Chapter 43
“ H oly cow,” Sabina said as she tentatively entered the room eight hours later.
Leo followed close behind, as did Chad. The three lined up inside the door and gawked at her “war room.” Nearly every space she could reach without going to her knees or needing a ladder was covered with paper.
A mix of the printouts Leo had provided, her own notes, and arrows connecting pieces of information.
“Where’s this?” Chad asked, walking over to a map hanging on one of the short walls.
“Remember the overlay of the map in Liza’s files—not the USB files, but the files on her computer when she died?” The three nodded. “Lay it over a map of Paris and it points to the bar where the bombing happened.”
Sabina and Leo joined Chad. “Where did Liza get the overlay?” Chad asked.
“From her informant, but the writing is Liza’s. It’s documented, so there’s no question as to its origin.”
“You’re sure?” Sabina asked, still studying the map. “Not that I’m doubting you, but the Feds will ask.”
“There are two street names noted on the overlay. In Tewa shorthand. And the nearest metro station is marked. Given the names, there’s nowhere else in the world it could be,” she answered. She’d checked.
“Good,” Sabina said with a nod. “I mean, it’s shitty, but it’s good,” she added with a grimace. “What else?”
“This is how the money flows from Nolan Enterprises to the pockets of both terrorists and government officials,” she said, pointing to the various trails she’d made around the room.
“And these are the ones from the bank accounts Rian sent the pictures of,” she said, pointing to a second set.
“Aiden’s clever in some exchanges, using mediums such as art or donations to charities to transfer money, but it’s all here.
” She glanced at her computer. “And in my report. It’s more organized in my report, but this”—she gestured to the papers—“helps me sort through what’s critical to the case, what’s not, and how best to present it. ”
“Is there anything missing? Anything we need to make the case stronger?” Sabina asked.
Callie skimmed her gaze over the room. “The information on the cloned phone documented several of the illegal transactions, but it would be good to verify that the communications sent to Aiden came from who they appear to come from.”
“You want to ensure that when Aiden discussed his bribes with, for example, the US official in charge of making the decision about the bus driver uniforms, that it was indeed that official and not someone impersonating them?” Sabina clarified.
Callie nodded. “Aiden used Rian’s computer to send money to an offshore account.
It’s possible that someone did the same with the government official’s email.
Although, even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mitigate the fact that Aiden was willing to pay the bribe.
But this case is going to have international repercussions, and I think it’s safer to button it all up. ”
Sabina flashed Leo a look, who nodded. “I agree,” she said. “Leo will work on that. What else?”
Again, she eyed the papers. “Everything is here,” she said. “The case for financial fraud and corruption is solid.”
“But?”
“We have no verifiable connection between Aiden and Liza’s death.
What we do have is proof that Aiden sent money to the Operation Nationalists and that they used it to set the bomb.
And we believe that Liza was lured to the bar that night, that the ON intended for her to be there.
” She paused, idly tapping a finger on a piece of paper on the table.
Sabina nodded. “Which means they either learned about her from the informant?—”
“Or through the FBI,” Chad said.
Callie inclined her head. “We’ve been assuming Maraud and the ON found out through the informant. That she either told them, or something about her behavior gave her away.”
“But?” Chad prompted.
“Looking through Aiden Nolan’s credit card statements for the past ten years, nearly every third Thursday of the month, he has lunch at the same restaurant in DC. Different times of day, but always the same restaurant and always during lunch hours.”
“And?” Sabina asked.
“It’s a popular spot for the higher-ups in the agency. I’ve been a few times and spotted several deputy directors each time. Aiden’s bills don’t indicate he ate with anyone—or, more precisely, that he paid for more than one meal.”
“But you have to wonder,” Sabina said.
“I don’t want to, but yeah, I do,” she admitted.
“If Aiden learned about Liza’s investigation, it would have had to come from someone who knew what she was looking into,” Leo said. “Any ideas?”
She fingered another piece of paper, then picked it up and handed it to Leo. “Here’s the list I came up with. Liza didn’t tell a lot of people what she was working on, but she told a few. She had to when she asked for permission to go to Paris to meet with her informant.”
“Which they refused,” Sabina said.
Callie nodded. “In order to justify the trip, she would have had to lay out her suspicions, including the evidence she’d gathered so far and the existence of her informant.
” She paused. “The hitch in that theory, though, is that they denied her request. If someone in the FBI is in league with Aiden Nolan, knew about Liza’s investigation, and wanted to stop her, sending her to Paris, to ON territory, makes more sense than denying her. ”
“Not if they were worried about covering their tracks,” Chad said.
She looked at him, silently asking him to continue.
“If he or she approved the trip and then Liza was killed in the blast, the FBI wouldn’t let that lie.
They couldn’t because everything would be on record—the evidence Liza presented, the formal approval for her to go, everything. ”
“Was Liza the type of person who was more likely than not to pick up and go on her own if the agency didn’t agree?” Leo asked.
Callie frowned. “You mean, do I think that someone in the chain of command with authority to grant or deny her request knew her well enough to count on her going regardless of whether they gave her the official green light?” Leo nodded.
Callie considered this. “Possibly. She had a strong sense of justice, and if she was certain her work was leading down the right path, she was the sort of person who wouldn’t always toe the line.
” She paused, another thought occurring to her.
“And I have no proof of this, but if she thought her informant was in trouble or in danger, then she’d definitely go. ”
“Easy enough to orchestrate that if ON knew or was told about the informant,” Leo pointed out.
With that question, she flipped through a stack of papers until she found what she wanted. “I think this victim, Annette Bain, was Liza’s informant,” she said, handing the paper to Chad, who stood closest to her. On it, she’d documented everything she’d found on the young woman.
“Why her?” Chad asked.
“She fits the profile Leo gave me with respect to her age?—”
“That’s not much,” Sabina said, taking the paper from her husband.
“It’s not, but did you notice this little image on the files Lyda and I decrypted and translated?” She handed another paper to Chad.
“I did,” Sabina said when Chad passed the paper to her. She handed it to Leo, who nodded.
“It looks like a typo or maybe a slip of the finger,” Leo said.
“It’s a mouse,” Callie said.
All three leaned over the paper.
“Huh,” Leo said. “Done with just keyboard symbols. I see it now.”
“Liza loved to see what art she could make with her keyboard. Many of her trials were completely unrecognizable, but?—”
“Now that you’ve pointed it out, I’m a little embarrassed we missed it,” Leo said. Sabina nodded. “But what does this have to do with Annette Bain?” he asked, handing the paper back to her.
“ The Mickey Mouse Club ,” Chad said. “Annette Funicello.” Callie nodded. Sabina and Leo drew back in surprise. “What on earth made you make that leap?” Chad asked.
“I identified both the Nolans and Quayle based on two other drawings,” she answered. “Once I realized what those marks were, I looked at every victim to see if there was any connection to ‘mouse’ or ‘rat.’”
Sabina studied the paper again, then handed it back. “That’s our next step, then,” she said. “Tomorrow, we look into Annette Bain.”
“Callie,” Chad said. She turned. “We will do our best, but connecting Nolan to Liza’s death might be…”
“Close to impossible,” she finished, a wave of sadness washing through her.
“It’s the first time I’ve said that aloud, but I can assure you it’s not the first time I’ve thought it.
” Her three new colleagues nodded in sympathy.
“In a perfect world, we’ll demonstrate that not only did Nolan fund the bombing but that he knew Liza would be there that night.
We already have a good case for the former, but—” She hesitated. “I hear you on the latter.”
“Is looking into Annette Bain the best use of our time right now?” Leo asked.
She met his gaze, encouraging him to continue.
“Not to sound brutal, but if we think Nolan and a yet-to-be-identified FBI traitor conspired to have Liza there that night, Annette was little more than a means to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s worth looking into her, but I’m not sure that’s the connection we should prioritize. ”
Callie considered his observation, then, after several seconds, nodded.
“You’re right. Anything we learn about Annette would supplement a case.
We need to focus on the hard stuff first, the possibility of Nolan in league with someone at the Bureau.
Someone who could have tipped him off about Liza’s interest in his dealings. ”
“Someone who would have started the chain reaction that led to Liza going to Paris and being in that bar that night,” Sabina said, nodding slowly.
Leo exhaled. “Okay, that’s our plan of attack for tomorrow. I’ll find out who might have been at the restaurant at the same time as Aiden Nolan’s once-a-month lunches and compare it to the list of directors you drew up.”
“A big task,” Callie said, not wanting to think too hard about how Leo would tap into the tech resources he’d need to find the information.
“Not hard, but a little tedious,” he said with a smile.
“I’ll owe you a drink or two when this is all done,” she replied with her own smile.
He shook his head. “You won’t owe any of us anything. This is what we do. What we live for.”
“Although, to be fair, every now and then, an easy confession wouldn’t go amiss,” Chad said, drawing laughs from the group.
“But then we’d all be so bored,” Sabina said, bumping her husband with her hip.
He barked a laugh. “Babe, if you think I’m ever going to be bored around you, you need to engage in some self-reflection.”
Sabina grinned. “On that note, why don’t we call it a day and come back fresh tomorrow? After showing our significant others how not-boring we are.”
Leo rolled his eyes and shook his head. Callie smiled, still a little uncomfortable with the blurred lines between personal and professional. She’d adjust eventually. Not today, but eventually.
And eventually, she realized, she might even like it.