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“Bit, what am I looking at?” Brook asked quietly, halting Bit’s tendency to give way too much information regarding his process. She would normally have placated him, but the exhaustion from the past three days had started to take hold. “Show me.”
Bit walked around her desk and reached over her shoulder to manipulate the display on the tablet. He zoomed in to a male subject wearing a winter jacket, a black beanie, and winter gloves. As the footage moved forward, he was eventually stopped by another male figure. This subject was taller, broader, and wearing similar winter apparel with the exception of his scarf. He’d brought it up above his nose so that it was all but impossible to recognize his features. It was the reason that her brother hadn’t tripped any facial recognition software run by either the FBI or Bit.
Within minutes, the blue card with what looked to be a hundred-dollar bill exchanged hands.
“Were you able to follow Jacob’s route back to a location?”
“No. He casually walked into an alleyway, and I’ve combed through the footage of every camera surrounding the area,” Bit explained in displeasure. He didn’t like when he couldn’t provide her with answers. “Do you think that he’s still there, Boss? Either in the alleyway or in one of the buildings?”
“No,” Brook replied softly so that she didn’t aggravate her impending headache even more. “I take it that was Theo’s destination when he left here thirty minutes ago?”
“Maybe,” Bit replied, drawing the word out in such a way that told her Theo had definitely gone to search the area.
“Were you able to set up your search programs for the new case?” Brook asked, making a conscious decision to speak with Theo in private about such reckless decisions. The consequences were far more dire than he understood or accepted. If Jacob hadn’t had Sarah Evanston or the passing of their father on his mind, Brook would have been slightly more worried about the ramifications. “If so, let the applications run overnight. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
She didn’t give Bit much of a choice but to take back the tablet that he’d walked into her office with, not that he needed any prodding to leave for the evening. She’d overheard Kate mention that Bit had a gaming competition scheduled for later tonight.
“Bit?” Brook called out his name before he reached the doorway. “You would tell me if Kuzmich reached out to you, right?”
Bit’s blue eyes widened, and his face became even somewhat longer as he registered the name.
“No. I mean, yes. Why? Has he reached out to you? Was he arrested or something? Do I need to—“
“Bit, I was just asking,” Brook reassured him as she pressed two fingers against her temple. “Agent Nelson mentioned that there was an active organized crime investigation that was eating a lot of man hours over at the field office. I just wanted to make sure you were keeping your distance.”
Bit had tucked the tablet underneath his left arm, leaving him the ability to clutch his chest with his right hand. He had even tilted his head back in relief, his dramatic reaction letting her know that Bit’s break from that life might not have been so clean after all.
“No, no. I haven’t seen or heard from Kuzmich or any of his henchman since the day that I agreed to come work for you, Boss.” Bit exhaled audibly before glancing over his shoulder. It was almost as if he was making sure that the coast was clear of any prying ears. When he turned back to face her, she realized that had been his exact intention. “I might have heard that Bianchi is considering setting up shop in the area, though.”
“You might have heard…” Brook let her words trail off, because nothing surprised her when it came to Bit’s knowledge about pretty much almost everything. Except Sylvie, who he privately revered ever since he’d set eyes on her. “Bit, do I need to worry about anything?”
“No, Boss. I know our deal, and I’ve kept up my end of the bargain. I’m clean as a whistle.” Bit frowned, and he succeeded in continuing down another path before she could stop him. “Not that whistles are clean. Whoever came up with that analogy didn’t really think it all the way through, did they?”
“Goodnight, Bit.”
Brook lowered her fingers from her temple as she observed Bit give her a final wave before he made his way back to his office. Her gaze was drawn to the bereavement card in front of her. Jacob had found a way to let her know that he was close by, but why? What could his reason be for returning to D.C.? She sometimes thought that she knew him better than she knew herself. He would never stop hunting Sarah Evanston. He could have mailed the card from some remote area. Instead, he had voluntarily chosen to reappear and practically bait a hook.
“Hey, I’m heading out,” Sylvie called out from the waiting area. She was fastening her winter jacket, which was the same one that she’d worn earlier today. Brook inwardly grimaced at not noticing that the jacket wasn’t her usual dress coat. “Detective Lucas Ferrer has agreed to meet with me. He’s the one who was investigating Jenny Capshaw’s disappearance.”
“Watch your back, Sylvie.” Brook didn’t need to expand on her warning. Everyone in the office should be vigilant now that they knew of Jacob being in their vicinity. Each of them also had weapons training and a valid concealed carry permit. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Sylvie paused, as if she wanted to say something else, but she eventually made her way out the double glass doors. It wasn’t long before she disappeared into the elevator, leaving Brook to once again concentrate on the item in front of her.
Why would Jacob practically personally deliver a sympathy card?
There was a hidden message inside her brother’s gesture, and she would do well to figure it out before something happened beyond her control.
Chapter Seven
Graham Elliott
February 2023
Monday — 9:00pm
“I’vegotit,Gus.”
Graham quickly opened the back door of the town car and stepped out into the cold. He’d removed his dress coat five minutes after leaving his estate, the heat in the vehicle set at the perfect temperature. It wasn’t like he was going to be exposed to the bitter gusts of winds for very long.
