“I did.Briefly.”
“Investigate what exactly?Her disappearance?”
“Yes.And the events surrounding it.”
“Travis knows about this?”
Simon nodded.“I reached out to him shortly after I got to town.I make it a point to talk to the family before pursuing cases.Since my job often entails making their pain public, their opinions matter, although it doesn’t always mean I’ll back off.”
“Does Travis support it?”
“More than I expected he would.”Simon sighed.“He’s seekin’ something.Closure, maybe.I’m not sure this’ll give it to him, but it might help.”
Reese wasn’t sure what additional closure anyone could give Travis.The woman who killed Kylie was dead.As for how tracking down Kylie’s absentee mother would benefit anyone, he couldn’t begin to guess.
“And if Meredith Prescott doesn’t want to be found?”Reese asked.
“That’s a risk I’m willin’ to take considerin’ the bigger picture.”
“Which is?”
Simon paused, glanced down, then looked back up.“If Holt’s right, there are people conspirin’ against the Adorites.Powerful people.And I honestly think Meredith Prescott was caught up in it somehow.From what I’ve come up with, I’m not so sure it was by any fault of hers.”
“So you don’t think she witnessed a murder?”
“I honestly don’t know at this point.I’ve been holdin’ off because I wanted to talk to you and Brantley about it.”
“We don’t know Kylie’s mother.Hell, I didn’t realize she wasn’t in the picture until Holt brought it up.I’m not sure what we have to contribute.”
“You’d be surprised.Holt’s theory deviates from the norm.”
“In what way?”
“He believes there’s a government conspiracy.He’s leanin’ toward the idea of a group of rogue agents out to take down the Southern Boy Mafia on their own.”
Conspiracy?Rogue agents?This was quickly venturing out of their wheelhouse.
“Are you talkin’ about a cabal?”Reese asked, unable to disguise his curiosity.
“Exactly.From what Holt’s found so far, there are some questionable actions by the FBI.He thinks perhaps they’re workin’ outside official lines.”
“To what end?”
Simon grinned.“That’s the question everyone keeps askin’.One I don’t have an answer for yet, but I think if I start pullin’ on these threads, it’s gonna come to light.”
Reese thought back to the information they’d uncovered during their trip to New York.JJ had found some interesting connections between some of their former team members.Connections that didn’t make sense.At least not on the surface, but when you looked at them through a bigger lens, there was a good chance they were connected to this theory of Holt’s.
“Travis encouraged me to pursue this,” Simon said.“And I’d like to utilize the skills and knowledge of your team to get answers.Unless you’re opposed to the idea.”
“No,” he said quickly.Perhaps too quickly.
Simon chuckled.“It’s addicting, isn’t it?”
Reese stared at the man, unable to hide the smile that crept up.“The finding the answers part?”Reese huffed a laugh.“Yeah.Addicting is one word for it.I think there are definitely more questions than answers at the moment, but I honestly don’t know how our help will benefit the story.”
“Let’s just say there are some connections that need to be fleshed out.Because you and Brantley are familiar with some of the key players, having you and your team look at it will help.”
“If we do and nothin’ comes of it, what then?”
