This time, Reese was the one to clam up, so Brantley tossed out, “Holt thinks she’s alive.”
Yeah, so much for not overwhelming her with it.
Brantley watched JJ as she processed the information.Her hand stilled on Tesha’s back, and her expression ran the gamut of emotions: surprise, reflection, contemplation, hope, disbelief, and finally resignation.
Before she got a word out, Reese’s phone buzzed, signaling a text.He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen.Brantley watched him to ensure it wasn’t anything urgent.His husband’s quick shake of his head told him it wasn’t.
“Alive?”JJ finally asked, looking at Brantley.
Assuming she was seeking confirmation, he nodded.
“And you believe it?”
He shrugged one shoulder at the same time he said, “No.”
JJ smiled.It was slow and hesitant, but it was definitely a smile.“So you don’t believe it, but you want to.”
“Something like that.”
“Okay.”She chewed on her bottom lip.“Regardless, we have to look into it.It’s the right thing to do.”
“It is,” he agreed.
She started petting Tesha again.“What do you want us to do?”
Well, that was far easier than he’d expected.He thought for sure he’d spend half an hour trying to answer all her questions.
“Look.I know it’s just a theory right now,” JJ said, clearly picking up on his bemusement.“But something led Holt to believe that.I’m all for digging in until we know the truth.Whatever that may be.”
“We don’t want to take away from your family time,” Reese said.
“Trust me, you won’t,” JJ said decisively.“I’m at the hospital during visiting hours.When I’m not there, we’re either findin’ food or we’re here.I’ve got plenty of time to assist.”
Brantley looked up at Baz for confirmation.
He nodded.“She’s right.”
Feeling a little better about dragging them into it, Brantley said, “We’re headin’ up to Dallas.Simon wants a sit-down with Max Adorite.We need to know what happened that night, if anything.Once we get the team up to speed, I’m hopin’ to get some info on this Calloway guy.I’d like to get eyes on him while we’re up there.See if we can catch him doin’ somethin’ dirty.”
“You make it sound easy,” Baz said with a snort.
“Maybe it will be.Who knows?”
JJ huffed a laugh.“Nothin’ we’ve done so far has been easy, but I like the wishful thinkin’.”
“Archer and Atticus are in charge of this investigation, but I’ll make sure they know you’ll be handlin’ anything related to Kylie’s death.Until we know more, I don’t want the team to know.”
JJ nodded.
“The first thing we need you to do is look into the doctor who signed the death certificate.”Brantley looked at Baz.“If possible, you can meet with him.”He shook his head before Baz could say anything.“I do not want it to take away from your family time.Only if you’ve got a few minutes.If not, we’ll figure it out.”
“But we need you to keep this to yourselves,” Reese tacked on.“We’ve told Travis, but we’re keepin’ this quiet for now.”
JJ’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline.“You told Travis?”
“Had to,” Brantley explained.“If he heard about it elsewhere…”
“Good point.”JJ nodded.“Who else knows?”
