Payton ignored his grumbly accusing tone. She’d made herself a nest on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table and notes on the case spread around her. “A while.” There was no point in telling him the whole night. She’d never gone back to sleep after she’d left him. He would just try to micromanage her and tell her she needed sleep. That was the last thing she needed.
“You never went back to bed, did you?”
She couldn’t deny it, so she stayed silent. She finally glanced over at him as he padded into the kitchen and started making coffee, and wished she hadn’t. She could see his bed-rumpled hair. The black tank top and shorts that would have haunted her dreams had she slept.
Her mouth suddenly felt dry.
Alex turned around, and Payton snapped her attention back to her laptop. He walked around her to take a seat in the chair adjacent to her. “Did you at least find anything?” He didn’t sound happy, but at least he wasn’t lecturing her. Her dad had given up years ago trying to get her to sleep more. Even her boss didn’t think anything of it anymore. It was just a norm.
Good, they weren’t going to discuss the almost-kiss last night. That suited her just fine. “Actually I did.” Alex’s eyes lit up, accentuating their shamrock color. “I can’t find a full connection, but the list Daddy left are other buildings near the army bases. They are registered to military personnel who all went missing or turned up dead in the past six months.”
“That can’t be a coincidence.”
She agreed. “No, one of the addresses here in Colorado Springs belongs to my dad.”
“But why would he own an abandoned building?”
That’s the part she hadn’t been able to connect yet. “I don’t know. I don’t know why any of these people would. All the vacant properties had been sitting empty even after they’d bought them. It was like they had it just to have it.”
“We should look into Smith and Jones. See what connection they have.” The coffee pot beeped signaling the coffee was ready. Alex got up and poured two cups and came back, holding one out for her.
How did he know she drank it black? “Thank you,” she said, grabbing it and taking a sip.
“You’re welcome. Can you look through your database from here? If they are with the police, you’d have records of them. Smith’s height should help eliminate a lot of suspects.” Alex retook his seat on the chair.
“They’re in the military, not police,” she said matter of fact.
“Why do you say that?” Alex asked.
“Everything else seems to revolve around the army. My dad, the base attacks. It seems odd the police would be involved.”
Alex looked started by her thought. “You think two military personnel posed as cops to ask you questions?”
He posed it as a question instead of an accusation. “When I was fighting Smith, I saw a tattoo on his forearm.”
“What kind of tattoo?”
“Words.”
“What did it say?”
Payton looked at him over the top of the laptop. “DE OPPRESSO LIBER.”
Alex’s eyes widened, and his eyebrows rose to his hairline. “To liberate the oppressed. Special Forces.”
“Yep, and look at this.” She spun the computer around to show a picture of a group of military men standing around in fatigues in front of the wing of an airplane. “Notice anyone?”
It was hard to miss Smith standing in the back. He was over a head taller than everyone else.
“When was this taken?” Alex leaned forward eagerly.
“Four year ago. His real name is Wallace Donaldson. He works for a private security team now that subcontracts with the government for high profile military personnel.”
“What about Jones?”
“I can’t find him yet. He’s most likely using an alias like Donaldson. I’m guessing he’s ex-Special Forces too. That would explain how they knew each other. Or they met through Fort Carson. Both men most likely are in security. I’m having Colin look into it further.”
“Colin?” he asked, startled.