The door opened behind him, so Brantley peered over. Reese and Baz strolled in together, each carrying a cup of coffee, while Tesha trotted along at their feet.
“We’re hirin’,” he announced.
“I already told you,” JJ said with a huff. “Bring on Trey and Cyrus.”
“No to Cyrus.” He wasn’t willing to deal with the drama there. “But we’ll talk about Trey. If everyone’s in agreement, I’ll talk to him. And I was thinkin’ about the structure. Three team leaders. Baz, you’re one. I want two more and each to have a team of two. And JJ, I want you to hire someone to assist you here in the barn. A data cruncher. Maybe two.”
“Are those one and the same?” JJ asked. “The data cruncher and someone to assist me?”
“Depends on who you find. Up to you.”
JJ nodded.
“Wow. Someone’s brain kicked into high gear this mornin’,” Baz said with a grin. “You want an ad in the paper?”
“No.” Brantley peered back at the whiteboard. “But I expect those boards to never be empty. We should always be workin’ on a case. They ain’t gonna solve themselves.”
“I’ve got a list of things to do,” JJ stated. “I’ll give you an update at the end of the day.”
“Sounds to me like this is gettin’ real,” Baz noted, his expression sobered. “I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Brantley met his gaze. “Likewise. Now let’s get to it.”
***Reese wouldn’t say he was necessarily surprised by Brantley’s abrupt decision to get things moving.
The truth was, he’d been expecting it. It had felt to him like Brantley was wading through deep water, attempting to get a feel for what was going on around him, fearful of stepping off the ledge or onto something that might blow back at him. Likely, in part, due to the PTSD he suffered after the explosion that had ended his career as a SEAL and very nearly ended his existence.
“Let’s talk,” Brantley suggested, motioning toward the door.
Reese led the way, stepping out into the brisk fall morning, holding the door for Brantley and Tesha. “Could probably close in a portion of all that square footage for a conference room,” he suggested.
Brantley glanced behind him before joining Reese outside. “Good idea. You wanna hire someone or tackle it ourselves?”
Reese remembered how they’d built the staircase leading up to the loft. It had been during a dark point in their relationship, but they’d managed to get through it. And even when they didn’t see eye to eye on the personal front, they’d worked well together.
“I’m up for it, but we’ll need to handle it after hours. If you want us workin’ cases, we have to do our part.”
“Good point. I’m sure we can get it done in a few weeks.”
Reese didn’t bother to mention Brantley hated things to be in a state of chaos. How the man intended to work in a construction zone was beyond him.
“You really ready to kick things into high gear?” Reese asked when they reached the back porch that extended off the house.
Brantley took a seat in one of the chairs. “You and I both know we’ve been wingin’ it so far. From the moment we decided to dig in and find Kate to tackling Lauren Tyler’s disappearance. Those were spur-of-the-moment and we jumped on them without thinkin’. We found Lauren and Corinne three weeks ago, Reese. What the hell are we waitin’ for? Now that we have actual cases to look into, we’re stallin’. Why?”
“I don’t think we’re stallin’. I think we’re gettin’ settled. Baz has been gettin’ the word out and apparently so has the governor. Hell, we took a case yesterday.”
“The kid wasn’t missing,” Brantley ground out.
“No, but we still had to work it like he was.”
“A few hours outta a day.”
Okay, clearly something was bothering Brantley, and Reese didn’t think it was the fact they’d closed a case in only a few hours. “What’s this really about, Brantley?”
Brantley peered over at him, then shifted forward and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
He tapped the screen, passed the phone over. “Listen to it.”
Confused, Reese held the phone to his ear.
“Brantley, it’s me. I know you’ve got other shit that’s more important, but…” The man sounded tired, distraught. “I need your help on this. You might not understand it, but if I’m expected to move on, that bitch has to be found.”
Reese lowered the phone when the voicemail ended. “That was Travis.”
Brantley nodded. “I get a voicemail like that every two or three days. Have since we brought Kate home.”
“Is that what he came to talk about on Monday?”
The slow exhale made Reese fear the answer.
“In a way.”
“What does that mean?”
“He threatened me.”
“What?” That did not sound like Travis.
“He threatened to lure JJ over to the resort. Said money can buy pretty much anything.”
Okay. That made him feel a tad better. Not a physical threat, at least.
