“Do you know if the clothes were removed before…or after?” He couldn’t articulate what he meant through the thickness in his throat, so he hoped Brady understood his question.
“We don’t know. It might show after testing, but as of right now, I can’t answer that.” Brady’s tone held a note of sympathy, but Brett ignored it.
“Anything else you’ve found?”
“Not so far. Obviously, we’re doing forensics on everything, but it seems far too clean. Potentially a drop and run.”
Brett stared at the pile of clothes, something catching his eye about it. He crouched but didn’t touch them. “What’s that?” He pointed at something burgundy coloured.
“A scarf. Why?”
“As far as I’m aware, Felix doesn’t own anything that isn’t black, grey or blue.”
Brady picked it up, the fabric hanging loose from his fingers. “This isn’t Felix’s?”
Brett stood again, staring at the item. “My instincts tell me no because he wasn’t a man to wear colours, but I couldn’t guarantee it. Owen? What do you think?”
“I think you’re right. I’ve never seen Felix wear anything other than dark colours either. Whose… Holy shit.”
“What?” Brett’s gaze snapped to him.
“We found roses with his phone, and now a scarf with his clothes. Roses were something Douglas and Randall had to deal with, and a scarf was something Evan and I had issues around.”
“What about Nick and Kai? Did they have something relevant through their ordeal?” Brady asked.
“Notes and photographs mainly, similar to when we found his phone. Whatever they’re doing, they’re leading us on a merry trail,” Owen said, hands on his hips while he surveyed the area, walking in a circle. “First the phone, now this. What next?”
“Whatever they’re doing, they’re not finished,” Brett said.
“Why’s that?” Eric asked.
“Because they’re still leaving clues. Felix is…dead, but they’re still leaving things for us to find. If it was over, they’d be gloating, and it would be the end.”
“Where is his gun?” Owen asked. At Brett’s frown, he added, “We have his clothes and his phone, but where is his gun and holster?”
“Probably a keepsake,” Maddox said, and Brett glared at him, though he wasn’t looking at him. “What are they after?” Maddox continued, something in his voice making Brett look at him a little closer.
He met Maddox’s gaze. “Chaos.” He could’ve elaborated, but he didn’t. “Time to head back. There are still things to do. And we have some guards who need to be on duty. As much as I want to keep us focused on finding Felix’s…Felix, our regular jobs take precedence.” He hated saying the words, but it was his job to make tough decisions. And he knew Felix would want them to continue protecting the Sutcliffes, no matter what.
Brett turned around, surveying the area they stood in. There wasn’t much around them. “Brady, how did you find these? It’s not like anyone overlooks it, and apart from the circle and where we all walked, nothing looks disturbed.”
“Someone called in an anonymous tip. And before you ask, yes, we tried tracing it but couldn’t. We have no idea where the call came from. There was a path in the grass before we got here, and we got forensics to look at it before we followed it, hence the delay in letting you know about it.”
“Maybe out guy can help,” Brett said, squinting.
“How long have you been here?” Brett frowned at Brady.
“Around four hours.”
“You were told about this four hours ago, and you didn’t tell me?” Brett rounded on him. “Four hours!”
Brady stared at him, narrowing his eyes. “I will let that slide… this time. We weren’t told what it was or whom it related to, just that something was here. Until I researched the watch, I had no clue it had anything to do with Felix.”
“What do you mean, researched the watch?”
“I’ve never seen a watch like this before, so it caught my attention. I did an online search of the make and model and found it was rare. When I contacted the creator, they confirmed they only made ten, and when Frank Jamison’s name came up, it didn’t take long for us to link him to Felix.” Brady cleared his throat. “There is also an issue with the rifle the detectives found.”
“What issue?” Brett said.