Spy Catcher: The J.J. McCall Novels (Books 1-3) (The FBI Espionage Series) (50 page)

Chapter 39

Thursday Morning – The White House

J.J. had nearly drowned in testosterone by the time she, Tony, and Six approached the West Wing entrance. The boys had been volleying insults for an hour, going at it like male pit bulls vying for Alpha supremacy. She’d have preferred to exclude Six from the trip, but they needed him, whether Tony wanted to admit it or not.

Based on what she could glean from his personnel file, Bryer Scott wouldn’t make the interview easy. Despite his stellar work performance, he’d been cited numerous times for his brash attitude and inability to play well with others; he took issue with authority. Spending the early hours of his morning glaring at the twisted faces of two FBI agents and a case officer would not fill him with light and sunshine. The mere presence of CIA counterintelligence would, however, keep Bryer from going too far off the reservation with any tall tales.

In the meantime, she had her own demons to deal with—namely, the one shuffling toward the door with red-veined eyes and a vacant stare. Kendel had descended yet another step from the day before. Her countenance and attire lacked their usual elegance. The fresh-from-the-dry cleaner crispness had been replaced by crumpled fabric and a face creased with worry. Dark circles betrayed her sleepless nights. The investigation was surely taking its toll, but J.J. wondered why it had impacted her to this degree—unless she was culpable.

Granted, she’d have to answer for the breach in the Situation Room, but insider spies were an evil every government agency with secrets worth selling struggled with. Even under the tightest and most stringent security measures, those determined to do harm would always find a way to burrow into Government secrets like treacherous termites, silently causing unseen damage until the walls crumbled. No, Kendel’s issue ran much deeper. She’d already lied to J.J. on multiple occasions. With each passing day, the stress wore her down, and J.J. could only hope Kendel’s inevitable breakdown would lead her closer to revealing the truth.     

“Back at it this morning, I see,” Kendel said, her voice flat. She stopped short of the entranceway and flicked her hand, gesturing for the group to follow her. Six fell in beside Kendel as she led them down the narrow aisle to their temporary space.

“We just can’t seem to pull ourselves away,” J.J. said. “Any idea when Mr. Scott’s expected to arrive?”

“Yes. He’s on the way,” Kendel said. “
Any idea
when you’re going to get the bug out of my conference space?”

“Director Freeman has briefed the President on the issue,” J.J. replied. “When the time comes to remove it, you’ll be the fifth to know.” 

Six turned to Kendel, paused to take in her worn expression, and whispered, “Are you okay?”

She nodded weakly and stepped aside so the team could enter. “Home again,” Kendel said. “Call me. If I’m not here when you’re ready to leave, Hawk will escort you out.”

Before she disappeared from sight, J.J. asked, “Will you be around to talk later? You know, so we can update you on the investigation.” She immediately sensed Kendel’s reticence from the uncomfortable look on her face.

“I’m not well. I may not be here,” she answered.

“Try to be,” J.J. urged.

Once inside, J.J. closed the door behind her and glared at Tony and Six in a way that made each stiffen their lips. They understood she meant business…and not monkey business. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two today, but it’s time to knock it off.” She turned to Tony. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Hey, I’m not the one walking around here acting like this is the dating game. If
he’ll
man up and grow a pair,
I’ll
keep it professional.”

Six rolled his eyes and glared at Tony. “What’s the matter? My presence threaten you? Thought you two weren’t an item anymore,” he said. “Besides, I’m a complex man and fully capable of multi-tasking. If you’ve got a problem, step aside and let the grown men get to work!”

“That’s enough you two,” J.J. said. “This whole thing of behaving like five- year-olds comparing the sizes of
your popsicles
is getting old.”

The door opened and Sheldon Vance appeared, wearing the hell out of the sleek, black double-breasted number that accentuated the guns bulging through his sleeves. Each time she saw him she was wondered what they called him in his previous life. Maybe his name was Hunkeus, the Greek god of Fine.  

“Good morning, Agent McCall,” he said, stepping aside to usher in their interviewee. “This is Bryer Scott.”

An early 40-ish Caucasian man cloaked in blue polyester slacks, a casual tieless button-up, and a surly junkyard dog expression stepped inside the office. He scanned each face until he locked on Six’s. “What’s
he
doing here?”

Six sneered but didn’t speak, as instructed.

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing all morning,” said J.J. “Unfortunately, my boss says we had to invite him along to keep us honest. You know, ensure the Agency’s interests are protected. Don’t worry, though, he’s been ordered to observe.”

“Step into our office and have a seat,” Tony said. “We’ll get you out of here as quickly as possible.”

They all entered the makeshift interrogation room and took seats, leaving Bryer an open chair at the opposite end. He sat down and rubbed his hands together. While he appeared calm from the waist up, his knee bounced beneath the table to the point of distraction.

“You look pretty serious for this to be an informal talk. Do I need to call my attorney?”

J.J. masked her intensified suspicion with a slight grin. “Not unless you think you’ve engaged in illegal activity. We certainly didn’t call you here for that reason.”

Tony nodded in agreement. “Just need to ask you a few questions, and we’ll get you out of here.”

He nodded in agreement and waited for the first question.

“So, how do you know Maddix Cooper?”

“Coop? What’s he got to do with this?”

“We have some…
concerns
about his activity in Moscow and need to clear up a few issues.” J.J. glanced at Six who jutted his chin in approval. “We hear he’s quite the party guy.”

Bryer’s shoulders dropped as if he was let off the hook after J.J. suggested Maddix was the focus of the investigation. He fell back in his seat and appeared to enjoy a moment of nostalgia. “Heh, heh, heh. He was a rascal that’s for sure. A wolf in coyote’s clothing. Never met a bottle of Stoli he didn’t like. Coop was the go-to guy. Need a good cigar? Go to Coop. Need a girl? Go to Coop.”

“Need money?” J.J. asked as if she’d already anticipated the answer.

“Yeah,” Bryer replied. “Money, too.”

“He’s a mid-level government guy,” Tony asked. “How does he get to be the money guy on his salary?”

Bryer shrugged. “Hey, don’t ask, don’t tell. That’s what they say, right?”

“Ahem!” Six belted out, tilting his head to the side and scrunching his face. Based on his expression, it was a signal. He wanted them to ask a question they hadn’t asked.

J.J. fired daggers through her narrowed eyes, tightened her lips, and sliced the tip of her index fingernail across her throat.

“Excuse him,” J.J. said to Bryer, clearly annoyed. “So, did you ever go to Maddix for money?”

“I haven’t done anything wrong.” Bryer pulled out his cell phone and positioned the screen so J.J. and Tony could see he was scrolling his contacts. “Now, where’s the name of my attorney?”

“Keep ‘im on speed dial, huh?” Tony said.

“Nobody’s accused you of anything, Mr. Scott. At least not yet,” J.J. said, ready to carefully examine every movement, expression, and focus on each word. It seemed like the perfect time to ask about the Sea Ray, the McMansion on water. “Now, can you tell us about The Devil’s Rest?”

He froze and his eyes bulged before he settled against the back of his seat, trying to play it cool. “It’s a present to myself for surviving my former wife.”

“That’s a mighty big gift for a bad wedding,” Tony said.

“With all due respect, Agent Donato, you haven’t met my ex-wife.” 

Six guffawed from the corner and said, “Touché!”

J.J. rolled her eyes, turned to Six, and let out a heavy breath. “Really?” She turned back to Bryer, frustrated. She couldn’t get a read on him because he never directly answered a question. “How’d you get the money? I mean…you’re a what? GS-12?”

“Thought this was about Coop?!” he barked as his gaze flitted around the room. “I didn’t come here to be interrogated.”

“Ahem!” Six belted out, tilting his head to the side and scrunching his face.

“We didn’t come here to interrogate you,” Tony snapped, shifting into bad-cop mode. “But I’m listening to this bullshit, and you haven’t directly answered a single question Agent McCall or I have asked. If I wanted to be jerked off, I’d make a midnight run to 14
th
Street.” He grunted and turned to J.J. “He’s stonewalling. I say screw this and get a warrant. Jets play tonight. I don’t’ have time for this.”

“I’d hate to go the warrant route,” J.J. said, staring Bryer down. “Listen, we came here to talk about Maddix Cooper. You don’t want to talk about him? Fine. We’ll talk about
you
. I can start with the work of fiction in your personnel file. Or I can open that big ugly can of worms security won’t find in the file because somebody, I’m not naming any names, failed to do his due diligence in reporting significant changes in finances.”

Tony faced J.J. and said, “Last I checked, that’s enough justification to get clearances yanked, right? The devil will have plenty of time to rest. Does your attorney know about the financial reporting requirements necessary to maintain your clearances?”

Bryer’s face glowed red as his cool officially left the building. The cell phone disappeared into his pocket and the seeming pillar of strength dissolved into a pile of salt. His bluff had been called and he nearly choked on the truth about to ooze from his lips. “I didn’t ask for the money. He offered it to me.”

“Offered it? For what?”

“He was the security officer when my wife filed for divorce. We lived a caviar and champagne life on a beer and pretzel budget. Our debt was nuts. Credit card bills out the wazoo. Living in a palace because she needed a closet the size of Iraq to hold all of her shopping spoils.”

“Ahem!” Six grunted again.

J.J. scowled at Six and growled. “One. More. Time.”

“Tried to make her happy and the bitch left me for a broke son-of-a-bitch convenience store manager. Can you believe that? Took everything with her except the damn bills. Cost me $20,000 in legal bills to keep a $7,000 car and $5 worth of clothes. I didn’t ask for help, but he knew I needed it.”

“So, what did he ask you to do…for this money?” J.J. asked, waiting for a reaction and getting none.

“I never turned over any classified information, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said. “At the time, all he said was when he needed a favor, I had to come through. I figured he’s a security officer, right? What’s he gonna ask that I can’t deliver? So I accepted the offer. He gave me money…never asked for anything. At least until we returned stateside and I took over as C-O.”

“Commanding officer?”

“Contracting officer. We were looking for a company to do the renovations on the Sit Room. He asked me to steer the business to a particular company—MCM Construction.”

“And did you?”

“I led him to believe I did. In reality, they submitted the winning bid. We were looking for technically acceptable, lowest cost. They offered the best price. I figured he got a cut and that’s how he paid me. Millions of dollars in renovations, even a one-percent commission on that job would’ve put his fee at over a million. I expect he got way more.”

J.J. bit her bottom lip. Based solely on appearances, she would’ve sworn he’d lied like a cheap rug through the entire interview. But her gift told her otherwise. Not a single reaction to a word he said.

She glanced at Six and Tony. “Just one last question. MCM didn’t, by any chance, do any work for the State Department?”

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling to collect his thoughts. “As a matter of fact, they did. I remember because they used their work at the State Department as a past performance reference. We called to verify the work they did. I had also heard they did some work on the new American Embassy in Moscow.”

“You mean the Russian intelligence listening post?” Six interjected from his corner.

“Yep, the very one.”

“They found so many bugs planted in the walls, they thought termites ate concrete,” Six said. “But we understood the problem to be locals hired to pour the concrete, not the contractor.”  

“Hmmm,” J.J. said before turning to Six and Tony. “That’s all I have. You two got any more questions?”

They both shook their heads no.

She stood and offered a kind hand to Bryer. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Scott. You’re free to leave. We’ll be in touch if we need you for anything else. In the meantime, I might suggest contacting your security officer and reporting the few accidentally overlooked discrepancies before we draft the 302. Otherwise, we may be asked to return under less friendly terms.”