“Perfect.” Brantley looked at Luca. “And the investigators? Who’d we decide on?”
Luca lifted a finger to tap one of the keys on his laptop. “Based on our conversation last night, it looks like we’ve decided on Evan Vaughn, Allison Bogart, and Slade Elliott.”
Luca’s laid-back, couldn’t-care-less demeanor was a facade, Brantley knew. While he reclined in his chair, acting as though he wasn’t paying attention, Luca could likely tell you every little detail of what had happened in the past few minutes.
“Trey, give us a high level on Evan?”
Without missing a beat, Trey chimed in. “He lives just a few miles down the road in Round Rock. Has an eight-year-old daughter who lives with him, as does his grandmother. He moved here from Florida six years ago, right after his wife passed. Prior to that, he spent a decade in Miami as a detective. Currently works for Round Rock PD as a homicide detective.”
Of all the potential new hires, Brantley saw Evan being the most promising.
“Elana, what’ve you got on Allison?”
“She’s a former SVU detective for the Dallas Police Department who’s spent the past several years working an undercover assignment posing as a teenager to lure internet predators.”
“A role she’s suited for since she looks closer to fifteen than thirty,” Luca offered.
JJ chuckled. “Which explains why she was on that undercover op. According to what little she told me, they used her in the field quite a bit.”
Brantley knew that Allison Bogart was rather impressive on paper, but he had some concerns about her demeanor, ones he’d only shared with Reese. Despite those concerns, they’d decided she would be a strong addition, and he only hoped she proved them right.
“And last but not least is Slade Elliott,” Trey said, offering up the final investigator they were looking to hire. “He’s a bounty hunter.”
“But you knew that about Slade,” JJ added, “since he’s your cousin.”
“By marriage only,” Brantley assured them. “He’s one of my aunt Lorrie’s nephews.”
“Don’t forget Decker Bromwell,” Holly said. “He’ll be the fourth investigator added.”
“He will,” Brantley agreed, referring to the man who’d helped them out in Port Isabel when they went in search of Juliet Prince back in March. “He’ll officially start working with us at the beginning of October. He’s finishin’ up his current assignment with Sniper 1.” He looked around at his current team. “Anyone have any questions or concerns about these people?”
Trey shook his head and said, “I’m good. I’d just like to know who I’ll be paired with.”
Brantley glanced at Reese, who had been silent throughout the entire meeting. “Care to share who you decided on last night?”
Reese’s grin said he knew Brantley was calling JJ out from earlier.
Reese looked at Trey. “You’ll be paired with Evan Vaughn and you’ll utilize Darius Frost as your analyst.”
Trey smiled as though he’d been hoping for that. “Works for me.”
Reese glanced at Charlie. “You’ll be with Decker Bromwell. Jay Hernandez will be your analyst.”
“Sounds good.”
“We’ll come up with something in the interim,” Brantley added. “Until Deck comes on board.”
Charlie nodded.
“That leaves Slade Elliott and Allison Bogart,” Luca said. “They’ll be paired together?”
“They will, yes,” Brantley confirmed. “With Becs as their analyst. Reese and I will utilize Holly, with Luca and JJ overseeing and assisting in other areas as needed. Any questions?”
“What about Baz?” JJ asked, her gaze concerned as she looked at Brantley.
“For the time being, he’ll be solo or working with one of the teams. He’s going to spearhead the social media scam for a while, so he’ll have plenty to do.”
Brantley could tell that hadn’t eased her concerns, but for the moment, he couldn’t relay more. With a baby on the way, Baz had requested to be held back. At least until he knew how things would work.
