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“Trying to find a physical description of Ben somewhere to compare to the image Kervin sent.”

“I didn’t see any photos, but I think there’s some height and weight notations included in a few of them.” His attention drifted back to the computer screen.

She’d run across one such instance. Impossible to tell if it applied to the person lying in the bed in the photo Kervin had sent.

Reese wasn’t able to conclude much about the man’s build from the picture.

Not for the first time, she felt a slither of unease when she thought of the CNA’s spying.

Hayes was right—this could blow back on her if the man got caught.

But that didn’t stem her interest in hearing him out.

It was bizarre to have no idea what her estranged brother looked like anymore.

Her dad had been tall and dark-haired, but she’d seen plenty of pictures of him as a kid, and he’d once been as blond as teenaged Ben.

Her mom, on the other hand, had remained blond like Reese.

So maybe Ben’s hair had also darkened with age.

It was maddening that maybes were all she had.

Something caught her eye in the header of the report, and she reached for the ones she’d finished to see if they bore the same detail.

“What do you suppose A-level means on these documents? I thought it might designate what part of the facility he was housed in, but that would likely be referred to as unit, not level.”

“Let me look.” She handed him the report and he studied it, frowning.

The detail she indicated was at the top right in a small font.

“I wouldn’t think it has anything to do with where his room is located.

But something important enough to be included.

Do they all have this? Because I didn’t notice it when I was looking at them. ”

“Just a few of them.”

He straightened from the computer and flexed his hands. “Risk assessment level, maybe. A would be lowest and E highest.”

She mulled the suggestion over. “Risk for what? To the staff? Based on violent outbursts?” Kervin had mentioned observing Ben ‘losing it,’ but it’d been years since he’d seen her brother.

“Or it could refer to field trips.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“It’d be normal for patients in facilities like Tranquility Lakes to take outings in and around the community they live in. Some states have laws regulating which patients can take part, designated staff to patient ratio…”

“Kervin did say something about Ben enjoying the outdoors when he knew him.” The grounds at the facility had been extensive.

“But if Ben had regressed as much as Dr. Sedgewick let on, why would he be allowed out in the community? His therapy is going poorly enough that she’s trying all these new types.

And you said his medication has changed a lot over the last few years. ”

“It’s difficult to draw conclusions because we don’t have the process notes. Maybe the meds render him physically docile, while he remains incapable of the self-reflection the doctor would like to see. It isn’t unexpected to see regression after a bad case of NMS.”

They both returned to their work, interrupted only when Hayes’s cell alerted with an incoming message. He picked it up, read it, then set it down again to refocus on the screen before him. When he didn’t comment, she asked, “Your sister again?”

His smile was humorless. “Eden is nothing if not tenacious.” Silence stretched for a moment.

He blew out a breath. “I had the attorney place anything of value in a lock box at Gran’s bank.

He also sent the bank another statement reminding them that my sister doesn’t have a POA or access to the safe in the house.

The statements come to me. I handle all financial matters, so there isn’t even a checkbook around anymore, a detail Gran rails about regularly. My sister is…frustrated.”

“I’m sorry.” The irony wasn’t lost on her. Reese had a brother she couldn’t even recognize. Hayes had a sibling he knew too well.

A half hour later, his cell rang. He looked at the screen, then at her. “It’s Mendes.”

He rose as he answered it. “Moreland.” He tapped the speakerphone.

“Hayes, it’s Enrico. I’ve only got a minute.” The deputy didn’t waste time on preliminaries. “Thorne slipped by us this morning, but the dogs trailed him three miles before he likely caught a ride.”

As Reese had predicted. Hayes raised his brows at her and responded, “Any sightings since then?”

“We’ve got a few solid ones from the tip line. Even better, a passing vehicle with full dash cam capabilities recorded the encounter its sideview camera. It captured Thorne, the car, partial plate, and partial view of the driver.”

“That sounds promising. Has someone talked to Rivers yet?” Hayes braced his hands on the table.

“One of the task force members spoke to him at his office. The guy seemed sure the car in the picture couldn’t be the one owned by his son—by him now, since he admitted that he’d kept it.

Rivers is meeting the officer at the storage shed it’d been kept in.

Hold on.” Reese heard indistinct voices in the background of the call before Mendes came back on.

“Gotta go. But call this number if you need a uniform to accompany you anywhere.” When he reeled it off, Reese wrote it down. “Nolan Starr is his name.”

“Appreciate it. We’ll contact him if we leave.” Hayes barely got the words out before the call ended. He glanced at Reese. “Good news all around.”

“It’d be even better if we knew if Rivers’s car was the one Thorne had been driving earlier.”

“Yeah.” He pushed away from the table, the picture of pent-up energy. “Gotta admit, it’s trying to sit and wait for someone else to follow up on the leads we give them. I’ve got a search running on the computer. It’s going to take a little bit. Okay with you if I go down for another food run?”

Her lips curved, but her attention returned to the documents before her. “I’m only surprised you haven’t gone before this.”

“I hate to be predictable.” Her gaze flew up just as her chair was tipped back, and he leaned in for a quick, hard kiss that stole her breath. “Lock up after me.” His voice was smug as he lowered her chair back to the floor.

It took a moment to find her voice. “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen that move.”

“You’d have a nickel.”

“Find something to eat that douses that ego,” she suggested, rising to follow him to the door.

“You’re doing pretty well in that department yourself.

” The door snicked closed behind him, but not before she caught his grin.

Reese secured the deadbolt and doorplate lock, leaning against the door for a moment, her answering smile quickly fading from her lips.

Predictable was the last adjective she’d use to describe Hayes. Or her reaction to him.

Thorne remained in the area. On the loose.

Whoever tried to frame her for Greenley’s death was still out there.

But none of that explained the tremble in her hands or the galloping of her pulse.

That was caused by one man. Hayes had seen through her carefully constructed walls from the start.

He somehow knew when to push and when to wait.

He’d seen more of her true self than anyone she’d ever met.

Reese trusted him with her life, but her greatest fear wasn’t dying. It was dismantling all her defenses for someone who still might walk away.