AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brook untied the belt around her waist, shimmying the heavy material off her shoulders. She hadn't fastened any of the buttons, so it didn't take her long to hand off her coat and make herself comfortable.
"Seeing as you already spoke with General Elliott, I'm going to assume that you are already aware he and I have gone into business together. We've formed an executive consulting firm, if you will, called S&E Investigations, Inc."
"I won't lie to you, Brook," General Snyder said as he took a seat in his desk chair after he'd carefully laid her jacket over a reading chair that was positioned in the corner. "May I call you Brook?"
"Of course," Brook conceded with a nod of acceptance.
"Jim," General Snyder said in response. He leaned forward and set his forearms on the desk as he wrapped his hand around the tumbler. It was almost as if he was aware he'd need something strong for their upcoming discussion about his daughter. "As I was saying, I won't lie to you. I'm well aware that Graham believed Austin Ridley was—is—innocent. I was taken aback by Kelsey's murder, as well, seeing as the circumstances were so similar to my daughter's death. Still, it's a far reach to say that they are connected, and I'm not inclined to put my family—specifically my wife—through anymore grief based on a father's inability to accept the results provided to him by NCIS and the courts."
"Which is why I'm here." Brook reached down and pulled her phone out of her purse. It didn't take her long to send a text message to Bit, giving him the go ahead with their plans. "If you'll be so kind as to check your personal email, you will find a secure link to a confidential encrypted attachment that explains in detail why I believe there are seven cases connected to one killer. Your login and password are Romeo, Lima, Oscar, Delta, Hotel, Ampersand, 5362. Romeo and Delta are uppercase. It is a one-time cypher key, of course."
"Seven cases?"
Graham apparently hadn't gone into too much detail, though just enough to garner General Snyder's attention. That had been a smart move, because it meant that she could monitor the man's reactions as he observed the presentation. It was important to have the men who might have been the original targets on board with reopening their daughters' cases. Cooperation at this level was a must if they were going to garner all the facts in an efficient and timely manner.
"That's right. Seven murders. Unfortunately, those murders resulted in seven erroneous convictions." Brook definitely had the general's attention now. He turned to his monitor and fired up his desktop computer. "I've already spoken to NCIS Agent Tonkel, who was the lead investigator on Kelsey Elliott's case. I also spoke NCIS Agent Clemmons. He is aware that I am speaking with you this afternoon, and he will be in touch with you before Monday. I first wanted to run something by you, though."
"Jim?" Mrs. Snyder appeared in the doorway, though she didn't enter until her husband waved her inside the office. "I'm Brenda, Jim's wife."
"Brook Sloane. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I also brought you a glass with ice," Brenda said, setting both the bottle and glass down on the corner of the desk after making sure that both had coasters to rest on. "I wasn't sure which you preferred."
"Thank you," Brook said as she reached for the bottle. "I was actually hoping that you would sit down with us."
Brenda hadn't needed to be asked twice. She sat in the chair next to Brook, though she hadn't made herself comfortable. Daniel must have explained the reason for Brook's visit.
"Is it true?" Brenda asked, slipping both of her hands in between her knees. "Are you here hoping to reopen my daughter's case?"
Brook glanced over at Jim, who had looked away from the monitor long enough to give his consent. It wasn't that Brook was getting his permission to speak with his wife, but he was the one who knew her state of mind. A mother's love for her child was beyond sacred, and to lose a child—under any circumstances—was incomprehensible.
Brook had to clear her throat when memories of her own mother breaking down upon learning her son had absolutely no soul flashed through her mind. If a soul did exist within him, it was so black that it would rival a shade of darkness in the deepest pit of hell.
"Yes, I am."
Brook began to explain in depth the theories that had been formed thus far.
Thirty-some minutes or so later and her glass of water almost gone, she'd managed to drag both Jim and Brenda back into the depths of hell with her. There had been nothing that Brook could have said or done to make their trip any easier, but she could give them hope for another way out.
"One of my colleagues deserves a massive amount of credit," Brook shared with them, leaning her elbow on the arm of her chair. "He was the first to catch that Lori believed she was being stalked for months prior to being given a last-minute assignment to a six-month deployment."
"What are you saying?" Jim asked, shifting his weight so that he was sitting straighter in his chair.
"We believe that Lori might have been the first to catch the attention of our unsub. She not only noticed that she was being followed and watched from afar, but she also reported her suspicions to her commanding officer. There is a chance that the unsub backed off firsthand the monitoring of your daughter's movements."
"Don't forget that Lori also told the guards who were on gate duty that she felt she was being stalked," Brenda interjected, having relaxed somewhat since she'd come into the office. She no longer had her hands tucked in between her knees. "Jim, didn't Lori have to leave earlier for her deployment than originally scheduled?"
"Lori shipped out two weeks prior to receive additional training down in Texas. She left from there for her deployment, not returning home before her flight out." Jim gave Brook a pointed stare. "Was another woman murdered during that time?"
"Melanie Harlock." Brook zeroed in on Lori's mother. "It's come to my attention that you're a very successful artist. I saw the four framed drawings of your children from when they were infants. You're very talented, Brenda."
"Thank you," she replied tentatively, even frowning at the change in topic.
"Did you, by chance, sketch the male subject who was stalking Lori?"
"Yes, but how did you know that?"
"You posted on social media your frustration over how Lori wasn't being taken seriously," Brook pointed out, noticing that Jim was rubbing in forehead in annoyance. Apparently, Brenda's outspoken nature exasperated her husband. "In that specific post, you mentioned that you gave a sketch of the subject to her commanding officer."
