“Exactly. So I went to my local Starbucks with my personal laptop, connected to their Wi-Fi, and did my thing. To say I got more than I bargained for would be the understatement of all time. I accidentally found the existence of”—Caitlin paused, using her fingers to make air quotes—“an ‘off-book’ division of Scott that only a tight group of people were privy to and a part of.”
“How high up did this go?”
“To the top. The division is headed up by Charles Scott himself, and it’s far-reaching. I saw evidence of clandestine activities all over the world. Criminal activities that included horrific things like killings. I saw cryptic email exchanges, reports, even evidence that Scott himself had hired a contractor to terminate someone who was a threat to one of their clients. And when I say far-reaching—he also has contacts in various government organizations.” Again Caitlin paused, this time to suck in a breath. “I panicked. I was way out of my league, unsure of what to do, and scared to death.”
“So you went to Shane.”
“Yes. I wish to God I hadn’t. Because he started his own investigation, which, for all I know, made him a mark, as well. I have no way of knowing what they knew or how they found out I had discovered their secret division.”
Caitlin’s supposition triggered a realization in Ryan’s mind. “How many times did you probe your company from that same Starbucks?”
“Three. I didn’t find the ‘off-book’ division until that last time. And I quit right then.”
“Not soon enough,” Ryan replied. “Your poking around must have raised a red flag to the IT security team, and whoever got the report went directly to Scott himself. Scott then ordered one of his trusted operatives to eliminate the problem. They conducted an investigation and zeroed in on the IP address of the New Rochelle Starbucks.”
Caitlin’s eyes widened. “After which, they must have sent someone to surveil that Starbucks. I go there every day, including the mornings I go into the office. They must have connected the network infiltration to me and that’s when they decided to eliminate me.”
“Did they know your husband was an FBI agent?”
Caitlin gave a shaky shrug. “At first? I don’t know. They knew I was married. Shane is the beneficiary of the group life insurance I receive as a company benefit. When they targeted me, they must have dug up that information. After that, they have enough resources, not only to know all about Shane, but to figure out he was poking around. And Kennedy…” Caitlin’s voice broke. “She’s old enough for them to suspect she might have overheard something. And they’re ruthless enough to kill an innocent child. If I doubted that before, I no longer do. The fire and the phone call I heard your mother describing was, at the very least, a warning, and at worst, attempted murder. It’s my fault.” Caitlin covered her face and began to weep. “Everything that’s happening. It’s all on me.”
“No.” Ryan gave an adamant shake of his head, his tone decisive. “Caity, stop. You’re as much a victim as Shane and Kennedy.”
He waited until she’d calmed down, lowered her hands, and had gotten herself under control. Then, he continued. “Blaming yourself is not only wrong, it’s counterproductive. Let’s put our heads together and get at some basics we can work with. For example, did you see Shane’s killer? Did he see you? Clearly, you were on the scene at some point. Your blood was found on the floor, along with Shane’s. How did it get there? Are you injured? And if you did see the killer, can you describe him to me?”
Caitlin digested all Ryan’s questions, unsurprised by any of them.
“For starters, I’m fine. I cut myself on an edge of Shane’s shattered cell phone. No big deal. And, yeah, I saw the killer, although he was covered in black from head to toe. Plus, I didn’t see him up close. He didn’t see me. I hid under the staircase near the hallway. I guess that makes me a coward.” Caitlin’s voice cracked again, and fresh tears began to flow.
“It doesn’t make you a coward, it makes you smart,” Ryan replied. “Sweetie, there was nothing you could do to stop what happened. And it would have destroyed Shane if you got hurt or killed. Not to mention what it would do to Kennedy.”
Caitlin gave a shaky nod. “It was over in seconds, but it felt like slow motion playing out. I heard the shot even before I ducked under the staircase. After the SOB ran, I checked Shane’s vitals a half dozen times. It was too late. I operated on autopilot. I’m sure you know the rest.”
“Tell me what you remember about him.”
“He was tall. Lean and light on his feet.” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “That’s all I remember. I’ve thought about it nonstop, but nothing else is coming.”
“You were in shock.” Ryan pursed his lips. “Listen, Caity, let me talk to the rest of my team. This investigation just made a one-eighty. We need to figure out a strategy. Our key goals will be to expose Scott and his people, get them thrown in jail without a key, and, most important of all, to bring you home.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Give me time, just a little. Now get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Offices of Forensic Instincts
Second Floor
Tribeca, Manhattan, New York
Saturday, March 18, Midnight
Casey began the Zoom meeting on time, with the entire team ready to get started. Most of them were Zooming either from home or a hotel room, other than Ryan and Claire, who were at FI, along with Casey. Casey was alone in the conference room, and Claire and Ryan were in Ryan’s lair.
All eyes were on Casey.
“Sorry to screw up everyone’s plans, but this is urgent,” Casey began. “I’ll start by telling you that Hutch is on the warpath. He exploded in here earlier this evening, and it wasn’t pretty. He’s not flexing, not this time. We’ve been warned to stay off these investigations or he’ll get a court order forcing us to do so. I’m not sure how far he’d take this—he even threatened to have charges brought against us—but I’m not willing to find out.”
“Shit,” Marc muttered. “This is going to limit us, big-time.” He paused, eyeing Casey. “We’ll tackle our strategy in a minute. First, are you okay? No prying, but I’m guessing you’re not going home tonight. And it’s been a brutally long day.”
