“That’s Holt,” Simon noted.“I told him where we’d be.”
“I knew he couldn’t resist,” Archer said with a chuckle.
They wasted another five minutes introducing Holt to the team and vice versa before finally getting down to the nitty-gritty.By the time Baz started talking again, Brantley could feel his anxiety level soaring.While this seemed like a good idea in theory, he wasn’t so sure anymore.At the first mention of Kylie’s name, the team got quiet.There was no doubt they were reliving the horrific events as they’d played out not so long ago.Some of them, anyway.A few of the team members were new to both the team and the town, so they weren’t there when it all went down.Several others had been born and raised in Coyote Ridge and were up to speed on the details.
“Where should we start?”Baz asked after he provided a high-level overview of the various folders and their contents.
All eyes shifted to him.Brantley wasn’t sure why he was the one at the wheel, but he figured it was time they steered this thing in the right direction.
“Meredith Prescott,” he told the team.“From all accounts, she seems to be the root of this.She’s the reason Holt came up with his theory.”
“Who is she?”Atticus asked, his full attention on the screen.
Baz tapped a folder labeled M.PRESCOTT.
“Meredith Aileen Prescott, born February 7, 1962,” Baz read.“Mother of Kylie Marie Prescott and Jessica Renee Prescott.Formerly married to Joseph Edgar Prescott from 1983 to 2006.Meredith left in 2005, as soon as Jessie turned 18.The assumption has always been that she left for greener pastures.At least that’s what I’ve been told.”
“That’s the consensus,” Simon agreed.
“Holt’s uncovered some information that makes him believe otherwise,” Reese said, looking at Holt.“Care to walk us through that?”
Holt nodded.
“You want to drive?”Baz asked, gesturing toward the screen.
Shaking his head, Holt said, “You can.”
Brantley listened with half an ear as Holt walked them through his spiel about how he researched things before starting a story and how he ultimately came across Coyote Ridge as the basis—though fictional—of a new series he was writing.
On the screen, Baz pulled up various articles as Holt referred to them.
“Are we lookin’ into a real case?”Luca questioned.“Or is this somethin’ we’re doin’ to help Holt with his story?”
“This has nothing to do with what I’m writing,” Holt assured him.“There’s one article in particular that I came across that piqued my interest.Once I started looking into it, I realized something seemed off about it.”
“Which article is that?”
Baz tapped the screen, and an article appeared.The photograph was of the Adorite family.It looked to be one they likely displayed over their mantel, with a smaller photograph overlaying it, this one of Max.
“Is that real?”Atticus asked.“It reads like fiction.”
“The article’s real, yes,” Holt confirmed.“As to the legitimacy of the information, that’s yet to be determined.”
“It states that Meredith Prescott witnessed Max Adorite kill a man and cites the source as…” Luca looked over at Holt.“The FBI.”
“Correct.”
“Do we have a timeline set up yet?”Evan asked.
“I’ve started one,” Becs answered.
Baz pulled it up.The data was sparse.They hadn’t yet tied together the information in a manner that made sense, and rather than having a significant amount of insignificant data, they usually started small.
“Okay, so that article refers to the Southern Boy Mafia,” Z noted.“I guess for the sake of full transparency, it should be noted that Max Adorite’s wife, Courtney, is as much a sister to RT as his biological sister, Marissa.Marissa and Courtney have been best friends since they were kids.The Kogans and Trexlers started Sniper 1 Security, and Courtney still plays a part in the everyday business dealings.”
“The wife of a mob boss works for a personal protection agency?”Atticus snorted.“Isn’t that an oxymoron?”
“You’re an oxymoron,” Luca teased.
