“And leaving them in bins with the mob was safer?” she frowned.
“Priscilla, it really wasn’t like that. Tony said that there are files in here of unsolved cases from the bureau,” said Sor.
“So? There are lots of unsolved cases for the bureau. Our success rate isn’t as great as it should be. And they shouldn’t be in my father’s hands if they were unsolved cases.”
“Honey, these are cases thatshould have beensolved. He kept the evidence so that someone, one day, would find it and solve it all. They were cases that were swept under the rug, just like we think this would have been had we not been involved. It’s why your father and Leopold knew one another. Your father was giving him little tiny nuggets of information.”
Priscilla stared at the bins, then held out her hand to Sor who had a knife at his hip. He gave her a little smirk, then cut the ties for her and she opened the dusty bins. Inside were neat stacks of files, filled with photos and documents. She stared at the names on the tabs and frowned.
“Some of these cases were way before my father’s time as an agent,” said Priscilla.
“When they charged him with keeping the records of our team safe, he had exposure to all of this and just decided to take it upon himself to ensure they weren’t lost for all eternity. Someone was making sure that these cases were pushed aside. He made sure that he only worked them in his spare time.”
“How do you know all of that if the bins were secured?” she asked.
“Tony,” they both smiled.
“He’s actually a really cool guy,” said Sor. “We spoke to him for about two hours. He was nice, very genuine, and very much a fan of your father’s. He was happy to hear that you were doing well. Apparently your father bragged about you every chance he got.
“He also talked about the old days and all the crazy things that used to happen. But what he talked about most was your father and how he convinced them all to change their ways of working. These are the good guys, Priscilla and your father was one of them.”
“Our fathers and grandfathers worked with east coast families like this before. Not everyone is eating pasta and killing guys over wine,” smirked Gator. “Some of these men aren’t happy about the direction of our country any more than we are. I think we might have found a new friend here.”
“What do any of these files have to do with Morris and him wanting the disc and me?” she asked not saying anything more about the families.
“We’re not sure, yet. The files could be nothing or they could be involved in some way,” said Garr. “Sor and I hoped you’d let us look through these with you. There could be a connection to Morris or maybe some associates known to Morris.”
Priscilla stared at the files, taking a few out a time and stacking them on the table. No one said anything, allowing her to get there in her own time. When the last of the files was stacked on the table, she looked up at Garr and Sor.
“Fifty-two. Fifty-two unsolved cases, some nearly forty years old. I’m not even sure what I could do with these. I may not be employed with the bureau any longer.”
“No, but you’re damn sure employed with us,” said Gator. She jerked her head up, staring at him. “I don’t need to ask River. He knows that this is how it works. We don’t let talent walk away from us.”
“I’d be working for you?” she asked.
“No,” said Ham. “You’d be working with us. There’s a difference.”
She scanned the folders once more, pulling out two that caught her eyes. Taking a seat, she opened the first folder and looked at Sor and Garr.
“You’ll help me with this?” she asked.
“Anything you need, we’ll do for you,” said Sor. She nodded at him.
“These two cases to start. This first one was only about three years ago, right after Natalia came to the bureau. It was a cargo ship that went down off the coast of Maryland. Allegedly, it was filled with priceless antiques from the U.K.”
“Let me guess, mostly British antiques,” said Garr. Priscilla nodded.
“It wasn’t my area of expertise, but I remember the case coming into us. I kept wondering why it was so important to the bureau. Later, I heard that they found the body of a London stockbroker who specialized in investing in non-profits and antiquities, a strange combination.
“I didn’t make the connection right away until you guys started talking. The dead man worked at Morris’ old firm. This can’t be a coincidence and if we find more connections, which might be what my father was trying to do, our friend Leopold will have more ammunition that he can possibly imagine.”
“See,” grinned Gator. “Smart and beautiful.”
“Well, thank you but let’s hold off on the smart part of all this until we can definitely make the connections. It’s all just conjecture at this point. Although, I do have to wonder why a cargo ship was loaded with antiques. I mean, that was a helluva lot of antiques if it was on a cargo ship.”
“I would agree with that,” frowned Jak. “Maybe it wasn’t just antiques. It was coming from London, so whatever was loaded on that ship was local.” Priscilla nodded at the men feeling useful once again.
“We can’t be sure of that,” said Ham. “It could have been shipped into London, perhaps even on that very cargo ship and then sent here to the U.S. The thing we need to know is whether or not he ship was sunk intentionally or was it an accident.”
