by Rachel Dylan
“Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch,” Jay said.
“Thank you, sir. Ma’am.” Young nodded toward her before standing and exiting the room.
They sat for a moment as the information they’d just learned sank in. Finally, Izzy turned toward Jay. “The puzzle pieces have been dropped on the floor. Now we have to figure out how to put them together.”
He nodded. “Before it’s too late.”
CHAPTER
TEN
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Marco asked Bailey.
“Yes.” After she was released from the hospital, they’d come to her apartment so she could regroup. “We have to get back to work. We can’t let this slow us down any more than it already has.”
He touched her arm. “You’re completely safe now.”
“You know you can’t make that promise. I’m a big girl, Marco. I know I got emotional last night at the hospital, but my head is on straight now. I’m up for it. Though I can’t believe the irony of working these dangerous investigations unharmed and then getting beaten up by some random street thug.” She took a breath. “I’ve never been a victim of theft before. It feels a lot more personal than I could’ve predicted.”
“You gave your statement to local PD. They’ll be on the lookout for the guy.”
“You and I both know they’ll never catch him. A mugging isn’t exactly their highest priority. They need to be focused on truly violent crimes.”
“Well, I’ve got your back.”
“And I appreciate that. But we have to get focused back on our case. That text from Izzy is huge. We can’t just sit on it.”
“All right. What else do you need to do here before we can leave?”
“Let me grab a new bag, and then I’m good.”
Marco had been exceedingly patient, keeping watch in the living room as she showered and pulled herself together. She wouldn’t tell him, but she was still in quite a bit of pain. She would have to find a way to push through it. This new revelation had given her a boost of adrenaline.
Marco’s tenderness had shown her a side of him she hadn’t seen before, one that made her want to be closer to him. She normally didn’t let anyone past her walls, but there was something disarming about Marco. There wasn’t time for her to process those feelings right now, but the spark she felt for him had only grown stronger after the way he’d come to her aid last night.
They got into Marco’s SUV and left her neighborhood. After a moment, she looked around. “You’re going the wrong way.”
“We’re not headed back to NCIS immediately. We’re going to do some recon first.”
“Where?”
“I’d like to drive through the last two crime scenes again. Izzy wasn’t able to come up with anything useful from the area video cams, which bolsters the argument that the attacker or attackers knew what they were doing and how to hide. But I’ve got some other ideas today.”
She knew where he was going. “You want to see if there’s anything in the area that could explain where they might’ve been working.”
He tilted his head. “It’s a long shot, but now that we have this information about them taking on a side job, we have to run down every possibility.”
Bailey thought back to her review of the victims’ bank accounts. “Based on their financials, I’d say they were definitely getting paid in cash, because there was nothing from an external business source of any kind.”
Marco gripped the wheel. “So we have three men. Two elite military operatives and one odd man out. We know that Wexford and Battle were working off book. We know that Battle knew Rogers and Wexford.”
“There’s something we’re not seeing.” She tapped her fingers on her leg. “What could these three men have in common?”
“It would be a lot easier if Rogers wasn’t in the picture,” Marco said.
“I know.”
They drove the rest of the way to Foggy Bottom in silence. Once they arrived, they found some paid parking and got out to survey the area on foot.
“I guess I didn’t think about the walking. Do you think you’ll be okay?” Marco asked, his eyes concerned.
“Yes. It’s good for me to move around and keep my muscles loose.” Her biggest pain was in her neck and head anyway. “I’m not saying I’m ready to go for a run, but I’ll be okay for this. You know it would be much faster if we split up.”
“It would, but given you just got out of the hospital, we’ll go together.”
Four hours later, they were back in the war room at NCIS after canvassing all the businesses within a four-block radius of where Battle and Wexford were murdered, but they had come up empty.
“I guess we know where they weren’t working,” Marco said.
Bailey had another avenue she wanted to explore. “I’m going to send their pictures to my contact in Organized Crime at the FBI. We can’t presume what they were doing was on the up-and-up, even if their buddies think they’d never go there.”
Marco tapped his pen on the desk. “Let’s spin that theory out. Say the three men were doing work for some organized crime group. Maybe they saw something they shouldn’t, or threatened to blow the whistle, or they just got tired of the work and wanted to cut and run. So they were killed off to make sure there were no loose ends.”
Bailey considered it a moment, then shook her head. “But then why the setup of Kappen? That’s the thing that throws a wrench into that otherwise good theory. We know they were doing something outside of their sanctioned roles. That something is what tied at least Battle and Wexford together and most likely got them killed.”
“Even if this is organized crime, it’s not run-of-the-mill. This has to be something much bigger for someone to jump through all these hoops and take these evasive actions.”
“I hate to even say this.” As the thought formed in her mind, she tried to push it away but couldn’t.
“What?” He leaned in closer.
“We don’t know enough about Rogers, but we do know about the other two. They would’ve been a treasure trove of intelligence and operational knowledge.” She paused for a moment. But before she could continue, Marco started to speak.
“You think they could’ve been working for a foreign government?” he asked quietly. “Playing both sides of the fence?”
She balled her fists under the table. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but we have to start thinking bigger. It has to be something that would cause such a reaction. Three murders, and who knows if that’s the end of it.”
“Okay, let’s keep the foreign operative theory on the table but continue to brainstorm. What other job would these two men be suited for?” Marco asked.
“Security or mercenary types?” Bailey answered.
He drummed his fingers on the table. “We need to work all our contacts and figure out the most likely defense contractors they could’ve worked for. Then we go through them one by one.”
A thought occurred to her. “If it was a completely off-book operation, then the company may just deny it.”
Marco nodded. “True, but we can question them and make our own determinations. If the victims were working at one of those companies, someone there has to be willing to talk. We can leverage whatever relationship they have with the government.”
“We’ve double-checked with both Battle’s and Wexford’s commanding officers. Neither of them had approved any side job of any kind.” She rested her head on her hand.
“Hey, I think you have pushed it enough for one day,” Marco said.
“It’s only six thirty,” Bailey said.
“Yeah, but you’ve been through a lot, and then I had the bright idea to walk around Foggy Bottom and downtown Arlington. We should get you home.”
“Thank you.” She wasn’t going to play too tough. She was fading fast. “Maybe we should also talk about logistics, given this investigation is really ramping up, and I’d like to be closer to NCIS. I could stay down here in a hotel.”
Marco waited until she made eye contact. “It would be more convenient, but only do it if you’re comfortable. A hotel isn’t home.”
“Given the work we need to get done here, I hate having to drive back and forth. I’ll pack up some stuff tonight, and we can figure out the best place for me to stay tomorrow.” She exhaled. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a burden. The robbery threw me for a loop.”
“You’re not a burden, Bailey.” He reached over and squeezed her hand.
And she wondered exactly what she was starting to become to him.
Lexi decided to try Bailey again. She’d called her last night and first thing this morning but never gotten ahold of her. She’d been tied up all day on another case, but now it was time to face the music.
When Bailey’s voice answered, Lexi let out a sigh of relief before steeling herself for a difficult conversation.
“Bailey, it’s Lexi.”
“Hi there,” Bailey said softly.
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.” Lexi was met with silence. “Bailey, are you there?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Lexi wasn’t sure why Bailey was acting squirrelly, but she soldiered on. “I know I told you that I had solid evidence for an alibi for my client—namely, records showing entrance and exit onto the base on the day of the murder.” She paused.
“Yes, we’re eagerly waiting to see those.”
At least now she had Bailey’s attention. “Well, here’s the thing. The records we got, which were all electronically kept, don’t tell the story we expected.”
“What do you mean?” Bailey shot back.
“The records don’t exonerate my client, but I still stand firmly convinced that Tobias is being set up for this. I’m working on determining how the electronic records could’ve been altered. I know this isn’t what I told you I could provide, but some of this is completely out of my control, and I called you as soon as I knew about this. You can’t hold it against me that you didn’t respond to my multiple calls.” Lexi fought the urge to say something more.
Bailey sighed loudly. “I didn’t respond because I was in the hospital.”
Lexi’s stomach sank. “The hospital? Are you all right?” She felt like a jerk.
Bailey hesitated for a moment. “Yes. I was attacked in my parking garage last night.”
“Oh no. Are you still in the hospital? How’re you doing?”
“I’m just a bit banged up. They released me today.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Lexi’s thoughts shifted to concern for Bailey’s well-being. “Do they know who did it? Was it just a mugging?”
“I don’t know who it was, but he took all my stuff.” Another moment of silence passed. “Can you ask Kappen if he’s familiar with any defense contractors or private security firms that employ special-operations types?”
“Where is this coming from?” Lexi’s antenna immediately went up.
“I can’t get into that right now,” Bailey said flatly.
Lexi figured she shouldn’t push her luck. “I’ll see what I can find out from my client. Anything to be cooperative and get to the truth.” And she meant it.
She ended the call and dialed Tobias. Maybe he’d have some helpful information. They needed to get on the good side of the FBI and NCIS.
“Please tell me something else didn’t happen.” Tobias didn’t even bother saying hello.
“No. Thankfully not, but I still think you need to prepare yourself for an arrest. Get your affairs in order. I’m calling because I just got a strange request from the FBI.”
“What?” he asked.
“They want to know if you’re familiar with any defense contractors that employ special-ops types.”
“Why in the world would they be asking that?”
“I don’t know. The important thing for us is whether you know the answer to the question.”
“Of course. SEALs are very attractive candidates for those jobs. And they pay a heck of a lot more than the government.”
“Do you have specific names of companies?”
“Yeah.”
She wrote down the names as he rattled off a list. Her mind was still in overdrive. “Maybe they think there’s some connection to a defense contractor. Maybe another suspect.” She could only hope. But then another option came to mind. “Would it have been possible for Battle to have been working for any of these companies?”
“Possible, yes, but it would’ve had to be in a limited capacity. Our schedules wouldn’t permit anything else.”
“This is becoming stranger by the minute,” she muttered.
“I’ll take strange all day long if it helps exonerate me.”
“We need to figure out how to maximize this information. I’m not going to rely on the FBI or NCIS to run this down.”
“What’re you thinking?”
“Ask around and see if you can track down anything about Battle having done work for a security or defense contractor. I’ll start researching on my end.” She gathered her thoughts. “Tobias, this is important.”
“Lieutenant,” Tobias said after a pause.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, I think I’ve got a more pressing problem.”
“What?”
“It looks like the police are at my door.”
Lexi’s pulse started to drum. “Police, not NCIS or FBI? Are you sure?”
“It’s definitely Arlington police.”
That meant the locals were flexing their muscles. NCIS hadn’t moved fast enough, and now Tobias was going to be arrested. “Cooperate, Tobias. I’ll meet you at the station, and we’ll figure this out.”
Marco hadn’t slept well last night. That was two nights in a row, but he was amped up about Bailey. A nagging thought kept popping into his head. They’d all been operating under the perfectly reasonable assumption that Bailey’s attack was a random mugging. But what if they were wrong? Questions ran through his head about who could have been behind the attack and what their true intentions were. If Kappen was guilty and this was an open-and-shut case, then his concerns were for nothing. But what if Kappen wasn’t guilty? What if someone else was out there, and they had come after Bailey? After all, they had taken her workbag in addition to her purse. What if they’d been looking for something? He hadn’t voiced his thoughts to Bailey because he didn’t want to frighten her. She was already shaken up enough.
As the questions continued to swirl in his mind, he watched Bailey typing on her laptop. She also had telltale dark circles under her eyes, but she had brought a bag with her this morning and told him that she would be staying at the hotel closest to HQ. That made him feel a little better. Bailey was a seasoned FBI agent who could tangle with the best of them, but he couldn’t help but want to protect her.
And it wasn’t just about protecting someone on his team— no, with Bailey it was becoming much more than that. When she’d broken down in the hospital, it had taken all his willpower not to wrap his arms around her. The feelings were growing quickly, and he wasn’t oblivious to that—or the fact that they needed to keep working well together. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, but he was always true to his heart. And his heart was screaming to him that Bailey was special.
“I just got an email from Lexi, and you’re not going to believe this,” Bailey said.
“What?” he asked.
“It seems we’ve been trumped. Tobias has been taken into Arlington police custody and charged with the murder of Michael Rogers.”
“You can’t be serious. Why would the locals try to get out in front of us on this? And without even telling us about it.” He could hear his voice getting louder with every word.
“According to Lexi, they thought we were dragging our feet because we were waiting on the base records. They didn’t care. Once the hair matched, they decided to move forward.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now. We just have to plow forward with our investi
gation.”
“On that note, we did get something valuable from Lexi as well. She gave me a list of security and defense contractors she got from Kappen. I’m going to shoot it to you right now.”
“Good. We’ll figure out how we want to handle it.”
“And one more thing. I heard back from my contact in the organized crime unit.”
“Any luck?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. No one recognizes them. So that seems to be a strikeout.”
A few minutes later the conference room door opened, and Izzy and Jay walked in. “We’re back,” Izzy said.
Bailey took a moment to get them up to speed on Kappen’s arrest.
“Things are moving quickly,” Jay said. “Is it unusual for them not to give you a heads-up, since they knew NCIS and FBI are working this?”
“Yeah, and I don’t like it one bit,” Marco said.
“How was the trip to Fort Benning?” Bailey asked.
Izzy’s eyes lit up. “Good. I think the biggest find was obviously about the off-book employment, but we have some other nuggets too.”
“Izzy’s right.” Jay took a seat. “We talked to everyone we could, including the Ranger who had the intel on the side job and overheard the conversation between Wexford and Battle. We pushed him as hard as we could to see if he had any info about the actual nature of the work, but we didn’t get that. At least not from him.”
“What do you mean?” Bailey asked.
Jay turned to her. “We caught a break in our last interview yesterday. Another one of the Rangers said he heard mumblings about Wexford doing some side job for a security firm. He didn’t know which one.”
“That’s got to be it,” Marco said. “These guys were all working for some security company doing who knows what. And whatever that was, it just might have led to them getting murdered.”
Bailey tapped her fingers on the desk. “I got a list from Kappen of companies that he knows recruit SEALs. I say we divide that list up between us and start digging. Marco and I went ahead and got DoD credentials for a cover, because they all have DoD contracts. That could be our best way in.”