that? New IDs?” He went back to the drawers. “ ’Cuz that’d give us an avenue to explore.” If they leaned on the lowlife hard enough, maybe they’d discover he had an idea where Hubbard was heading. But more important, they’d find out whether he’d supplied the man with a single set of false identification or two. One for a girl, too.
“Local cops will probably know better. We can check.” Travis started replacing items in the box he’d emptied. “This just looks like junk from high school. Yearbooks and stuff.” He shifted his attention to Macy. “What do you have?”
“Photo albums. Some loose old pictures.” She held up a handful. They’d seen the man’s photo in the employee file Mulder kept. A much more youthful Nick Hubbard grinned from a photo with an older woman, whom he had his arm around. “Some look like they date back to his childhood, others are more recent.”
He switched his attention to the bottom drawer. It appeared to be old tax information. Randomly drawing out a folder, he flipped through several years of Hubbard’s old returns without finding anything remarkable. Like a good American, the man filed regularly, reporting income that seemed in keeping with his current job and the one he’d held earlier for the prison. The thought abruptly dissipated when he found a record that differed significantly from the others.
Looking up, he asked, “You run across any old wedding pictures in there?”
Macy glanced over at him. “Hubbard was married? When? Is he still?”
“Not according to these files. The last time he filed jointly was eight years ago. His wife’s name was”—he squinted slightly at the man’s cramped writing—“Sophie Hubbard.”
Several moments went by as Macy flipped rapidly through the photos remaining in the box. She shook her head. “Nothing in here. Maybe there’s a wedding album in the stack Dan’s looking at.”
The agent made an amused sound. “Doubtful. What guy is going to hang on to old pictures of the woman who dumped him and probably took half of his belongings with her?”
“A sentimental one,” Macy suggested.
Kell’s mind was heading in a completely different direction. “We need to track her down. Where does she live? Maybe she’s heard from her ex lately. Could be he felt her out about the care and feeding of an eleven-year-old.”
“Or maybe she’s in on this thing with him somehow.” Travis looked quickly through the remaining albums before shaking his head. “No wedding pictures in here. Nothing of him with any woman except one who might be his mother.”
Kell went through the rest of the tax reports before going on to the next set of folders in the file. No doubt Raiker already knew about the man’s marital history. It would have been in the dossier Mulder collected on all prospective employees. He wondered then if the man kept the records of those prospective candidates he turned down for jobs. He made a mental note to mention it to Raiker. They’d naturally look at anyone Mulder had fired in the last few years, but they should look as carefully at the ones he’d never offered a job to in the first place. If Mulder was the target, rather than the girl herself, revenge might be a primary motivation for hatching this plot.
“That’s it for the boxes.” Travis eyed Kell. “You about done with the files?”
“Almost.” The last few folders contained the survey and property assessment for the house and meticulous records of maintenance on the man’s vehicle. The final one was thick and contained records of investments Hubbard had with a well-known company. Kell skimmed it quickly, finding little to quibble about in the man’s holdings. There was a fair balance between assets, if a little on the conservative side. His own investment counselor would approve. The most current record showed Hubbard’s portfolio worth around eighty thousand. He shoved them back inside the drawer and did a perfunctory search
“Local cops will probably know better. We can check.” Travis started replacing items in the box he’d emptied. “This just looks like junk from high school. Yearbooks and stuff.” He shifted his attention to Macy. “What do you have?”
“Photo albums. Some loose old pictures.” She held up a handful. They’d seen the man’s photo in the employee file Mulder kept. A much more youthful Nick Hubbard grinned from a photo with an older woman, whom he had his arm around. “Some look like they date back to his childhood, others are more recent.”
He switched his attention to the bottom drawer. It appeared to be old tax information. Randomly drawing out a folder, he flipped through several years of Hubbard’s old returns without finding anything remarkable. Like a good American, the man filed regularly, reporting income that seemed in keeping with his current job and the one he’d held earlier for the prison. The thought abruptly dissipated when he found a record that differed significantly from the others.
Looking up, he asked, “You run across any old wedding pictures in there?”
Macy glanced over at him. “Hubbard was married? When? Is he still?”
“Not according to these files. The last time he filed jointly was eight years ago. His wife’s name was”—he squinted slightly at the man’s cramped writing—“Sophie Hubbard.”
Several moments went by as Macy flipped rapidly through the photos remaining in the box. She shook her head. “Nothing in here. Maybe there’s a wedding album in the stack Dan’s looking at.”
The agent made an amused sound. “Doubtful. What guy is going to hang on to old pictures of the woman who dumped him and probably took half of his belongings with her?”
“A sentimental one,” Macy suggested.
Kell’s mind was heading in a completely different direction. “We need to track her down. Where does she live? Maybe she’s heard from her ex lately. Could be he felt her out about the care and feeding of an eleven-year-old.”
“Or maybe she’s in on this thing with him somehow.” Travis looked quickly through the remaining albums before shaking his head. “No wedding pictures in here. Nothing of him with any woman except one who might be his mother.”
Kell went through the rest of the tax reports before going on to the next set of folders in the file. No doubt Raiker already knew about the man’s marital history. It would have been in the dossier Mulder collected on all prospective employees. He wondered then if the man kept the records of those prospective candidates he turned down for jobs. He made a mental note to mention it to Raiker. They’d naturally look at anyone Mulder had fired in the last few years, but they should look as carefully at the ones he’d never offered a job to in the first place. If Mulder was the target, rather than the girl herself, revenge might be a primary motivation for hatching this plot.
“That’s it for the boxes.” Travis eyed Kell. “You about done with the files?”
“Almost.” The last few folders contained the survey and property assessment for the house and meticulous records of maintenance on the man’s vehicle. The final one was thick and contained records of investments Hubbard had with a well-known company. Kell skimmed it quickly, finding little to quibble about in the man’s holdings. There was a fair balance between assets, if a little on the conservative side. His own investment counselor would approve. The most current record showed Hubbard’s portfolio worth around eighty thousand. He shoved them back inside the drawer and did a perfunctory search
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