“Why don’t you pretend I know nothin’,” Brantley said.“Because I’m pretty sure I know nothin’.”
Reese chuckled.“You know some of it.”
“Again, pretend I don’t.”
While he ordered his thoughts, Reese popped the lid off his salad and added dressing.By the time he got it prepared, Brantley had already polished off his fries and was unwrapping the first of two chicken sandwiches.
“Holt’s workin’ on a book,” he began.“It’s based in a small town.He’s usin’ Coyote Ridge as a baseline.”
“You get this information from Holt?”
“Actually, no.He’s still mum.Doesn’t want Travis thinkin’ he’s spreadin’ rumors.”
“Makes sense.Who’s spillin’ the beans, then?Simon?”
“Yeah.”
“Gotcha.Keep goin’.”
“In order to make the story authentic, Holt does a lot of research upfront.”
“Which is how he started diggin’ into other people’s business,” Brantley muttered.
Reese hadn’t seen it that way, but now that Brantley mentioned it… “Fair enough.It was durin’ his research that he came across an article about Kylie’s death.”
“He writes mysteries, doesn’t he?”
“He does.”
“Her death’s not a mystery.”
“It’s not,” Reese agreed.“Have you ever started lookin’ at somethin’ online and gone down a rabbit hole?”
“A literal one, no.”
Reese tilted his head.“Come on.Be serious.”
Brantley grinned and Reese felt that smile through his entire body.And fine, maybe he had been deep in thought ever since he talked to Simon yesterday morning.He’d been given a lot of information.More than he expected.But what surprised him most was how it all seemed to fit.Add that to the bits and pieces they’d acquired during their trip to New York—the stuff he’d asked JJ to hide from Brantley untilafterthe wedding—and Reese couldn’t deny that it had created far more questions than answers.
“Fine.Online.Research.Rabbit hole.Keep goin’,” Brantly urged.
“According to Simon, Holt doesn’t recall how he got there, but he came across an article about the Southern Boy Mafia.It referenced a witness who’d seen Max kill a man.”
“And naturally, he’d think Kylie’s mom.”
“No.”
Brantley frowned, lifting his head slowly.“When was this really?Max supposedly killin’ someone?Twenty years?You said the information seemed like it was planted.Did they wait a while?”
“Simon doesn’t have specific dates, but he does know it’s not too much before Kylie’s mother disappeared from their lives.He hasn’t ordered it, and he’s only started a brief outline.He wants us to take a look at everything Holt’s acquired to get the details.”
“Everything he’s acquired?”
Reese exhaled.“Yeah.Apparently, he’s rentin’ the apartment above the bookstore and he’s got quite a bit of information that he believes—”
“Hold that thought,” Brantley said when his phone rang.“Walker.”
Reese watched as Brantley’s eyes widened.
