Page 105 of Fatal Intent

An hour later, all the operatives polished off their meals and threw away their trash. Seth and Teagan pressed large pieces of paper to three walls of the suite and handed out markers for each couple to use for notes while the others settled around the room.

On the couch, Rayne eyed Grant. The color in his face was almost normal. “Do you want to rest for a while?”

He shook his head. “We’ve already lost too much time in this investigation. The trail is going cold as we speak. I also need to check on Dad.”

“Check on your father first.” Seth uncapped a marker. “The rest of us will start making lists.”

Grant made the call, and had a brief conversation with a nurse. When he ended the call, he said, “No change.”

“Are you sure making lists will help, Grant?” Elias uncapped his marker and grabbed his phone. “None of us found anything useful on the first pass through people connected to Red Dawn.”

“Seeing the information on paper may help us make connections we missed with verbal reports.”

“Our teams have used this method successfully,” Riley said. “Artemis uses the same technique during most of our complicated missions. There’s just something about seeing it inblack and white that helps us connect things we missed on the first pass.”

Elias inclined his head and joined Iona in front of a large sheet of paper on the wall. After a quick, low-voiced conversation, Iona began to write.

Grant struggled to his feet. “My handwriting looks like a doctor’s illegible signature. You’re elected as the official scribe for our group.” He handed Rayne a black marker.

She eyed him, noting his renewed pallor. Not good. He shouldn’t be standing. “I’ll agree to writing if you sit down.”

He scowled. “I’m fine. I can handle it,” Grant snapped.

Seth turned to look at him.

Grant flinched, then held up a hand to stop his team leader from reprimanding him even though he deserved it. “I apologize, Rayne.”

Elias handed his marker to Iona and moved the recliner closer to Rayne. “Sit and chill, Grant.”

Grant scooped up his laptop, sat down, and booted up. A minute later, he glanced at Rayne. “Ready?”

“Go for it.”

He rattled off the names of the four men they investigated plus their friends and families.

When she finished writing the last name, Rayne stood beside Grant to study the list of Special Forces soldiers and their families and close friends. “Long list,” she murmured as she stared at the names. “Does anyone stand out?”

He was silent a beat, then straightened, his eyes focused on their paper on the wall. “Maybe. Give me a few minutes.”

Grant shifted his attention to his laptop. His fingers flew over the keys, gaze glued to the screen.

Since he was concentrating so hard on his computer, Rayne went to the breakfast bar and poured coffee from one of the carafes into two mugs and returned to Grant. The more timethat passed since leaving the hospital, the less nausea seemed to plague him. This was a good time to test his stomach’s tolerance since he’d kept down breakfast.

Finally, Grant’s hands lifted from the laptop and he looked at the mug in Rayne’s hand. “Please tell me that magic elixir is for me.”

She laughed. “It’s yours if you want it.”

“Hand it over, woman.” He took the mug and sipped. Grant sighed. “Perfect. I can already feel my brain cells waking up.”

Rayne sipped the steaming brew from her mug and had to admit the coffee was excellent. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

He nodded. “If I’m on the right track, it explains everything that’s happening.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SETH PAUSED, MARKERhovering over the paper. “Got something?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure this will go anywhere. Could be a coincidence.”