Brutal Obsession (The Safeguard Series, Book One) (6 page)

“We’ve met previously.”

A lone ding resounded through the lobby followed by the swoosh of the elevator doors opening. It was the end of the day and there were more people exiting than there were entering. It took a moment for the transfer of humanity, but eventually the small group of people standing alongside Keane and Coulter were finally ascending to their ultimate destination.

The short ride was made in silence as they disembarked on the second floor, although Keane did take time to memorize the faces of those beside him. He’d watched their movements in their reflections on the polished plastic of the employee information board. He’d always had the ability to recall the smallest of details while quickly learning the habits of others. The man standing directly in front of Keane lowered his right shoulder every six seconds, most likely due to an old sports injury. He didn’t have the bearing normally associated with former military members. The woman looking up at the display numbers blinked rapidly in unease every time the gentleman behind her cleared his throat, which had only been twice in the man’s defense. She was either a germaphobe or she’d been abused in some way to cause such a strong reaction. Either way, the blonde showed a dislike for him and his proximity to her.

“An established rapport should make your job that much easier,” Coulter said after they’d vacated the elevator and started down the hallway. Keane purposefully slowed his steps so he could evaluate his surroundings. “Although Ms. Ellis wasn’t too accepting of my suggestion that she vary her routine. You’ll have your work cut out for you, since she’s so determined to act as if this isn’t a major problem for her.”

Keane was well aware of just how dedicated Ashlyn was to her profession. Neither one of them had been willing to give up their careers and established lives for one another. Could they have handled ending their relationship on better terms, given their respective situations? Absolutely, but they hadn’t. It had ended badly. Cruel words had been exchanged and the only way past that was through time, regret, and forgiveness. He chalked it up to both of them being passionate beings who laid their hearts on the line, only to fail at the most intimate of times. Would she be able to let bygones be bygones?

“Agent Coulter, may I help you?”

The woman who’d called out to Coulter was rather petite with short auburn hair and black-rimmed glasses. It was as if she was trying to present a professional appearance and yet maintain the air of a sexy librarian for those willing to pay attention to her quirks. She was standing behind her desk, where her nameplate was visible. Keane didn’t have to read it to know this was Gina Nelson, Ashlyn’s administrative assistant and seasoned right hand. Her photograph, along with her biography, had been included in the files Calvert had supplied to Keane. The bit about her annual trips to Acapulco with her college sorority sisters had been interesting enough to warrant a second read through.

“Yes, I need to speak with Ms. Ellis regarding her case.”

Gina had given Keane a cursory glance, but apparently concluded he was some kind of federal agent as well, not missing the mark by very much. He didn’t bother to correct her assumption. Conjectures could be very helpful in his business of working on limited information and extracting the truth from those who didn’t wish to give it. He’d rather not have to explain who he was just yet, and quite honestly, why burst her bubble of self-assured indulgence?

Keane, to be quite honest, wasn’t so sure Ashlyn would actually see him if Gina revealed his identity.

‡

“H
ow could you
possibly believe that I would go along with this?” Ashlyn asked, shrugging off her suit jacket in what came down to annoyance rather than rage. She defaulted to simple irritation because she still believed in her heart of hearts that this blunder could be rectified. She didn’t like when other people made decisions for her, thinking they were acting in her best interest, and she certainly didn’t appreciate it when the results affected her personal life. She’d uncharacteristically asked for two favors out of an abundance of interoffice diplomacy. Both of them were well-deserved, but Jarod Garner did not have the right to bring in an outside firm when her case had already been assigned to the FBI as per protocol. It hadn’t been his place to do so without discussing the appearance of impropriety with her and she wasn’t going to stand still for his lording over her. “You should have consulted with me, first and foremost.”

“It’s a necessary measure and you know that to be true. This now has national media coverage and we have no concept of how this individual is going to react to what appears to be your rejection of him.”

Rejection? Ashlyn shook her head at Jarod’s insinuation that she’d somehow been the one to seek out the unwanted attention she’d been receiving from this individual. She was forced to remind herself that this wasn’t Jarod’s doing and that he was only trying to help resolve a difficult situation.

“Call Mr. Calvert back and inform him we won’t be needing his services in the foreseeable future,” Ashlyn instructed, scanning her desk as she walked past it to the small closet in the corner. She pulled out a hanger and slid the ends of the red cherry wood and chromed steel construction through the sleeves of her jacket. “These Machiavellian machinations that have been perpetrated upon myself through no fault of my own are officially in the hands of the FBI and I want this investigation to stay that way. I’m sure Special Agent Coulter wouldn’t appreciate the interference of an up-gunned personal security firm.”

Ashlyn had been out of her office for most of the morning and afternoon dealing with spurious defense motions and a senior citizen hard-nosed Jackie Onassis wannabe court clerk with illusions of grandeur. Gina had held down the fort, but there were several messages in the middle of her desk marked urgent that were currently waiting for her immediate response. They would have to wait a little longer until she’d taken some ibuprofen for the headache she’d been fighting all day. She silently closed the closet door, wishing she could just as easily shut away all of her fears and frustrations. It was just like the surf on the beach—relentlessly pounding the shores of her perception.

Per her instructions this morning, Parker had sent detailed text messages throughout the day updating her on what the IT technician had discovered while combing through the log files on her desktop computer. Apparently, Paul had installed additional vertical and horizontal firewalls for her protection under the orders of his department’s supervisor and an Agent Freeman with the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Division, who had verified that her work system had not been tampered with in any manner. That was all good news, as far as Ashlyn was concerned.

Most of the files she worked with were archived here on her desktop and on the department’s main server. If any of her work product had been compromised, it would have caused her to file advisory notifications with the courts in all of the cases that data was suspected to have been affected. Judges were like old women when it came to losing control of the chain of evidence concerning their cases. It was a violation of their dominion and someone was going to pay the price. Of course, that would result in the courts’ bias turning against the U.S. Attorney’s Office and her as their advocate.

With that said…it had still been one hell of a day for justice.

“In my department’s defense, the attention this creature had been previously paying to you three months ago wasn’t nearly as threatening as these most recent escalations,” Jarod replied cautiously as he took a seat in one of the guest chairs after unloading a stack of bundled files onto the floor. The other chair was hopelessly buried and would take a shovel to clear. Ashlyn understood Jarod didn’t want her to press the issue of the lateness to which her plight was now garnering attention. “We went by clearly established protocol.”

“For Christ’s sake, Jarod, are you already trying to mitigate the responsibility for your lack of response to my earlier warnings about this guy? Just shoot me now! Protocol didn’t stop this man from finding out where I lived and then watching my every move in my own home,” Ashlyn pointed out, practically forcing those words through her clenched teeth. She refused to be a victim like every damned defendant she interviewed. Nothing was ever their fault. According to them, everything would have been just perfect in their little slice of the world if the government had just left them alone. It was truly a damn shame it had taken this long to investigate the unwanted attention she’d been given early on. “For all I know, this pervert is sitting on my toilet watching me shower every morning and searching through my trash after I leave for work to garner hints on what to buy me for my birthday. A federal agent and our own IT people stopped by my office this morning and went through my computer. It appears the only place I’m being watched is in my own home and outside of these glass and metal walls. Which reminds me, I gave Agent Coulter access to all the emails I forwarded to your team to investigate. The most recent letters, too. Oh, and of course the small gifts sent to me over the last few months. I told him I had already given the items in question to your people, but he still wants them for evidence. I’m hoping this can be wrapped up quickly, because the Glasson case is coming to a close. Closing arguments should take place by the end of the week, and I don’t want to have to go through an evidentiary hearing with Judge Gilroy over the chain of custody of our forensic accounting files and the fourteen months of investigations and depositions of our expert witnesses.”

“I requested that Victor take a look at your private security system and discuss any vulnerabilities with their technical support staff.” Jarod’s cell phone vibrated in his suit jacket, but he ignored it after a casual glance. As usual, he pointed out his awareness that she planned a long night in the office. Ashlyn didn’t react to his witless statement, for he understood the nature of this business and he certainly recognized why she would rather be here safe at work. She logged in long, hard hours and most of the resources she needed to complete that task were here in this building. “He’ll need access to your apartment and he’ll most likely want to walk you through whatever changes that will be implemented.”

“I’ll see if Victor can arrange to be there first thing in the morning. Otherwise, he’ll have to schedule an appointment for the suspect to let him in and go over the changes with him,” Ashlyn replied with a tight smile, not willing to surrender the hours needed to prepare, construct, and rehearse her closing arguments. Okay, maybe she was being too harsh about this situation, but she’d had enough. She was tired, stressed, and the fear was starting to take hold. It wasn’t something she was comfortable with. At least Mia and Aiden were staying to go over today’s testimony from the defense’s expert witness. It was going to be a long night and she made a mental note to have Gina order Chinese food for three before she left for the day. “I’ll give him call in a few minutes once the roar in my head settles out.”

Jarod continued to disregard the person trying to reach him. There wasn’t a minute of the day that the man wasn’t being beckoned by someone for some emergency or another. Ashlyn appreciated his steadfast attention now, knowing full well he was most likely needed elsewhere, but she could have used it three months ago when this thing could have been squashed in its infancy.

Ashlyn pulled out her desk chair, grateful the dark brown leather was comfortable as she sank down into its embracing depths. She took one moment to herself, inhaling deeply to try and ease her rushing headache. It didn’t work.

“You know how this works, Ashlyn,” Jarod said with a slight hint of a reprimand. Ashlyn raised an eyebrow, not willing to allow him that luxury. He wasn’t technically her direct supervisor. He only had administrative overview of her department. She worked for the Department of Justice and for the Attorney General in all the ways that mattered. He certainly didn’t get to berate her on how she conducted her business. Victor Wright ran the cyber division and happened to be a good friend of Ashlyn’s. She didn’t need Jarod telling her where those boundaries lay or who she trusted with her personal security. “We’re stretched thin. The Chenglei Haung case is only the half of it. The Chinese government is behind ninety percent of what they’re fronting as a privately owned company.”

Ashlyn understood just how important the Haung case was to the DOJ and the current administration. The defendant had been involved in the illegal export of classified material, specifically dual use technology that was a restricted export item controlled and plainly identified under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) agreements. The company had clearly falsified the end user certificate. It was a serious offense and the lead prosecutor on the case, Andrew Rutledge, was having a tough time proving Haung Enterprises was the one responsible and not the U.S. Defense Contractor that held the proprietary rights to the technology. She didn’t overlook that Rutledge had wanted to consult on the case either and assumed Gina had taken care of scheduling a meeting for tomorrow to go over the contractor’s depositions that were going to be key in the prosecution of the case.