“No worries. Just call if I can help with the DNA in any way.” Her face disappeared from the screen, and the call ended.
“Do it now, Colin,” Ava said. “Toggle the switch.”
“Not so fast,” Micha said. “Do we have what we need to record anything we might find?”
“Not having seen what information might be returned, I assume we can capture it all with screenshots, so yeah.” Colin clicked the edit button and a window opened with the box they needed to change to sharing their information.
Colin hovered the cursor overyesand looked at Micha, then Ava. “Ready for me to agree?”
“How confident are you that screenshots will work?” Micha asked.
“A hundred percent.”
“Then do it,” Ava said, feeling breathless. “Click the toggle and let’s see if we have a match.”
Ava held her breath as the computer churned, a wheel on the screen, spinning and spinning. Finally the page populated and listed one match.
“A match!” She leaned closer. “He actually has a match.”
“A half-sibling.” Colin clicked on the link. “A sister on his father’s side.”
Ava continued to stare at the screen in disbelief. “So this woman shares the same father as Layne.”
“Yes.” A wide grin spread over Micha’s face. “Her story says she thinks she has a brother, and she very much wants him to email her.”
“Then let’s do that right now.” Colin clicked on the messaging section. “What do you want me to say?”
“Share Layne’s first name and that he lives in Portland,” Micha said. “Tell her he wants to meet up ASAP and see if she’s nearby to meet.”
Colin’s fingers flew over the keyboard, then he leaned back. “Read it before I hit send.”
Ava scanned the message. “Sounds good to me, and it has a strong sense of urgency. Hopefully she’s eager to meet her half-brother, and she’ll reply quickly.”
“Works for me,” Micha said. “Hit send.”
“Nice work, bro.” Dev patted his brother’s shoulder. “Now get out of here and see if you can figure out who this woman is.”
Micha pushed back his chair and stood. “I assume you’ll be taking your laptop.”
“You assume right.” Colin toggled the button on the screen back to no then closed his computer and patted the top. “Never go anywhere without this baby.”
Micha got out his phone. “I’ll log into his account on my phone. That way we’ll know if the sister responds while you’re gone.”
“Good plan.” Colin put his computer into his backpack and stood. “I’ll keep in touch with what I find. Call me if you need me here again, and I’ll be back as fast as possible.”
“Speaking of fast.” Micha looked between the brothers. “I want Dev to drive you so we continue to have two vehicles on site.”
Colin cast a sardonic grin at his brother. “Only if I drive to the compound ’cause the guy doesn’t know the meaning ofspeed limit.”
“Oh, I know it.” Dev got up. “I just don’t pay attention to it.”
They all laughed as Colin shouldered his backpack.
“I can bring back rain gear for everyone,” Dev said. “What else do you want me to get?”
Micha tilted his head. “Let us think about it, and I’ll text you a list.”
“I know one thing I would like.” Ava sat up. “I mean, if you guys are okay with it, I’d love to have my bassoon. Playing it soothes my nerves, and they need soothing. I promise not to play late at night.”
