“I’m sorry again for leaving it so long.”
Ruby rubbed his forearm. “You were sad. It’s okay to grieve and get lost in the investigation, but remember to look after yourself. Felix won’t like it if you hurt yourself while searching for him. He needs you whole.”
Brett stared at her for a moment. Had Felix told her something about what happened between them? He brushed the thought away; he couldn’t have. Everything happened so quickly afterwards that they hadn’t had the time to socialise.
He said his goodbyes and climbed back into the car. He sat there, staring at the now closed door, and sighed.
“Why didn’t you tell them Felix was dead, Brett?” he muttered aloud.
Shaking his head, he started the car and headed back towards Sec HQ, but he didn’t get far before he had to pull over on a quiet road. He put the handbrake on and turned off the engine. For a few seconds, he stared out of the windscreen, not registering anything. Then his chest constricted, locking the air in his lungs while he tried to hold back the emotions battering at his mind and body. It was too much, and seconds later, he crumpled over the steering wheel, tears streaming down his face, sobs wracking his body, images filling his mind. His entire world had come to a screeching halt with the outpouring of grief, loss and pain.
When he came back to himself, he had no recollection of time or location. He brushed his hands over his face, wiping away the evidence of his loss of control, and exhaled a quick lungful of air. Swallowing down any lingering emotions wanting to bubble forth again, he breathed through it and checked the time. He took one more inhaled and exhale before starting the car and continuing as if that short amount of time never happened.
“What’s the latest? I want a debrief from everyone,” he stated when he entered the room. No one batted an eyelid, and all were quick to gather around him. Sam pointed to the screen they sometimes used for presentations or to put up information for all to see, and Brett cast his eyes over it.
“Talk to me,” he ordered.
Dominic started, stepping towards the screen and pointing at the roses. “We analysed the data from my case and comparedit to the roses with this one. The type of rose is identical. We couldn’t locate who sold them yet, but we’re still looking into that. That big of an order would be fairly easy to locate, in theory.” He pointed at the numbers. “The handwriting doesn’t match what was on the grave, but that doesn’t mean much. If the grave was handmade, it was probably made by someone else. However, the handwriting did match all the other numbers left on the scenes of the other cases, as we know.”
Owen stepped forward as Dominic moved back. “We had forensics look at the phone to see if there were any fingerprints on it. So far, they haven’t been able to find anything at all, but they are still looking. The same with fingerprints from anything else we found, like the bullet casing. If it matches anything, they will let us know straight away.”
“Unsettling us seems to be their modus operandi,” Nick said. “For each case, they liked to show their hand, but not fully. They almost like to give us a clue and see where we run with it. Like the grave. It’s a foreboding imagery, which sets us all on edge, and couple that with the use of the roses, which links it to Dominic’s case, and it’s sending us all over the place.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and in an uncharacteristic show of uncertainty, he stared at the floor, scuffing his shoe across the tile. “I hate to say it, but we’re too many steps behind at the minute.”
No one said anything for a moment, and as much as Brett wanted to wallow with the rest of them, he couldn’t. “I went to see Felix’s parents.” He paused, shuffling some paper on his desk. “I didn’t tell them he was dead. I just told them about the kidnapping. Stephen is going to speak with his contacts to see if there is anything they can do to help us. It’s a long shot, but you never know.”
“What is it with kidnapping? First Randall, then the girl, then Kai and now Felix. Does anyone know the psychology behind kidnappers?” Nick asked suddenly.
Brett frowned, the hair on the back of his neck rising as he remembered Malcolm’s words about his sister’s speciality. “What do you mean?”
“Everything else about the cases are different, but almost always it involves kidnapping. I just wondered if that could give us some insight into whoever these people are.”
That was a good point, and one Brett hadn’t seen as a connection. “What type of people like to kidnap? We find that out, maybe we can get a profile on whoever is doing this.” He picked up his phone. “I’m sure Brady mentioned he had a profiler on staff. Maybe they can help.”
“According to the internet,” Sam said, “they tend to have had an unhealthy childhood, potentially having no control over their lives, maybe being an orphan sent from foster home to foster home, and therefore, need to dominate and control others. They most likely have a personality disorder.” Sam faced them. “There’s more, but that’s the highlights.”
“Can you get someone to look into that in a bit more detail? It might help when we profile them.” He shook his head. “Why didn’t we think to profile them before?” He scrubbed his hand over his face.
“Give yourself a break, Brett,” Dominic said. “This is another close to home case, and it has everyone uneasy.”
“Felix didn’t get a break, Dom. Neither should I. Not til I find him.”
Dominic stepped closer and lowered his voice. “That’s fine, but I’m telling you now, if I think I have to, I will go over your head and shut you down.”
They had a staring match, and although Brett understood, it didn’t mean he had to like it. “So you’re allowed to go off half-cocked to rescue Randall, but I’m not allowed to find Felix?”
Dominic tilted his head, hardening his gaze. “You know that’s not the part I meant.” Brett broke away, tidying his desk. “I know you love him, Brett. I’d be blind not to see it, but as cliché as this sounds, he would want you to go on. Find these assholes and make them pay, but stay alive while doing it.”
Brett didn’t reply, but he didn’t reject his words either. He couldn’t even throw anything back at him because Dominic had gone off on his own to rescue Randall and had nearly got himself killed in the process. Same with Owen. And Nick… Well, Nick was Nick. It was uncanny how Dominic had said such similar words to what Felix’s mother had. Apparently, his attraction to Felix wasn’t as much of a secret as he thought it was.
“We have nothing to go on, Dom,” Brett whispered, and for the first time in a long time, he let his fractured heart show. “I don’t know how to find him.” He barely held back his tears, swallowing them down with the lump in his throat.
Dominic stepped closer. “We might not have anything now, but something will show up. It always does. It just might take a little while. We have enough information to go over. We can comb through it again and again. Fresh eyes each time. We do what we always do. Dig.”
Brett nodded and swallowed again, barely able to breathe, let alone think. All he could see was the image of Felix with the gun to his head. “I can’t sit here, Dom. I have to dosomething.”
“Go and see Christian. He was looking for you earlier.” Dominic squeezed his shoulder. “Go find him.”
Brett didn’t need telling twice. He wasn’t sure if he was going to find Christian, because it meant he would have to talk, but he needed out of Sec HQ. Too many memories, and almost every one of them had something to do with the man who was nolonger with him. He shook his head as he exited the room. Fate certainly had a way of messing with people. Not only had Carl lost his husband, but they’d lost Felix, too. Why did it take all the good people? Why couldn’t it take the assholes and criminals and anyone else who deserved being six feet under?