Page 10 of The Devoted Game
“Excuse me, sir.”
Ryan glanced at the agent’s badge.Austin Pratt.Tall, thin, not much older than Grace, with a mug, as they say, only a mother could love. “Yeah?”
“Your coffee.” He presented a steaming cup.
Ryan didn’t know when she’d had the time, but Grace had done just what she said, he’d give her that. “Thanks, Pratt.” He accepted the cup as he considered the agents conversing among themselves on the other side of the room. While he had this guy’s attention, he asked, “How about giving me names to go with those faces.” He gestured with his cup to the trio who were likely laying odds on whether or not he could handle the pressure Worth had just piled on.
“The one with the purple tie is Boyd Davis,” Pratt said with a nod to the man who looked to be in his late thirties and who wore his blond hair high and tight.
“Ex-military,” Ryan suggested.
“That’s right,” Pratt said. “And Dan Arnold is the big Black guy who looks like he should be a linebacker for the Falcons.” He leaned closer to Ryan. “You don’t want him mad at you. The older man”—Prattarrowed a look at the agent with the full head of gray hair—“is Ken Aldridge. He’s counting the days until retirement.”
Aldridge glanced their way as if he’d sensed the mention of his name. Since he was senior, Ryan opted to start with him. “Aldridge,” he barked, “I need you to start running the contents of the emails through the system. See if you get a hit on the phrasing.” He looked to the man built like a refrigerator. “Arnold, find out if there’s anything on that IP trace yet.”
Simultaneous “yes, sirs” punctuated the agents’ departure to do his bidding. Now that was more like it. His self-confidence boosted just enough to be above basement level.
“I could cross-reference the significant terms used by the unsub with the names of buildings,” Davis offered, running a hand down his flamboyant tie, evidently worried he might be left out. “And see what I can come up with.”
“Good thinking, Davis.” Ryan turned to the agent next to him. “Pratt, you work with Davis on that. Run down the names and purposes of all buildings located in the vicinity of each cemetery Grace isolates, then do the cross-referencing.”
“Yes, sir.”
The agents plunged into an organized chaos that Ryan recognized all too well despite the passage of time and the distance he had put between himself and this world. People moved in and out of the room, talked at once, worked around each other, but there was a rhythm to the seemingly disconnected dance. A hum of productivity that meant things were happening, were coming together.
Ryan downed a couple of badly needed cups of coffee and searched his mind, sifting through old cases for a possible link to this guy, but found none. Though he attempted to slam the door on the subject, his thoughts shifted to Worth. There was something there that he couldn’t see ... yet. Worth despised him, that was certain. But then, he’d expected that. It was the way he had looked at Grace that nagged at Ryan. As if Worth were worried that she’d screwed up somehow.Whatever differences the SAC had with Grace were none of his business. The only thing he needed to do was find this kid.
Not a damned thing more.
Grace returned with her initial findings. “We’ve narrowed the search parameters, but we’re still left with more than twenty cemeteries.” She spread the first five printouts on the conference table. “If you want to start with these, we’ll keep moving forward.”
She waited as if she expected him to instruct her further or to dismiss her. He didn’t do either. She executed a sharp about-face and went back to her task.
The only other female agent among the group bellied up to the table next to him. “Kim Schaffer,” she said as she surveyed the maps. “You can call me Schaffer. I’ve highlighted the maps with the hilly terrain. How do you want to do this?”
Now this agent Ryan could get along with. Straight to the point, no crap. Schaffer wore her tell-it-like-it-is attitude right up front for all to see. The lack of makeup and short, no-fuss hair said she didn’t waste time with frivolities.
Ryan set his cup aside and picked up the first map. “Well, Schaffer. We’re looking for a cemetery close to a nursing home or medical resource for the elderly. Some kind of facility that provides assurance or support of some sort. Could even be a bank or a security company that supplies home monitoring.” He gave her a look that said she knew as much as he did. “Could be just about anything.”
She nodded her understanding and grabbed a couple of maps. As she strode to an empty chair, her hot-pink cowboy boots snagged his attention. The charcoal suit was classic, the boots a definite challenge to the establishment. She probably kept these guys walking the line.
Before diving into the maps, he asked the room at large, “Where’s Worth?” He needed an update on whatever the man was able to get from Alyssa Byrne’s father. That information could impact what they were looking for.
All present glanced up, but Grace was the one to answer. “Worth is in his office preparing to question Alyssa Byrne’s father. He’ll brief us as soon as he has anything. ASAC Hoyt Talley is coordinating the backup we may require with Birmingham PD’s liaison.”
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Talley was the only one Worth hadn’t left with Ryan. The boss had to have someone to order around.
“Good,” Ryan said, though Grace had already returned to her map search. That left him wondering what to do next. He kept waiting for those old instincts to kick in, but they just kept holding back.
For several lingering moments, he watched the interaction in the conference-room-turned-command-center. One thing quickly became clear: The guys gave Grace a wide berth as if they didn’t want to risk crossing her. He would have to catch her in a weak moment and ask her why. He had her tagged as an ice princess, but the jury was still out on that one. Maybe she just didn’t know how to do the team thing. That was a personality defect with which he was intimately acquainted. Maybe they had something in common after all.
Right now he needed to lose himself to the process ... and find that little girl.
An hour passed like a minute with the shuffling of maps and the tossing back and forth of building names and purposes.
“Wait.” Ryan hesitated on one map in particular. “What’s this?” He tapped the image of the various buildings in the distance beyond a downtown cemetery.
Grace listed several business names, none of which struck a chord with Ryan. “What about this one?” He gestured to the structure that had snagged his attention.