Brantley had considered that angle, would definitely be digging deeper to rule it out. “Anything’s possible.”
“But you don’t think so?”
“Right now, the only thing I think is that a young girl went missing nine years ago. That’s all we’ve got to go on.”
“Which is exactly the problem,” she said on a sigh.
“No, the problem’s the girl is missing.” Reese stood with his empty plate, grabbing Brantley’s and carrying both to the trash can in the kitchen before returning. “And it’s up to us to trace her steps and figure out where she went.”
Brantley could sense JJ’s nerves, knew she was still trying to wrap her head around how this would work. Interesting considering how smart she was, but it seemed to him, she’d somehow created a box where she felt her skillset fit. It would take some work, but he knew JJ would find where she fit in. Her skills were unrivaled, and she would make a huge impact on whatever task they took on. It was just a matter of building her confidence.
“Out of curiosity, how will we learn about new cases?” JJ settled back against the cushions.
“The governor’ll contact us initially, until he can get the word out to all departments and branches of law enforcement who deal with missing persons.”
She flashed a smile. “Do we have a name? You know, like in Hawaii Five-O? They got a cool name. So much so, the five-o caught on and they started referring to all police that way.”
“Aren’t you a little young to remember that show?” Brantley questioned.
“They remade it. Alex O’Loughlin is smokin’.”
Brantley cut his eyes to Reese, raised his eyebrows.
“Now that I think about it, he is kinda hot,” Reese agreed with a grin. “And the governor’s spiel reminded me of that show. Especially that whole immunity and means thing.”
Brantley had no idea what they were talking about. Then again, he didn’t spend a lot of time watching television. Unless it was the news. He kept up with current events, but even that had dwindled in the months since he returned home.
“Well, we’re not the police,” he told them both.
“No, we’re not,” Reese tacked on. “But we will need to work with them. Closely, at that. I doubt they’ll take too kindly to us swooping in on their jurisdiction, either.”
“We’ll tackle that if and when we come across it. In the meantime,” he told JJ, “I’d like to have that list started by tomorrow morning. We can start trackin’ them down so I can pay them a visit. That way we can put together a timeline of events.”
“A timeline.” JJ’s eyes widened. “That’s a brilliant idea. I can do a timeline.”
She could do a lot of things, Brantley thought. It would just take a little time for them to get her to see that.
“If you don’t need me for anything else”—JJ got to her feet—“I think I’ll head home. I want to get started on that list, and thanks to this trusty new laptop the governor footed the bill for, I don’t have to be locked up in here all day to get things done.”
“See you in the mornin’?”
She flashed a smile as she slipped the laptop into her bag. “You most certainly will.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Reese offered.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Have to, no. Want to…?” He smiled.
“Whatever. You guys are far too chivalrous for your own good.”
When the two of them left, Brantley made his way up the ladder to what used to be the hayloft, glanced around at the space. While the main barn floor was roughly four thousand square feet, the loft was no more than twelve hundred. Which was a considerable amount of space that was currently unused. It was empty because getting furniture up here was damn near impossible without a set of stairs. Might make a good break area. Especially if they brought others on board. Wouldn’t be too hard to build stairs, bring in some furniture. Relocate the foosball table that was currently down below. At the very least, it would offer some useable square footage for storage or whatever.
He turned and stared out over the lower level, taking it all in. It looked almost professional, in a very rustic sort of way. Then again, he didn’t know much about professional. Brantley was familiar with war rooms and mobile command centers. Working in the field was more his forte. He hadn’t really given much thought to what it would mean to put down roots. Now he had a house, what passed as an office, a task force to run, and last but not least, a man he was more than a little intrigued with.
Settling down, that was what he seemed to be doing.
The door opened and Reese strolled in, drawing his attention.
Yep. Settling down.
In more ways than one.
***
Reese woke on Monday morning, his neck tight from sleeping on the damn couch in his apartment. Perhaps he should consider getting a bed. It was a studio apartment, but that didn’t mean he had to be uncomfortable when he slept. Maybe just a couch with a pull-out bed. That would be a hell of a lot better than continuing to cram his six-foot-five-inch frame on this damn thing.
As for why he was thinking about it now, after years of living here, he didn’t know. If he had to guess, he was getting spoiled thanks to those few nights he’d spent in Brantley’s bed.
Forcing himself up, he went to the kitchen, flipped on the coffeepot, then made a detour to the bathroom. After a quick shower and shave, he dragged on his clothes, grabbed a travel mug, filled it with Folger’s Best, and then headed out the door. He could’ve waited to get his coffee until he was in the office, but he found he worked better when he got his caffeine in earlier, even if it was only a three-minute drive.
When he pulled into the small lot behind the Walker Demolition office less than five minutes later, he noticed Autumn had already arrived, her truck parked in the spot Reese usually used. He pulled the Walker Demo dually in beside it, realized then that he was going to have to invest in a vehicle of his own. He hadn’t bothered because Travis had allowed him to use the company vehicle as his own. Now that he would no longer be working for Travis, he would have to secure his own ride.
Mentally, he added it to the to-do list, knowing full well he would forget it and every other thing on it the next time he blinked.
The door to the office opened and Autumn appeared, a brilliant smile flashing at him. He offered one back because that was what you did in a small town. You smiled and/or waved at everyone.
Autumn Jameson was a beautiful woman, something he’d noticed the very first time he’d been introduced to her. Her hair couldn’t be classified as either brown or blond, but rather somewhere in between. An interesting mix of color that hung to her shoulders in gentle waves. Her eyes were a deep brown, filled with curiosity, and always seemed to be smiling. Her mouth was a little wide, her nose a tad on the small side, but altogether her features created an intriguing mix.
“Mornin’,” she greeted, stepping back and holding the door open for him.
“Mornin’. You’re here early.”
“I know. Excitement, I guess. I’m sure it’ll wear off eventually, but right now, I’m riding that new job high.” She closed the door behind them. “You’re probably the opposite, huh? Eager to get out of here so you can move on to bigger and better things.”