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“Sorry, darlin’, boss’s rules.” He laughs to himself as he focuses on the road.
“This is a little ridiculous though, don't you think?”
“Cole said I was to take you wherever you wanted to go but stay with you,” he informs me as if it’s out of his hands, and I can’t help but smile to myself when I hear his name.
I know how much Cole hates not being in control, but at the same time he knows he can’t stop me from doing something once I’m set on it. Him insisting Tate come with me is his way of making sure I stay safe. I can’t be mad at him for that.
“I didn’t know you like to read?” Tate pulls up outside the library like I instructed him to, and knowing that he wears the brand and can be trusted, I decide to tell him what my plan is.
“Zayne uses a computer to do all his research, right?”
“Yeah, and he’s pretty damn good at it too.” Tate nods.
“Well, Fork River was founded some time ago, and there's a whole lot of history surrounding it.” Tate almost seemsimpressed with my knowledge. “Zayne is looking for something that would have had to be loaded onto a computer or the internet. What if this investigation needs to be handled a little more traditionally?” I get out the truck and start walking toward the library entrance. Tate shows he’s interested when he gets out and quickly follows me. “In towns like this one, all the old land records are usually stored right here.” I point to the old weathered library sign above the door. “And once they reach a certain age, they become public record. Do you think all that information would have been loaded onto the internet?” I question him.
“Smart thinking.” Now Tate really looks impressed.
“I borrowed the file Zayne gave Garrett with everything he discovered about Harvey in his research, and I’m gonna try and find a link.” I pull the brown file from the back of my jeans under my jacket and hold it up in front of me.
“Does Garrett know you took that?” Tate looks worried.
“Not exactly but he told me to help myself to anything I needed when I first started staying at the house.”
“I don’t think that's what he meant.” He stares at the file doubtfully.
“You gonna rat me out?” I stare at him.
“Are you gonna behave?” He turns the question onto me.
“I always behave, and hopefully this is what’s gonna help figure out what Harvey really wants.” I smile at him.
“C’mon, let’s see what you can do.” He sighs in defeat as he opens the door for me.
The town’s library is as disappointing on the inside as it is on the outside. The building is run down and smells musty, and I’m surprised to find a young girl sitting behind the desk, instead of an old woman wearing a cardigan.
“Can I help you?” She looks excited to have some company as we approach her.
“Hopefully, I’m looking for the town’s public records, births, deaths, land registry kind of stuff,” I explain, wondering when the last time anyone came in here was.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?” She stands up and takes a key from her desk drawer.
“I’ll know when I find it,” I assure her, giving nothing away as she leads me toward a room at the back of the building.
“It’s been a while since anyone came in here.” She unlocks the door and immediately coughs when the dust hits her lungs. “There’s a desk you can use in the corner.” She flicks on the light.
“Land registry is over there and all birth, marriage and death certificates are here. Anything registered after the millennium won’t be here, nothing’s be archived since then.” She smiles politely and Tate makes himself comfortable in a chair that’s in the opposite corner of the room to the desk.
“You gonna help at all?” I ask him, looking around at the hundreds of boxes and wondering where the hell I’m gonna start.
“I’ve been sent to make sure you don’t do anything stupid, not to participate.” He takes out his phone and starts playing on it.
“You know, the sooner I get what I want, the sooner you get to go back to the ranch,” I point out, opening up the file that I took from Garrett’s desk and looking at the list of names on the first page. They are all people who Zayne suspects work for the organization and I start the long, drawn-out process of searching through the boxes for any surnames that match. Tate eventually takes pity on me and begrudgingly starts to help, and I think it’s really kind of the girl who works here when she offers us a coffee a few hours later.
“You really don’t know when to quit, do you? We’ve been at this all afternoon and you got nothin’,” Tate points out the obvious as he places the lid on the latest box he’s gone through.
“Whose name is this?” I find another name in the file Zayne put together, this time a female one.
“Let me see that,” Tate snatches it out of my hand and looks at the name that’s scribbled on a separate piece of paper to all the others.
