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“Kolsby didn’t come from money, as one would suspect given his position.” Sylvie took another sip of her tea before setting her cup back down on the slate coaster. A quick glance revealed that Bit hadn’t touched his beverage. Brook lightly bit the inside of her lip so as not to show a reaction. “Kolsby was born outside of Philadelphia, raised by a single mother, and put himself through college mostly on scholarships, which allowed him to then use student loans for his doctorate. And yes, those student loans have all been paid off.”
“If Kolsby didn’t come from money, how did he make his connections?” Theo asked before reaching for his smoothie.
He usually made himself a protein shake or smoothie in the afternoon. He was a creature of habit. This particular drink happened to be bright green, and Brook didn’t want to know the list of ingredients thrown in to make that peculiar hue. While she wasn’t opposed to healthy eating, she also believed that everything should be consumed in moderation.
Well, except coffee.
Coffee was an essential food group all by itself.
“Kolsby met Senator Ponzio’s son during grad school. The two became close, kept in touch, and remained that way after Dr. Kolsby moved to D.C.” Sylvie held up a finger as if to say she had something else important to mention. Her black-rimmed glasses had slipped a little, but she didn’t bother to adjust them as she continued to refer to her notes. “His main office where he sees his patients is actually separate from the hospital. He’s on the board of directors at the hospital, which is why everyone on the staff seems to know him so well.”
“Ponzio,” Brook murmured, recalling that the senator had retired last year. “I believe that I met his wife once when I worked at the Bureau. Sylvie? Did you know her? I think she might have been an analyst.”
“That was Stacey Ponzio, and she’s the senator’s sister.” Sylvie scrolled to another screen, which was no doubt being displayed on the monitor behind Brook. “I’d like to stress that Bit did not obtain this information from the hospital.”
Theo closed his good eye while he rubbed his temple and Kate discreetly coughed, while Bit crossed his arms and tilted his chin in pride.
“I didn’t leave a digital fingerprint, no one will ever know, and we now have information on Dr. Kolsby that might come in handy. I get the whole HIPAA thing, but we’re talking about a potential serial killer.”
“Innocent until proven guilty,” Brook stressed before nodding toward Sylvie. “What were you able to find without resorting to…setting the constitution on fire?”
“Dr. Kolsby had a ruptured spleen, some cracked ribs, and some facial lacerations from broken glass, but he suffered a brain bleed due to a severe concussion. Apparently, the doctors kept him sedated until the swelling in his brain receded,” Sylvie explained, finally readjusting her glasses now that they were practically at the end of her nose. “These details were all procured from opensource social media and news sites.”
The faint sound of the main line ringing could be heard through the door. Kate quickly vacated her seat, even though she could have answered the phone using the speaker unit in the middle of the conference room table.
“If Kolsby has ties to Senator Ponzio’s family, there is bound to be pushback with our investigation,” Theo surmised as he set his now empty glass on a folder that was next to his laptop. “We’re going to have to be discreet in how we handle the questioning.”
“While I agree that Kolsby might try to use his influence to get us to drop the investigation, I can also use that to our advantage,” Brook reasoned as she mulled over the various ways that they could initiate contact. “If I word my request right, he’ll want to quickly clear his name. Millie is scheduled to come into the office tomorrow. I want to know every word that was said in that hospital room.”
“I have a list of family members and friends of Dr. Kolsby, along with the name of the woman who he is currently dating,” Sylvie said as she glanced toward Theo. “Bit and I are going to divide the list in half. Theo, do you want the colleagues? I can easily take them if you want to switch.”
“No, the colleagues are fine. I’ll start with his assistant and work from there.” Theo didn’t miss a beat as he changed the course of the conversation. “Brook, do you mind if I’m the one who meets up with Officer Soerig tonight?”
Brook hadn’t expected the request, though she didn’t pause in giving her answer.
“That’s fine,” Brook responded, not unhappy with the change in schedule. She found it rather odd, though. “I’m going need the time to figure out what to do regarding a profile. It’s rather hard to profile someone whose identity I am already familiar with, and one who could potentially be innocent.”
“You told Millie that you believed her,” Bit said with a frown. “Don’t you?”
“I do believe that Millie overheard Dr. Kolsby’s confession, but that doesn’t mean it was real by any stretch of the imagination.” Brook formulated her words carefully. “Kate mentioned last night that anesthesia isn’t a truth serum. If it was, I’m sure that there would be a lot of people behind bars. What I do know for a fact was that someone did break into Millie Gwinn’s apartment. Nothing was taken. I find it oddly coincidental that such a break-in comes so close on the heels of her accusation. It warrants a closer look. I’d rather err on the side of caution than to find Millie Gwinn missing or murdered in her sleep.”
“Wait,” Theo said as he held up a hand. “Does this case even need a profile if we already know the identity of the unsub?”
Brook finally turned around to face the large monitor that served as the team’s murder board. Dr. David Kolsby’s picture was front and center. His salt and pepper hair had been cut in a classic style, his eyes were brown, and he obviously preferred to spend time in the sun. Either that, or he was the type of man who used self-tanners. Either way, she got the sense that he cared about appearances.
Was she staring into the eyes of a serial killer?
She’d done so before and been none the wiser.
Well, technically that wasn’t true. Shehadknown that there had been something wrong with Jacob since childhood. Acknowledging just how much of a psychopath he was had been another matter altogether.
“I don’t know, Theo,” Brook answered truthfully. “I’ve never worked without a profile before. I’m not sure that I can start now.”
Chapter Seven
Theo Neville
December 2022
