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“Bit ratted us out, didn’t he?”
Brook didn’t reply right away, deciding to let Theo stew for a moment. She didn’t like to admit it, but three days away from her team had felt like an eternity. Having a new case for them to work on so quickly after returning from her childhood home was exactly what she’d needed to retain some sense of normalcy.
After Brook had instructed the patrons inside the coffee shop to remain seated and to not go near the exit, she’d also requested that the staff turn over the closed sign so that no one else was permitted to enter the premises.
Needless to say, she wasn’t anyone’s favorite person at the moment.
Brook had first placed a call to her office, requesting the presence of her own team members. She then reached out to an old friend from the Bureau, who just so happened to be the Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. field office. He’d recently returned from medical leave after suffering a heart attack, but she had to trust that his physicians wouldn’t have allowed him back to work if he wasn’t physically ready. Upon hearing what had taken place, he had promised her that he would immediately send a team of agents and a forensics team to her location.
Normally, the agent assigned to the case would be the one to put in such a request, but Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Harden trusted her instincts.
After all, he’d been her mentor.
He understood her capabilities more than most. While the FBI agents arriving would technically be in charge, Harden would ensure that the SAIC understood that Brook would direct the initial efforts of the investigation.
Fortunately, he’d already stipulated that the FBI would work with S&E Investigations on the case, which was why Sylvie Deering was in the midst of taking every single patron’s statement who’d been inside the café this morning. Brook had also stolen Sylvie from the Bureau, but that had simply been due to the young blonde’s ability to analyze data by mentally digesting every single detail that her gaze perused in a case file.
Basically, Sylvie had a memory that came as close to being eidetic without having the actual label. Such a gift couldn’t be taught.
Considering that Brook had severed her consulting contract with the FBI due to her true identity as Brooklyn Walsh coming to light in the press, she’d been skeptical when Harden agreed to pooling their efforts and resources. She had presumed that there would be some pushback at the suggestion that S&E take the lead.
“No, Bit didn’t rat you out,” Brook denied, coming to the defense of one of their teammates.
Bit’s technical experience was unrivaled, and she had no doubt that he would have ended up behind bars or been coerced into being an informant for the FBI or CIA. Worse, potentially being strongarmed into subcontracting for the NSA.
She didn’t look at offering Bit a job some type of heroic gesture, either. He deserved a good life, and there wasn’t enough balance in the universe as far as she was concerned.
“Kate was afraid that I would see the invoice to have the couch steam-cleaned, so she gave me a heads up on the expenditure,” Brook admitted before finally looking up from the display of her device.
Her former supervisor could be seen across the street with the on-scene SAIC by his side. Brook continued to monitor their progress while powering down her tablet. Once the screen went dark, she slid it into the front pocket of her leather bag. Knowing firsthand that it took time for a forensics team to be assigned and arrive from Quantico at a crime scene without a body, she’d removed her dress coat while addressing those still at their tables. She’d explained that the bloody handprint was part of an ongoing investigation with the FBI, and that they would each need to provide a statement before being able to leave. It wasn’t long afterward that someone brought up what had taken place three years ago.
The press had dubbed the serial killer with a moniker ofThe Handprint Killer.
It certainly hadn’t been original, but the nickname had stuck and had been fodder for the media for the eighteen months that the unsub had actively hunted his prey.
Then?
Nothing.
The unsub had disappeared into the night three years ago, never to return to claim another victim.
Needless to say, the occupants at the tables hadn’t been in such a hurry to leave after they’d connected the dots. They had all started talking over one another, typing on their phones to their family and friends, and quite possibly reaching out to the media. Considering that two news vans had already pulled up across the street and was setting up to go live for their noon segment, Brook was confident in her assessment.
“Just to set the record straight, we didnothave a party,“ Theo said after taking a healthy sip of the coffee that she’d had the barista pour him after he’d walked down the block from their offices. “I’m not telling you anything that you don’t know, but the Rastini case officially closed with an arrest last Friday morning. We thought that Kate should celebrate, and then…”
Brook reached for her dress coat while Theo attempted to come up with an excuse as to why some of the traders from the hedge fund across the hall of the offices of S&E Investigations had joined them. She hid her amusement that he thought he had to come up with an excuse.
It wasn’t like she didn’t understand why the traders avoided their work neighbors. Brook didn’t exactly extend a welcoming smile when she passed by them in the hall. She also didn’t go out of her way to strike up a conversation. Basically, she wasn’t overly friendly to anyone who wasn’t in her inner circle.
Brook had good reason for keeping people at arm’s length, and she didn’t feel the need to justify her decisions to do so. She was simply having a bit of fun at Theo’s expense.
“Wait.” Theo set his cup down on the granite counter as if something had occurred to him. “You know exactly how that stain got on the couch, don’t you? You logged into our security system and watched the video. Son of a…”
“I will not confirm nor deny.” Brook slipped her arms into the sleeves of her dress coat before walking toward the exit. “Harden is here, and he is discussing the preliminaries with the SAIC assigned to the detail.”
Theo joined her to stand by her side directly in front of the glass door.
“Do we not like her?”
