kosher, so didn’t pursue it.”
“Dammit, Rogan, you’re screwing up this investigation right and left!”
“No, I’m not,” Sean said firmly. “Yuran didn’t trust the source because it didn’t come through his normal channels.”
“And you believed him? Yuran runs one of the biggest Russian Mafia organizations in the greater D.C. area.”
“I know all about Yuran. There was no reason for him to lie to me. I’m not a cop, and I wasn’t after him.”
“He could be involved in Morton’s murder. Morton and Ralston were
“Common among the mob, but it’s not Yuran’s M.O.”
“And you
“I do my research.”
“I’d like to know where you get your information.”
“That’s confidential.”
They were at a standoff, but Sean wasn’t budging. He’d done enough research into Yuran to be confident he didn’t have any interests in the online sex business. If he thought there was anything there, he’d have given up his information, but Sean wasn’t burning his brothers because they did him a favor that was bordering on illegal.
“You’re getting under my skin, Rogan. I should hold you for questioning.”
Sean stood. “If you’re accusing me of a crime, this conversation is over.”
“Let’s start with interfering with a federal criminal investigation.”
Sean started toward the door. “Call my lawyer.”
Kate said, “Sean don’t go.”
“I’m not playing the power game with a Fed. I’ve been burned before.” He glanced at Noah, who stared at him.
“You can’t stay out of trouble,” Noah snapped.
Hans said, “Noah, stop jerking Sean’s chain.”
“I think it’s more like he wants me on a leash,” Sean mumbled.
“Truce,” Hans said. “We’re on the same team here.”
Hans was right. Sean didn’t have to like Noah Armstrong, but he should have been smarter than to allow the cop to get under his skin.
Kate tapped Fran Buckley’s personnel file. “Vigilantes targeting parolees. Morton fits.”
Sean turned to Kate, stunned. “What are you doing?”
“It’s connected, Sean.” She gave him a look that told him to back down. Reluctantly, Sean did, but he inwardly fumed. He didn’t trust Noah Armstrong not to quash Lucy’s dream of becoming an FBI agent. If he thought Lucy had any knowledge of these murders, she was done.
Hans spoke up. “Lucy uncovered a string of vigilante murders tied to the victim’s rights group Women and Children First. She brought the information to Kate and Dillon, and they asked for my profile of the players who may be involved.”
Sean had liked Hans Vigo from the minute they met, and now his estimation of the profiler was even higher. The seasoned Fed was brilliant, telling the truth without giving details that might put Lucy’s application in jeopardy.
“You’re saying Morton was killed by a vigilante?” Noah asked.
Hans nodded and gave Noah a rundown on what Lucy had discovered, Brad Prenter’s murder, and the other dead parolees. He concluded, “According to Lucy’s detailed records, of the twenty-eight cases she worked on, most were reincarcerated, but eight are dead.”
“Being dead doesn’t mean-”
Hans interrupted. “They were all killed on the night they were supposed to be arrested.”
Kate said, “There are several people at WCF doing the same thing, but Lucy couldn’t access those records.”
“It would reason,” Hans said, “that the ratios-about four to one-would hold across all staff. I doubt Fran Buckley was only using Lucy for this project.”
Noah sat down as he processed the information. Sean walked to the kitchen and leaned against the counter, where he could watch and listen. “You have proof of all this?”
“We have proof that the eight men all died the night they were suppose to be arrested,” Hans said. “We also know that someone hacked into Lucy’s WCF account and sent the last victim, Brad Prenter, to a completely different location than she had arranged.”
“Where does Morton fit into all this?” Noah said.
“Right before you arrived, we found a connection between Buckley and Morton,” Hans said.
Kate asked, “Do you know former FBI Agent Mick Mallory?”
Noah shook his head, but Agent Resnick spoke up. “I remember Mallory. After his family was killed by a perp, he lost it. Went under deep cover with Adam Scott’s criminal enterprise, none of it sanctioned by the Bureau.”
“Mallory is a bastard with his own sense of right and wrong, but he helped us find Lucy,” Kate said. “Mallory fucked up. He was in so deep, he’d been party to several crimes, and still his handler pushed him.”
Dillon reached out and took her hand.
Hans said, “Mallory worked in the Richmond office with Buckley for two years.”
Noah didn’t say anything for a long minute. “How long ago?”
“Nearly twenty years. Mallory was a new agent at the time in Buckley’s Violent Crimes squad.”
Noah rubbed his eyes. “What do you think, Hans?”
“I think both Buckley and Mallory are capable of murder under the right circumstances.”
Noah looked up at the ceiling. Sean could practically read his mind, though his face was stoic. He was running through the case, weighing the evidence against the supposition.
Finally, Noah said, “We need to bring Fran Buckley in for questioning and track down Mallory. I don’t suppose you know where he is?”
“No,” Hans said. “We just made the connection this morning, haven’t even started looking.”
Noah glanced at Abigail. “Can you get a current address on him?”
“Will do.”
“About Fran,” Kate said. “Pulling her in may not be to our advantage.”
“Why’s that? Hans said we had proof that someone at WCF killed those parolees.”
“No,” Hans corrected, “we have proof that the parolees were killed the night they were set up to be re- arrested by volunteer cops. One more thing to consider-their personalities.”
“Explain.”
“Buckley and Mallory are not leaders. Mallory has always taken orders. He was in the military, he went undercover and had a lot of leeway, but always acted at the direction of a superior. He never did his own thing. Even when he was undercover at Trask, he did it at the direction of a high-ranking FBI agent. Buckley runs WCF, and on the surface you might think she’s a leader, but she was an SSA for seven years in Boston and didn’t do well in the role. I’ve read her employee reviews and she relied heavily on her superiors for even the most minor decision-making. To the extent that after three years, while she retained the rank and salary of an SSA, she was effectively demoted into a nonsupervisory role. She’s good at doing her job, but not at giving direction.”
“You’re saying there’s a third person,” Noah said.
“I think that it’s highly likely. I’m not one hundred percent certain-Mallory has the capability of being a leader, he’s just never done it.” Hans steepled his fingers and looked up at the ceiling. “If there’s another player, a leader, then he’s lost someone close to him. One of the victims will connect back to him. I need more details about the murders. Dillon made a copy of Lucy’s files and I’m going to review them and see if there is another connection.”
Dillon commented, “Do you think there are more than three people involved? For crimes like this-in seven different states-it seems like they’d need a network.”
“It’s a small group,” Hans said. “A larger conspiracy wouldn’t have been able to keep such control over their activities for this long. There is no evidence at the crime scene that ties in with any other crime. That tells me they
