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"Are you alright?" Sylvie asked softly as she and Bit surrounded Brook. "Is there anything that—"
"I'm fine. The two of you did everything exactly right," Brook praised, getting an odd glance from Bit. Sylvie simply nodded her understanding, advising that it was best if they all walked to the breakroom. Brook disagreed. "I'll get cleaned up in the restroom in a moment. First, I need you to find Theo. Explain what happened, and then get him on scene as soon as possible."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Adrian said with regret as he joined them. "Theo was taken to the hospital around a half an hour ago. I tried to reach you on your cell, but you weren't answering. Now I know why. Ingram is headed to the hotel with Detective Hughes. They'll do a room by room search of the property. Let's hope that we find Nick Dorn alive."
"You will," Brook replied confidently over Sylvie and Bit's gasps of surprise. "What happened to Theo?"
"He collapsed in pain at the station, holding his head. We called an ambulance, and he was taken to the Bethesda Naval hospital."
"I'll go there now," Sylvie said in a rushed tone before she grabbed ahold of Bit's hand. "You'll stay here? Keep me posted, and I'll do the same."
"Yeah, yeah," Bit said a bit distractedly, his shifting gaze continually landing on Brook.
It was clear that he'd yet to process what had happened. He was young, inexperienced, and this was the last thing that he needed to witness on their first case. She couldn't take the time to reassure him of anything, because she had no idea what the next few hours would bring. They had a lot of work ahead of them, because they still had seven men behind bars, two being held overnight, and one missing. There was absolutely nothing she could do but push him farther into the deep end of the pool.
"Bit, I need you to assist Agent Ento. Give him anything that he needs while I go and get cleaned up to give my statement. Sylvie, make sure that Theo's parents know what happened, and then keep us updated from that point on." Brook had been surprised when Graham hadn't followed Adrian into the heart of the office. Then again, Graham wasn't much of a follower. His gaze had been on her the entire time, though. Not once had his attention veered away from her while he'd been standing next to Daniel. "I'll be right back."
Brook stepped aside while the officer who had first arrived on scene and secured her office as the crime scene garnered Adrian's attention. Their conversation would be brief, but it would give her enough time to speak with Graham. Sylvie had already headed back toward her office, while Bit remained where he was until Adrian needed his help.
"Excuse me," Brook murmured, not really needing to say anything given that the officer holding the door shifted so that she didn't get any blood on him.
Graham motioned for Daniel to stay where he was before resting a hand on her back and guiding her to the restroom that was shared by both offices on the floor. The financial business was directly across the hall, but there was a small recess to the left of their doors that contained two restrooms. He escorted her into one of them before closing the door. For once, she was grateful for the overwhelming fragrance of the air freshener plugged into the corner socket.
"You don't have to—"
"Do you have anything in the pockets?"
Graham hadn't reprimanded her for taking sole responsibility of containing the situation. He wasn't even asking her what had taken place, though she was sure that he'd overheard the conversations of the officers coming and going. He had to have numerous questions about what Mason had admitted before taking his own life, but his attention was completely on her.
"Brook?"
"Yes."
For the first time since leaving her office, she stared down at her hands and then her clothes. Her dress coat hadn't been able to save the front of her sweater or jeans. She would have to throw everything out. All of it, even her boots.
Graham must have already collected what had been in the pockets of her dress coat and transferred them into his, because he made his way around her to the sink. He began to run both the warm and cold taps so that the water had time to warm up while waiting for her to step up to the sink. He then began to remove his dress coat, his suit coat, and then began to unbutton the cuffs of his dress shirt.
"I want you to know something," Graham said as he pushed on the soap dispenser. There was something in his tone that she'd never heard before, and that stemmed over a dozen conversations about his wife and his daughter. It was the reason that she stepped forward and allowed him to help her remove the blood from her hands. "You are the only one who could have gotten me to leave that double entry downstairs."
Brook wasn't sure what to say to him considering she couldn't believe that he'd walked away, either. He must have thought that she was closest to Mason in proximity, thus putting her in danger had he tried anything.
"Had I known that he was planning to take his own life, I would have done it for him," Graham stated quietly. There was the underlying rage she knew to be there. "I would have taken great satisfaction in shoving that blade into his throat and giving it a few extra twists. I would have taken even greater pleasure knowing that he knew who was doing it to him."
"I know that it doesn't feel like it now, but you most likely saved Daniel Snyder's life. He—"
"Is that why you think I left you alone with Mason Cooper?" Graham rinsed her right hand before reaching for her left. He stopped and simply held her fingers under the warm stream of water while meeting her gaze head on. "I could have snapped that bastard's neck before he ever realized I moved from my position. That's not me boasting, Brook. I'm simply stating a fact. The only reason I walked out that door was because you asked me to...because that is how much I trust you."
Brook tried to swallow in order to answer, but she had trouble making her throat work. She didn't want him to have that much faith in her, but she tried to put herself in his shoes. He'd stated numerous times that it had been her track record at the FBI that had him wanting her on this case. Unforeseen events had basically forced her into going into the private sector and accepting his offer to go into business with him, but a bit of tension eased when she put things into perspective.
He trusted her abilities to do her job.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
"I'm sorry it all ended the way it did, Graham," Brook replied softly, pulling her hand away from his. She reached over and pressed on the soap dispenser, taking over eliminating what blood she could on her skin. "I feel as if I robbed you of some justice that—"
"Don't." Graham rested the palms of his hands against the cold porcelain of the sink. He took a moment to regroup and then met her gaze in the mirror. "All that matters now is that I can lay my head down tonight knowing that bastard is burning in the deepest pit of hell."
