Page 7 of Forever Dark
A screen behind her showed three headshots arranged side by side.Three dead men.All mid-career political aides, all with access to information that had sent half the city into a low-grade panic for six months.In the early days the case had drawn briefings, committees, whispered warnings, and a lot of people who suddenly wanted face time with the FBI.
Now it had drawn disappointment.Not because it had ended, but because Selena hadn’t followed the party line.
She clicked the remote.
The next image filled the screen.A fourth face.Male.Late forties.Hollow cheeks.Sallow skin.Close-cropped gray hair that looked self-inflicted rather than barbered.
“James Leroy,” Selena said.“Currently in custody in Fairfax County.Based on physical evidence, timeline correlation, digital records, and his own inconsistencies under interview, we are confident he is responsible for the murders of all three men.”
The men at the table exchanged looks.One of them, broad through the chest with a flag pin on his lapel, leaned back in his chair as if distance might improve the answer.
“But this goes against the entire thrust of the case for the last six months.”
“It does,” Selena said.“But it’s my job to follow the truth, not expectations.”
Another man tapped a pen against a legal pad he had not written on once.“That theory existed for a reason.”
Selena let the silence sit for a second before continuing, trying her best not to fold her arms.“As you know, at the outset, investigators believed the victims had been targeted as part of an espionage pipeline.Three political aides with overlapping access, no obvious personal connection, bodies left in ways that suggested intention rather than impulse.There was concern that sensitive political information had been extracted from each victim before they were murdered and was being prepared for sale or transfer to a foreign entity.”
The man with the pen gave a short nod.“Exactly.We had good intel that whatever was taken was going to be sent to our enemies.”
“Unfortunately,” Selena said, “sometimes a case isn’t as complicated as it first appears.”
That caused discomfort.Selena could see it in their faces.
A third man, silver-haired and careful with his diction, folded his hands on the table.“Agent Raven, with respect, simple explanations are usually simple because somebody hasn’t dug deeply enough.It doesn’t look good to throw out everyone else’s work like that.”
“I dug,” Selena said.“And I believe I found the truth.Isn’t that more important than something that looks good politically?”
The man shook his head and side-glanced at one of his colleagues.
Behind the men, the conference room door opened.
Meg Calloway stepped in without apology for the interruption.Dark suit, neat silver hair, expression that rarely shifted enough to be called an expression at all.Meg knew how to play a proceeding like this.Selena met her eyes for half a second.Meg gave the smallest nod and moved to the back wall to observe.
The silver-haired man noticed her but kept his attention on Selena.“Then, Agent Raven, explain why three political aides with access to national security information ended up dead, if this wasonly a personal matter.”
Selena clicked back to the first slide.Three dead men again.“Because James Leroy only had one target.”
Another click.
The photo on the left enlarged to fill the screen.Peter Behar.Forty-two.Smart tie, practiced smile, official portrait lighting.
Selena turned slightly toward the image.“This man.Peter Behar.”
A sigh came almost collectively from the committee.The silver-haired man moved uncomfortably in his seat and then responded.“What about him?Behar was one of three.But he was no more important than the other two victims.”
“He was thereasonfor all three,” Selena said.“The killer, Leroy, was involved in a relationship with him.We recovered messages, location overlap, burner phone contact, hotel receipts, and partial surveillance confirmation.Leroy believed the relationship was going to come out.More importantly, he believed it was going to reach his wife.This information only came to light when I took on the case, as Behar and Leroy had taken extraordinary steps to conceal their affair.”
For the first time, one of the men looked embarrassed instead of irritated.It passed quickly.
The pen-tapper recovered first.“That still leaves two other dead aides.”
“That was the cover,” Selena said.“Once Behar was killed, Leroy understood what a single murdered political aide would suggest.Personal scandal.Affairs.Secrets of the usual kind.He didn’t want us looking in that direction.He wanted a broader pattern.He wanted us chasing espionage, hired operators, foreign leverage, professional tradecraft.”
Silence settled over the room.
Selena let it.
