“I’ll have the calls come here,” he offered.
Brantley shook his head. “Not a good idea. Then we’re dealin’ with secondhand information. If you want to do this, I’d rather we take the calls directly.” He sat up, leaned forward, his eyes hard. “I just need you to know that we will stop at nothin’ to find her, so whatever you think’ll help make that happen, we’ll gladly adjust our strategy.”
Travis considered it, then said, “Five hundred thousand dollars.”
Brantley exhaled heavily. “I know you said money’s no object and there’s no amount you won’t pay. We get that. Really. But I suggest we start out with fifty or a hundred. Something reasonable. Like I said, we’ll be inundated with bullshit that we have to sift through. The more you offer, the more crazy you invite.”
“One hundred, then.”
Brantley nodded. “Okay. Now the next issue we need to deal with is the press is gonna want a statement. I talked to RT before we came over here, and he suggested we have Sniper 1 represent you and your family. They’ll take the lead. They’ll make the public announcement regardin’ the reward and they’ll field any questions.”
Travis immediately shook his head. “I should be the one. That way Juliet sees that I’m not takin’ this sittin’ down.”
“Actually, we were hopin’ to do the opposite.” Reese’s stare was intense. “We believe Juliet has remained in the area because she’s not finished with you yet. Based on the profile that was done, it’s believed she has developed an obsession with you. By givin’ her access to you on live television, it’ll play into what she needs.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” he told Reese.
“If we can keep you out of reach, unavailable to her, we’re hopin’ it’ll draw her out. At this point, that’s our best option.”
“Before you ask,” Brantley added quickly, “we’ve got agents placed throughout Coyote Ridge. They’re keepin’ a close eye on your parents, your brothers, their SOs, kids. We’ve even got a pair stayin’ across the street from you. Like I said, RT pulled out all the stops for this.” His voice lowered and Travis heard the pain in it when he added, “She won’t get another opportunity to hurt anyone else.”
He could tell they expected him to say that she never should’ve had the chance in the first place. Yes, it was the first thing he thought about every fucking day. And while he had laid the blame right at their feet during the first couple of days, Travis knew it was not their fault. Brantley and Reese had saved his daughter; they’d done something no one else was able to do at the time. He would not allow his anger and his hatred to get the best of him. They didn’t deserve to be accused of something they had no control over. And ultimately, placing blame wouldn’t make Travis feel better.
“We’ll do things your way,” he conceded. “Under one condition.”
Based on Brantley’s expression, he’d been expecting a stipulation.
“When you get the lead that zeroes in on her … I’ll be right there with you when you go after her.”
Neither of them said anything.
“Otherwise, I’ll do this on my own.”
And he didn’t have to tell them what that meant, because as far as Travis was concerned, Juliet Prince was as good as dead already.
*
Brantley had known from the moment Travis said he wanted to offer a reward that he was inserting himself back into the investigation.
Granted, he’d always expected Travis would be there for the takedown. Problem was, Brantley remembered Travis’s comment about needing an alibi. His cousin hadn’t been bluffing. Not the day JJ’s house blew up and not today. They could either include him when it came to it or he would go rogue. And anyone who knew Travis understood the repercussions of letting the man go off on his own.
Brantley needed to ensure that didn’t happen.
“Once we have valid intel that leads us to her, you’ll be the first to know,” he promised, getting to his feet.
“You need to talk to Gage,” Reese said as he slowly stood. “Don’t leave him out of this, Travis. He deserves to be included.”
Brantley was surprised by Reese’s statement. More so by Travis’s reaction. At one point in his life, Travis would’ve told Reese to mind his own business, probably with a couple of f-bombs in there for good measure. Would’ve told anyone that, in fact. Instead, Travis was staring at Reese as though the advice was warranted.
“We’ll keep you in the loop,” Brantley said, nodding for Reese to lead the way.
They headed back through the resort and out to the parking lot. It had started to rain, just a light drizzle for the moment, and it seemed to fit the mood. As though the gloomy weather had found the spot over the resort and settled in. It was still hard to grasp the fact that Kylie was dead, that the Walkers had lost someone so special to them.
Because his career had kept him away from Coyote Ridge for so long, Brantley wasn’t particularly close to most of his cousins. Sure, he’d interacted during family functions when he was able to get home for them. But in the past few years, many of his cousins had settled down, gotten married, had kids, and Brantley hadn’t been around. Even in the six months since he’d been back, he hadn’t spent much time with most of them.
The same could not be said for those who’d remained in Coyote Ridge. His mother and father, brothers and sisters… they were all close to the rest of the family. They spent time with each other, at family gatherings, in town, at church, and whatnot. They’d all had a personal connection with Kylie, and he knew it was as much for them that he was determined to find Kylie’s killer as it was for Travis.
But that didn’t mean Brantley wasn’t aware of what was going on. Nor did it mean he hadn’t developed friendships since. He’d spoken to Kylie a few times at Curtis and Lorrie’s. She was kind and funny, with a positive outlook that had been refreshing. Her loss was felt by all.
“You’re worried about him.”
Brantley glanced at Reese as he climbed in the truck. “I am, sure. I think everyone is.”
“He’s strong.”
Yeah, Brantley knew that, too. Didn’t mean the man could go it alone. “You think we should give Gage a heads-up?”
Reese shook his head. “We have to trust Travis to do that.”
Fair point.
Three hours later, Brantley was standing shoulder to shoulder with Reese, alongside Baz, JJ, Charlie, and Trey. They had invited Luca and Holly to join them, but Luca had insisted on being available to take calls once they started coming in, and his sister had wanted to help out.
The task force was joined by other members of the Sniper 1 Security team, as well as Mayor Bianca Stewart and Sheriff Jeff Endsley, all backing RT, who was standing behind a microphone in front of a handful of reporters.
When Brantley had first mentioned Travis’s desire to offer a reward for Juliet Prince, he’d had his concerns. Even now he knew it was a risk, but in all fairness, it was the best option they had for finding the woman. There were only so many of them, but a reward would increase their numbers tenfold by bringing the public into the investigation.