Margot snickered. “No, it’s not. I’m bookmarking the page.” She was getting excited and the way she looked at James was different now. Daniel loved that the two of them seemed to be bonding.
James leaned closer. “Look, this bio has a lot of the stuff that’s in Reverend Dick’s bio. It could almost have been copied.” Daniel took down notes from the page. “So his background might be sketchy.” James turned to where his dad still leaned against the door frame and then he met Daniel’s gaze with a “holy shit” look. “What else do we know?”
“Not much,” Margot said. “There isn’t a lot of information here. But isn’t that suspicious in itself? Most people leave huge footprints on the web. Reverend Creepy has very little.” She seemed pleased with herself.
“True, but that’s intuition, not facts. As an investigator, you deal in facts. Intuition might lead you in one direction, but it has to be backed up with facts or it’s meaningless.”
Margot snickered. “Like the time you snuck out of the house, got drunk, and tried to climb in my window instead of yours?” Daniel definitely wanted to hear more about this story. Dang, Margot could be wicked.
James gaped at her for a split second. “See. That’s what I mean. Facts. Yes, I did sneak out. You assumed that I was drunk, but my window was locked and yours wasn’t. I had actually gone to a concert in town that Mom would have had a fit about. I know you understand that.”
Margot sighed dramatically.
“And there was no drinking involved.”
Daniel wasn’t so sure he believed that was true, and he bumped James’s arm slightly just to let him know he wasn’t buying it.
“What’s all this about sneaking out?” Phillip asked from the doorway.
“Nothing,” James sang, and all three of them collapsed into a fit of giggles.
“What about the pictures you took in his office?” Daniel asked, changing the subject.
“You took pictures?” Margot smacked James on the shoulder. “Good job. That was really smart of you. What made you think of it?”
“Very funny. What is it, pick on James day?” He tried to look hurt and failed.
“I don’t want to know about any of this…unless you find something,” Phillip said, returning to the living room.
“Where’s Holly?” James asked his dad.
“Howard picked her up for a little alone time,” Phillip answered, turning on the television.
“Let’s see those pictures.” Margot rubbed her hands together impatiently while James emailed her the pictures. Daniel was curious too, and intrigued by seeing James in action…so to speak.
Margot shifted her chair closer so they could all see the images as she brought them up. “Get your laptop as well,” Daniel suggested to James, who retrieved it from the bedroom.
“He didn’t think there was anything to be found, did he?” Margot asked quietly. “Everyone treats me like I’m a kid and don’t know anything. ‘Go to your room!’” She did a pretty good imitation of her mother.
Daniel hedged. “I think your brother is more cautious than you think he is. But he’s also a man of action when it’s warranted.” He leaned closer to view the images, copying down places and dates from the various framed diplomas and certificates. “I also think that if you want to be taken seriously, then you need to act serious.” He smiled. “Emotional outbursts won’t get you accepted. But acting grown up will get you treated like a grown-up.” Daniel leaned closer. “Though my real advice would be to enjoy being young while you can. Life has a way of ripping it away soon enough.” By the time James returned, Daniel and Margot had a list of points of research.
“How do we check these out?” Margot asked. “I doubt we can just go online and get lists of graduates and degrees. I could try to hack into their systems.”
James looked like he was going to swallow his teeth. “There’s no need for that.”
“Why not?”
“We don’t have to.” James picked up his phone and made a call. “I have a friend who can. Ronny and I went through the academy together.” As James made the call, Daniel stood to stretch his legs. He stepped out back, taking in the mountains and fresh air while giving himself a chance to think. Emotionally he was a mess, with his head spinning, and to add to it, this little mystery seemed to have grown into something more than just a diversion.