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Two suspects, to be exact.
"I'll see to it that he contacts you," Graham replied with less tension this time around. She tried not to take offense that he would think she wouldn't get the significance behind his call. "Have you made any headway?"
Brook didn't want to disclose quite yet that they had the names of two suspects. At least, not until the men were thoroughly vetted, which was what Brook would spend the weekend doing now that she had their backgrounds in hand.
"I finished my base profile, if that's what you're asking." Brook had collected her winter boots from underneath the coat rack. She set them on the floor as she sat down in her chair. "I delivered it to the team during our eight o'clock debriefing this morning."
"Let me guess," Graham offered up with a dose of heavy sarcasm. "Male, thirties, mommy issues."
"Close," Brook replied as she slipped off her high heels, not taking offense to his opinion. "Male, late twenties to early thirties, views himself as a vigilante, of sorts. He comes from a military family, though something prevented him from serving...maybe a health issue in his childhood. He found another way to contribute, though. He's more than likely college educated with an advanced degree."
Brook didn't have to go into detail that the unsub believed he was righting a wrong by those military bureaucrats who had managed to be promoted to the level of their own incompetence. It was clear that Project Grey Skies had been the catalyst that first set things in motion. Someone the unsub cared for had been hurt by the succession of events, which meant that she would need the names of those involved at some point. It was in Graham's hands now as to whether or not he could deliver the required information.
She'd already instructed Bit to back off his search. It was one thing to access security footage or schedules, but it was something else entirely when it came to flat out hacking classified government projects.
"You're saying that this guy uses a civilian defense industry job to facilitate using inside information to impose his own ideas of justice on those who provide him with those very freedoms that he so enjoys in his own damn country," Graham added now that she had his attention.
"Yes. The unsub is also publicly reserved, yet likes to be included in conversations or events," Brook shared, reaching for one of her boots. "He is often in close proximity to his victims, and he has the ability to express empathy without truly feeling it. That last part is important, because it is also the sole reason that he can rationalize his actions."
"You're saying that this bastard might have befriended Kelsey?"
Brook finished putting on her winter boots. She then picked up her high heels and tucked them into her bag that she had set against the desk drawer. She honestly wasn't sure how close the unsub got to his victims—and that included the men who were currently incarcerated in prisons.
"Or you, to be perfectly honest."
Brook also packed her tablet and the folders that contained information on the two persons of interest. On the surface, they both matched a lot of the criteria of her profile. She would spend the next couple of days delving deeper into their lives. Come Monday morning, she wanted to be ready with a list of assignments for the team.
"I'm about to leave the office for the evening. Let me know when you're back in town," Brook advised, looking forward to when they could speak in person. She had no doubt that he would supply her with a name or a list of names that had somehow been affected by the drone project that no one wanted the world to know about. "Goodnight."
Brook disconnected the line. They'd each gotten their point across, and she didn't want to divulge too much on her end. If her linewasbeing monitored after she'd all but red-flagged herself to several high-ranking officials, the less she said, the better. She began to wonder how long it would be before NSA or one of the other agencies applied for a FISA warrant to bug their offices.
She collected her dress coat, tying the cream and gold scarf around her neck to protect her skin from the bitter cold temperature awaiting her outside. The surveillance outside her condo building had still been there this morning, but she figured it was only a matter of days before the agents were pulled away for a different assignment—one that was more likely to produce results.
Special Agent Houser's bet hadn't paid off.
Jacob hadn't made an attempt to contact her, and as far as she knew, no progress had been made in his case. She wouldn't lie to herself. It was nice to have things go back to normal.
She wasn't one to find the silver lining in things, but at least she hadn't been asked to vacate her condo by the building association. Charlie and Lou, who were basically the ones who she spoke to every morning and evening, hadn't had the courage to ask her about her relationship with Jacob. They both had carried on as if things were normal, though their hesitation when addressing her was blatantly evident.
There was nothing that she could do about their reactions, and she'd learned long ago not to concern herself with things that she couldn't control. Should either Charlie, Lou, or any other tenant want to ask her questions, they could very well gather their courage to do so. How she responded was up to her.
Brook turned off her space heater and had just swung both her purse and her briefcase straps over her shoulder when the phone rang. Not her cell phone, which she had tucked into one of the side pockets of her bag, but the main line coming into the office.
Who would be calling this late at night?
She hadn't had time to get business cards made up, which was another task that she'd added to her long list of things needing to be done in the office. A part of her almost let the call roll over to voicemail, but the piece of her that was hoping Jacob had finally gotten tired of this cat and mouse game that they were playing had her picking up the receiver.
"S&E Investigations."
"Brook? This is Brenda Snyder."
Brook slowly released the breath that she had been holding, her heart rate spiking now that she had allowed her body to react. She managed to swallow before replying in a professional manner.
"How can I help you?"
"I didn't have your private number," Brenda replied, though she came across as a bit hesitant. Her next statement explained the reason why. "And I didn't want Jim to know that I was calling you."
"Okay," Brook responded tentatively, pulling out her chair so that she could sit back down. "What is it that you wanted to keep from your husband?"
