Page 43 of Missing Pieces (Brantley Walker: Off the Books #12)

Reese cleared his throat. “Let’s move on.”

“We were gonna get married,” Decker said when the room remained silent.

Brantley snorted. “She was already married, you asshole. She had kids. Did you ever think about them? Fuck no. Because you were a kid.”

He did not like that Decker didn’t seem concerned about Kylie’s family at all.

“Her marriage was over already.”

Brantley bit his tongue. His comments were getting them nowhere. It didn’t matter what Decker said; Brantley would never be okay with this. Never. Meredith Prescott should be in prison for her actions.

Simon sat up straight, his full attention on Decker. “Did Martin Calloway have anything to back up his threat?”

“Pictures.”

“Of you and Eddie,” Simon clarified.

“Yeah.”

“I assume these were compromising photos.”

“They were. When we first got together, I took pictures of her … of us together . There might be a video or two.”

Jesus. Brantley didn’t know Meredith Prescott, but he knew for a fact he didn’t like her.

“Where’d he get them?” Simon continued.

Decker glared at the man. “From me.”

“How’s that possible?”

“Because I took them.”

“So you said. But how’d he get them?”

“My father. He found them in my bedroom.” Decker sighed. “Martin Calloway is an equal opportunity blackmailer. Eddie wasn’t the only person this asshole had by the short and curlies.”

“Do you know where he is? The agent?” Archer asked.

“Probably sittin’ on his fat ass in his office in Dallas.”

“What was he blackmailing your dad for?” Evan asked.

“Trafficking narcotics.”

Brantley stood up straight. “That’s a serious offense.”

“Yeah. And an easy one to pin on a long-haul truck driver with a record of alcohol abuse and child neglect,” Decker stated, disdain weaving through every word. “I’ll admit, he was a shitty father. No doubt about that. But he was not trafficking narcotics.”

“I pulled up Special Agent Martin Calloway,” Luca told the team, gesturing toward the large screen. “Looks like he was part of a task force working a RICO case involving the Adorites in the late nineties. Nothing ever came of it, though.”

JJ picked up where he stopped. “He’s currently assigned to the Dallas field office, assistant special agent in charge, handling transnational organized crime.”

Luca continued to type, his fingers flying across his keyboard. “Oh, shit, boss.”

“What?”

“It looks like Martin Calloway’s a member of Censorious.”

“Really?” JJ asked, sounding intrigued. “I didn’t think they existed anymore.”

A moment later, more data came on the screen.

“What’s Censorious?” Atticus asked before Brantley could.

Simon got to his feet, moving closer to the screen as he spoke. “It’s a group of vigilante LEOs who believe they’re above the law. They see themselves as judge, jury, and executioner. But they disbanded back in 2007.”

“What’s a LEO again?” Holly inquired.

“Law enforcement officer,” several people replied.

“They didn’t dissolve completely,” Luca said. “From this, it looks like they scattered for a bit but came back together with new leadership in 2014. And guess who’s at the top of their leadership roster?”

“I assume that’s rhetorical,” Z said.

“It’ll take some time,” Luca continued, “but I can get more information.”

“Do that,” Brantley told him.

“On it, boss.”

“Where’s Meredith now?” Simon asked Decker.

“She’s working as a caretaker in New York.”

Brantley hoped like hell there wasn’t a teenage kid in the house.

Irritated at Decker and Meredith Prescott, Brantley went for the jugular. “If Eddie’s alive and well, then she was what? Too busy to come to her daughter’s funeral?”

Decker’s head snapped over, eyes blazing fire. “Fuck no. She wanted to be here.”

“Why wasn’t she?”

“Calloway’s still looking for her.”

“So?” Brantley shrugged. “She’s no longer teaching. What does it matter if they out her for screwing teenagers?”

The muscles in Decker’s jaw flexed and bunched. He was harnessing his anger, but Brantley suspected it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge at this point. Brantley knew he was getting under the man’s skin. Since that was his goal, he considered it progress.

When Decker didn’t speak, Brantley looked at Simon. “I guess there’s not a story here after all.”

“I have a question,” Baz said, once again standing at the screen, tapping away. “Luca, back when the team was in New York, you created this folder.”

Luca looked up. “I did, yeah. I can’t remember right off how I came across her. I made a note because something seemed off. Can’t remember what, though.”

“Across who?” Becs asked.

Baz pointed at a Post-it note icon with the initials AB. He tapped it, and a photograph of a woman appeared.

“Allison Bogart,” Luca answered.

“Who is she?” Atticus asked.

“She was one of our new hires,” Reese explained. “She worked one case with us, then disappeared.”

“You hired an FBI agent?” Decker asked.

“She’s not FBI,” Brantley stated. “She worked with the Dallas Police Department. Special Victims Unit.”

“The hell she did,” Decker argued. “She’s a surveillance specialist with the FBI.”

Brantley looked at Reese. What the fuck?