Page 41 of Retribution
Chapter 23
Special Agent
Daniella “Dutch” Buchanan
“For fuck’s sake!” I curse, stomping away from the vultures. “Fucking media.” Glancing over at Susannah, I ask, “How the fuck did they find out about this?”
Susannah glances around, then grabs my arm. “Kim, can you excuse us for a minute?”
Kim nods and wanders off to go to speak to one of her officers. Susannah hauls me behind a shed, and curiosity begins to overtake my rage.
When she’s satisfied that we’re alone, she whispers, “I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but I trust you, Dutch. One of the reasons I was sent here was because the Bureau believes that there’s a mole in the Flagstaff department.”
Jesus fucking Christ. I wasn’t aware that the Bureau had told Susannah about this as well—part of my job here is to find the mole, or moles. It was one of the reasons I was sent here. My father is always one step ahead, the extensive network of spies he has infiltrating the many different branches of law enforcement and judicial systems allowing him to stay just out of our grasp.
I just didn’t like believing that any of my fellow agents would betray their oaths like that, especially as many have families of their own. How could they be okay with helping an organization that exploits children? I suppose that’s where my denial stems from—not wanting to believe the worst of the men and women that are supposed to have your back.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I consider the possibilities. Flagstaff is too small, too insignificant. Which means that if my father has an informant here, then there’s likely one in every field office in the country. How am I supposed to do this alone? I want, no need, to burn his little kingdom to the ground. But as time goes on, I’m becoming more and more convinced that I’m going to need some kind of army at my back. I just need to find one.
“Do you think this mole would be leaking information to the media?” I ask Susannah.
She shrugs back at me. “I don’t know why they would, to be honest. Does it help them in some way?”
“I suppose even if it’s causing us problems, distracting us, then it’s helping them.”
Susannah’s lip curls down, her eyes flashing in anger. “We’re going to need to find out who the fuck it is. We have enough on our plates without this bullshit.”
A twig snapping has us whirling around, my hand hovering over my holstered gun. I cock my head, and Susannah nods, palming her gun as she peeks out from the side of the shed. Pulling back, she shakes her head, and I do the same to the other side, but no one is there. Eyes scanning the trees around us, I see nothing unusual and turn back to her with a shrug.
“Maybe just an animal,” Susannah says hopefully.
“Mmm,” I reply back noncommittally. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end; I’m not so sure about that. “Come on, let’s go find Chase and see if the medical examiner has anything.”
Her eyes light up at the mention of Chase’s name, and I snicker under my breath. They’re so obvious.
An arm jabs into my ribs. “Shut up,” Susannah hisses at me, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Throwing my arm over her shoulders, we come around the side of the shed, heading towards the forested area where the cadaver dogs sniffed out the makeshift graveyard.
“Just do him already,” I tell her jokingly. “The two of you have been circling each other for ages. God knows I could use an orgasm or five to help deal with the stress.”
Throwing me a mock glare, she huffs, knocking my arm away and stomping off with her middle finger itching her back.
She’s so fucking easy to rile up.
I sober up as we near the graveyard. Eight bodies of various sizes lay on trestle tables, each wrapped in filthy yellowed blankets.
Detective Kim Latham walks over towards us, her shoulders slumped slightly. It’s difficult to see these bodies, some of them so small, their lives having ended far too soon. The medical examiner, Mark Foster, waits on us, impatiently shifting his glasses up.
As we gather around him, he clears his throat, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. “Eight bodies of various ages have been found,” he starts, seemingly nervous to be addressing FBI agents. “I would estimate that the oldest one found has been deceased for about ten years or so, with the others varying between ten and one year ago.”
Shuffling my feet, I exchange glances with Susannah.
“I cannot determine cause of death until I’ve had a chance to perform autopsies. I can, however, confirm that all of the bodies are of children. Once I have performed the autopsies and have further information, I will contact you immediately,” he finishes.
Susannah speaks up. “I know you’re under pressure, and that these aren’t the only bodies you’re dealing with. Are you able to give us a rough estimate of how long it will take until the autopsies and DNA tests are complete?”
Mark gives her a hard look, then sighs. “I understand that you’re eager to get this investigation underway, Agent Gerhardt. My team and I will be working around the clock. Three weeks to a month is my best guess.”
