Page 118 of The Deadly Shallows

“Can we take a look?” Noah asked.

“Sure,” Josh said. “No sweat off my back, but you and”—his eyes shifted to Brooke—“your lady friend should be careful. There’s no floor beyond the entry platform, just structure beams.”

Noah held Brooke’s hand as she climbed up beside him on the platform.

“Careful on the beams,” he said as they split up to look for anything labeled 3B. He hoped but wasn’t holding his breath.

He watched Brooke head for the right front side of the attic, balancing with precision across the beams.

“Impressive,” he said.

She shrugged. “Years of ballet.”

“I didn’t know you danced.” There was still so much to know. He couldn’t wait for the time spent learning everything about her.

“Hey,” she said ten minutes in.

He turned, and she waved him over to the far corner of the attic. He worked his way over beam by beam until he was at her side.

“3B.” She smiled.

“Fantastic.” He honestly hadn’t expected to find anything, not at the rate this case was going.

He slipped his gloves on and then, positioning a foot on two parallel planks, knelt to examine the box. It looked intact enough to transport as is. “Let’s take it back to the lab for Finn to go through.”

“Sounds good.” She stood as he lifted the box in his arm, and they gingerly made their way back to the platform and out to his Jeep.

Though a 3B label didn’t necessarily mean the box had belonged to Dwayne, Noah prayed they’d finally found tactile evidence on the man who had eluded them thus far.

FIFTY-SEVEN

Brooke pulled into the station parking lot with only minutes to spare before Noah’s interviews with the Army lieutenant and guardsman who’d both brought up red flags when initially questioned.

Em stepped past them as they entered the station. “Hey, boss.” She balanced a tower of files and a mishmash of notepads before off-loading them onto her desk. She certainly had her work cut out for her.

“Ris,” Noah called, heading toward the lab with the box they’d found, “I’ll be right back.”

“Neither Caldwell nor Malone have arrived yet, so take your time,” Rissi said, lifting her coffee tumbler as Noah went by.

Noah turned to Brooke as he set down the box. “You’re welcome to join Em while she processes the box’s contents. I know you’re as anxious as I am to see what’s inside.”

Her eyes lit. “You sure that’s okay?”

“You’re as big a part of this case as any of us.”

She shifted her weight, unable to smother her smile. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Ready?” Emmy said with a bounce in her step as she entered the lab.

“Most definitely. My curiosity is sky-high,” Brooke said.

“On that note,” Noah said, “I’m going to get ready for the interviews. You two try not to get into too much trouble.”

Emmy batted her eyes. “Us? Trouble?”

“Mind if I join you ladies?” Austin asked, entering.

Noah exhaled. All three of them in a room. Trouble was sure to abound.