Page 21 of Hack
CHAPTER NINE
Archer spent the day going through his files, reminding himself of notes he'd taken years before and forgotten about. The little notes caused memories to stir in his mind, and that brought forth visuals of gravesites and autopsy photos he didn't want to recall.
So many innocent girls had been taken by this bastard, and he hated that so far, he'd been able to do nothing to save them.
When he'd left the FBI, he'd had dreams of following leads and bringing Lyle's reign of terror to an end quickly. Of course, he didn't know his name back then. He didn't know half the shit that he did now, but sadly, that was because he'd failed to find the murdering prick and bring the nightmare to an end.
It was only because of more death, more torture, more families mourning their daughters that he had all the information he did now. He'd gone from a couple of files to the stacks of them that now sat in front of him.
He stood and stretched. He needed a break. Going to the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of water, gulping it down before filling it again. Carter had been out several times, bringing out the files he'd gone through and taking more with him back into his office. While the door wasn't closed to keep him out, Archer hadn't bothered him, feeling it was best to let Carter do what he was doing and formulate the information in a way that would work best for him.
Archer glanced at his watch, seeing it was after five. They'd been at it all day. He'd been so lost in the information he hadn't even noticed the hours going by. Since he hadn't had more than coffee all day, he needed to eat. There was no point in getting hangry and letting the case bring out his bitchy side. Figuring Carter would need food as well, he headed to his office, pausing at the open door before clearing his throat.
Carter swiveled in his chair, looking as dazed and focused as he had been before forcing himself to set the work down. "Hey."
"Sorry to bother you, but I need food. I thought I'd run out and grab something. You want me to get you something?" He leaned against the doorway.
"Shit, what time is it?" Carter glanced at his computer for a second. "Damn, where did the day go?" He pushed away from the computer and stood. "A break would be good." He ran his fingers through his thick hair, causing it to stand up on end. "I know a steak house about five minutes from here if you're in the mood to sit and eat somewhere."
"I can do steak." Archer's stomach liked the sound of a thick slab of meat.
"Then give me five minutes to finish what I'm working on and we'll go." He turned back to whatever he'd been doing.
"Sounds good." Archer left him to do his thing. He headed down the hall to the bathroom. Once done, he headed back out, not finding Carter in the office. Figuring he was doing his own get ready, he walked back into the living room, looking over the stacks of files that he still had to go through.
Carter came to stand by his side several minutes later. "I've found a lot that I didn't know before. Little things, but they could lead to bigger things. The family interviews, the girls' histories, you have so much."
"Bad obsession." Archer shrugged as he glanced at Carter.
"Only bad if it leads nowhere." Carter jingled his keys. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Archer followed him outside and to Carter's car. Other than a taxi, he hadn't been in a car with another person in years. It was strange going around to the passenger side and climbing in. It reminded him how much he kept to himself, refusing to let anyone get close. Being an only child with no living family, he didn't have any ties, and he liked it that way. There was nothing to draw him back home to face the memories there, nobody to insist he come to visit. The few friends he had were hardly even friends. He kept in touch with sources, some he was closer to than others, but none of them were anyone he'd consider a friend.
"Sorry I'm not a better host." Carter pulled the car out of the driveway.
"I didn't come here to have you cater to me. I came to do exactly what we are doing. I don't need someone to hold my hand. The sooner you get through those files, the sooner we can start hopefully piecing things together." Archer rubbed his hand down his thigh as he watched where they were going.
"Tomorrow, I want to try and put a trace on Lyle's brothers' phones if you have the information. I can also get hold of tracking devices for their vehicles if you think that might do us any good." Carter glanced over at him.
"It can't hurt. I'm happy to fly back and put them on their cars, but you'll have to walk me through where to put them and how to do it. Up until now, I've never had a need to take things this far with a case I'm working, and I'm sure the tech is different from when I went through the academy."
"Yeah, it is, and what I use is different than what the police use." Carter kept his eyes on the road. "I'll see about getting them tomorrow. You only need two?"
"Yeah, I think if anyone is in contact with Lyle, it's only his brothers. I don't see anyone else bothering to keep in touch with him. Levitt has an old Ford truck and Luis drives an older model Blazer. Nothing fancy."
"What do they do for work?"
"Levitt works at the local feed store, he's a manager there, and Luis owns a bar in town. It's a dive, but it draws in the crowds. Not a good crowd, but the place is always busy." Archer had gone in a couple of times to stake things out and get a read on what Luis did. "Luis seems to be the controlling brother, and Levitt the follower."
Carter grunted. "I did a background on the family when the DNA tie came up. There wasn't much there. A few arrest records for drunk and disorderly, Levitt had a DUI, but beyond that, they seem to keep to themselves."
"Luis has a woman. Not sure how serious they are, but she's the only one I've seen him with. She's not much more than you'd expect. I get the feeling she sticks with him for the free drinks she can get by hanging out with him at the bar. I've never seen Levitt with anyone." Archer twisted his watch around his wrist absently.
"I haven't gotten there yet, but I want to add any information you have on them to the file I've already got. Once I get the basic shit in, I'll have you join me in the office and we can go into more details." Carter pulled into a parking lot filled with cars. "We may have to wait a few minutes to get seated, but the food is worth it."
"I don't mind." Archer pushed his door open and stepped out into the evening heat. Going around the car, he met Carter at the back and walked beside him as they headed to the door. "I don't have computer skills like you do, but I can hold my own inputting information if I can help in any way."
Carter smiled, then headed to the hostess to put their names on the waiting list. When he came back, he sat down on the bench beside Archer. "No offense, but I tend not to let anyone else into my files. I mean, you can read them, but any information that goes into them, I put there. It's nothing personal, it's just how my brain works. If someone else messes with them, I feel like I'm missing out on the information. I appreciate the offer, but I'm a control freak that way."
