database that JJ had supplied him with, Simon searched known associates of Martin Calloway just for shits and giggles.
To his surprise, it kicked back a list that was far more extensive than he expected.
It also provided links that gave him summaries of those associates, most of whom were FBI or former FBI agents that Martin had worked with over the years.
A ping sounded, signaling another update to the spreadsheet. Because it was fueling his addiction to data, he toggled over to the sheet and noticed an update from Charlie.
“Holy shit,” he muttered, leaning in to read the notes on Allison Bogart. “They found her.”
Well, not exactly, but they had more to go on now that they’d traced her credit card.
He grabbed his phone. He needed to know who was going to talk to her and when. He wanted a chance to pick the woman’s brain, to find out just how close she was to Martin Calloway.
Simon was about to dial when he paused, staring at the screen. If he called Archer, he would look like he wasn’t pulling his weight. They’d given him an assignment, and it didn’t involve talking to Allison.
He dropped the phone on the cushion beside him.
This whole working with a team thing was going to take some getting used to.
As he stared at the phone, continuing to debate whether to make that call, he wondered whether this was something he could do long-term. Or if he would always be overwhelmed with a need to quench his thirst for information by going to the source himself.
For right now, he would be a team player. Once they’d determined whether Holt’s theory had a ring of truth to it or not, he’d decide how he wanted to proceed.
Harry walked over, rubbing his back against Simon’s calves.
“I know, Harry. It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
His inner journalist heard the words and rolled his eyes.
Archer was staring at his computer screen, wondering if his eyes were beginning to cross from information overload, when there was a knock on the hotel room door. Tesha was instantly on her feet, her full attention on the door.
“It’s all right, girl. Probably just your dads,” he told her as he set his laptop aside and got to his feet.
“It should be Brantley and Reese,” Atticus noted, not looking up from his screen.
He chuckled. Apparently, Atticus was too focused to know what was going on around him, too.
He appreciated the interruption because it allowed him to switch gears.
It also reminded him that Brantley and Reese hadn’t gotten anywhere with tracing down Martin Calloway, which had been disappointing all around.
This trip was netting them very little when Archer had been so hopeful in the beginning.
“Hey,” he greeted as he opened the door.
Brantley whistled long and slow as he strolled in. “This is fancy.”
“Unexpected is what it is,” Atticus said from his perch on the couch.
Tesha’s tail began to wag excitedly, her butt following suit as she waited for Reese to acknowledge her, which he did with a huge smile.
Reese crouched down. “Hey, girl. I know. I missed you, too.” He looked up at Archer. “How’d she do?”
“She’s perfect.” And she really was. Having spent the day with her had sealed the deal for Archer. He wanted a dog. Of course, he wasn’t sure now was the right time to get one, considering he didn’t have a place of his own, but he could still hope.
“No luck with Calloway?” Atticus prompted.
“It’s Sunday,” Brantley answered. “I didn’t expect much. What about y’all? Did JJ find anything out on the kid?”
“We haven’t heard from her yet.”
Brantley looked at Reese. “Can you talk to Z? See if he knows anything about Decker havin’ a kid.”
Reese nodded and pulled out his phone.
“You can use my room for quiet,” Archer told him.
“Thanks.”
“Charlie was able to produce a lead on Allison,” Atticus spoke up. “She has some credit card transactions somewhere south of Austin.”
“JJ mentioned that,” Brantley noted. “Johnson City or somethin’?”
“There’s a ping in…” Atticus paused, looking at his screen.
“It says Dripping Springs and Johnson City. Evan and Becs are headed to Dripping Springs now. She shows to’ve stayed in a hotel there.
They’re gonna start talkin’ to people. If that doesn’t net them anything, they’ll move on to Johnson City. ”
Brantley frowned. “That’s the second time Johnson City has come up.”
“When was the first?” Archer asked.
“JJ said the last tower that Martin Calloway’s burner phone bounced off of was in Johnson City.”
“That can’t be a coincidence,” Archer mused.
“Definitely not.”
Brantley sighed, glancing toward the bedroom where Reese had disappeared. When he looked back, Archer got the impression he was ready to get down to business, but was waiting.
“I also talked to Baz about his convo with the doctor and the funeral home,” Atticus said, leaning back on the couch, his attention on Brantley. “It sounds like Calloway had his story all lined up.”
Brantley nodded. “Protecting a federal witness by staging her death.”
“Exactly.”
Archer had been shocked to the roots of his hair as soon as he heard that. It pretty much backed up Holt’s theory that Kylie was alive. Of course, until they had eyes on her, no one knew for sure, but it proved they were heading in the right direction.
Figuring it was his turn to contribute, he said, “It sounds to me like he had it all planned out. Right down to where he was going to take her.”
“The rehab place is bogus,” Brantley said.
Acher nodded. “We heard that. But it did list a Johnson City address. Could be she’s in that vicinity.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Brantley muttered.
“It’s a good place to start,” Atticus chimed in. “I don’t think we’re gettin’ much done up here.”
“Y’all get anything other than the picture at Decker’s?”
Archer shook his head. “The place was cleared out, but someone’s doing the upkeep. We tried to talk to some neighbors but were stonewalled.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. People don’t like to get involved if they don’t have to.”
“It sounds to me like we’re a few hundred miles too far north,” Atticus said, still watching Brantley.
“I think so, too.”
“We headin’ back, boss?”
“That’s up to y’all,” Brantley said, glancing between them. “You’re runnin’ the show. If you think there’s somethin’ we can find up here, we can stay.”
Archer looked at Atticus, wanting him to lead. He was the one who’d compiled the information they had. It was only fair for him to decide what path they took from there.
Atticus glanced at his computer screen. “I think we got what we needed from here. Talkin’ to Max and checkin’ out Decker’s place. We should focus our attention on locating Allison and findin’ out if Calloway’s still in the area.” Atticus’s gaze cut to him. “What do you think?”
Nodding, Archer said, “I agree.”
Reese joined them a moment later. “Z’s lookin’ into it, but they don’t have any record that Decker’s got a kid.”
Archer figured there could be several reasons for that.
To protect the girl, since Meredith had been on the run from the FBI at the time.
Or to protect her from the mob, if Max had been looking for her.
Or Meredith had kept her a secret to protect herself since the baby’s father had at one time been her student. A child, at that.
Personally, Archer did not like thinking about that part. It gave him the creeps.
“They’ve decided we’ll head back,” Brantley told Reese.
Reese glanced between Atticus and Archer. “Now?”
“Yeah. We can be back in Coyote Ridge in time for dinner,” Atticus said.
“Then we can gather the team first thing tomorrow.” Archer looked at Brantley. “We think it’s time we bring them all up to speed. On everything.”
Brantley stared back at them and it was obvious the gears were spinning. Archer understood the man’s need to protect his team, but there was only so much they could get done without them.
Finally, Brantley nodded. “Fine. We’ll leave it to you to let them know. I suggest we start early. We’re not gonna slow down until we have proof that Kylie’s alive.”
Archer liked that Brantley was thinking in the positive, rather than the negative. They had all questioned Holt’s line of thinking in the beginning, but the more they uncovered, the more Archer believed Kylie was alive. He desperately wanted her to be.
“We can do that,” Atticus told them.
“Come on, girl,” Reese called to Tesha.
“We’ll see you back in Coyote Ridge,” Brantley said on the way to the door.
When they were alone again, Archer turned to Atticus. “It’ll take me just a few minutes to pack, then I can go down and check out while you get the truck.”
Atticus closed his laptop and stood. “I’m ready when you are.”