Page 81 of Security Breach

“If someone else will search Anne’s social media pages, I’ll focus on compiling the most likely unsolved murders that fit our parameters.”

“I’ll take the social media pages,” Jackson said.

“Funnel the likely cases to the rest of us, Jon,” Eli said. “Cal and Rafe, you still need to help the Montgomery brothers with patrol duties. Between the ten of us, though, we should be able to make good progress in a short amount of time.”

Emma glanced up from her knitting. “I’ll help Jon.”

The men stared at her.

She frowned. “No, it won’t be pleasant, but I can help Jon create a spreadsheet to group the teams and their potential victims to particular sections of the country.” She looked at the operative. “If you don’t mind me helping, that is.”

“I’d appreciate it. I’ll pull the cases and dump them into files by state. We’ll start organizing them into groups from there.” He turned to the others. “I might locate photos of the teams from the police files, but locating photos from other sources will take a long time and might be impossible.”

David rubbed his nape. “Time isn’t our friend. Do what you can. Would Zane be able to give us a hand with this search?”

Jon looked at Eli, eyebrow up.

“I’ll talk to Maddox,” Wolf Pack’s leader said as he stood. “Rafe, Cal, if you have trusted friends in law enforcement with connections, contact them while you’re on patrol tonight. Find out what they’ve heard. Jon, you and Emma get to work on finding and organizing the potential cases. Start in the southeastern US first since we know of five incidents involving Emma. That will give us an idea of the magnitude of the task ahead of us. Focus on murders similar to that of the Tuckers.”

“Why?” Emma asked.

“Easier to find a pattern. Once we identify the other teams who attempted to kill you, we’ll track their movements and figure out if they’re operating in the same territory as the original team or if they were allowed to cross into another territory to finish the first team’s hunt.”

Her stomach churned as the reality of her situation struck her anew. Eight, maybe ten people tried to kill her. What happened when a team failed? Was the team punished somehow?

“We need to involve the Fortress research department,” Jon said.

Emma dragged in a sharp breath. “You think the teams have murdered that many people?”

“Not necessarily. I think a large number of murders would garner too much attention. However, if we enlist help from the tech team, we’ll have data to organize that much faster.”

“Are they good at their jobs?” David asked.

“If they weren’t, Maddox wouldn’t hire them.”

To Eli, David said, “Call Maddox.”

“What about you and your brothers?”

“Owen and Caleb, you’re on patrol tonight with Rafe and Cal. Split up and keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. Elliot and Levi, keep six ranch hands on watch tonight around the house while you two get some rest. I’ll rework the patrol schedule and start plowing through the paperwork.” He glared at his brothers. “You owe me big for taking that responsibility off your plates.”

Emma rose. The brownies should be finished baking now. She opened the oven and withdrew the two pans. Perfect. “If you wait fifteen minutes for the brownies to cool, I’ll wrap several pieces for you to take with you.”

“Individual packages,” Levi insisted, eyeing his brothers. “We don’t share well.”

Amused, she agreed with his stipulation. “Is there an extra computer I can use?” she asked Jon.

He chuckled. “This is a Fortress safe house. We always provide laptops in case our operatives need a backup computer. I’ll set you up.”

Eli motioned for his partner to stay seated. “I’ll bring a computer to you. David, come with me. Maddox will want to talk to you.”

David rose, squeezed Emma’s shoulder, and followed Eli from the room.

After Wolf Pack’s leader brought the laptop and left again, Jon waited for Emma to cut and distribute or package brownies, then waved her to the seat beside him. “Time to get to work.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

David dropped into a chair in the safe house office. “Will Maddox still be in the office?” He glanced at his watch and grimaced. Probably not. It was almost 8:00. Fortress Security’s CEO must have a family.

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