Evan’s expression said he was offended by the question.
“Maybe it wasn’t Thursday.”
Evan shook his head. “I didn’t go anywhere with Baz last week. Sophia started school on Tuesday. Thursday, I had lunch with her.”
Why the fuck would Baz lie to him about it?
“Are you sure that’s what he told you?”
Now it was Reese’s turn to give him an exasperated expression. “Positive. I was over there on Thursday, takin’ a couple of calls with Charlie. When we finished those, Baz asked if I’d stick around to keep an eye on JJ while he went to talk to the hospital with you.”
“Maybe he went with Slade?” Evan asked.
“Maybe,” he said, although he knew it wasn’t Slade because Slade had talked to him in between calls to update him on a cold case he was working on.
“You hear anything about Atticus? How’d his assessments go?”
Reese appreciated the change of subject. “I talked to Z on Friday. He said the passed with flyin’ colors.”
“That’s good news.”
It was. It also wasn’t surprising. Reese might’ve had issues with Atticus flirting with Brantley—although he knew the kid was messing with him when he did it—but Atticus was smart. Probably too smart for his own good, even. According to Z, Atticus had aced the assessment exams—the written ones—they performed on all new hires. When Z saw the scores, he sat down with Atticus and adjusted his schedule, removing him from a few beginner courses he obviously didn’t need. After Reese talked to Z on Friday, they agreed they should focus on honing his investigative skills—negotiation, interviewing, and intelligence gathering—as well as Atticus’s physical training. Specifically with firearms and defensive tactics.
“Any word on a potential partner for him?” Evan asked.
Reese grabbed a stack of papers and plopped them down in front of Evan. “Brantley narrowed the selection down to these.”
Evan picked up the papers and skimmed through them.
“Feel free to meet with any of them. You and Slade might be able to weed out a few more. Ultimately, I’ll leave the final decision to Atticus when he returns.”
“I’ll have a look.” Evan shifted to the edge of his chair, preparing to stand. “You need us to focus on anything specific?”
“You mean besides findin’ Molly and Sonny?”
Evan’s brow creased. “Yeah.”
“No. I know they’re out there somewhere. JJ and Baz won’t breathe easier until they’re behind bars, so it deserves our full attention.”
“Agreed.” Evan stood. “I’ll let the team know.”
Reese leaned back once more, watching as Evan left his office.
Why would Baz outright lie to his face about where he was going? And where the fuck did he go that he thought he needed to lie about it?
***
“Good morning, young lady,” Dr. Tinder greetedwhen he entered the room.
JJ smiled, feeling a sense of relief simply seeing the man who could assure her that everything was okay with the peanut.
“I heard you had some issues last week?”
JJ cut her gaze to Baz briefly. “More like an ordeal,” she admitted.
Dr. Tinder frowned, his gaze bouncing between her and Baz.
“I was kidnapped,” she blurted.
