“We thought we’d go back during the day, do some recon of the area, see if we can get a better vantage point,” Archer told him.
Brantley looked defeated.“It might be our only option.”
“Did you have somethin’ else in mind?”Atticus asked.
Reese was the one who answered.“We thought we were meetin’ Allison Bogart.”
“Why would you think that?”Travis asked.
“She called.Said she needed to talk.Acted like it was urgent.”
“Where are you meetin’ her?”
Brantley waved a hand.“Supposed to be here.I don’t think she’s comin’.”
“She didn’t give an exact time,” Reese clarified.“She said two hours.We’re at least half an hour past that at this point.”
“Did you try callin’ her?”Travis asked.
“The number she called from came up blocked.I tried the number we have for her, but the phone’s off.”
“Maybe she had to stop for gas,” Atticus said, trying to be positive.
Reese didn’t look hopeful.“Yeah.Maybe.”
“Any word on the DNA results?”Archer asked.
“Haven’t heard yet,” Brantley answered, leaning back when the waitress offered more coffee.
“I’ll give Z a call when we’re finished here.”
Atticus was as anxious as everyone else to get the results back.The blood they’d found in that house belonged to someone.And while he hoped there wasn’t a reason for Kylie Walker to be bleeding, he did hope the results would give them the answer they wanted.Knowing for sure one way or the other would help determine their next steps.
Obviously, if she were alive, the main objective was to find her and bring her home.If she wasn’t, they needed to drill down and find a way to dismantle Censorious once and for all.
“Has Evan been able to get any more out of Meredith?”Brantley asked after the waitress delivered their food.
“No.And I’m not sure they will, either,” Atticus explained.“He’s convinced they’re hidin’ something.”
“I’m sure she is,” Travis muttered.“I don’t even know why she bothered to show up.”
Archer held up a finger as though signaling he needed a moment while he finished chewing, then said, “I know this might sound harsh, but have you considered using Meredith as bait to draw Calloway out?”
Brantley looked at Reese, then at Travis.Atticus could tell that some silent communication was taking place.
“We’ve got a large enough team,” Archer continued.“We can keep her safe if we can control the environment.”
“It’s not a terrible idea,” Atticus said, not sure why everyone had clammed up all of a sudden.
“It’s also not necessary yet,” Reese stated.
Based on Brantley’s expression, he’d already had this conversation with Reese and got the same answer.
But Atticus had to agree with Reese.They had leads to follow.Putting a woman’s life in unnecessary danger was a last-ditch effort.They weren’t quite there yet.And if they were lucky, they wouldn’t need to take drastic measures.
