Page 23 of Zero Divergence

“I can help you dig through the data. I’m kind of an expert at it,” Jonah said.

“Is that what you do for the GBI?” Felix asked.

“In essence. I built a supercomputer with artificial intelligence. She can puzzle through complex things our brains can’t.”

“Stella,” Royce said. “She’s a hot number too. Jonah also does behavioral analysis.”

“I’d love to have your assistance,” Felix told Jonah.

“What can I do?” Rocky asked.

“I need you to help me find Reginald Dozer,” Royce said.

“Okay,” Rocky agreed, typing notes into his phone too. “Who is he?”

“He’s the courier for Richmond Laboratories who was supposed to return the evidence to our precinct. He’d logged ten items of evidence and their tracking numbers, signed off on the transfer of custody, and promptly disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Whoa,” Holly said. “Do you think he’s dead?”

“He’s either dead, or Humphries gave him enough cash so he could disappear without a trace. According to his neighbors, he never returned home from work that day.”

“Humphries is a college professor, right?” Jace asked. “How could he afford to offer the amount of cash it would take to disappear for good?”

“He comes from a wealthy family,” Royce replied.

“Big oil money from Texas,” Felix added. “His grandfather’s net worth rivals Gates and Bezos.”

Jace whistled in response.

“Does Reginald have a family or anyone we can interview?” Ky asked.

“Nope. He is a childless widower and only child to parents who are both deceased.”

“No aunts, uncles, or cousins?” Blue asked.

“Not that I could find, and I’ve been digging for four days now,” Royce said. “I cannot request warrants for bank records, because I’m not supposed to be investigating anything remotely connected to Humphries.”

“Leave it to me. I need all the information you have on Dozer,” Rocky said. “Birthdate, social security number, driver’s license number, last known address, and things like that.”

Royce pulled out a sheet of paper containing all of Dozer’s details. “Here you go.”

“Where do I come in?” Holly asked.

“Do you have a college-age undercover alias with an established social media presence?” Sawyer asked.

“I have several,” Holly replied.

“Humphries has a huge fan club and online following. Can you infiltrate them and see if you can win their trust? Our girl Bonnie is most likely a member,” Sawyer said.

“She’s probably the pushiest member or the one claiming to be in charge,” Jonah offered. “She’ll claim to know Humphries best and will even act possessively toward him.”

“I’m hoping she’s stupid enough to brag about what she’s done. Then we can track her down and follow the trail back to Humphries or his attorney,” Sawyer said.

“And, Jonah,” Royce said, pulling out several sheets of paper and a flash drive. “I have the prison visitor’s log and video footage. Can you feed them both to Stella? Attorney and client meetings aren’t recorded, but personal visits are. Maybe Stella can uncover a secret code he used with visitors to give us an idea of what Humphries was up to behind bars.”

“Sure,” Jonah said. “You got it.”

“One last thing before I whip all your asses at poker,” Sawyer said.