“The question is,” Quinn said, “what exactly is ‘this’?”

“It looks like a long list of various meetings or gatherings of the criminal element,” Adam said, with a gesture at the pile, “that aren’t connected to anything specific. Except...”

“Pix,” Quinn said.

Adam’s gaze shot back to Quinn’s face. And he saw in the man’s eyes what he’d forgotten for a moment, that Quinn Foxworth had been a soldier, a fighter, long before he’d become...a champion against injustice, or for lost causes or whatever he was now.

“Yes. It occurs in nearly every reference. If there’s anything that tied it together, in Greg’s mind at least, it was that.”

“What is pix?” Amanda asked.

“I wish I knew,” he said. “Greg obviously thought he was onto something big.”

“Is there any chance he would have used the actual letters for this one thing, instead of the code? Should we be looking at Btp, instead of Pix?” Liam asked.

Adam shook his head. “If he wanted it secret, he’d never risk something someone could just guess.” He looked back at the pages yet again. “The way it’s used, in context with the rest and capitalized, it seems like it has to be a name.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said. “Question is, thing or person?”

“I would have thought person,” Hayley said, “but I suppose it could be a place.”

“An organization, maybe?” Amanda put in.

“Could be,” Quinn said. He looked at Adam. “Any common thread in the cases you remember here?”

“Not that I can think of right now. I’d have to see the case files to really remember.”

Quinn nodded. “I’ll see what we can do about that.”

Adam opened his mouth to say it was unlikely they could get the full files, then remembered who he was talking to. Quinn Foxworth was remembered and remembered well at the department, and he could probably get whatever he darned well pleased. He, on the other hand, would likely get the door shut in his face, no matter what the official investigation had concluded.

“It has to be important,” Amanda said quietly. “He never would have hidden it like that if it wasn’t.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said.

“Where exactly did he hide it?” Adam asked. “He didn’t freeze it in an ice cube, did he?”

Amanda’s head snapped up. “He told you about that?”

He couldn’t stop his smile. “Yeah. He was pretty proud of that one.”