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This was definitely a team he wanted to join full time. Once they’d locked up the threat against Tessa, he’d work to make sure she wanted him full-time as well.
Chapter14
Second String
Tessa lost herself in the data. Her brain worked best when she read things over first in detail, then reread quickly while looking for connections. Flynn had collected a lot of data over the years and it was a time-consuming process.
This wasn’t like the data she’d helped Bella sort and analyze. This was more like a spiderweb of information. Actually more like multiple spiderwebs intersecting.
The thought had her sitting back and imagining it. Three-dimensional spiderwebs intersecting at various points. Spherical spiderwebs. A three-dimensional Venn diagram gone mad.
What would be the most important points to ground the data? Places or individuals? Transactions? People made the most sense, so she’d start there.
She closed her eyes to help her envision the 3D webs. The first glowing point would be Grigor Pavic. His web would have the most threads, as he appeared to be at the center of the entire mess.
She’d need threads on his web for each branch of his organization. Legitimate casino interactions. Illegal gambling sites. Prostitution. Guns. Drugs. She didn’t have information for all of those, but she’d rather have the possibilities in place so she could easily add in what she discovered. Those would be soft grey threads.
Green for finances. Those threads would criss-cross when the money moved between the branches of the Pavic organization. There would be many of those.
Once Grigor’s web-sphere was cemented in her mind, she grabbed some paper and did a crude sketch. She might not be able to draw people, but she could make a sphere. Sort of. The result was something only a loving parent would post on the fridge, but it would help her to explain her thinking to others.
Now, who would warrant their own webs and who would be minor players who could be added to the various data points on the main webs?
Her gut was telling her that her Uncle Karlo had transformed himself into Karl Kuzmetzov. She’d put info on both personas on the same web. If they weren’t the same person, she’d build another later.
Another for her father, although she hadn’t come across any information that made her believe he was alive. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about that. Gangs and organizations Pavic worked with would get their own spheres as well.
Any super-villain had a layer of sub-villains to run their empire. If her father or Uncle Karlo were still alive, that would likely be their positions. Hidden behind the scenes, running the money, conducting the orchestra of crimes.
Including the explosion of her house with her inside. With a deep breath, Tessa shoved aside the emotion. There was no place for it here.
She started creating the new web in her mind. The chain of dead-end transactions with no record of where the money landed. The date of the house explosion. From the very little she truly knew of her father and uncle, she figured the illegal gambling branch was the best fit for their personalities.
She could imagine one or both of them being in charge of illegal games. There were probably mobile ones that changed locations often, but from the data she’d been studying, she’d bet there was at least one permanent, well-hidden facility that held a private casino.
Where? This might be the key to finding them.
Tessa sketched out the second web-sphere, angling it so that the points of data would intersect with Grigor’s.
As she added more spheres, the familiar excitement of being on the right track to solving a complex problem filled her. The illegal casino was the key. Once they located that, they would find the solutions to many of their questions.
Would the map Flynn was working on help? Maybe she and Flynn could collate the data together. Her heart fluttered at that thought. She wanted to do so much with him, but it might be too early to have real hope.
Tessa pulled off her headphones and gave herself a minute to switch from analysis to the real world. Her body was stiff, so she stretched her arms and shoulders, wiggled her fingers, and moved her neck. Next, she stood and stretched her back and finally moved her legs.
Flynn’s drawl brought her back to the room. “Well, that’s a sexy sight to greet a man.”
She turned to the stairs where he’d appeared from below. “I thought you were working with Sam’s class on outdoor tracking?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I was. We’ve been gone for over four hours.”
She’d gotten lost in her data again. Knowing she was in a safe place had allowed her to sink into the information and not keep one eye on her surroundings.
The cabin had been locked and security cameras were trained on the door and windows. There would be lots of warning if someone tried to break in.
She’d been safe. A feeling she was getting used to.
Flynn walked over and kissed her. Another thing she was getting used to happening. Another thing she was craving and anticipating.
