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"And your wife?"
"She's since passed away, but she was at home off base when it occurred."
To give credit to Theo, he didn't permit the awkward silence to last long. Bit shifted with unease in his chair, moving it back and forth continuously as he drank his energy beverage. She could see why Theo had brought the caffeine issue up to her earlier. Bit was already brimming with energy, and consuming copious amounts of caffeine-filled drinks probably wasn't the best of ideas.
The reason for his high anxiety level, though, was that she'd had him do an in-depth background check on Graham. The one that she had run through proper channels while she'd still been employed by the Bureau had redacted most of his military service, and it had also left out the grim details regarding his wife's passing.
Her death had been ruled a suicide.
"Having worked with Brook previously, I trust when she says that the unsub might have crossed your path at some point. I'd like to go over a list of people who might have—"
"If you're asking me if I have any enemies, Theo, the answer is a resounding yes." Graham tapped the table with his index finger. "No one gets to my rank without making more than their fair share of harsh decisions. In our business, the mission comes first."
"Even civilians?" Theo inquired, giving Brook time to savor her coffee. It also gave her a bit longer before having to address the topic that was undoubtedly at the forefront of everyone's mind. "I'm sure the list of civilians is shorter, and it would be beneficial to the case to have some names to run past the other families. Maybe the other officers who lost their daughters might recognize someone. Let's go back to my office, and we can work together to nail—"
"I'd like to address something before we get started with our normal workday and this case," Brook announced after clearing her throat, causing Theo to reclaim his seat. Sylvie glanced up quickly from the notes that she had been taking down. Bit finally stopped shifting around in his chair. "I should have told all of you about my relationship to Jacob Walsh before you agreed to work for S&E Investigations. That's on me, and I'm offering all of you an out with a severance package of three months. That should give you enough time to find a position elsewhere if you no longer wish to pursue this opportunity."
This time, the silence in the room was filled with tension.
The only noise that traveled throughout the conference room was the denim of Bit's ripped jeans. Her words had him once again rapidly bouncing his knee up and down until the fabric rubbed together in an irritating sound.
"Let me clarify," Brook stated as she carefully set her coffee cup back down on the glass surface of the table. She didn't want them to see the slight tremor in her hand. "Jacob is highly dangerous. He's unlike the vast majority of other serial killers that I've spent eight years profiling, and he won't be apprehended by any of the usual methods. He's been able to evade law enforcement and the FBI for decades. His IQ is way above normal, probably somewhere in the top one tenth of one percent. He has mastered the ability to blend in anywhere."
"You've been hunting him."
The statement came from Theo, although it didn't come across as accusatory.
Bit had gone a bit pale, and she gave him a slight nod of acquiesce that he could put forth the question that he'd wanted to inquire about since this morning.
"Was it your brother on the surveillance video that I gave you a couple of months ago?"
"Yes."
Bit took another healthy drink of his morning beverage, as if the caffeine would give him some semblance of courage. He wasn't meant for the field, and she'd been well aware of that at the time she'd made the decision to hire him. He was meant to be behind a keyboard in front of a bank of monitors, executing his talent with technology in the safety of an office.
"I wish I could guarantee that Jacob won't target any of you, but I can't promise you that he won't do so," Brook replied grimly, ignoring the tightening of her stomach. Once again, flashes of Sally's body lying in a cornfield with her face basically unrecognizable went through Brook's mind like a horror movie. "Before you make your decision, you should know that the smaller conference room will serve as a storage room for everything that I have on his case. As Theo already mentioned, I have and will put every spare minute of my personal time into searching for Jacob."
Brook had made sure to alter the verb that Theo had chosen to utilize earlier, because his version made her sound as malicious as her brother. She didn't like the comparison to hunting, and she was doing everything in her power to bring Jacob's reign of terror to an end.
"I'm a private person, and I'm sure now you can understand the reason why I keep to myself." Brook could feel the weight of their stares, but it was Graham's whose felt heavier than the others. "I won't sugarcoat this morning's media coverage. The leak took me by surprise, and I can only assume that the agent in charge of Jacob's case at the FBI was the one responsible for releasing it to the media."
"Your neighbor was killed in November," Theo said as he rubbed his jawline in thought. "I take it that was his work? Why now? What brought Jacob here now?"
"I can only assume it was due to a case that I worked last summer," Brook replied truthfully, having accepted the moment that she'd found Mrs. Upton lying in her own pool of blood that the search for Jacob would need the backing of this team. Of course, Brook hadn't expected it to happen so soon. "My picture was posted all over the national news. Jacob simply came to check up on me, and he obviously didn't like what he found."
Brook began to pile the files that she'd spread out in front of her into a stack so that she could take them back with her to her office. Now wasn't the time to go into detail about Jacob's obsession about women believing their lives were perfect. She'd worked on his profile for years, and she discovered some new detail every time that she went back to it…which was basically a nightly routine.
"We have our first case, and you've all been given your first assignment. What I need to know is if you are comfortable remaining with S&E Investigations while Jacob Walsh is out there somewhere observing me. He could be watching my every move, or he could have decided to leave the city after my life was basically ousted by the media today. He technically got what he came for, though I have no doubt that he will eventually be back to check in on his baby sister."
Graham was being conspicuously quiet, almost unnervingly so, but she was grateful that he hadn't interrupted her speech. These unique individuals who she'd handpicked for this team deserved to make their own decisions about their future, and she was giving them a choice that they should have been given originally.
Shecouldn'tguarantee their safety.
The choice before them was one that they would need to think through very carefully, because she was already drowning in the guilt of numerous past mistakes. She simply couldn't afford anymore.
"I mean, how much different can a serial killer be from a Russian mobster?" Bit posed, attempting to put on a brave face. Sylvie shot him a glare while Theo ran a hand over his chin in disbelief. "What? I'm serious. I overheard them talking one time, and—"
"We knew what kind of cases that we would be working on here, and Jacob Walsh is no different than any other perp. If anything, it sounds like you are his weakness," Theo pointed out as he pushed his chair back. "I've personally worked on multiple cases at the same time, and I don't see this job being any different. Right now, though, I'm sure that Mr. Elliott would like to get this interview over with so that he can go about his day. Shall we head into my office?"
