“I wish I loved history like you, May,” said Tanner.
“It’s not really history,” she smiled. “It’s what history leaves behind. Every culture, every society, ever known has left something for us to study. A clue that gives us insight into their lives. It’s amazing. For instance, Gobero, Niger, in the Sahara, there are hundreds of burials, far more than any site of comparable age. Plus, there are thousands of artifacts. Just finding it was completely accidental, but finding it let us know that, at one time, the Sahara was lush and green. It had plants and wildlife and water!”
The two men chuckled at her enthusiasm and excitement.
“Five thousand years old. Can you imagine that?” she smiled.
“It does seem remarkable,” said Tanner, “but then again, we have ghosts on our property more than four hundred years old. Imagine if we could find things belonging to them, the artifacts. It would be pretty incredible.”
“Yes. Yes, it truly would,” said May quietly.
“What are you thinking?” frowned Hiro.
“I was just thinking, what if we could find a way for the ghosts to help us in cases? I mean, beyond just our immediate area. We know that they have a ‘network,’ so to speak. What if we could develop that further and perhaps solve more mysteries?”
“It’s an interesting idea,” said Tanner. “I’m not the expert, but we could send an e-mail to Noah, Julia, and Mama Irene. Maybe this is something they could start working on. Maybe a whole new division for our team.”
“Ultimate cold cases,” said May, laughing as she scanned her hand across the sky like a marquis.
“Let’s get some sleep,” said Tanner. “I’d like to speak with Jae-Hua in the morning and leave as soon as we can.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Rory, JB, Cade, and Jax entered the Royal Orleans, nodding at the young desk clerk. Summer was busy in New Orleans, but not like Mardi Gras or festival season. It was so hot and humid, generally the only tourists were those who had no clue what the weather was like this time of year.
“Good morning, gentlemen. Do you have a reservation?” he asked.
“No. We’re looking for a man that’s wanted for questioning,” said Jax. He wasn’t lying. Not exactly. He was wanted for questioning, just not by the police. Not really.
“I see, and you’re law enforcement?” he asked.
The men pulled ID badges out, made specifically for the security company to look like official law enforcement. It was something they’d decided to do a while back, realizing they couldn’t beat the information they desired out of everyone. They had to at least attempt to be kind.
“Thank you,” said the man. “What does this man look like?”
“He’s Korean, maybe five-feet-ten or eleven, probably about one hundred and sixty-five pounds, black hair, dark eyes.”
The man stared at them, blinking several times.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Rory.
“Follow me.”
Rory looked at the others but followed the man down a long corridor to an elevator bank. There, he took them up to the third floor, where there were dozens of meeting rooms. When he stopped outside a set of double doors, he opened them and nodded inside.
There were at least two hundred Korean men seated, listening to a speaker at the front of the room. It appeared he was talking about anesthesiology, but they weren’t quite sure.
“Fuck me,” growled JB. “Do we think he’d be with this group?”
“I don’t think we have a choice but to look,” said Cade. JB frowned at the men, then nodded.
“Cade and Rory, you’re the tallest. See if you can slide along the side of the room and get a look at faces. Hayes sent us the composite to our phones.”
The two giants moved along the side of the room, staring at the rows of faces as they did. Men turned, looking at them with confusion, but then turned back, giving their speaker respect.
When they reached the front row and didn’t see their man, both men turned to leave the room.
“Excuse me,” said the speaker. Rory and Cade stopped, turning toward the man.