Brutal Obsession (The Safeguard Series, Book One) (5 page)

*

How could she
act as if she hadn’t betrayed him?

He’d even reached out to her, brushing his hand against hers…so warm and inviting. He hadn’t meant to close his eyes and he was relieved to see no one had noticed anything other than an innocent gesture. Her response had left little to be savored. She hadn’t even noticed his touch. It was like some vile enemy had turned her against him.

Red-hot coals were being raked against his heart and she couldn’t even see his pain due to her dependence on this circus of distractions. She was turning out like the others when he’d thought she was different.

He drummed his fingers on the desk and listened to the calming rhythm, but all the incessant noise did was stir the anger that clung to him like the sweet fragrance of her perfume.

He couldn’t wait any longer for her to come to him.

It was time.

‡

K
eane surveyed the
United States Attorney Office’s building from his position across 4th Street NW, in the parking lot of the Juvenile Probation Office on the eastern side of Judiciary Square. He held the coffee he’d gotten at Jack’s Famous Deli down the street as he studied the layout for which someone could monitor the comings and goings of the employees. There were multiple points of entry, although that would most likely not concern the perpetrator the feds were currently looking for. Whoever was targeting Ashlyn Ellis was already well aware of her routine and had watched at great length for several months.

The cool weather brought by the dipping sun and endless rows of icy concrete facades bereft of any warmth had put a nip in the air, but the chill he felt in his bones could very well be from his last memory of Ashlyn. Keane pushed the visual away as he gazed up at the multiple levels of blackened windows. He recalled from the dossier he’d gone over on the plane that Ashlyn’s office was located on the second floor. Unless their suspect had specialized optics equipment to penetrate the tint, a vantage point located outside of her office wasn’t the place from which she could be observed.

Keane answered his cell phone when it chimed without looking at the display. He’d already called his sister and dad to let both of them know he’d be out of touch for a while on a case. That left some old friends back in California south of L.A. or his current employer. He was betting on the latter.

“Sanderson.”

“Calvert wants twelve hour check-ins—either voice or electronic. The details are in the email he sent you covering your case,” Brody announced, giving Keane the victory. It was rather hollow seeing as he was the only one celebrating his small feat. “Coen should be arriving in Florida tomorrow morning and I hear he’s got some connections up in D.C. that you might be able to use, because I have nothing so far on this surveillance feed that was hijacked.”

“How is that possible?” Keane questioned while at the same time wondering what kind of contacts Coen Flynn could possibly have that Calvert didn’t. “I was never into all that tech shit, but isn’t there some way to locate an IP address for this asshole?”

“And now I know why you were in the field while I was back at basecamp making sure your ass was clear of fire and headed in the right fucking direction,” Brody muttered, not bothering to cover up his words too much. His irritability did cause Keane to smile at the memories of their last deployment together. It was nice to have someone have his six that he already had an established friendship with. “Listen, it’s simple. Whoever you’re dealing with is good at the technical aspect and knows how to cover his tracks. Calvert doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes without good reason fresh out of the gate, so we’re still only under contract for offering protection services.”

Keane understood what Brody was conveying and actually agreed with the assessment to keep a low profile. Safeguard Security & Investigations was just getting off of the ground. Calvert had them licensed as a private and government contracting firm, meaning their clearances allowed them cases that needed to be handled with a little discretion. This assignment had only been contracted for protection…nothing else. He would do well to remember that and provide said services while staying out of the FBI’s investigation.

“I’m about to meet with the special agent in charge. I’ll let you know if he can find his ass with either hand,” Kean revealed, leaning up against Matthew Coulter’s building. He removed his shades and slipped the glasses into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. The sun had now set behind the building. It wouldn’t be long before the streetlights flickered to life on this side of the hill, along with the D.C. nightlife making another grand appearance. The movers and shakers would be heading to dinner and their chosen forms of entertainment soon. D.C. would take on the manifestation of the new world Sodom once again. He wanted to be long gone from here by then. The monsters who inhabited those shadows were best left on their own. “I’ll exchange information with him and create a rapport. Better to be on his good side than appear to be hindering his efforts.”

A man walked out of the building’s main exit to Keane’s left, but it wasn’t Agent Coulter. Calvert had the man’s file included in Ashlyn’s case file. He stood at five feet and ten inches with short blond hair and blue eyes. He had a solid but limited reputation and also had a decent percentage when it came to closing difficult cases. Ashlyn was in good hands all the way around, even if she didn’t quite know it yet. Keane would still like to follow up that written assessment in person.

“Calvert is most likely to send Coen up there if you need backup,” Brody offered, sounding somewhat distracted as he pecked at his keyboards. Keane could hear what sounded like beeping and could picture his friend in front of a bank of computer monitors. “I’ll be your eyes and ears if needed. We have access to the local CCTV feeds. By the way, how’s that coffee tasting?”

“You can see me right now, can’t you?” Keane asked, lowering the brown cup he’d been about to take a drink from. He narrowed his gaze to take in the various streetlights and poles before focusing on the building across the street in front of them. “Did you just hack into the surveillance feeds of the U.S. Government municipal buildings or did we get permission?”

“It’s good to work with you again too, Sanderson,” Brody said with a laugh. “We’ll have to get caught up over beers when you’re back in the Sunshine State where the weather is considerably warmer. By the way, I went ahead and ordered some shirts for you. We can’t have you sticking out like a sore thumb.”

“What about Royce and Sawyer?” Keane asked, curious as to when the other two team members were due to arrive. It would have been more beneficial to meet them before being given an assignment. “I thought Calvert said they were arriving in Orlando by the week’s end.”

“That’s the plan for now. I’m not sure how much interaction each of you will have on one another’s cases,” Brody responded with reservation. Keane’s attention was pulled off the building in front of him when Matthew Coulter stepped out of the glass doors to Keane’s left. He tossed what was left of his coffee in the metal trashcan and stepped forward. “There’s your man now. Keep me posted.”

Keane shot an annoyed look across the street, knowing full well Brody had caught the slight. They already had one individual doing illicit surveillance of a government official. They didn’t need an issue of that sort with this case.

“Agent Coulter?” Keane called out to grab the other man’s attention. He extended his hand with his credentials displayed in his left. “Keane Sanderson. SSI.”

“I’m glad you called earlier,” Coulter said as he returned the gesture with a slightly distracted look around them. He then indicated they should walk next door to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Building. “This case isn’t going to be as straightforward as I initially thought it was going to be. It’s a good thing Chief Garner requested outside personal protection in the meantime.”

“What do you mean it’s not going to be straightforward?” Keane asked, waiting for the traffic indicator to signify they could use the crosswalk on F Street NW safely. He was used to the wall-to-wall traffic during the commuting hours, especially living in Los Angeles, but that didn’t mean he’d ever grown used to wasting his life in the churning mass of humanity. “This guy must have left some kind of footprint. You’re telling me your cyber analysis group couldn’t find anything on this perp?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. This guy has talent and used Ms. Ellis’ lack of knowledge of cyber vulnerability to his advantage.” Agent Coulter stepped off the corner and proceeded to walk in the pedestrian zone. The lighted displays appeared brighter now that the sun was setting. Keane had no choice but to follow when all he really wanted was a place to discuss this in private. “I’d like access to Ms. Ellis’ apartment, preferably tonight. We need to do a full sweep for any devices that may have been hidden on the premises without her knowledge.”

That would explain why Coulter’s intention was to enter the U.S. Attorney Office’s building. All Keane had wanted was to obtain more information on the investigation before meeting with Ashlyn. It was bound to be uncomfortable at first and he didn’t think she’d want an audience. He sure as hell didn’t, but it appeared that’s what he was going to get.

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. She’s shown her desire to cooperate thus far,” Keane replied as he ran the facts over through his mind while coming to a conclusion. He needed time to look over the layout of Ashlyn’s office and meet her staff, as well as anyone else she came in contact with on a daily basis. “What about her office and the technology she uses there? Computer? Phone?”

“One of our agents stopped by Ms. Ellis’ office this morning with one of their best guys and they found jack,” Coulter revealed as he walked up to the double glass entrance of Ashlyn’s building. He stopped just short of pulling the door open and was clearly puzzled by what he was about to say. “Her office computer and desk phone were clear, as far as we can tell with the best IT folks we have. It does sort of make me wonder if this individual feels he doesn’t need to monitor her at work or doesn’t have to use her system to do the surveillance. He sure as hell appears to have the capability without anyone being the wiser.”

Keane comprehended what Coulter was saying and his assumptions weren’t going to make a lot of people very happy with the implications. No one would envy the position this just put him in and Calvert no doubt knew how this would eventually play out if it was an inside job. Background checks were about to be rerun on every individual working inside the federal prosecutor’s office building in D.C., which would undoubtedly make some employees rather uncomfortable. It might even run amuck of the union officials representing the federal office workers. That had shitstorm written in bold letters all over it.

“I’ll establish a varied schedule so that Ashlyn isn’t in the same place at predictable times. Maybe we can define some of our potential suspect pool by process of elimination,” Keane proposed, reaching into his jacket for his credentials and presenting himself at the security checkpoint as he bypassed the metal detector. “Give me one minute.”

Keane broke away from Coulter to speak with one of the security guards on duty, alerting him to the fact that Chief Garner had left specific instructions to permit Keane through with his weapon as he checked in with his proof of clearance, official visit request, U.S. Government contractor’s license number, and a concealed carry permit issued for federal law enforcement contractors. It wasn’t long before he’d stepped around the metal detector, had his status verified, and had his weapon logged as permitted past security.

“You speak of Ms. Ellis as if you know her,” Agent Coulter pointed out, having followed the same routine with the exception of only showing his FBI identification and badge to the guards and being allowed through without further delay. He pointed to the elevator bank straight ahead. “Isn’t your firm based out of Florida?”

Keane could have said he’d yet to spend the night in the Sunshine State, but didn’t want to get into specifics now that strangers surrounded them in their bid for the elevator. Someone had already pressed the button and all they could do now was wait. He kept his answer brief.