Hope surged in her. Finally, something she could do. "I'll get on it right away, sir."
"Ertz, if you find any connection to this case, you have to promise me to stop and turn it over." Davin stared at her until she wanted to squirm.
"Of course. I want this person put away more than anyone."
Taylor grabbed her computer off the coffee table and headed toward the dining room. "Did you have Paul bring the monitor extenders?"
Davin pointed to the bag on the chair at the head of the table. "He'll be here in the morning."
"I don't need both of you to babysit me."
"I don't want to trust anyone outside of our team right now and Officer Peters." Davin studied her. "Before you ask, he volunteered to stand watch outside while not on duty."
"My life isn't in danger." Only her freedom. Peters was a great guy. One that would make someone very happy one day, but her heart belonged to a dead man. Maybe a dead man. How had her life gotten so complicated?
"I'm not taking that chance. It's just as easy to pin treason on a dead man. Or in this case, woman."
Taylor swallowed. She could feel the walls of the room getting closer. What if she died before getting answers about Kam? Real answers. Not the PR version the government gave her.
"Look, Ertz, Paul and I, and Hollands too, won't stop until we clear your name. Look into McNite. If anyone can find him, it's you."
Taylor gave him a half smile, then cracked her knuckles. "I've got a ghost to find."
A take-out container landed beside her, and Taylor jumped in her seat. She looked at her watch, then up at Davin. How had seven hours passed? Her stomach grumbled, and Davin laughed.
"Looks like Peters was just in time." Davin put his hand up. "He ordered it before he left. Did you find anything?"
Taylor opened the container, and the tangy scent of BBQ tickled her nose. She might just owe him another favor. "On the surface, McNite looks clean. Wealthy millionaire who donated to the senator's campaign." She took a bite and savored the flavors.
"How did he make his millions?" Davin had a container in front of him and dug in.
"He developed a Smart Grid technology which allows municipalities to control things like natural gas shut-offs, dimming street lights, and monitoring carbon emissions, all to improve their ecological footprint. He made millions andreinvested them into other technologies. Now he runs a multi-million dollar company called Argotech that supports the development of other green technologies."
"In other words, the perfect donor for Senator Schulz." There was an edge to Davin's voice. Taylor didn't understand the relationship Davin had with his father. All she knew was that it was complicated.
"Before his discovery, there isn't much." Taylor took a sip of the sweet tea Davin set next to her.
"As in he didn't leave a footprint, or didn't exist?"
"From what I can tell, the whole thing is a fake. A deep fake, but a fake nonetheless. I want to keep digging to confirm my gut feeling."
They ate in silence for a while until Davin tossed his empty container in the trash. "Were you able to run a facial analysis of McNite and King?"
"What if it is a match?" Taylor pushed her leftovers to the side.
"Then it would answer some questions that you have."
"And create so many more," she whispered.
Davin cleared his throat. "I can't imagine what a discovery like this could do to anyone, but wouldn't it be better to know if McNite is King?"
Taylor's eyes stung as hope tried to overwhelm her senses. She blinked back the tears. "If this is Kam, why did he stay away?"Why did he not love me enough to come home?
"He might not have had a choice. Run the facial recognition. It will give you a lead to run down one way or the other."
Taylor pulled the computer back in front of her. "If it is Kam, then I have confirmation he never died. If it isn't, then this McNite person, whoever he is, knew Kam and will have answers for me."
She brought up the software and uploaded the two pictures. The one from the security feed at the hotel was not the clearest, but it would have to suffice. Taylor held her breath as the program ran its analysis. The computer dinged, and words simply left her mind. She had found Kam. Or better yet, he had found her.
