Several stacks of papers were spread out before him, flanked by a slim laptop computer, a cell phone, and a stack of cash.
Ivan looked up at my boy and tapped his knuckles across the hard edge of the laptop. “Kingston and I found this buried in a desk drawer in Laughton's house. Its password protected. Can you crack it?”
Silas blinked. “Are you joking, sir? I’ve hacked into the database for the witness protection program.”
Ivan’s lips tipped upward and with a shove, he sent the computer soaring across the smooth surface of the table. Silas caught it with the tip of his fingers and lifted the lid, disappearing behind the screen with his lip between his teeth.
A shadow fell across my skin when Ben moved to position beside me, announcing his presence with a grunt and the flick of his chin. “Thatis why your boy is here, Kingston. In case you fucking forgot, my life is on the line, and I wasn’t about to stop and get your goddamn permission before giving him an order.”
Ivan cleared his throat. “We all have standing orders to give Toby whatever the fuck he wants, sir. TobyaskedSilas to tell him the truth. Maybe the next time you keep a secret from your husband, inform the fucking rest of us, yeah?”
My lips twitched.
“Wipe that fucking smirk off your face, Kingston, before I get my blade and do it for you.” Ben snarled, popping the rigid bones in his neck before lifting a stack of papers. “What the fuck is all this?”
“Copies of the original email thread between Hugh and our ghost.” Ivan swept his hand across the jaw as he studied the contents, a stupefied look on his face. “To tell you the truth, sir, I wasn’t expecting to find anything in his house.”
“Me either.” I folded my arms across my chest. “What was the purpose of hiding out in that hunting shed if he was going to leave behind evidence of murder?”
“Maybe he thought it was safe.” Ivan mused. “He had this shit locked in a drawer, right? We’ve already concluded he wasn’t very bright. Maybe he put it there to keep it hidden until he’d made the kill.”
“And the money?” I lifted the stack of cash, weighing it with my palm. “There has to be at least a couple thousand dollars here.”
“My guess?” Ben toyed with his wedding ring, eyes pinned on his husband. Toby was sitting silently beside Silas, tracking the speed of my boy’s fingers as they flew across the keyboard.
“The money was an escape route in case he missed his shot.” Ben said, sounding as though gravel coated his throat. “The terms of Hugh’s contract with the ghost were simple: kill Benjamin Thomas and collect your money. The contract holds no validity unless I’m on the ground somewhere halfway to hell. Failure would have resulted in one pissed off buyer.” Ben pointed to the cash in my hand. “Thatwas so he could run.”
An abrupt noise came from across the table, and it stole our attention one by one. “Silas cracked the password.” Toby said, a sliver of hope on his lips.
“Of course I did.” Silas’ head popped over the edge of the screen. “Is there something I’m supposed to be looking for?”
“Anything that could lead us to the ghost.” Ivan said. “More emails, a bank transfer, a—”
“Got it.” Silas disappeared again.
The telltale sound of clicking filled the room, but otherwise, silence descended upon us. The tension knotted throughout the walls was thick enough to saturate the pockets of air that filtered in and out of our lungs. It wasn’t often Benjamin Thomas felt the ache of dread swell inside his bones. Fear was something he laughed at, and even now I didn’t think dying was the cause of his obvious anxiety. It was the simple, harrowing thought of leaving his husband in this world all alone.
“A month is too goddamn long.” Ben ground his teeth together. “I want this man found, and I want him found tonight.”
Ivan shook his head. “Silas has always found who we’re looking for. This guy is good.”
“He’s notthatgood.” Silas said, voice muffled behind the screen. “He just knows the best places to hide. There are almost an infinite number of ways to disguise yourself on the internet. I’m the best but I’m still only one person.”
“It’s like a game of hide and seek, then?” Toby asked.
Silas lifted a shoulder. “Sure, I guess. Ghost has just found a new spot to hide. One I haven’t uncovered yet.”
“Maybe he’s breaking the rules and changing his spot when you aren’t looking? Like maybe he’s hiding in a place you already looked.”
“Impossible. I put traps wherever I go but maybe—” Silas stilled, and he glanced at Toby with the makings of a frown and a furrow between his eyebrows. “Maybe he’s hiding in more than one place.”
“Is that possible?”
“Yes.” Silas’ cheek hollowed as though he was gnawing on it from the inside. “But it isn’t fool-proof. Camouflaging yourself inside multiple holes of the web doesn’t actually take a lot of skill, but it is time-consuming.”
“Then why go through the trouble?”
“To confuse me, probably. The ghost doesn’t possess the same skills I do, so all he’s really doing is running out the clock. My guess is that he knows I’ll find him eventually, but he’s hoping to stay hidden until someone carries out the ad.”