Page 3 of Missing Pieces (Brantley Walker: Off the Books #12)

Twenty minutes later, after they’d gotten home , dished up Tesha’s breakfast, and polished off their own, Reese was walking toward the barn, aptly named HQ by JJ, with Brantley not far behind him.

“I don’t know how much of an update we’re gonna get.” Reese pointed at the parking area. “Not too many people are here.”

“You’re underestimating Holly and Elana,” Brantley stated as Reese keyed his passcode in to unlock the door. “It’s like they know where everyone is every minute of every day.”

“Everyone but you,” Reese corrected. “No matter when I ask, no one ever knows where you are.”

Brantley smirked, reaching to hold the door open. “I’ve trained ’em right.”

Reese walked into the barn, greeted by the sight of a nearly empty space accompanied by a man’s voice coming from the speakers overhead.

He recognized the voice instantly, but before he could comment, Brantley was pointing toward the ceiling, looking around as though trying to find a disembodied head.

“What the hell is that?” Brantley asked.

“Sorry!” Holly squealed, fumbling with her mouse. “We like to listen when no one’s here and it’s quiet.”

The man continued to speak, his voice clear and concise.

Reese looked around, noticing there was no one else in the room. “We?”

Holly pointed toward the loft while she focused on her computer screen. “Elana and I.”

“You two like true crime?” Reese asked, watching her wiggle her mouse one more time before tapping the button.

The sound cut off as Holly nodded. “Yeah. I listen to a couple, but Havoc Your Way is my favorite. Simon’s very thorough.”

“Thorough with what?” Brantley asked. “Reading a book?”

“It’s not a book,” Reese told him.

Brantley’s eyes snapped to his face, his forehead creased. “No? What is it then?”

Reese laughed. “Think back a second. Friday night. Moonshiners. Violet’s boyfriend.”

“That?” Brantley pointed at the ceiling. “That was a cast thing?”

“Podcast,” Holly corrected. “ Havoc Your Way w ith Simon Jennings.”

Brantley’s forehead creased. “The guy who’s stoppin’ by today?”

“That’d be the one,” Reese confirmed.

“And he’s not readin’ from a book?” Brantley asked, looking genuinely curious.

“No. He’s probably got notes,” Holly said. “But he’s an investigative journalist. He’s looking into actual events that happened.”

“You really do like that shit?” Brantley asked, still pointing upward, presumably toward the speakers from which the voice had come a moment ago.

“Simon’s comin’ here?” Holly asked, eyes wide, jaw flopping open.

“Yes, he is,” Reese told Holly, then looked at Brantley. “It’s not shit.”

Reese didn’t bother telling Brantley that he found the podcasts rather fascinating.

And yes, he happened to be partial to Havoc Your Way because Simon Jennings was good at deciphering fact from fiction in the cases he tackled.

He laid out his thoughts while still managing to keep the truth from being lost.

“You should try it,” Holly told Brantley.

“Thanks, but no. Where’s everyone?”

“Evan and Slade are lookin’ into a lead for one of the cases they’re workin’.

Becs had a parent/teacher conference early.

She’ll be in as soon as that’s done. Charlie’s workin’ from home this mornin’.

She’ll be in after her meeting with her mother’s case worker.

Jay, Darius, and Atticus went to pick up the desks Baz ordered.

They should be back soon. And I haven’t heard from Luca yet. ”

“He texted me a little while ago,” Reese told her. “Said he’s runnin’ late, but he’ll be here.”

Brantley said, “Tell me there’s coffee,” at the same time Holly said, “Did you see JJ?”

She directed Brantley toward the small kitchen with a point of her finger, clearly understanding Brantley’s priorities. After he passed, she turned her attention to him.

“We did, yes.” Reese perched on the corner of Evan’s desk, which was closest to the door. “She’s doin’ as good as can be expected.”

Holly chuckled. “King of the understatement.”

“He is that,” Brantley called from the kitchen. “She’s losin’ her mind.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Holly shouted back. “She’s been there for nine days.”

“You’d think it was nine years,” Brantley shot back.

“Technically, she chose to stay there,” Reese reminded them.

“Only because she doesn’t want a stranger in her house. I’m gonna go up there at lunch,” Holly said, using her inside voice once again. “Baz wants to come in for a while. I figured I could update JJ and work from there this afternoon.”

“We have any new hires comin’ this week?” Brantley asked Holly when he returned, carrying two to-go cups of coffee.

“Thanks,” Reese said as he took one.

“Baz and Darius decided they’d have ’em start next week. On Monday. Baz is worried he won’t be here and doesn’t want to overload Darius.”

“He’ll be fine,” Brantley stated. “He’s quiet but more than capable.”

Reese was glad they had another week at least. He wasn’t sure now was the right time to onboard a bunch of new people. Not without confusing them more than was necessary.

Nodding his understanding, Reese asked, “Anything hot come in?”

Holly shook her head. “We got a call from Corpus Christi PD. They said they’re lookin’ into a missing tourist and might need our help.

They’re stretched thin, and the woman’s family is puttin’ pressure on them to drop everything.

Her dad’s a government official. They didn’t say who or what, but they’re thinkin’ they might get a ransom demand soon. ”

Reese nodded. Unfortunately, they’d seen a lot of those cases lately.

Most of them occurred during the summer, when college students went to the beach.

Due to the proximity to Mexico, they saw a lot of kidnappings for ransom because it was likely easy money for the cartels.

But because people were willing to shell out the dough to get their loved ones back, the bad guys weren’t seasonal.

“If they need us, just holler,” Brantley told her. “In the meantime, I’ll be in my office.”

“Me, too,” Reese told her. “If Simon and Archer show up here instead of the house, send ’em over there.”

“Archer Halligan’s comin’ here?” Holly asked, her mouth falling open.

“Close your mouth, girl,” Brantley joked. “He’s not your type.”

“And why not?”

Brantley looked at Reese and smirked before responding. “I’ll let you figure it out when he gets here.”

Reese stood, grinning at Holly’s confusion. Rather than explain, he followed Brantley out of the barn and over to the house. As they were walking, the beeping sound signaling a large truck backing up could be heard.

“You know if we don’t get in the house quick, they’ll target us to help them unload those desks,” Brantley mentioned as they headed for the back patio.

“Shit.” Reese shook his head. “We really should help ’em.”

“No. We really should let ’em earn their paycheck.”

“I’m pretty sure movin’ furniture is not in their job description.”

“Their job description is anything I choose it to be.”

Reese chuckled. It was only funny because it was true.

“You have any luck gettin’ a hold of Travis?” he asked when they reached the back patio door.

“Tried. Multiple times. I didn’t leave a message. Figure if he’s curious and ready to talk, he’ll call me back.”

Reese wasn’t so sure that was going to happen. Travis Walker was quite possibly the most stubborn human being who ever lived.

And Reese considered himself an expert on the subject since he was married to a Walker and knew firsthand how stubborn they all could be.

Atticus James planted his foot on the step and hefted himself up into the back of the large box truck to join his co-workers, Darius Frost and Jay Hernandez.

“Have you never moved a piece of furniture before?” Darius asked, shuffling over to one end of the desk.

Based on his tone, Atticus knew that no was the wrong answer. However, it was the truth in his case. Despite knowing he would only be ridiculed by admitting as much, he went for it anyway.

“As a matter of fact, no,” he said, lending his help by grabbing the side of the desk.

His admission had Darius coming to a halt, causing Jay to slam into the rear end of the desk. Atticus’s grip slipped, causing the desk to tilt at an odd angle before they wrangled it back to level.

And to think the loading ramp was only a few feet away.

Professionals they were not.

“A little warning would be nice,” Jay said, recovering quickly as they shifted the desk into place over the motorized ramp so they could lower it to the ground.

Thankfully, someone had thought ahead and rented a truck that would suit their purpose.

Damn good thing they hadn’t asked Atticus to do it because clearly, he would’ve fucked that shit up.

Jay stepped to the side to press the button. The motor whirred as the desk lowered to the ground.

Rather than wait, Atticus hopped down from the truck, watching Darius ride down with the large metal and wood monstrosity. What the hell was Baz thinking when he ordered these things? They were enormous. And ugly. And quite possibly relics.

Once on the ground, Atticus and Jay moved into place to assist again.

“You can’t be serious,” Darius said, his eyes locked on Atticus as he backed off the ramp. “Never?”

“Never.”

“ Never? ”

“Tacking on more nevers isn’t gonna change my answer, dude. It’s not that unusual.” Atticus looked between them. “Right?”

Jay chuckled. “Not if you’re eight.”

Atticus flipped him off without taking his hands off the desk, so the gesture was lost in the chaos. And that was exactly what this was. Fucking chaos.

When Darius asked him to come along for a ride to the office supply store, he had no idea they would be bringing back desks.

Pens and paper, sure. He was all for taking a trip.

It beat sitting inside with nothing to do.

He’d met his quota of reviewing applications and backgrounds for people the team was looking to partner him up with.

At this point, he was willing to work solo to avoid going down that rabbit hole again.