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Ethan studied the timeline Silas displayed. Twelve disappearances over six months, each marked with dates and locations. “And you’re saying Grant Voss is the recruiter – he’s the one that finds those people most vulnerable to being trafficked.”
“Yes, or at least one of them, and we only know that because of your input.” Thorn gestured at another photograph. “Voss identifies underpaid and probably isolated service workers, offers opportunities that sound legitimate, and then delivers them to Ashford’s network.”
“Where are they taken?” Ethan’s hands clenched against the table’s edge.
“We don’t know yet.” Silas enlarged a map showing the theater district. “Once we had the name, we backtracked where we could, tracing Voss’s movements, but he uses different vehicles and routes on different days. We’re missing a central location or hub.”
Ethan leaned closer, examining the dates. Something nagged at his memory - a pattern he’d noticed in his own documentation, but he didn’t have anything to compare it to. “What’s Ashford’s city council meeting schedule?”
Silas pulled up the information. Council meetings occurred every other Monday night, running from seven until approximately ten-thirty, sometimes later.
“There.” Ethan pointed at the disappearance dates. “Every victim vanished within forty-eight hours after a council meeting. Fiona disappeared Wednesday. The last council meeting was Monday.”
Thorn’s shadows darkened. “It could be that the meetings provide cover. He’s present at city hall with a documented alibi while his network moves people.”
“But that gives us about ten days until the next council meeting.” Julian’s fingers flew across his keyboard. “If the pattern holds, they’ll move victims Tuesday or Wednesday of that week, but it sounds like a long time to be holding people, especially if they’re still in town. What if their target escapes?”
“Fiona might be in the next transport.” Ethan wasn’t thinking about mythical people in that moment - he was worried about his friend. “Ten days is a long time. If we can identify the location before the transport date…”
“We’d have time to prepare an intercept.” Rook’s hand found Ethan’s shoulder, grounding. “I know you’re worried, but this is good. This is a lead.”
“Ethan, can you work with Silas and Julian on data analysis?” Thorn shifted in his chair. “Cross-reference your documentation with our surveillance and see if you can find anything else we might be missing.”
“Yes.” Ethan straightened. “I need access to your systems.”
“I’ll set you up.” Silas gestured toward the computer terminal. “Julian, can you coordinate with Ethan and combine your datasets?”
“On it.” Julian gathered his laptops, moving toward the workspace. “Ethan, bring your phone. I want to see your spreadsheet structure.”
/~/~/~/~/
Three hours later, Ethan’s eyes burned from screen glare. He’d transferred his documentation into Silas’s system, cross-referencing dates, times, and locations with the guardians’ surveillance footage. Julian worked beside him, pulling up city records, property deeds, and financial transactions at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible.
“I’ve never seen an eidetic memory at work before.” Ethan watched Julian navigate between ten different database windows simultaneously. “It must be useful.”
“It can be.” Julian didn’t look away from the screens. “But it’s also why I got suspended from the library. I corrected someone in a report I was making, and apparently that was ‘overstepping my position.’”
“That’s illogical.” Ethan frowned. “Accuracy should be prioritized over ego.”
Julian’s fingers paused, and he turned, meeting Ethan’s gaze. “Most people don’t understand that.”
“Most people prioritize social comfort over factual correctness.” Ethan highlighted a discrepancy in the property records. “I always found that was very inefficient.”
“Exactly.” Julian smiled. “You’ll fit in here.”
Ethan found himself smiling back. Working with someone who spoke his mind and who cared about getting things right, instead of all the politeness and professional personas he’d had to maintain just to keep a job…it was like he finally had the chance to speak his native language after years of trying to conform to something else.
“Your spreadsheet structure is excellent.” Julian pulled up Ethan’s data. “Color-coded by threat level, cross-indexed by date and location, notations include behavioral observations. This is exactly how information should be documented.”
“Thank you.” Ethan expanded the timeline view. “Your city records access is faster than anything I’ve seen. How did you bypass the municipal security protocols?”
“I work for shadow monsters who steal from criminals.” Julian’s tone suggested that explained everything. “Silas built backdoors into most city systems years ago.”
“That’s...remarkably efficient.”
“We’re very good at what we do.” Julian overlaid their combined datasets. “Look. This is every property Ashford owns within ten miles of the theater district.”
Seventeen locations appeared on the map, including office buildings, warehouses, and residential properties. Ashford’s property portfolio was extensive.
