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“I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat my popcorn now,” Bit muttered as he made his way out of the living room. He lifted a hand in goodbye. “Drive safe, Little T. Text us when you get home.”
“Well, I know what to get you for Christmas, Brook,” Sylvie said with a laugh as she leaned down and picked up her overnight bag. She’d set her purse down next to it, and once she had the strap overtop the thick fabric of her jacket, she made her way toward the door. “A stack of joke books. Maybe a night out at a comedy club.”
“Out,” Brook ordered with a light laugh. She held up a finger to Theo in warning, though Sylvie had already left the house. Her exit had allowed some of the warmth to be sucked out of the room, but the blower on the fireplace helped replace the cold. “Not one word. Your advice keeps getting me into trouble.”
“You love my advice,” Theo countered with a smile. It gradually faded as he glanced in the direction of the small hallway that led to the kitchen. “Actually, I did want to talk to you about Bit.”
Brook couldn’t have missed his change in tone, but what he had to bring up was no laughing matter. He hadn’t approached the topic before due to the sensitivity of the subject, but maybe it was time for everyone to be on board with Bit’s past. Theo also wouldn’t have minded having a discussion about Jacob, but he would choose his battles one at a time.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about Kuzmich.”
One of the things that frustrated Theo about Brook was his inability to read her. Given her past, she’d had to learn how to disguise or blatantly hide her reactions. She didn’t narrow her eyes, tighten her grip on her coffee cup, or even shift her shoulders.
“Look, Bit’s past is just that…in the past. Until it isn’t,” Theo said softly so that his words wouldn’t carry. “Sylvie and I have always known that Bit’s past was murky. I’m suspecting that he needed money to help his sister, and he did what he had to do to help her out. We both still have friends in the Bureau, and mine are telling me that there is a dedicated task force to bring down Kuzmich. Let’s face it—the man is a Russian racketeer with a rap sheet a mile long. Either you were able to convince Agent Ann Nelson that Bit truly doesn’t know a thing about the man’s criminal activities or she is working another angle.”
Brook remained silent while taking the time to slowly close the lid to her laptop. She pushed it off to the side, but she never relinquished her coffee cup.
“And you think that this Zoey Collins could be that angle?”
“I’m saying that I find the timing of Zoey Collins’ entrance into Bit’s life suspicious.”
“Fair enough.” Brook still hadn’t divulged anything about Bit’s previous employment with Kuzmich. “I’ll look into it.”
Brook stood from the couch and made her way over to the gas fireplace. She was still standing in front of it when Bit returned from the kitchen juggling three bowls. He handed one to Theo.
“No butter or salt. It pained me to leave it like that,” Bit muttered in disgust as he set Brook’s bowl on the coffee table. “Boss, yours is full of goodness.”
“Thanks, Bit.” Brook turned around with a small smile, but she was all business. It was like she and Theo hadn’t just discussed something that could very well affect Bit’s future. “Sylvie mentioned that she prodded Emily a few times about Adeline Murphy, but there was no reaction. If we theorize that Emily truly doesn’t know that her grandfather had an affair with Francis Delacroix, then we need to turn our focus to Sophia and Adeline.”
“I know where we can speak with Sophia.” Theo rested an elbow on the overstuffed arm of the chair. The momentary chill that had invaded the small house had dissipated, and he realized that Brook must have turned up the blower when she’d been standing near the fireplace. She was now back on the couch, but at an angle so that she could speak with both him and Bit. “Hartley mentioned that the country club was having their holiday party tonight. Granted, Kingsley and Emily won’t be there, but Sophia will be in attendance.”
“I overheard several people talking about the country club’s holiday party last night, too,” Brook said with a nod.
“I’ve seen Sophia’s financials, and there is no way that she can afford to be a member at that country club,” Bit said before tossing a popped kernel into his mouth. “Vanderbilt doesn’t pay her enough.”
“Vanderbilt belongs to the country club, though. He invited Sophia, along with a few other people,” Theo shared, divulging what Hartley had to say last night. “I guess it’s tradition, because Bella used to attend the function, as well.”
“Did Bella attend the holiday gathering via her boss or her brother-in-law?” Brook asked with a frown. “I overheard Lorelei and Robert discussing the event, and he insisted they attend due to some business contact that he’s been trying to reach by phone. I can give Lorelei a call to find out, though.”
“Does it matter who gave Bella the invite?” Bit asked as he looked for something to wipe his hands. He ended up using his jeans before Theo could point to a stack of napkins that Sylvie had set down near the edge of the table. “I’ll look to see if Piper Zimmer attended the function last year.”
“It matters in the sense that Maxwell Vanderbilt gave an invitation to Sophia. If he did the same for Bella while not knowing that the unsub might be focused on him, then yes…it matters.” Brook leaned forward and placed her mug on the coffee table. She switched it out for the popcorn, giving Theo a slight shrug when he raised an eyebrow at the amount of butter that coated each popped kernel. Bit must have melted at least two sticks of butter. “Maxwell was involved with Piper Zimmer, which suggests to me that she attended the function last year.”
“Are you saying that the suspect could be someone we haven’t come in contact with yet?” Bit asked with concern as he began to type away on his keyboard. “I can print out a guest list for tonight’s shindig. Members would have been required to give over the names of their guests for them to even walk through the doors.”
Brook stood with the small bowl of popcorn as she made her way over to the portable monitor. She’d snagged one of the napkins and wiped her fingers on the white material before utilizing the touch screen to pull up a photograph of the note left for her at the art gallery last night.
“The unsub believes that I empathize with her,” Brook said softly as she stepped away in thought. Theo didn’t like the change in her tone. “She’s under the assumption that I condone her kills.”
Theo slowly closed his own laptop. The direction Brook had taken with his suggestion to speak with Sophia Delacroix wasn’t anywhere near the destination that he’d insinuated earlier.
“Brook.” Theo said her name in warning, causing Bit to glance up from his monitor in curiosity. He hadn’t picked up the contemplation in Brook’s tone. “We don’t have enough to go on right now.”
Bit’s eyes began to dart back and forth as he attempted to read the tension in the room. Realization must have finally hit, because his fingers gradually left the keyboard in order for him to sit back against his chair. When Bit crossed his arms, Theo took that as a gesture of support.
“We’ve already determined that the unsub is a woman who had the ability and wherewithal to talk the victims into voluntarily placing a clear plastic bag over their heads,” Theo pointed out. “It’s obvious that she takes satisfaction in watching her victims die.”
“I wrote the profile, Theo. You’re not telling me anything that I don’t know, but we can use her theory against her,” Brook suggested before going more in depth. “The killer has taken an interest in me, but not for the reasons you think. Look at the first line.You see me. I believe the unsub means that literally. This woman is someone on our list. The second line tells me that the killer truly believes that I will walk away from the investigation.”
