True Blue

CHAPTER 26

ON THE DRIVE over Beth spent the time thinking about the dead man. Jamie Meldon was one of Mona Danforth’s top assistants and was as unlike his boss as it was possible to be. He was a fine, diligent lawyer who’d made enemies in the criminal world as all good prosecutors did. And one of those enemies might have murdered him. She obviously was not going to make dinner with Mace. But if there was one thing her sister would understand it was that in their line of work the job trumped everything else.

When she got to the crime scene she was not surprised to see the FBI there along with her people. Meldon was a U.S. attorney and thus his murder was a federal crime. What did shock her was seeing her police and forensics personnel packing their stuff up to leave.

“What’s going on?” she asked the officer in charge.

“We’ve been told in no uncertain terms that this is a federal investigation and we are persona non grata.”

“Like we’ve never worked a homicide with the Bureau. Where’s the SAIC?” she asked, referring to the special agent in charge.

He pointed to a man in a suit near the Dumpster.

Beth marched over with two of her district homicide detectives in tow. “Can I ask what’s going on?”

The man turned around to look at her. “Hello, Beth.”

Beth recognized him as soon as she saw his face. “Steve? I didn’t think the AD came out to homicides.”

Steve Lanier, the assistant director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and a man Beth worked with closely, said, “Well, I can’t say the same about you because I know you come to every one.”

“Did you know Jamie Meldon?”

“No.”

“So why are you here, then?”

He glanced over at a group of men in suits. “Do you know who they are?”

“No, should I?”

“They will be coming over here shortly and informing you that national security interests are at stake and the police will not be involved in this investigation.”

“What does national security have to do with a prosecutor’s murder?”

“Well, I don’t suppose we’ll ever find out.”

“We? They might be able to pull the rug out from under us, but you’re the FBI.”

“In ordinary circumstances that would be true.”

“So what’s extraordinary about this?”

“All I can tell you is that it came straight from Pennsylvania.”

“The White House?”

“And don’t bother asking who they are. They won’t tell you.”

Beth looked puzzled. “CIA? Langley has no law enforcement jurisdiction. Hell, they can’t even operate domestically.”

“It may not be the CIA.”

“Steve, are you saying you don’t even know which agency they’re from?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how the hell did they get access to a restricted crime scene?”

Lanier smiled glumly. “They showed their driver’s licenses.”

“Are you shitting me! Their driver’s licenses?”

“The FBI director himself told me that they would be here, what their names were, and that they should have unfettered access to the crime scene, because they were taking over the investigation. So they didn’t have to show me their creds.”

“This is unbelievable.”

“Yes it is.”

“Chief Perry?” said one man in his forties and who was the apparent leader of this little group of unknowns.

“Yeah?” Beth said in a stern tone.

“Perhaps the assistant director here has filled you in on… things?”

“That you’re trumping my jurisdiction based solely on your legal right to drive a motor vehicle? Yep, he mentioned it, but maybe you can run me through it with particulars, including your names and the agency you work for.”

“That won’t be happening,” said the man pleasantly. “The mayor should be e-mailing you-”

Beth’s BlackBerry started buzzing.

“Right about now,” said the man, smiling.

Beth checked her device. The mayor was polite and diplomatic but the message was clear. Back off now.

“Can I expect copies of reports?” she asked.

“No.”

“Can I see the body?”

“Same answer,” said the fellow.

“Will you tell me when and if you find the killer?”

“We’ll expect you and your people to be gone in the next two minutes.”

The men turned and left.

Beth looked at Lanier. “Do you hate them as much as I do, Steve?”

Lanier said, “Oh, even more than you do. Trust me.”

“Care to give me their names? I’m assuming you remember them from the driver’s licenses.”

“Sorry, Beth, I got my marching orders too.”

She stalked back to her car. At least she’d be having dinner with her sister tonight after all.