Kilo
“ T hat was a waste of time,” Tessman groused after he’d closed the car door.
Jackson turned the engine over.
“They were lying.”
Their meetings with Nick and Nicole’s immediate supervisors were not enlightening.
And they had been denied meeting with any of the other employees the couple worked directly with daily.
Instead, their direct supervisors promised to pass their phone numbers on to those employees who may want to reach out to them individually.
Both Tessman and Jackson believed it was done on Shirley’s direction and they doubted the supervisors would mention it to the people who worked directly with Nick and Nicole DeSoto.
“Neil Eddy is a horrible liar,” Tessman agreed.
Neil Eddy had been Nick DeSoto’s immediate supervisor, the head of the Research Department, the person who replaced Becca and Nicole’s mother after she died, the position that Becca said Nick should have gotten.
While pleasant, he clearly chose each word carefully before speaking, which was only one of the reasons the two men believed he’d been lying.
“Either he or Shirley had been lying about Nick DeSoto’s supposed abrasive nature. According to Eddy, Nick was the nicest guy around and got along just great with all his coworkers,” Jackson agreed.
“He struck me as a yes man, which is probably why he got the job over Nick DeSoto. If Becca is correct and Nick had the same moral compass as her mom, he would have had backbone. I didn’t see that trait in Neil Eddy, no backbone whatsoever.”
“And what about Phil Green?” Jackson asked with a small chuckle.
Phil Green was the V.P.
of Marketing, Nicole DeSoto’s immediate supervisor.
“Nicole was the best team player he had, misses her contributions greatly. If I was a diabetic, I’d be in a sugar-coma with how thick he laid it on.”
“And that directly disputes what Becca said her sister said about the work environment in the Marketing Department since their mom died. What is going on in that company?” Tessman asked, more as a rhetorical question.
Jackson shook his head.
“I don’t know, but it makes me a hell of a lot more suspicious that their deaths are linked to Well-Life Pharmaceuticals.”
“And I have to believe their personnel files had been whitewashed by Shirley or someone else in HR,” Tessman added.
Their personnel files held little information of value.
There was not even any info on any of the drugs Nick had developed over the years, redacted or not.
Both held performance reviews with exemplary ratings and no information about any performance issues.
“Maybe Becca would know what doors Nick and Nicole’s coworkers exit the building through at the end of their workday. We could hang out by the doors and see if we get anyone to talk,” Jackson said.
Tessman laughed. “Sounds very stalker-ish. I’d love to do it though and watch Shirley’s head explode.”
“Okay, so one more theory. What is the chance that a drug cartel was threatening Nick into working for them? Make this synthetic opioid drug, or we kill your family?”
“That would explain why there were no unaccounted-for funds in their accounts,” Tessman answered.
“But if that was the case, what were they looking for at the house last night?”
“Proof of it?” Jackson theorized.
“Or it could go back to money,” Tessman said.
“Yes, they both made good money and Becca’s parents left both their daughters their large estate, but what if Nick was just greedy?”
“He got a taste of more money and liked it,” Jackson said.
“Yeah, or he was manufacturing drugs all along, even before the inheritance hit their accounts. The killing of the entire family is what’s making me think the cartels are involved. Or maybe we just work too many drug cases,” Tessman said.
“Damn, I really want a cigarette.”
“How long’s it been since you quit?”
“Over a month,” Tessman replied.
“But after this frustrating-ass day, I want one bad.”
“Come on, you’ve gone a month. Don’t fuck it up now. When we get back, go down to the gym. Work your stress and aggravation off there.”
“I wanted to help Becca go through those bins.”
Jackson grinned an insinuating smile at him.
“Do you now?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s attractive and you two seem to be getting close,” Jackson said with that grin in place.
“Seriously? No. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Not this dude. I’m not like the rest of you.”
“I didn’t think Wilson was either and was shocked as shit he’d been having a secret relationship with Rae.”
“They were just friends. It’s not like what you’re implying,” Tessman corrected him.
“Yeah, and now they’re living together, engaged, and raising a little girl together. I’m just saying,” Jackson began, but Tessman interrupted him.
“Don’t wish that on me!”
Jackson chuckled.
“Look, she seems to be a nice woman who is going through something really shitty right now. Don’t go there with her if you don’t plan on staying there.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere,” Tessman argued.
“Yeah, well, I know you,” Jackson countered, his smile broadening.
“Pot, kettle, black. And by the way, fuck you.”
Jackson laughed again.
“The difference is when I let things with Angel go where they did, I knew fully well I was staying there. I envisioned the life we have right now.”
Tessman shook his head.
This was not a conversation he was interested in having.
“Back to the drug angle. We’re focusing on Nick. What could Nicole have been into?”
“It’s Nick that was into something,” Jackson said as fact.
“He was the one set up to look like he’d killed his family, not Nicole.”
“I’m still shocked that no neighbors heard the shots. I saw the report that Brielle got on the lightning strikes in the area that night. One shot could have been discounted as thunder. I don’t see five of them being timed right for that.”
“I believe a silencer was used on all five shots. That could explain it. The shots would have been quieter and more apt to be believed it was just thunder.”
“Yeah,” Tessman agreed.
“That is plausible, but it points to a professional hitter.”
“Yes, it does,” Jackson agreed.
“Now we just need to figure out what the hell Nick was into that cost him and his entire family their lives.”
***
For the second time in one day, Becca found herself in Colonel Shepherd’s office, seated at his conference table.
This time it was just Briana and her sitting opposite of the man who still intimidated her.
Briana and Becca laid out what they’d discussed with Angel regarding the cameras and mics, the arrest, and the application for the restraining order in conjunction with the serving of divorce papers in front of the police, hoping for the worst possible reaction from the client’s abusive husband.
The corners of Shepherd’s lips tipped up.
He was impressed that Briana accepted his silent challenge to come up with a different way of attacking this case.
“We can have the cameras and mics installed in thirty minutes with a team of two going in who knows what they’re doing. With the current case, your abusive husband works from his home office and reportedly rarely leaves the house. What do you suggest we do to get him out of the house?”
“A car hitting his in his driveway hard enough to set off the car alarm should do it,” Briana said.
“His wife says he loves his car. And if he wants to file a police report, certainly the officers can help us out by keeping him outside long enough.”
Shepherd rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache.
“We need to come up with something that doesn’t involve us disclosing ourselves to the local LEOs.”
“It takes at least a half hour for the police to respond and for a report to be taken,” Briana said.
“And if the person who hit his car, one of us, keeps interrupting the police and maybe provoking our client’s husband, we can drag it out that long.”
Shepherd nodded.
“So now we have two of our assets besides you assigned to this.”
“For a half hour,” Briana said with a shrug.
“It should be a woman who hits his car,” Becca said.
“He’s abusive to his wife, so he’s already shown he has no respect for women, unless he has a short fuse with everyone. Is he a coward who only hits women, or is he just a bully with anger management issues waiting to explode?” Becca asked.
“I think a bully based on what she’s said,” Briana answered.
“But I agree, it should be a woman, me, who hits his car.”
“Then that woman needs to provoke him in front of the cops. Wouldn’t it be awesome if he’s so pissed off that he loses it in front of the police? That’s one more report on his abusive behavior,” Becca said.
She really wanted this guy to cause a scene with the police.
“The more instances of his behavior noted, the better the chance the wife would get the restraining order and, hopefully, sole custody of the two minor children.”
Shepherd gazed at Becca first. Then his gaze shifted to Briana.
“I’ll want another Operator nearby to assist you if he comes out swinging. I know you’ve passed your advanced self-defense modules since coming on board, but I don’t want you injured. This guy isn’t known to carry a gun, correct?”
“Correct,” Briana answered.
“Consult with Joe on tactics to push this guy’s buttons and get him to lose his cool in front of the cops,” Shepherd ordered.
Briana smiled. “I’ll do that right after this meeting.”
“Okay. When is the wife due to check in with you again?”
“This evening at eight p.m. when he’s in his basement gym working out.”
“Find out what time tomorrow will work for us to set the plan in motion. She’ll have to let our two installers in the back while you and the police keep the husband busy out front.”
“I’ll draw up the divorce papers,” Becca volunteered.
Becca watched as Shepherd lifted his phone from the table and dialed someone.
“Smith, I need an agency email set up ASAP for Rebecca Elliot. Enable the following people only as contacts, Angel, Woods, Tessman, Jackson, and myself.”
***
When Tessman and Jackson returned to the office, Angel informed them that Becca was in Shepherd’s office with Briana Woods regarding one of her domestic violence cases.
“She’s assisting with the case?” Tessman asked.
“In the capacity of an attorney,” Angel said.
“It’s not like she’s going to go out onsite with Briana and meet with the client.”
Tessman laughed.
“I’d hope not. She’s still under our protection and we’re no closer to solving who killed her family.”
“I hope you can solve it quickly,” Angel said to both men.
“That woman needs closure. I can’t even imagine how she feels, to lose them all at one time like this to violence.”
“She’s trying to be strong, to keep it tamped down, but it’s raw, just below the surface,” Tessman said.
“If anyone can figure it out, I know it’s this agency,” Angel said.
“And I think her helping with this case is good for her. It’ll give her something else to focus on besides her own grief.”
“Yeah,” Tessman agreed.
He hadn’t considered that.
“One more thing,” Angel said.
“I’m going to bring up talking with Joe Lassiter to her. If you were also to push for it, she may agree. I think it would help her tremendously.”
“I have mentioned it,” Tessman said.
“So far, she’s declined.”
“I think we don’t give her the chance to decline,” Angel said.
“I’m thinking about suggesting to Shepherd that he asks her to sign a limited employment form since she’ll be helping Briana on this case and make the appointment with Joe mandatory. But you know her better than I do. How do you think she’ll react to that?” Her gaze was on Tessman as she said it.
“I’m not sure I know her better than you or Jackson,” Tessman said defensively, recalling his conversation with Jackson in the car.
“But I think it’s a fifty percent probability she’d sign the form. She’s only working part-time right now for her law firm, so she has time to work on Briana’s case.”
“She may have resigned from her firm today,” Angel said.
“And she told me she’s pretty sure she doesn’t want to return to it when this is over.”
Tessman was shocked to hear this.
“Well, she doesn’t need the money from her job, not with her sister and brother-in-law’s estate going completely to her. She became quite wealthy with their deaths.”
“You’re not saying you suspect her of killing them, are you?” Angel gasped.
Tessman tsked and shook his head.
“No, not at all.”
“Okay, good,” Angel said.
Just then, the three of them saw Briana and Becca heading down the hall towards them.
“Ah, their meeting with Shepherd is done. Good timing,” Angel said.
Tessman couldn’t help but like the sight; Becca and Briana walking together and talking, collaborating like a couple of coworkers.
That wouldn’t be a bad thing, Becca working at the agency, he thought.
Okay, so maybe Jackson wasn’t so far from the truth regarding how he thought about Miss Becca Elliot.
He just hated that someone had noticed.
When Becca and Briana reached the three of them, they all exchanged greetings.
“Just a heads up,” Briana said.
“Shepherd will let you know, but you two,” she pointed at Tessman and Jackson, “plus Smith are going to be helping me with my domestic abuse case for about an hour sometime tomorrow. I won’t know what time until after eight p.m. tonight, so try to leave your day open for me if you can.”
“Sure,” Jackson said.
“No problem,” Tessman seconded.
Then his gaze landed on Becca.
“I hear you’re helping out with this case, too.”
“Just a little. I’m happy to,” Becca said.
“How’s the bin search going?” Tessman asked her.
Becca shrugged. “I haven’t found anything, but the dealership called, and my car’s ready. Maybe it’s in one of the boxes Detective Davis returned.”
“Jackson and I can go get it right now,” Tessman said.
“Give the dealership a call back and let them know I’ll be picking it up.”
“So, am I basically confined to this building?” Becca asked.
“More or less, yes,” Tessman replied.
“It’s easier for us to protect you this way,” Jackson interjected.
“Why risk it if you absolutely don’t need to go anywhere? And the dealership to pick up your car? That’s something we can easily do for you.”
“I get it,” Becca said.
“I’m just used to handling my affairs myself.”
“We know you are,” Tessman said.
“This is temporary.”
“Okay,” Becca relented.
“Hey, did you get any information from your field-trip to Well-Life?”
“Not really,” Tessman said.
“We have a few things to run by you, which we’ll do when we get back with your car.”
“Okay. I’ll call the dealership now.”
“We’ll be back soon,” Tessman said.
And then he and Jackson retreated back down the hallway towards the elevator and stairwell.
“I’ve added you to my phone,” Briana told Becca.
“I’ll be in touch after eight and let you know how my conversation goes with the client.”
“Will you actually be talking with her?”
“No, texting. She doesn’t risk talking on the phone with her husband in the house. She has a burner she keeps hidden. I’ve emailed with her and text messaged, and actually spoken with her once,” Briana volunteered.
“Please ask her if there are any other terms she wants in the divorce papers. I’m assuming sole custody with supervised visitation and the standard financial terms she’s entitled to after twelve years of marriage. But if there’s anything else, I’d like to include it in the first draft that he will be served with.”
“And you’ll remain as her divorce attorney throughout?” Briana again asked.
It had been discussed in Shepherd’s office.
“Yes.” She paused and then smiled at Angel.
“I guess I’m going to be this client’s divorce attorney. I’ll trust Colonel Shepherd with the payment for my services as he asked me to.”
Angel smiled.
“You can trust Shepherd,” she guaranteed.
“And these clients really need someone like you who cares and will represent them well.”
“I have to study case law more in depth, not sure this is really the best time for me to take this on.”
“I’ve always believed that where our lives lead us, when unplanned, is divine intervention,” Angel said with a smile.
“Ah, you’re an eternal optimist,” Becca teased her.
“I am,” Angel confirmed.
“I’ll tell you why sometime, over a glass of wine.”
“I’ll hold you to that!” Becca said.