Fay's Six

“I appreciate your time and if you need anything at all, Walker and I are available to assist.”

Wilder smiled. “Have a safe night.”

She turned and inched closer to the other side of the road, scanning the old farm-style home that stood tall under the moonlight. She tapped her earpiece. “I don’t see you.”

“I’m behind the garage,” Walker whispered. “Lee’s with me. Nothing worth looking at. We’re on our way back to the SUV.”

“See you in a few.” She scurried across the road and climbed into the passenger seat of the vehicle. She pulled out her phone and pulled up Sparrow’s contact information.

Fay: Can we get more intel on the backpack?

Sparrow: Phone. A pair of shorts and a T-shirt were found inside along with a notebook. It appears pages were taken from inside. Forensics has it now. Also had my team analyze footprints.

Fay: Why is your team still there now? Are they looking for something specific?

Sparrow: The sheriff wants to keep an eye on the area for forty-eight hours. He wants to make sure we didn’t miss anything and to see if anyone is watching. So far, nothing except you three. What is Lee like?

Fay rolled her eyes.

Fay: You don’t want to know. Gotta run.

She set her cell facedown on her lap and smiled as Walker slipped behind the steering wheel.

Lee climbed into the back seat. “Well, that was pointless. We learned nothing, except maybe that the broad is a bit of a hoarder.”

“That’s old news,” Walker said. “But Lee’s right. We didn’t learn much of anything. What about you? Did you find anything?”

“Of course she didn’t stay in the car like you asked.” Lee let out an exasperated sigh.

Fay ignored him. “The cops don’t have much, but they do have some more items that belonged to Andy that forensics is looking at and there was a notebook with missing pages.”

“That’s uninteresting,” Lee said as if totally bored. “What about footprints?”

“There’s a well-traveled hiking trail right there. I’m sure there are more than two dozen different footprints the boys surely trampled over by now.” Fay pulled her seat belt tight across her waist.

“I’ve got a dumb question,” Lee started. “If the Brotherhood Protectors hasn’t been hired to protect anyone, why are we out here doing this?”

“Because we’ve been hired to assist the local police,” Walker said. “Sometimes our jobs have nothing to do with being a bodyguard. Though that’s mostly what we do. However, this case is sensitive, and the sheriff isn’t ready to call in our expertise. But the lieutenant in charge of this office is and she often turns her head when we need to bend the law just a little.”

“I’m interested in how that works,” Lee said. “Is it an ask for forgiveness later kind of thing?”

“No,” Walker said firmly. “Not unless it’s life or death. We need to work with them, not against them, and certainly not recklessly. A lot of what we do will be covered in the series of interviews you’ll go through and working on this case with us.”

Fay swallowed the horrible taste that bubbled up in her throat at the thought of spending time in the field with Lee. However, she was a professional and she’d do her job, no matter what imbeciles she’d have to work with. Their behavior was on them, not her.

“I’m new to this kind of investigative work. What are your thoughts so far?” Lee asked.

She had to give him kudos for asking the question considering he generally thought he was the expert in every situation. But the bigger issue that Fay had was filling him in on every detail. She didn’t want to do that because this was their case. Not his. However, Jake and Hank wanted to see how Lee worked and this was one way to do it. Who was she to deviate from their plan? “Both Walker and I believe this is linked to ten other young men that went missing over an eight-year span. But that was six years ago and the cases are as cold as ice.”

“Can I take a look at the files? Maybe a fresh set of eyes can help?”

“Is that going to be okay with Sparrow?” Fay asked softly.

“I’ve already got clearance to do so,” Walker said as he took the turn into his driveway. “I’ll get them for you now. We can regroup in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Lee jumped from the car the second Walker put it in park. It was as if it had burst into flames and he had to get out before he caught fire himself.

“I’m tired.” Fay reached for the door handle.

Walker reached across the vehicle. “I can see and feel how hard this is for you. If there is anything I can do to help make this situation better, please tell me.”

“You can tell him to not bother applying for the job.”

“I will, if that’s what you want.”

She snapped her gaze to his and blinked. “You’d honestly do that? For me?”

“I’d rather have you here than him.”