Evangeline reread the email. “My gut tells me the package is Robert.”
“I agree, but we still don’t know where The Institute is.” Sin rose. “I’m going to grab a laptop from Dakota’s office and see what I can find.”
“I’ll hack into the husband’s email account next,” Sanchez said.
Evangeline’s phone rang. “It’s my mom. She’s probably worried about Hannah.”
Stopping in the doorway, Sin asked, “Can you stall her?”
On a nod, she answered. “Hey, Mom.”
“I’ve been texting and calling Hannah, but she’s not answering. I’m worried.”
“She’s spending time with Birdie.” Evangeline hated lying to her mom, but if she didn’t, her mom would call the police, the FBI and anyone else she could think of. While that would be a smart move under normal circumstances, this situation was anything but. Evangeline had to protect her from the terrifying, dark truth.
“Why didn’t she tell me?” her mom asked.
“Last minute thing,” Evangeline said.
“Can you let me know when she gets home?”
“You’ll be the first person I call,” Evangeline said and hung up.
The doctor poked her head into the room. “Evangeline, I want to examine you. Can I borrow you for a few?”
“I’m fine,” she balked.
“You’ve been under a lot of stress. Let’s use the empty room next door and I’ll check your blood pressure. It’ll take two minutes.”
* * *
After unlocking Dakota’s computer, Sin called Z, the man who worked alone in the basement of the Justice building.
“Hello,” Z said.
“I need your help.”
The line went dead.
A moment later, Sin’s phone lit up with a blocked caller ID. “Hello.”
“What do you need?” asked Z.
“The location of a facility called The Institute. It may have to do with adoptions.”
“I’ll call you back.” Again, the line went dead.
While waiting, Sin initialized his own search, using a top-secret database not privy to most. As his query ran, he glanced around Dakota’s barebones office. Aside from the desk and chair, the room was empty. Dakota’s black site was devoid of anything that could identify him.
He opened a desk drawer and extracted three tiny communication earpieces. Four minutes passed. Sin’s patience had run out hours ago, but he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Once he achieved that, he could move on to the next. Bit by bit, they’d hammer everything out and find Hannah and Robert.
Sin’s phone rang. Z gave him an address and hung up.
Dakota walked in. “Monty’s been handled.”
“How?” Sin asked.
“Cremation.” He eyed the comm devices in Sin’s hand. “Any luck?”
