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“OPR made it clear that Thornton wasn’t to be involved in any of Detective Quinn’s investigations,” Brian said. “Chavez’s reasons to keep him involved seemed weak, but I let it go because Wagner was already embedded.”
Brian had flown out to DC for a meeting several months ago to discuss Thornton and other problems in his office with Tony Greer and Matt. Matt liked the man. Brian had come to the FBI via the military as a JAG lawyer, then starting as a field agent specializing in labor and employment investigations. Now he was the SAC of personnel.
“I discussed it with Chavez and she’s taking lead,” Brian continued. “Agents Schroder and Wagner are doing field work under her direction, and Thornton is involved only tangentially. There’s nothing in her record to suggest there’s a personal reason she won’t remove Thornton.”
Brian and Matt had discussed the possibility that there was something personal between Chavez and Thornton, but Agent Wagner ruled that out early on. Wagner said that Chavez appeared happily married and devoted to her family, and she could find no evidence that Chavez and Thornton were having an affair.
“Yet you and I both think something is wrong.”
Brian nodded. “Agent Wagner has gone through all of Chavez’s and Thornton’s cases for the last two years, then asked me to request specific files from LAPD, though she didn’t elaborate why. When the files came in, I glanced through them but I didn’t see why she was interested.”
“She mentioned the LAPD cases in one of her reports,” Matt said, “though she didn’t say what about them piqued her interest.”
“Wagner is methodical and reports facts, but at this point, we need more.”
“She may not be comfortable sharing theories, wanting actionable evidence instead,” Matt said.
He had recruited Sloane Wagner out of Quantico specifically to go undercover in LA FBI. In addition to working given assignments, she was investigating Thornton and others in Chavez’s division to determine who had leaked the identities of Colton Fox and Kara Quinn to the press. There was minimal evidence that someone in the FBI had leaked the information—a phone call to a reporter from an unassigned phone the day before Fox and Quinn were exposed. Brian Granderson had his own concerns about Chavez’s division but his internal investigation didn’t yield results, so he was happy to have a neutral party from DC.
“She may not realize she knows something important,” Matt said. “Her reports are clear and concise, but a full debrief is warranted. I can come back tomorrow morning.”
“Not here,” Brian said. “I trust my staff, but no one outside of my AD and your AD know about this investigation. If you’re seen here too often, people may start talking, asking questions that I would rather not answer. Plus, I don’t want to call Agent Wagner up to my office and raise a red flag.”
“We’re staying at the Sheraton downtown.”
Brian made a note on his phone. “It’ll have to be early. I have a director meeting at nine.”
“Seven?”
“Good. I’ll let Agent Wagner know.”
Matt would have to fill Kara in on this aspect of the investigation. Sloane Wagner’s assignment was need-to-know—now Kara needed to know. He hoped she would understand why he kept her out of the loop until now.
“Wagner is good,” Brian continued. “She’ll get answers if there are any to be found. I’d let her stay in LA if she wanted, any division, but once the truth comes out about why she was here in the first place, it might be uncomfortable for her. Are you bringing her onto your team?”
The question surprised Matt. He needed another agent, but hadn’t found the right fit yet. “She’s a rookie. I don’t know that my team would be the best fit for her.”
“She has my recommendation,” Brian said. “She’s calm under pressure and in the four months she’s been here, she has earned two commendations in her file. They’re not easy to come by in this building—there’s both a healthy and unhealthy competition fostered among the agents. She’s quiet, but not silent. She’s intelligent—smarter than most—but doesn’t lord it over anyone. She does a good job whether she’s given grunt work or something challenging. You know her test results at Quantico.”
Matt nodded. “We recruited her primarily because she’s loyal and disciplined—serving in the Marines will do that—and also for her ability to recognize patterns. It’s a skill that is almost impossible to teach.”
“She misses her family,” Brian said suddenly.
“Montana, right?”
He nodded. “One of her brothers came to visit last month. She went home in July for her parents’ wedding anniversary. She has already asked for time off in November. She said any four-day weekend—her family will change their Thanksgiving celebration for her. But then she made a point to say her brother—the one still in the military—is only on leave for a week, which happens to coincide with Thanksgiving.”
“You gave it to her.”
“I told Tony I intended to, but I haven’t told her yet. Do you think this—” he waved his hand to imply the undercover investigation “—will be done by then?”
“I hope so,” Matt said. “To be honest, now that Detective Quinn is in town, I suspect Thornton is going to make a move. He has a personal vendetta against her and I don’t think he can stop himself.”
6
Bryce Thornton ranted after Matt left the room. He was livid; Sloane kept quiet, listening intently for anything she might be able to use in her investigation, which was stuck.
“That guy is drunk on power,” Thornton was saying, after hurling several insults at Costa now that he wasn’t able to hear.
