Allison Brennan - If I Should Die

“Correct,” Hart said.

Strong interjected, “Why would she meet with a known drug dealer? Victoria worked white-collar crime.”

“She went to Swain because in the course of her investigation of pirated DVDs she uncovered something bigger. Swain wasn’t as forthcoming about what it was. I was hoping you’d all know why she was meeting with Swain, what she was doing in Spruce Lake, and how long she’d been involved with Jon Callahan.”

Silence, this time of the stunned variety.

“You’re pulling this out of thin air!” Strong finally said.

Martinelli said, “She wasn’t even an FBI agent six years ago during the sting. How would she know Swain or any of the people in Spruce Lake?”

“I know how,” Lucy said.

Everyone looked at her. She hesitated, not liking the attention.

Sean said over the speaker, “Shoot, Lucy. What do you think?”

“Agent Sheffield was undercover investigating the theft of intellectual property from Studio One. When I read her messages about meeting with the lawyers, it clicked. Studio One is a client of Jon Callahan’s law firm in Montreal. They specialize in intellectual property, copyright, and other business matters. If she met with the lawyers, one of them could have been Callahan.”

“That’s a long, convoluted stretch,” Strong said.

“It’s the only connection she has with Spruce Lake,” Lucy said. “And it would explain the photo of her and Callahan.”

“Why would she get involved with a drug case without running it through the office?” Strong said.

Candela said, “Victoria was a good agent, but she had a history of acting without thinking.”

Strong slapped his hand on the table. “That’s not fair, Brian! We gave her a lot of leeway with this op because it was fucking movies!”

Martinelli said, “The Sacramento FBI office recently had several large stings taking down three separate pirating operations totaling more than one hundred million dollars. All the same signs were here. She might have thought she could bring us something bigger.”

“Not on her own,” Strong insisted. “Not like this.”

“Are you too close to this?” Candela asked quietly.

Strong took a deep breath but said nothing more.

Hart said, “Our emotions are running high. Victoria was extremely bright, but she also was a maverick. None of that matters right now-we will find her killer. As far as I’m concerned, we’re investigating the disappearance and murder of one of our own people. No judgments until we solve this thing. Is everyone clear?”

Everyone nodded their assent. Lucy felt ill, the mantra, There but for the grace of God go thee , running through her head. She could see herself following a trail that she believed in, especially if no one agreed with her. Especially if she knew justice and human lives were at stake.

“I might have an answer for you,” Sean said, “but you’re not going to like it.”

“Theory?”

“Educated guess. Swain said one thing that is now perfectly clear. I asked him why Callahan wants revenge on Bobbie Swain. His answer? She killed the woman he loved.”

“That’s bullshit, Rogan,” Strong said.

Noah disagreed. “It explains everything. Sheffield’s connection to Spruce Lake, and why she was killed.”

“How does it do that?” Strong demanded. “A lover’s spat?”

There was more to Marty Strong’s feelings for Victoria Sheffield than being a colleague, or even a friend. Lucy said, “Let’s assume that Sheffield met Callahan through Studio One.”

Strong cut her off. “That’s a damn big assumption.”

“Let her finish,” Noah said with authority. Lucy glanced around at the others at the table and realized that though everyone else had both seniority and jurisdiction over Noah, he commanded the meeting.

Lucy continued. “They’re working on the pirated DVDs and over time, Callahan tells her his concerns about Spruce Lake. It could be that she didn’t take him seriously, or thought he was exaggerating, or wanted proof before coming to her boss. Whatever her reasons, she went to Spruce Lake one or more times to gather information.”

Sean interjected. “That holds with what I got out of Paul Swain. He wants to destroy his sister for sending him to prison; Callahan wants to destroy her for killing Agent Sheffield.”

“Hold it,” Martinelli said. “Why not come to us? Even if we accept the theory that Victoria was investigating drug running on her own, when she was murdered, why wouldn’t this Callahan come to us? Unless, of course, he’s in on it.”

“But,” Lucy said, “there’s no other way she could have found out about Spruce Lake except through Jon Callahan.”

“We don’t know that,” Martinelli said.

Lucy did. Nothing else made sense. The theory she and Sean developed-most of it separately, she realized-worked.

Hart spoke up. “I’m inclined to agree with Lucy and Mr. Rogan.” All eyes turned to the boss. “What I’m about to tell you is classified, but in light of this situation, you need to know. Roberta Swain Molina was in protective custody in Florida six years ago after her husband was murdered and she was left for dead by a rival drug cartel. She provided our office with key information and physical evidence that led to the takedown of her brother’s drug business in Spruce Lake. Paul Swain had been one of the largest methamphetamine manufacturers distributing into Canada.”

Sean said, “There’s an alternate theory that Bobbie Swain orchestrated the hit on her husband.”

“She nearly died that night,” Hart said. “I know her background. Her mother died when she was a baby. She’d been grossly abused as a child, and finally escaped one violent family for another, marrying into the Molina cartel.”

“I take it,” Sean said, “you haven’t been keeping tabs on her over the last few years?”

“There was no reason to. She just wanted to have a normal life.”

“You might need to go back and fact-check,” Sean said.

“Excuse me,” Hart said, “I know more about this case than you do. You believe a convicted felon over an abused woman? Do you know what he did to her?”

Sean said, “After she got her brother Paul out of the picture, she walked in and took over.”

“That’s a serious accusation.”

“I don’t make it lightly.”

Noah spoke up. “The situation is certainly volatile right now, and I think we should assess the intelligence we have and run Bobbie Swain through our contacts at DEA. We all know that they don’t volunteer information, but if we have a name, we can get answers.”

“Brian,” Hart ordered, “take care of it.”

Lucy noticed that the SAC had lost some of her polish. Was it because Sean challenged her, or because she was having second thoughts about her assessment of Bobbie Swain?

Lucy asked, “Do you have her interview on tape? A file with her transcript?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I’d like to read the file on Bobbie Swain, as well as the sting six years ago. It might help us figure out additional connections.”

Hart told Martinelli to pull the files, and said, “Whether Bobbie Swain had ulterior motives in turning in her brother-over and above her tragic upbringing-is irrelevant since everything she told us we were able to prove.”

Noah said, “And what better way to get revenge and advance her own agenda. Right now, you have a dead federal agent who may have knowingly or unknowingly stumbled into a major drug operation. Paul Swain, believe him or not, has power outside the prison. He knows his sister turned him in. If she’s innocent, she’s in danger. If she’s guilty, she’s in danger. But more important, something big is going down in Spruce Lake, and a whole lot of innocent people are in danger.”