“If they agree to take on this case, I think we should relocate this stuff,” he suggested.“Or digitize it.”
“I’m good with that.”
“Maybe then it’ll make some sorta sense.”Archer’s gaze snapped from one photo to the next, one article after another.There was so much information lining these walls, yet it didn’t appear to be in any semblance of order.If he hadn’t heard Holt talk about it, he wouldn’t have even known it all revolved around one woman.
“It makes sense,” Simon countered.
“If you know what you’re lookin’ for, yeah.But it doesn’t tell a story.”
Simon sighed.“That’s the problem.”
That was the first time Simon admitted that he wasn’t quite sure what angle his friend was aiming for with this information.Simon had arrived in Coyote Ridge almost a month ago, yet they were no closer to determining how to approach it.Hell, Simon hadn’t even laid out an action plan for him.And his friend was well aware that Archer planned his life around those things.
So, was it the hearts and unicorns swimming in Simon’s brain that made the story blurry, or was there really nothing there worth looking into?
Whatever it was, Archer hoped they could figure it out soon.
Chapter Eight
After their morning run and his shower—which he took separately from Reese despite his pleading—Brantley left Reese to whatever he was doing in his office in order to check on the team, see if they needed anything.
“You wanna go to the barn, girl?”he asked Tesha when she didn’t move from her spot on her bed.“I bet Holly’s over there.”
That was all it took to get her on her feet, racing out the door ahead of Brantley.
The walk across the yard took seconds, not minutes, as did keying in the passcode and waiting for the locks to disengage.When they did, he opened the door and stepped aside so Tesha could rush in, seeking the attention she got every time she came here.
To his surprise and approval, the scene before him was vastly different than the one he walked in on yesterday when JJ’s head was on the big screen, and people were standing around talking over one another.
“Mornin’,” he greeted.
“Hey, boss,” Slade called.
“Morning,” Evan said.
He was pretty sure the grunt came from Luca.
“Any news on JJ?”Holly asked, looking at him with a mixture of hope and worry in her eyes, even as she knelt to give Tesha love.“I tried callin’ her, but she didn’t answer.”
“We didn’t get by there this mornin’, but I talked to Baz.The doctor’s closely monitorin’ her contractions, which are increasing,” he explained.“As soon as I hear somethin’, you’ll hear somethin’.”
“She in labor?”Slade asked, his forehead creased with confusion.
“She thinks she is.Like I said, the doctor’s keepin’ a close eye on her.”
Holly gasped and clasped her hands together, fingertips touching her lips.
“Are we expectin’ babies soon?Like today?”Luca asked.
Brantley exhaled.“According to Baz, Dr.Tinder said there’s a good chance, yeah.”
“That’s not bad, right?”Holly questioned, a boatload of worry in her tone.“That puts her at thirty-six weeks.”
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” he told her, wanting them to focus on what they needed to get done.If JJ’s labor did progress, they would all want to head over to the hospital, which meant they needed to tackle everything they could as soon as they could.The last thing he wanted was to hear from Z that the team was behind on their reports.Paperwork was the absolute worst part of the job, but it was also important if they expected to justify their existence.
“Do we have a case, boss?”Slade asked.
“Nothin’ hot.Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
