Page 8 of Operation: Sharp Angel

“Hi, Angel.” She waited, hoping, but also mentally preparing herself for the possible decline.

“We’d like to schedule a time for you to come in and speak to our investigators for us to determine if this is a case we’d take on,” Angel said.

That disappointed her. She thought if they wanted her to come in, that would mean they were taking her case. She expressed this thought to Angel.

“I’d say the chances are good,” Angel said. “Your case made it past the initial screening.”

“Okay, I hope you’re right. I,” she started but then paused. She knew it wasn’t right to plead her case to who she assumed was areceptionist. “I’m sorry. I’m sure there is a process. And I’m sure your agency doesn’t take every case that knocks on your door.”

Angel heard the desperation in her voice. “Can you come in this afternoon?”

“Yes, I can. Thank you.”

The appointment was set for two-thirty. Becca arrived at the ten-story building located on the ring road around the large Woodfield Mall at just past two. She had spent many hours shopping and eating at the many restaurants over the years and never knew a private detective agency was here.

She perused the building directory and was surprised how few businesses were in the building. There was a veterinarian, jeweler, coffee shop, and dentist on the ground floor. That seemed an odd mix. There were quite a few medical-type practitioners throughout the building, including a large chiropractic office that took up most of the second floor, by the looks of it. There was a beauty shop and several nondescript LLCs. Several floors appeared vacant, or at least no tenant was listed on the directory.

After several minutes of killing time, she rode the elevator to the fifth floor, where Shepherd Security was listed as the sole occupant of the floor. She found herself standing in front of a heavy black door with gold lettering. The door was on the wall to the left of the elevator.

Tessman still had no clue why he’d been slotted for this case. He’d never been staffed on a private security case before. That was normally Alpha or Bravo Team’s gig. But here he sat at Shepherd’s conference table with Shepherd, Cooper, Jackson, and Brielle, discussing a triple murder-suicide case.

Brielle had done the initial research into the deceased and the potential client. If they accepted the case, she’d be dedicated to it. She’d even meet with the potential client immediately after this meeting, as would he. He and Jackson would be primary onit. Cooper would just be sitting in on this meeting to help vet the case to make the decision if the agency was accepting it or not. Cooper and the rest of the team he’d just been pulled from were deploying later that afternoon on the CIA Referral Case. Had this case not popped up, he’d be deploying on it. He would admit he was pissed he’d been pulled from it after nearly two days of prep work.

“Jackson and I spoke with the detective from the Schaumburg Police Department,” Shepherd said. “It’s not that he disagrees with the findings of the coroner. He just wishes he’d been able to investigate further to satisfy Miss Elliot’s concerns, which he admits are valid.”

“I don’t get why he couldn’t,” Tessman said.

“Department staffing constraints,” Jackson said. “Right after this horrendous case hit, that politician’s murder happened that still is not solved. He was higher profile.”

“And rigid policies. The coroner determines COD and once the verdict is in, the case is closed,” Shepherd added.

“But Jackson’s right. Senator Henshaw’s murder commanded a higher priority than some suburban family, where all signs pointed to a soccer dad going off the rails,” Cooper chimed in.

“And this case appeared cut and dried on the surface,” Shepherd said. “Detective Davis has five more open cases, including Senator Henshaw’s murder, and no time to dig deeper just to cross his T’s and dot his I’s on this one.”

“Either the husband did it or he didn’t,” Tessman said.

“And that’s what we’re going to take a look at with fresh eyes if we take this case,” Jackson said.

Tessman scanned the electronic file on his tablet, flipping through the content. “The deceased lived in a normal-looking neighborhood. Did any of the neighbors report the gunshots?”

“No,” Jackson answered. “It happened the night of that thunderstorm. There was a lot of thunder and lightning. I’m sure the neighbors just assumed the shots were thunder.”

“Convenient timing,” Tessman remarked. “If the husband did it, it was planned just like we planned Ops to get cover from clouds, rain, or thunder. Was this guy prior military?”

“No,” Brielle answered. “And the husband had no history of mental illness. There’s been no past police activity at the residence. I combed through their medical insurance claims for the past five years. There are no visits to counselors or therapists to indicate marital problems or depression, and there were no meds taken by either Nicole or Nick DeSoto,” Brielle recapped her findings. “And there were no financial issues either. They have credit scores over eight hundred.”

“So that begs the question as to why this guy would suddenly decide to kill his entire family and then himself,” Jackson said.

“If it’s a case, you’ll try to figure that out,” Shepherd said.

“The police didn’t find a motive, so even if we determine this guy really did it, maybe we can at least determine the why to give our client some closure,” Jackson said.

“Continue with what you found on the deceased, Brielle,” Shepherd said after he’d nodded his approval at Jackson’s comment.

“Both were employed at Well-Life Pharmaceuticals, Mrs. in the marketing department, and Mr. in the scientific division.”

“Does that mean he was a scientist developing drugs?” Tessman asked.

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