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The less Graham Elliott was aware of the situation, the better he would be in the long run.
"No. I didn't contact your lawyer, though I do appreciate the referral and advice." Brook left her briefcase in the chair as she leaned down to pull open the side drawer of her desk. She'd stored her purse into it earlier, having forgotten to bring in the antique coatrack that she'd kept in her old office at the agency. She would organize a delivery service to do so tomorrow. "Harden wants to know if my brother made contact with me these past two months after he killed my neighbor in cold blood. I'll answer no, Harden will ask more questions to which I won't provide an answer, and then he will be on his way. I've been to this rodeo three times since November. Trust me, the meeting won't last more than fifteen minutes."
Brook was relatively satisfied with how she'd responded to Graham.
She took it as a practice run for tomorrow.
She was certainly going to need it.
Supervisory Special Agent Matt Harden had been the one to recruit her as a consultant for the FBI as a profiler. She'd been teaching psychology and criminal justice courses at a university when her work had caught his attention. One thing had led to another, and she'd taken him up on his offer mostly due to what the agency could offer her in the personal hunt for her brother.
She'd made no qualms that she spent the majority of her free time searching for any trace of where Jacob Matthew Walsh might be, and Harden had basically looked the other way for over eight years during her tenure with him. He'd gone above and beyond to shield her, but there was no protecting her from the evil rooted in her life.
Jacob Matthew Walsh.
Her older brother.
The stain on her soul and that of her family.
The reason that she couldn't sleep at night.
How she longed for some explanation as to why they'd turned out so differently from one another while living under the same roof, being raised by the same parents, and basically growing up in the exact same environment.
She'd yet to find the answer, but that could change in the foreseeable future.
Brook's past had crossed into her present the moment her brother had decided to reenter her life in such a violent fashion. The brutal murder of an elderly woman who'd had the misfortune of living in the same building as Brook had unmistakably been the handiwork of her older brother.
After all, hehadleft Brook his calling card.
She also had video surveillance of Jacob walking leisurely throughout her condo as if he'd had all the time in the world. If Harden or whoever the agent in charge of the investigation were to know that she had technically made contact with her brother, they would no doubt keep her under surveillance indefinitely. Jacob would then go underground for several more years, and then she'd lose the only chance she had of capturing the monster who'd haunted every moment of her life.
She had no alternative but to keep certain information about Jacob to herself. Right or wrong, she was confident that she was the only one who had the means and the ability to end his reign of terror.
Jacob was a highly functioning, highly intelligent serial killer who planned his kills in a very methodical manner. He was a firm believer that the devil was in the details. The only time that he ever permitted himself to release his rage was during the act of the kill. The mutilation of his victims' faces made them all but identifiable.
Flashes of what had been left behind of her childhood best friend went through Brook's mind in succession. There wasn't a day that passed by when she didn't think of Sally and the terror that she must have experienced in her final moments of life.
"Brook?"
"My team and I are meeting at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I'd like you to be there." Brook quietly closed the bottom drawer of her desk, as if she hadn't been caught thinking about the past. She finally settled the strap of her purse over her shoulder, but she made no move to pick up her briefcase. She'd known that she'd taken Graham by surprise with her request, but it was to the benefit of the case. "For one thing, you haven't met the people who you will be signing checks for every two weeks. And second, they need to hear from you about Kelsey's murder. They'll have questions, and it's better that they hear the answers directly from you."
Graham's jawline tightened at the mere mention of his daughter's name. Brook was hoping he wouldn't always react in such a manner. Once she and her team caught the unsub—unknown subject—who was responsible for the young woman's death, it was Brook's wish that Graham would then recall his daughter's memory with love rather than a mixture of anger, bitterness, and regret.
"We're going to be requestioning all the families of the victims," Brook said quietly as she remained behind her desk. Graham looked away from her to stare out into the reception area where a golden hue highlighted the name of their firm behind the receptionist's desk. He'd created this firm with the sole objective of finding his daughter's killer. The fact that they could provide closure to other families along the way was simply a bonus. She gave him a moment to collect himself before continuing. "I also have a meeting with an agent by the name of Derek Tonkel who works for NCIS."
The mere mention of the NCIS agent who had handled Kelsey Elliott's case had Graham's intense gaze swinging back to meet hers. He didn't hide the fact that he greatly disliked the man, but Brook would reserve judgement until tomorrow. There had been a valid reason that Agent Tonkel believed Kelsey's death had been the result of domestic abuse. What she wanted to find out waswhyhe'd been so reluctant to reopen the case after Graham had basically uncovered the work of what some would claim was a serial killer.
Brook wasn't convinced they were dealing with someone like her brother.
The unsub who was responsible for Kelsey's death might very well have had substantial motive…at least, in his own mind.
"When is that appointment scheduled?" Graham asked in a steel tone, not that she was going to give him an answer. While there were certain aspects to the case where she and the team would need his assistance, speaking to the NCIS agent who had been assigned to his daughter's investigation wasn't one of them. "I'd like to be there when he hands over his case files to you."
"I'm sure you would like to be there, but I think it best that I speak with Agent Tonkel by myself. He has no reason to disclose to me anything that hasn't been made public," Brook reminded Graham, knowing that there was most likely someone inside the agency who he could pressure to make that happen. She'd purposefully kept the day and time of the meeting from him. "We are a private investigation firm without any backing from a local police department or the FBI. Agent Tonkel had, and continues to have, every right to refuse this meeting and deny us access to his files."
"How did you manage to convince him otherwise?"
"Does it matter?"
