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"No," Brook countered, along with a frown. "Theo left the office a little before nine yesterday morning to go meet with him. Derek would have had just enough time to check into the hotel early and then meet Theo out front of the hotel."
The fact that both men remained silent had Brook lifting her head to see what she'd missed. Theo had crossed his arms in a defensive nature, and that wasn't the sort of reaction that she'd ever seen from him. She then focused on Adrian, but he was solely concentrated on Theo.
"I'm clearly missing something." Brook refrained from launching into a lecture, figuring that might be a tad bit hypocritical. She'd kept her team in the dark about Jacob. Both instances could not be compared, and they'd probably come out nearly identical on the important scale of things. "Theo?"
"I had a doctor's appointment yesterday at nine-thirty. I didn't see the need to mention it before now," Theo replied, clearly regretting his decision. "I met up with Derek around noon."
Brook slowly nodded her understanding, not needing to convey her disappointment. Granted, the afternoon had been chaotic, but Theo should have said something about this sooner.
"Adrian, you've obviously been alerted to some piece of vital information. It's been a long day, and it's going to be an even longer evening. Cut me some slack."
Before Adrian could come clean with whatever it was that he'd obtained sometime today, Theo straightened from the two-way window after spotting Ingram and Mason both standing up from the table. They both walked out the door, leaving Derek to remain sitting in the room alone.
Brook was closest to the exit, so she pushed off the desk and reached for the handle.
"Could I speak with you for a moment?" Mason asked after she'd stepped into the hallway. Ingram slid past her to join Adrian inside the small room, while Theo remained where he was by the window. "We have a problem. We also have a potential conflict of interest."
Brook was already aware about the conflict of interest. Technically, Nathan Dante was Mason's client in regard to anything related to their unsub. She'd already thought it over, but she still didn't want to call Vivian Lourdes into this. Brook had mulled over the situation long and hard, and it could have easily been her and Theo that had been set up and framed like Dorn and Tonkel.
Brook was reserving Vivian Lourdes for the team.
"You didn't explain to me over the phone that this was related to Nathan. He's my client, Ms. Sloane. Derek Tonkel needs another lawyer. You should know this."
"We currently have an APB out on Nick Dorn, who Derek called with his one phone call to seek representation. It was more for guidance, since they are friends. As you heard from Derek, Nathan told him that he would make a call, but that never happened."
"Agent Ingram suggested that Mr. Tonkel and Nick Dorn are working together, which is where your other problem comes in," Mason shared as he leaned back against the wall. They were standing in a long hallway where there were restrooms down at one end and the bullpen of the station at the other. "Nick Dorn phoned my client last night after you and Theo Neville left the hotel. Mr. Tonkel explained that the two of them were friends, but..."
"Derek's not telling the truth." Brook wasn't surprised that Mason had noticed that his client wasn't being truthful. He dealt with criminals on a daily basis. Granted, there was a low percentage of innocent defendants thrown in the mix, but the majority of his clients most likely landed behind bars or were given probation. "Can you find out what it is? He'll talk to you."
"Ms. Sloane, I don't have to remind you that anything Mr. Tonkel conveys to me is considered under attorney/client privilege," Mason replied guardedly, glancing down both hallways as if someone could catch them in the act of doing something illegal. She hadn't been asking him to do anything of the sort. "I can't share with you what he tells me in private. And you seem to be forgetting that I don't even want it to get that far. Again, this is a conflict of interest. I can't represent Agent Tonkel."
"Not if Nathan Dante is no longer a viable suspect," Brook put out there, willing to negotiate if it meant that they could close out this case. "Eight women have now been murdered, Mr. Cooper. Eight. One of them is currently lying on a slab in the morgue. I'm not asking you to break client/attorney privilege. I've come to know Derek well enough over the past week to know that he's not being truthful, yet he doesn't fit the profile of our unsub."
"Did you ever consider that your profile is wrong?" Mason countered, obviously wishing that she'd never called him.
"No. Not once, Mr. Cooper." Brook wasn't about to doubt her abilities now. She apparently needed to point something out. "This can go one of two ways. You stress to NCIS Agent Derek Tonkel that I am well aware he is withholding evidence and that he should come clean or you tell him your reason for the conflict of interest and leave Derek in our capable hands. I'm sure another lawyer will eventually be appointed for him, or he'll hire someone local."
"Sloane?" Adrian was standing in the doorway. From the stern expression on his face, he was ready to tell her whatever it was that had been weighing on him for the last few hours. "We need to talk."
Brook never broke her gaze with Mason, who was rubbing his eyes in frustration.
"What is it going to be, Mr. Cooper?"
"Are you saying that you've ruled Nathan Dante off your list of suspects?" Mason inquired with resignation, wanting a concise response in front of a witness.
"Yes."
"Fine. I'll go back in and speak with my client. I'm not guaranteeing any results, though."
"Duly noted."
Mason backtracked to the interrogation room. Brook remained out in the hallway, deciding it was time to fill in Graham on the day's events. She would call him the moment Adrian fessed up to whatever it was that he'd been keeping from her.
"Are you ready to share?" Brook asked, turning around to face Adrian completely. Theo and Ingram seemed to be in deep discussion inside the room. "I have some calls to make."
"The body of a woman was discovered dead in her boyfriend's apartment around two hours ago. The medical examiner estimated the time of death to be sometime yesterday afternoon. An arrest has just been made, and I'm betting that your phone is about to blow up."
"I take it that the victim was military?"
