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And of course Bryce Thornton. Like Matt, he’d joined the Bureau young. Worked himself up to ASAC five years ago after closing a major human-trafficking case. Matt had reviewed his record thoroughly. He did good work, but had more than one reprimand in his file, primarily for animosity toward local law enforcement. Matt had seen that firsthand during his OPR interview. Previously, Chavez covered for him. She smoothed things over with any local agency that complained about Thornton.
Thornton had changed squads multiple times within LA FBI. After digging around, Matt learned that no one liked working with him. Thornton was smart and closed cases; he was also arrogant and condescending.
Tom and Sloane were introduced as agents on Thornton’s squad, here because they would be working any follow-up.
After introductions, Matt said, “I don’t have a lot of time. I need to get to the courthouse. Please explain why I found out only last week that Agent Thornton hasn’t been removed from the Chen investigation.”
“There was no need to remove Bryce, who has been part of the investigation from the beginning,” Rebecca said. “OPR was clear that it was up to the discretion of this office which cases we assign to which agents.”
“And it was also made clear that Agent Thornton, who is still on probation, would not be allowed to work any case that included Detective Kara Quinn.”
“She’s not a detective anymore,” Thornton interjected.
“Detective Quinn is employed by LAPD, on loan to my unit until after the Chen trial,” Matt said. “She’s testifying today, and thus is intricately involved with this case. Any prosecution is going to need Detective Quinn’s assistance and testimony, including federal prosecution.”
He looked pointedly at George Chandler, who appeared uncomfortable.
“Well, yes, most likely,” George said, “but my office is waiting for the outcome of the state case before we decide which path to pursue.”
“The state isn’t prosecuting Chen for human trafficking, that’s what our office is investigating,” Matt said. “It’s a federal crime. Are you telling me that there has been no investigation for the last eight months?”
Thornton opened his mouth, but Rebecca cut him off. “Matt, we didn’t get the case until after LAPD raided Chen’s warehouse. LAPD didn’t consult with us, even after they realized that their suspected labor violations included trafficked workers. We need time to investigate, and witnesses haven’t been cooperative.”
“The primary witness was killed during the police action,” Thornton said.
Matt kept his face as calm as possible. Thornton was referring to Soon Chi Chu, “Sunny,” Kara’s informant, who Chen killed at the beginning of the raid in an effort to get away. Or, as Kara believed, to punish Sunny when he realized she’d been talking to the police.
“Chen killed the witness,” Matt said. “Are you telling me that in eight months you have no other women who are willing to talk?”
“We have some initial statements,” Chandler said, “and we have a dedicated translator and social worker. But the women are scared. They fear for their families still in China. Finding anyone willing to openly cooperate has been challenging, but we’re working on it, including pulling in resources from the State Department to see what recourse we have in bringing families to the US.”
Matt was surprised at the compassion and understanding in Chandler’s tone.
“That’s why what happens today is crucial,” Chandler continued. “My boss, Nina Radinovich, will observe the hearing. If the judge throws out Detective Quinn’s testimony, our case is that much harder. We haven’t been able to trace how Chen brought the women into the country separate from Quinn’s knowledge.”
If Kara’s evidence was thrown out by the court, they would have to build the case from the ground up.
“The best case with clear physical evidence against Chen is the murder charge,” Chavez said. “But everything Detective Quinn obtained while undercover is central to a conviction on all other charges. Thus, we need answers from the hearing today.”
“That doesn’t explain why Agent Thornton is still working this case. In fact, it confirms why he shouldn’t. He has a personal grudge against Detective Quinn, which clouds anything he does with this case. That you didn’t recognize this after the OPR hearing and subsequent reprimand surprises me.”
Chavez bristled. Matt was being deliberately confrontational, frustrated by everything that had been happening with this squad. Chavez acted like Thornton had done nothing wrong.
“I assure you, Agent Costa, that should the FBI decide to prosecute Mr. Chen or anyone else based on the case built by Detective Quinn, Agent Thornton will not be the only agent involved, nor will he be the lead agent. That is going to have to satisfy you. No office appreciates national headquarters coming in and telling them how to manage their personnel.”
“That is not my problem,” Matt said simply. “My office is, in fact, watching this investigation very closely, and if anything goes wrong, you had better know the who, what, where, when and why. You have over five hundred agents in this building alone, and more than a hundred in regional offices under LA control. You should have picked a different agent for this case to avoid the microscope.”
Matt rose. He was done with this conversation. “I didn’t want to come here. You’re the one who insisted on explaining why Agent Thornton was still involved with this case, and as far as I’m concerned, your reasoning is weak.”
Matt took the elevator to the basement, where he would pick up a pool car to use, but first he stepped into a small office across from the elevator. Special Agent in Charge Brian Granderson looked up when Matt entered.
“Good to see you again, Matt,” Brian said and shook his hand, motioning for him to sit at the small conference table. Brian sat across from him. “I have a car set aside for your use as long as you’re in town.”
“I appreciate it,” Matt said. “I dropped the bomb. They all pretty much hate me now, if they didn’t already.”
“You’re doing me as much a favor as I am you,” Brian said. “Your suggestion to recruit Wagner and send her undercover in Chavez’s squad solved my problem with using one of my own people to investigate. Did you have the same assessment I did of Chavez?”
Matt nodded. “She’s defending Thornton, over and above what seems necessary. However, I’m an outsider telling her what to do, and if someone made an accusation about one of my people, I might respond the same way.”
