“Huh,” Kelly offered as he took a few steps inside and surveyed the room. “They cut his guts open but didn’t try his room?”
“That, or they searched it neat.”
This room was a little more Spartan than theirs, with a double bed and a small vanity. It had no balcony. It didn’t even have windows. The bed hadn’t been slept it. Nothing seemed out of place.
Kelly pointed toward the small desk against the far wall. “Laptop.”
“See if you can get it up and running,” Ty said. He headed for the bedside table and went through the small drawers, checked under the pillows and the mattress, got down and peered under the bed. He checked under all the tables and tried the bottoms of each drawer for anything taped there. He kicked aside the rugs and lifted them up to search under them. Then he went to the wardrobe that held Milton’s luggage. He dragged everything out and put it on the bed.
“Jesus, he’s got some heavy shit in here,” Ty said as he hefted the third suitcase out of the wardrobe.
“This thing is password protected,” Kelly finally said. “I can’t get into it.”
Ty nodded. “We’ll take it to Zane, see if he can get past it.”
Kelly came over to help Ty go through the suitcases. “He brought an awful lot of stuff for a week.”
Ty nodded, frowning at the three large suitcases full of clothing, shoes, toiletries, and electronics. “It’s almost like he wasn’t planning on going back home,” he said. He and Kelly shared a glance.
Kelly pulled out a Dopp kit and unzipped it. It was brimming with toiletries and medicine bottles. “Why would this all be packed up? He had six more days, why not take it into the bathroom, lay everything out?”
Ty’s frown deepened. He turned to the large wardrobe. It was empty. No suits hanging, nothing folded into the drawers. All of Milton’s things were neatly packed. “He either never unpacked, or he was planning on leaving last night.”
Kelly was scowling when Ty met his eyes. “This guy’s starting to feel shady, man.”
Ty grunted in agreement. “We need to get into that laptop. Gather it up, we’ll take it with us.”
“What about his phone? Did he have it on him?”
“Yeah, but it got wet. It’s useless.”
Kelly shrugged. “Let’s go put it in some rice.”
“Rice?”
“Yeah, it soaks up the water.” Kelly bundled up the laptop and stuck it under his arm. “I dropped mine in the toilet once. A little rice, a little Clorox. Good as new!”
Ty swiped a hand over his face as they left the room. “That is so gross.”
Zane approached the table where Burns and Earl were sitting, drinking coffee and playing some sort of card game. He could feel Nick behind him. He was a very physical presence, and Zane now completely understood why Ty had always trusted the man to have his back.
“Earl. Director Burns,” Zane said with a nod at each man.
“Hey, Zane, Nick. Take a load off,” Earl invited with a jerk of his head to the empty chairs at the table. “We heard there was another murder.”
“Yes, sir,” Nick said softly. “I’m afraid we didn’t come to play cards. Director Burns, we’d like to speak with you about a few things.”
Zane glanced at him, surprised he’d gone the direct route. His jaw was tight and his green eyes were hard and sparkling. Zane groaned internally. Ty had been right. Zane was going to have to pry Nick’s fingers from Burns’s neck, he knew he was.
Burns and Earl exchanged frowns, then Burns placed his cards on the table and nodded. “What do you need to discuss?”
Nick’s hard stare remained on Burns, but Zane looked between the two older men pointedly. “It has to do with work. It’s probably best we speak in private.”
Burns pursed his lips and stood. “I’ll be back,” he said to Earl. He came around the table, watching Nick with an almost curious expression.
Zane turned to lead them both into one of the unoccupied rooms that lined the great hall. They settled in the parlor. Burns sat in one of the chairs near the large stone fireplace, and Zane and Nick sat opposite him on a small sofa.
“What’s going on, boys?”
“Was Milton one of your men?” Nick asked, his voice hard.
Burns’s only reaction was a rapid series of blinks.
“The watch he wore,” Zane said. “It was just like Ty’s, the one you gave him with the GPS in it.”
“He’s also dead, just like most of your recruits,” Nick practically snarled.
Burns cleared his throat. “This is going to be unproductive with him present. Unless he intends to use his alternative interrogation skills,” he said with a point at Nick. He stood to go.