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"There could be," Brook relented, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair. It was easy to see that he was attempting to connect all this new information in his head. She withheld sharing Theo's theory regarding Lori Snyder until she was confident that he wasn't playing her. "Tanya or April?"
Derek's startled gaze left the whiteboard and met hers. He thinned his lips before rubbing them in frustration.
"I didn't miss a beat in Kelsey Elliott's investigation. It was open and shut."
"No one is saying that you missed anything." Brook wasn't going to downplay his skepticism, because she would have reacted the same had someone tried to reopen one of her cases. "Derek, this unsub knows what we look for in an investigation. Say we find that there are only seven deaths that he is responsible for. That's seven times that he was able to get better and better at his craft. He not only takes pleasure in murdering women, but he gets off on watching someone else take the fall and witnessing the grief of their fathers. He..."
Brook straightened so fast that she almost dropped her coffee cup. She managed to set it down without spilling anything over the sides before pushing her chair back.
"I'll be right back." Brook quickly made her way out of the conference room and directly into Bit's tech area. He was holding one of his energy drinks and staring at a screen in concentration. Sylvie must have returned to her office. "Bit. I need you to do something for me. The funerals of the victims. I need you to search for any social media posts that were of the memorial service, celebrations of life, or even intimate family get-togethers. See if you can put someone at all seven. No. Make that three or more. We can build a timeline from there should you find anything."
"On it." Bit pushed off the floor in order to roll his chair in front of another monitor. He set down his energy drink and began to type in the needed keywords for such a broad search. "Isn't it a bit morbid to take pictures of a funeral?"
"Isn't it weddings and funerals that bring people together?" Brook murmured, experiencing that slight energy of anticipation she got when a piece of the puzzle fell into place. "The unsub needed to witness the grief that the fathers were subjected to when they buried their daughters. If you can, start with Lori Snyder's memorial service and work your way from there."
"Is that the NCIS agent? He doesn't look anything like those actors on TV. I thought he'd remind of the lead character, but he's not even close." Bit finally initiated the search, if the scrolling code on the screen was any indication. He then peered around Brook's arm. "Should he even be in here?"
Apparently, Derek hadn't wanted to wait for her in the conference room.
"Agent Tonkel, this is Bit." Brook shifted so that the two men could get a better look at one another. "Bit, this is NCIS Agent Derek Tonkel."
"Nice to meet you, man." Bit snatched his morning beverage and held it up in offer. "Energy drink?"
"No thanks." Derek began a slow walk around Bit's domain to get a better view of all the equipment. "You've spared no expense on this venture, have you?"
Brook wasn't about to get into the details regarding her business relationship with Graham. Word had spread around the agency that Graham and Brook had gone into business together, and she was sure that there were numerous theories as to why. Some stemmed from the side of Graham wanting sole control over the investigation into his daughter's murder after NCIS refused to reopen her case. Others included such wide-ranging theories that Brook was hunting her own brother or she was actually helping him.
In the end, it was none of their business and no more than mere speculation.
"Shall we head back to the conference room?" Brook didn't wait for an answer, and the only way she was going to get his attention back on track was if she pressed on whatever it was that had caught his interest. "You can tell me what it was about Tanya or April that has you changing your mind about this case."
"Snap," Bit whispered as he rolled back to the monitor that he'd originally been observing before she had interrupted him.
"Don't mind him," Brook said in an attempt to ease the tension that had once again built between her and Derek. She led them back to the conference room and eventually reclaimed her seat, motioning for him to do the same. "As I said before, you did everything by the book on Kelsey Elliott's investigation. Not even General Elliott is disputing that fact. There was no way for you to know that these cases were all manufactured, which were all technically solved and marked closed. Why would you know that they were connected to yours? Now you do, so the ball is in your court. Will you officially reopen Kelsey's case and allow us to assist you? Or does S&E Investigations go it alone and then take the credit for solving seven cases that the Agency dropped the ball on?"
Brook had no intention of assisting him. It would be more like the other way around, but she no longer had the backing of the Bureau. She couldn't very well strip him of the case. His access to previous case files and the other agents were paramount to her investigation.
"I can't promise you anything, but I will run it by my supervisory agent."
"I can accept that," Brook replied, picking up her coffee while deciding that they would be more comfortable in her office. There was still quite a lot of ground to cover, but they were definitely making progress. "Well? Tanya or April?"
"Steve Laurey." Derek snatched her tablet off the table before following her back to her office. He exchanged the tablet for his cup of coffee, settling onto the couch as if he'd just run a marathon. "Fuck. Steve and I were in boot camp together. He stayed in the military, and I joined NCIS after my second enlistment."
"Did you reach out to him after his arrest?"
"No." Derek leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, holding his mug in both hands. "The evidence against him was solid, and he'd always had a temper. I didn't question it. Don't get me wrong. His lawyer reached out to me to see if I'd be a character witness. I couldn't bring myself to say I would, so I declined."
"Kelsey's case relied on domestic abuse. Tanya's death was allegedly due to unrequited love, in a sense. Others involved muggings, a drive-by shooting, and a carjacking. It took the unsub a long time to make sure his crimes could be staged to the point where someone else took the fall."
"What are you saying?" Derek asked, more for confirmation than anything else. He was a smart man, but it was evident that he hadn't followed his instincts. "That Steve knew the unsub?"
"Yes."
"And the drive-by shootings?" Derek didn't seem to be on board with her theory. "You, of all people, should know what the military is like. The majority of the agents who you worked with most likely served in one of the armed forces. They barely had time to brush their teeth let alone have the time to hang out with gangbangers on the street corners."
"You're assuming that the unsub is or was military," Brook pointed out, having already discounted that theory weeks ago. "I believe our unsub is a civilian. I'm not sure in what capacity, but his job somehow takes him close to specific bases...and long enough to give him time to research another victim."
Before Derek could ask any more questions about the various theories she'd been pondering of late, Bit's voice could be heard down the hallway. Brook had closed her office door, so she motioned for him to enter when he finally appeared behind the glass.
