Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,78
a hard hit.”
Reese peered at Brantley, who was walking to the door to open it for their new arrivals.
“It’s nothin’. Just a scratch. About to head over to the governor’s mansion, let them know what’s goin’ on.”
“You’ve got confirmation the blood and the finger belonged to Dante?”
“No, unfortunately. But I think it’s safe to say somethin’ happened to him from what little we do know.”
“And the crime scene…? Gone, huh?”
“All of it,” Reese confirmed. “There was nothin’ left to salvage at JJ’s.” Reese exhaled, turning away from the people filing in. “Even her SUV’s a total.”
“Fuck.”
Reese echoed that sentiment, but he kept it to himself.
“Unfortunately, we can’t worry about any of that right now. We have to find Dante. He’s somewhere, and since he hasn’t come to one of us, we have to assume he’s been kidnapped.”
And that was assuming the man was alive, something else Reese kept to himself.
“I checked all the hospitals and clinics in the area,” Baz relayed. “Dante hasn’t received medical care.”
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath. “I think we have to assume the injury’s not as bad as it looks.”
“So all that blood…”
“Unless they gutted Dante from neck to navel, they wouldn’t get that much blood,” Reese told him. “And since we only had a finger…”
“Point taken. What else do you want me to do?” Baz inquired.
“Well, since we can’t rule out that JJ was the target and they used Dante to get to her, I’d say it’s best if you keep her there. At least until we know more.”
“JJ the target? Then why not take her instead of Dante?”
“Good question. One of many.”
“I guess it might explain why Dante made her get her gun,” Baz said.
“What’re you talkin’ about?”
“She told me he insisted she get her gun from the safe, said she needed to keep it on her at all times.”
“I didn’t find it at the scene,” Reese said, thinking back.
“Why would they take her gun?”
“Another good question. I need some time to process this, and we need to talk to Governor Greenwood. So for right now, sit tight. We’ll let you know when we have somethin’, Baz, I promise.”
“Easier said than done. You know JJ. Once she starts feelin’ better, she’s gonna want somethin’ to do.”
“Understood. I’ll let you know as soon as we know.”
He could tell Baz wasn’t happy with that answer, but at least the man had the decency to hold his tongue. For now.
When the call ended, Reese tucked his phone back in his pocket, turned around to find Brantley was standing over Luca, watching as the man’s fingers flew over a keyboard.
Reese didn’t know much about Luca Switzer, aside from the fact his family had been in Coyote Ridge almost as long as the Walkers. And by family, Luca’s father and uncle had been the terrors of the county back in the day. At least according to rumor. Luca had a wild streak himself, but everyone said he managed to keep it under control because of Holly. Since their father was a grade A asshole, Luca had been responsible for raising her, and in order to do so, he couldn’t get into too much trouble.
“Hey, Tavoularis,” Luca called out, eyes never leaving the computer screen. “How’s it goin’?”
“It’s goin’. We appreciate you doin’ this.”
This time Luca did look over, his navy-blue eyes intense. “Anything for a friend.”
“Hey, Reese,” Holly said with a small wave.
“Hey. He wrangle you into this?”
She smiled. “I didn’t give him a choice.”
“She’s bossy like that,” Luca joked, eyes on the screen.
“What is it you’re doin’, anyway?” Reese asked, coming to stand beside Brantley and Trey.
“I’m makin’ friendly with some of the cameras at the local businesses.”
“Makin’ friendly?” Reese laughed. “What you mean to say is you’re hackin’ into them.”
“Call it what you will.” Luca continued to stare at the screen. “What time frame are we lookin’ for?”
Reese glanced at Brantley, waited for him to answer.
“Try around twenty-one hundred last night. Baz said he was at the diner with JJ. He got to Moonshiners shortly after that.”
“Nine o’clock,” Luca said. “Got it.”
They stood there for several minutes, watching images play across the screen. Nothing worth noting happened, unfortunately. Thanks to it being New Year’s Eve, there were a lot of people out and about. Even small towns celebrated holidays like this one.
Not that Reese expected them to get lucky enough to catch Dante and his captor chatting it up on the street.
“What about JJ?” Luca asked. “Doesn’t she have cameras?”