Page 136 of To Die For

FBI Special Agent Ellen Saxby answered on the second ring.

“Enjoying the quiet and your cigarettes?” he asked.

“I’m actually a little lonely.”

“Want some company?”

“What about Betsy…?”

“I called in reinforcements.”

“All right.”

“That coffee shop right down the street from your place? Twenty minutes?”

Without letting her answer, Devine clicked off, and called Campbell to once more look after Betsy. He also had one question for his boss before he met with Saxby.

“Howexactlydid my getting assigned to this mission go down?”

“Like I told you.”

“In more detail, it’s important.”

Campbell eyed him for a moment before saying, “Well, actually, my friend at the Bureau said he’d heard of a former Ranger I’d recently brought on who’d done good work overseas. I asked him if he was referring to you and he said yes. So off you went.” Campbell stopped and stared hard at Devine. “So, you’re thinking…?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“And where are you going now?”

“To find out the truth.”

Saxby was already waiting for him. The place was half full and they sat at a booth away from the other customers. They ordered their coffees and Devine remained silent until their drinks arrived.

He took a sip and said, “I came to talk about 12/24/65. See, I figured it was time to cut to the chase. You up for it? Because I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

She had been stirring sugar into her coffee and he saw her hand tremble at his words. It was subtle, but it didn’t escape his notice, because he had been looking for just that sort of visceral reaction.

She put her spoon down and took a swallow of coffee.

“FYI, I’m not really into Christmas. And I wasn’t even born until 1980,” she added.

He stared at her for a long time before speaking, because he wanted her to understand the gravitas of the moment.

“I’ll let you take another swing at that, Ellen. You answer with more bullshit, I’ll take matters into my own hands and to hell withwhatever the Bureau’s planning. I’ll blow the whole thing up. Is that what you want?”

She broke off eye contact and took a sip of her coffee. “Now, if you’re referring to a certain organization that goes by that name?” she began.

“I am.”

She shifted her gaze to meet his eye. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“That’s a big word.”

“Just start with the basics then. I think I’m entitled to that.”

She dropped her gaze and nodded. “Okay. Generally speaking, we’ve seen connections to them in large-scale marches with followers in hoods and carrying guns, and also interference in local elections. They are suspected of having ties to robust social media presences and indoctrination campaigns, and have even gained influence and a presence in myriad private school academies. And we believe that affiliates of theirs have their very own tax-exempt and so-called religious platforms that illegally funnel money to them. But again, we’ve never been able to run the thread directly back to any verifiable source.”

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