Page 64 of Letting Go
“According to her obituary, she was killed during a friendly fire training incident. Prior to her death, she and her son enjoyed shooting together. She started teaching him how to be a sniper when he was basically in preschool,” Mason continues to read without looking up from his screen. “It looks like Matteo Galletti was raised by his father to be a good little soldier, attending a private military boarding school, and after turning eighteen, he joined the military. But … huh … this is odd. I can’t find anything on this guy that’s recent. There is not a paper trail, a social media profile, a bank account, or photographic evidence of Matteo’s existence after he was kicked out of The Carabinieri special forces in the Italian Army for repeatedly disobeying orders at the age of twenty-four. That would have been approximately five years ago."
“Could he be living under an alias or somehow changed his name?” Kelly asks.
“I don’t see any documentation that suggests he did anything legally, but I’ll keep searching to see if anything else pops up. Initial search results come to a hard stop after he leaves The Carabinieri, though. I can use one of these older photos and run him through our facial rec software to see if anything pops, but his record being this clean and empty after leaving the army makes me think someone intentionally did that, it’s too clean,” Mason responds.
“He became what his father said he was—a whisper,” I say as the pieces click together. “Which is why Nam called him The Susurro—The Whisper. Tara, did Agent Patel say if they have a location on Nam Smith or if he’s even in Kansas City right now?”
“She said video surveillance of a known hang out spot of his places him there in the last twelve hours, but they have a BOLO on him right now,” Tara replies.
“Alright, guys, we need to get to Kansas City. I want our team to be there when this Nam Smith is brought in. Tara, can you call Nikki and have them keep us in the loop? See if they have enough to bring him in if they haven’t already or if we should get a warrant. How far away are we from Kansas City? Does anyone know what’s the fastest way to get there from here?”
“It’s an eight and a half hour drive, but we could get you all on a flight tomorrow morning,” Christine says from the back of the room as she looks at something on her laptop.
“Eight and a half hours is less than twelve or fourteen hours from now. I don’t want to wait. Let’s get ready to roll. We’re driving tonight. We aren’t waiting. If Luna and Nam are the key to finding our sniper, then let’s go. This is the first solid lead we have had into our sniper’s identity, and it will not go cold on our damn watch,” I tell my team as they all nod and start packing up whatever they brought into the conference room.
We’ve all had our fair share of frustrations with this case. We know how to hunt down bad guys but when you don’t even havea face, let alone a name, it’s hard to keep momentum going in the fight for justice.
“Sir, I’ll get accommodations near the Kansas City offices and have transport bring around vehicles for the team. How many team members are going with you right now?” Christine asks.
“Harlow, Kelly, Tara, Mason, are you guys available to go tonight?” They all nod and confirm their availability. “The five of us will go, so two vehicles will work unless they have one of the larger SUVs available.”
“I’ll check right now, and if they do, sorry Mason,” Christine jokes as she walks out of the room. We know from experience Mason and Kelly will play rock paper scissors for who rides in the third row and Kelly somehow always beats Mason.
“Very funny. I’m sorry I’m a gentleman and won’t make the ladies climb in the way back. I still think Harlow somehow taught him to cheat,” Mason says as we walk out of the conference room and all head to our offices to grab our go bags.
“I’m not sorry that you’re a good guy, Mason. I actually appreciate it quite a bit,” Tara responds.
“I agree, thanks Mason!” Harlow calls from down the hall.
I step into my office and pull out my cell phone.
Me
Hey Viv, I have to go out of town for work tonight. I’m not sure how long I will be gone but should only be a day or two. Please stay safe and if you have to go somewhere, will you do me a favor and bring one of your brothers or your father with you? Or even better, don’t go anywhere.
Vivian
Hey, is everything okay? Do I need to be worried? Why do I need another bodyguard? Liam’s linebackers follow me wherever I go.
Me
Everything is ok. I just need you to be safe so I can focus and do my job. If I’m worried about you, I’m distracted. I’m sorry I can’t say more than that.
Vivian
Oh, no, I’m the one that should be sorry. I don’t want to be a distraction.
Me
No, that didn’t sound right. There’s no need to apologize—you’re the best kind of distraction. I just need to know you’re safe while I’m away. Can you do that for me, please?
Vivian
How about this … I promise to be safe if you promise to do everything to stay safe as well with whatever work thing you have going on. Deal?
Me
That’s a deal I will gladly make. I’ll let you know when I’m headed back to Nashville but call or text if you need anything. If it’s urgent and you can’t reach me, you have Harlow’s number, but she’ll be with me along with a few other team members. I’ll send you my assistant Christine’s number and if you can’t reach us, call her. She will handle whatever you need.
