Lost In Stormy Visions
Chapter 12
"What the hell were you thinking!"
Monica winced. She was only able to glance at the Big Man face before looking back down at her hands. That one vein in Jackson's temple was throbbing again. Between the smoking, high-cholesterol meals, and stress his heart was a ticking time bomb. That she was the cause, okay she admitted it, a constant cause, of stress to her supervisor made her feel even worse than she already felt.
If Monica had felt more justified in her actions throughout this case, she would have stood her ground. The harsh truth was, she realized, the Big Man was right. She had let an emotional father be involved in the investigation of his own son's disappearance. He was too close to the case. She should have kept him at a distance. There was a reason for regulations. At worst, John Doggett could have been a suspect; at best he could have given them a vital clue to helping them find Luke. He never should have been involved. Maybe she had allowed her own feelings to cloud her judgment? Maybe she had wanted to get to know him?
Monica finally gathered up her strength and looked up at her supervisor. She suddenly realized his question wasn't rhetorical. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. What could she say? There was no evidence, no clues. Their one possible suspect, Bob Harvey, was now keeping his mouth shut as instructed by the lawyer he had called for after John attacked him. The bottom line was she had failed to find a missing boy. Her failure made her heart sink to the lowest she had ever known.
The Big Man, perhaps sensing Monica's feelings, took a deep breath. He had gotten his point across. He walked back around his desk and sat down wearily. "I just received a call. The supervisor confirms Bob Harvey's story that he did have a meeting. We also spoke to the man Bob met with. Harvey met him at the appointed time, didn't seem in any way nervous or agitated. He saw no sign of any boy. You have no fingerprints or any other hard evidence to tie him to the crime. I think this is a dead end and you're lucky it is cause I had a hard time keeping the wolves at bay for letting you allow Detective Doggett into that interrogation room."
"Thank you, Sir. I...I...at the time I had felt, with Detective Doggett's expertise and knowledge of the boy, I thought he would be an asset to the investigation."
Jackson nodded. He ran a hand though his thinning, premature graying, hair and looked at his Agent. He felt for her. Every agent in the Bureau, if they lasted long enough, had that case, that one case that just didn't have any leads to follow and yet screamed for justice. This would be her case, he thought. "Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you Agent Reyes. But right now I'm sorry to say that it's been 48 hours. As you know, the chances of finding the boy alive have just plummeted. I've been told to scale back the search..."
"Sir!" Monica said rising to her feet prepared to argue until she lost her voice for continued resources to find Luke, but Jackson beat her to the it.
"I know. I'm keeping them back, but I can only hold them off for another 24 hours. At that time, the search will be scaled back and you will be removed as lead investigator. We simply don't have the manpower and money to continue as if this was the only boy who was missing in the country, even if his father is one of our own." The Big Man's voice was not unkind.
Monica knew Jackson was watching her back and was doing all he can. They all had to answer to somebody. Jackson looked at her. "You've got 24 hours Agent Reyes."
Monica nodded and quickly left his office.
Chapter 12
"What the hell were you thinking!"
Monica winced. She was only able to glance at the Big Man face before looking back down at her hands. That one vein in Jackson's temple was throbbing again. Between the smoking, high-cholesterol meals, and stress his heart was a ticking time bomb. That she was the cause, okay she admitted it, a constant cause, of stress to her supervisor made her feel even worse than she already felt.
If Monica had felt more justified in her actions throughout this case, she would have stood her ground. The harsh truth was, she realized, the Big Man was right. She had let an emotional father be involved in the investigation of his own son's disappearance. He was too close to the case. She should have kept him at a distance. There was a reason for regulations. At worst, John Doggett could have been a suspect; at best he could have given them a vital clue to helping them find Luke. He never should have been involved. Maybe she had allowed her own feelings to cloud her judgment? Maybe she had wanted to get to know him?
Monica finally gathered up her strength and looked up at her supervisor. She suddenly realized his question wasn't rhetorical. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. What could she say? There was no evidence, no clues. Their one possible suspect, Bob Harvey, was now keeping his mouth shut as instructed by the lawyer he had called for after John attacked him. The bottom line was she had failed to find a missing boy. Her failure made her heart sink to the lowest she had ever known.
The Big Man, perhaps sensing Monica's feelings, took a deep breath. He had gotten his point across. He walked back around his desk and sat down wearily. "I just received a call. The supervisor confirms Bob Harvey's story that he did have a meeting. We also spoke to the man Bob met with. Harvey met him at the appointed time, didn't seem in any way nervous or agitated. He saw no sign of any boy. You have no fingerprints or any other hard evidence to tie him to the crime. I think this is a dead end and you're lucky it is cause I had a hard time keeping the wolves at bay for letting you allow Detective Doggett into that interrogation room."
"Thank you, Sir. I...I...at the time I had felt, with Detective Doggett's expertise and knowledge of the boy, I thought he would be an asset to the investigation."
Jackson nodded. He ran a hand though his thinning, premature graying, hair and looked at his Agent. He felt for her. Every agent in the Bureau, if they lasted long enough, had that case, that one case that just didn't have any leads to follow and yet screamed for justice. This would be her case, he thought. "Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you Agent Reyes. But right now I'm sorry to say that it's been 48 hours. As you know, the chances of finding the boy alive have just plummeted. I've been told to scale back the search..."
"Sir!" Monica said rising to her feet prepared to argue until she lost her voice for continued resources to find Luke, but Jackson beat her to the it.
"I know. I'm keeping them back, but I can only hold them off for another 24 hours. At that time, the search will be scaled back and you will be removed as lead investigator. We simply don't have the manpower and money to continue as if this was the only boy who was missing in the country, even if his father is one of our own." The Big Man's voice was not unkind.
Monica knew Jackson was watching her back and was doing all he can. They all had to answer to somebody. Jackson looked at her. "You've got 24 hours Agent Reyes."
Monica nodded and quickly left his office.