Decker shot Jamison a glance. “We should have followed that up before.”
Decker and Jamison stood. She said, “We’re sorry to be putting you through all of this.”
“I didn’t think this could possibly get worse.” She paused. “Only it just did.”
They left her there staring at…nothing.
Which was maybe all that the woman had left.
CHAPTER
43
“SO WE GO BACK to Dabney and Associates?” asked Jamison.
They climbed into the car. When Decker looked back at the house he saw Natalie at a window staring out at them.
If looks could kill, thought Decker.
He nodded and said, “Yes.”
They reached Dabney’s office about thirty minutes later.
The reception was not one they expected.
The doors to Dabney and Associates were closed and chained shut. The interior of the offices was dark. And two guards in Army uniforms stood out front.
Decker and Jamison walked up to them. Decker held out his FBI creds. The two guards were not impressed.
“Where are the people who work here?” asked Jamison.
Neither guard answered.
“We’re investigating this case,” said Decker. “And we need to get inside this space.”
“That won’t be happening, sir,” said one of the guards. His hand moved across the butt of his holstered M11 pistol.
“This is a federal investigation,” pointed out Jamison.
The guard leveled his gaze on her. “And I’ve got my orders. Until those orders change, no one goes in. Period.”
Jamison was about to say something else when Decker grabbed her arm. “Let’s go. We’re wasting time here.”
They rode the elevator back down to the lobby and ran smack into Faye Thompson. She looked like she’d been crying.
When she saw Decker, her features turned to a scowl. “You bastard!”
“Excuse me?” said Jamison defensively.
Thompson got right in Decker’s face. “We were fully cooperating with you. And then you pull this shit?”
“I didn’t pull anything,” Decker replied calmly. “We just got kicked out too.”
“Don’t lie to me. This has FBI written all over it.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, the FBI doesn’t wear Army uniforms.”
“You people are all in this together.”
“That’s not how—”
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” snapped Thompson, drawing attention from other people passing by in the lobby. “You’ve ruined us. We’re done. Shutting us down like this? We’re guilty as charged without ever having due process.” She pushed a finger into Decker’s chest. “You screwed us over, you prick.”
“Actually, he had nothing to do with it,” said a voice.
They all turned to stare at Harper Brown. She was dressed in cammies with a sidearm. She walked over to stand directly in front of Thompson. “It wasn’t the FBI. It was the DIA. If you have a problem with anything, you can take it up with me.”
“You had no right to—”
“We had every right. This is a national security issue. If you want to continue to discuss it, we can do so at DIA HQ.”
“Just because one of our partners—”
Brown broke in: “I won’t tell you again, Ms. Thompson. If you want to discuss this, it won’t be here, in public. You know better than that.”
Thompson gazed around at the passersby staring at her. “You’re going to hear from our lawyer!” she barked.
“Looking forward to it,” said Brown. “Hope you have a good one. You’re going to need it.”
Thompson seemed about to hurl another comment, but then she turned and stalked off.
Brown turned to Decker and Jamison. “Well, that was pleasant.”
Decker eyed her clothing. “Why the military duds?”
“I’m officially wearing my Army hat today.”
“So you shut them down?” said Jamison.
“We took all the computers, servers, and records. Our people are currently going through them.” She paused and added, “Not to worry. We’ll share whatever we find with the Bureau.”
“So you decided on a full frontal attack on Dabney’s business?” said Decker.
“Let’s go up, shall we?”
She led them onto an elevator car and they rode back up to Dabney’s floor. When they got off she led them to the entrance, showed her creds to the guards, and they unchained the door and allowed them to pass.
Once inside, Jamison said, “Nice to have the golden key to get in here. Those guys out there wouldn’t budge.”
Brown said, “Of course they wouldn’t budge. They’re Army. They have orders. They follow them. There is no room for discussion.” She turned to Decker, who was looking around the dark offices.
“So what do you think?” she asked.
“About what?”
“About what we’re doing here.”
“If I had to guess, I’d say you were trying to flush out a spy by attacking.”
She nodded approvingly. “Very good, Decker.”
“I didn’t say I agreed with the tactic,” he added.
“Well, maybe I don’t either, but it’s been done.”
“So it didn’t originate with you, then?”
“I follow orders just like those men out there.”
“Dabney and Associates has a lot of employees.”