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Theo and Derek had spoken with Steve Laurey over the phone, along with the man's counsel, after having met with Austin Ridley's family. While they couldn't add anything to the theories regarding Nathan Dante, Isaac Ambrose, or Les Snyder, the same couldn't be said for Steve Laurey. He clearly remembered seeing Les at the bar on the night in question, though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.
They were still at square one.
It didn't take long for her to reach the hotel lounge. A hostess was standing near a podium with a smile on her face, though it faltered at the sight of Brook. Before either of them could say a word, Theo's voice could be heard over the soft music.
"Brook! Over here."
The hostess still seemed unsure about how to address the startling situation as she clearly recognized Brook from the news coverage. Brook disregarded her entirely as she brushed past the podium and advanced into the dimly lit lounge. There was an underlying odor of alcohol, but the hotel was smoke-free. The bar was rather crowded, and Theo had somehow managed to secure a sitting area amongst the outlying tables that gave them some privacy. It contained a small sofa, two chairs and a low coffee table that separated the sofa and matching seats.
"Hi," she greeted, setting her purse down next to one of the chairs while she removed her jacket. "Sorry I'm late. Sylvie and I spent most of the afternoon and evening going over every single individual at any of the functions following the deaths of the victims. We actually have an extensive list of attendees now."
"The military community around this area is quite small," Derek replied as he held a drink in his hand. It was a mixed cocktail of some sort, which didn't surprise her. Neither did seeing Theo with a bottle of domestic beer in his hand. He was down to earth, and he had simple tastes. He also still seemed a bit distracted, though his eyes were less bloodshot now than they had been the other day. "I'm thinking of asking for a transfer."
"Really?" Theo asked, claiming the other chair while Derek had already made himself comfortable on the sofa. "You would trade rural North Carolina for D.C."
"I actually have family in the area," Derek said with a slight shrug. "After witnessing the depravity of what we see day after day in these investigations...well, let's just say that it gives family more meaning."
Brook let Theo carry the conversation as she folded her dress coat over the back of her chair. After both sides of her family had discovered the totality of what Jacob had done, they'd all pretty much cut ties with her parents. Brook hadn't seen or heard from any of her extended family since her mother's funeral, and even then, only a few of them had attended to pay their respects.
She held up a hand when a waitress walked past, signaling that she'd like to place an order.
"...waiting for that right person. And you?"
Derek had glanced her way, even though he was directing his question at Theo. She wasn't obtuse. She'd seen the way he'd looked her over when he'd been in the office. Why he would be interested in her now was beyond her comprehension. Even the hostess hadn't been sure how to address Brook's arrival.
"Let's just say that I'm not in the right place for such a commitment," Theo replied wryly, taking a swig of his beer. He gestured toward Brook. "Sylvie called me today. She told me Nathan Dante showed up at the office with a high-priced solicitor in tow."
Brook spent the next ten minutes explaining how her day had gone, basically leaving them with a few potential names to follow up on.
"Bit programmed some searches into a few search engines that he'll allow to run overnight, but I'm not liking how all things are consistently pointing toward the Snyder men," Brook said as she wound down her day. "Granted, we now have more names to sort through after today, but—"
"You feel as if we are purposefully being led to the Snyder's doorstep by a carefully prepared trail of breadcrumbs," Theo finished for her, frowning at her implication. "What are we missing?"
"That's what we need to find out, and I've decided to pay Brenda Snyder a visit," Brook replied, garnering speculative looks from both Theo and Derek. "I'll drive out to their residence tomorrow afternoon. General Snyder has already left on his unit's predeployment training operation out at Benning, whereas Daniel and Charlie went back to their posts. I'll have Bit confirm Leslie's whereabouts before I head to the house. He lives near and works out of Quantico, so he shouldn't be anywhere near the family home."
Brook was finally able to place her drink order, grateful that she'd eaten dinner in the office with Sylvie after they had decided to stay late. They had eaten in the conference room, going over the data that Bit had printed out for them. While it was good to have more names to track down, everything seemed to keep circling back to the Snyders.
"What makes you think that Mrs. Snyder can tell you what you need to know?" Derek asked, nursing his own drink. He'd yet to ask for a refill. Theo had decided to join her, and he'd requested another beer from the waitress. "Theo mentioned that she called you at the office, believing that a family friend might have been responsible for her daughter's murder. He didn't fit your profile?"
"I think that Mrs. Snyder is looking for answers in every corner that she can find a shadow, but she visited her daughter a lot before Lori was sent on deployment. Enough so that she was able to sketch out a picture. She might know something more, and her memory simply needs a bit of proper jogging."
Brook didn't share that Graham had given her the names of those associated with Project Grey Skies, and she would never disclose that she was ever given the information. She had written down the names of those involved for Bit, and he'd spent the day creating another search program in an attempt to connect any of those injured parties to the fathers of their victims.
The entire case was so oddly convoluted in a way that she hadn't dealt with in the past.
Either way, that was a specific card that she was going to play close to her chest. She'd already expressed her wishes that no one outside of their firm was to know about the list of names.
"Derek, I know you mentioned that you were going to call some of the other agents regarding the reopening of the seven cases. I spent some time yesterday emailing each of them the correlation that we uncovered and how the details pertained to their cases, hoping that would solidify their decision to reopen their own investigations. Did any of them reach out to you or express any doubts concerning our conclusions?"
Brook saw the hesitation in his hand when he went to lift his drink. He lowered his arm, resting the bottom of the glass in his other hand.
"No."
What would he gain by lying?
"Don't get me wrong," Derek followed up, catching her a little off guard. She'd expected him to leave his answer and move on to the next topic of their conversation. She'd chalked up his lie to his desire to protect a fellow colleague. "A few of them weren't too keen at first to admit that they overlooked some obvious disparities. Theo, you mentioned that the inmates were all reaching out to their lawyers who represented them during their trials."
"Yes. I'm sure the first appeals are going to be filed in a matter of days."
