“Thinking about what I have to deal with today,” she said.
“Don’t think, go back to sleep,” he said. “Deal with it later.”
She wished she could do as he suggested, but it wasn’t in her nature. Neither her nor Reilly had the wait ‘til later gene. Even though he was he was gone– taken from her far too soon– she knew he would still be always present as her twin had been in life.
Scottie pulled her closer and she closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep for a little while longer.
Brand studiedthe surveillance information on the computer screen at the task force headquarters until his eyes became blurry. He swiveled in his chair. “Don Juan, you’ve gotten a few new tattoos since we arrived in Chicago.”
“So,” Don Juan said.
“You’ve gotten to know a few of the artists in town in the process,” Brand continued.
“Sure.”
“I was thinking that maybe you could take Monte’s photo around to some of the parlors and see if anyone recognizes him.”
“Ah,” Don Juan said in understanding. “Got it. Good idea.”
“Maybe then we can rule out whether he had gotten one or not?”
“Sounds like a good measuring tool,” Don Juan agreed. “I’ll get right on it once the parlors open up for business today.”
“In the meantime, I was thinking we should call in the bigger guns and reach out to Hank,” Brand continued, “Perhaps Swede might be able to help us out.” Brand said.
“What were you thinking Swede might be able to do for us?” Wyatt asked from the doorway.
“Hey man,” Loverboy said going over to greet him with a palm grip and a quick brotherhood hug. “How’s Colleen and Christopher?”
“Fine.” A mixture of joy and weariness had settled on Wyatt’s face. “Both are doing great. Since we’re home from the hospital, I thought I’d pop down to see if you could use my help.”
“And get out of the house and away from diaper duty?” Jett teased.
“There is that,” Wyatt grinned. “I can only take Ruby out for her walks so often during the day without Colleen getting suspicious.”
“Have a seat,” Brand suggested. “Run through this video surveillance and see if you notice anything we’ve missed. A fresh pair of eyes is always helpful in a situation like this.”
“Is there something I should be looking for?” Wyatt asked.
“You’ll know it when you see it,” Brand said. “And if you don’t, then that tells us we are biased.”
“Ah,” Wyatt said.
The others left him alone while he watched the feed. Brand sent a message to Hank Patterson to set up a conference zoom call with him as soon as possible that day and to loop Swede in for some possible needed assistance.
An hour later, Wyatt stood up from the computer and walked over to where they’d gathered around the conference table to discuss the situation. They looked up at him.
“I’m assuming you wanted me to recognize that the man in the video was Monte Adams and that he was sporting a tattoo on his forearm,” Wyatt said.
“You see it too,” Rookie said.
“Adams claims that isn’t him!” Jett exclaimed.
“But it’s clear as the noses on our faces,” Wyatt said. “I don’t care how baggy the clothes he’s wearing are. His walk is going to be the same, so is his height and stance. Whether he can cover up a tattoo or not is another issue.”
“Are we all agreed on that?” Brand asked, and everyone nodded.
“I’m out of here to go check out those tattoo parlors,” Don Juan said. “Keep me posted on how the meeting with Hank and Swede goes.” He grabbed his parka from the back of his chair as he headed for the door.
