"Do you really like him for this?" Tracy asked. "Kyle Roberts is a very successful, well-connected man, with top-level connections in the city, and he's never been in any trouble."
"That's true. But the fact that Hayley didn't struggle, and Grace identified the ring on the kidnapper's hand as looking like the one her father wears, I thought it was worth having a conversation with him."
"Well, you won't be speaking to Mr. Roberts again," Tracy said, unable to hide the note of satisfaction in her voice. "We've had a complaint from his attorney. He says you have a conflict of interest, and if you attempt to contact his client again, he'll bring charges of harassment."
"Excuse me?" she asked in surprise.
"Mr. Roberts said that you know his wife and brother-in-law. That you're going after him to avenge some problem you had with his wife years ago."
"That's ridiculous. I followed up on what his own daughter told me."
"But it would have been helpful if you'd taken one of us with you, or even called us as soon as you got the information, in light of the fact that you apparently have a relationship with our only witness's family. You conveniently left that out of your briefing."
"It wasn't relevant, and I haven't had a relationship with the witness's family in over a decade. I knew Mr. Roberts's wife and brother-in-law when I was in my teens. But I didn't even realize Josie Roberts was the Josie Bishop I knew until I went to interview her daughter Grace."
"What problem did you have with Mrs. Roberts?"
"She stole some money and jewelry from me. She was a teenager and a drug addict at the time."
"Did you press charges?"
"No. Look, it was not that big of a deal. She gave some of it back to me, and I'm certainly not carrying out some personal vendetta."
"I would hope not, but Agent Hobbs asked me to let you know that while we appreciate the insight you bring to this case, you won't be doing any further interviews with potential suspects or witnesses unless one of us is with you."
"He's benching me?"
Tracy shrugged. "Call it whatever you like. You can still be helpful, of course. But we'll take the lead; we'll do the field work. You find clues, bring them to me. We want to work with you, but we're also much more versed in the minefield of Chicago politics than you are. If you make a wrong move, this agency risks alienating people, who might be instrumental in finding this child."
"I grew up here, Tracy. I understand Chicago politics. And I am the one who got Grace to remember something," she couldn't help adding.
"Good job on that," Tracy said with a complete lack of sincerity.
"Do we need to talk about Quantico?" she asked.
"Why would we need to talk about the academy?"
"Because if anyone seems to be holding a grudge, it's you."
"You think I've given you even one thought over the last five years?" she asked incredulously. "I've been busy building my career, and I've done that on my own, unlike you, who still seems to be getting into trouble with your gang of friends."
"You're talking about New York, about Damon and Wyatt."
"And Alan Parker, our fearless mentor at Quantico, who turned out to be a double agent. That was quite remarkable. And amazing that you and Damon and Wyatt were all taken in by him. You thought he was so fantastic."
"Alan changed over the years," she said, trying not to rise to Tracy's bait. "And the only reason you hated our gang, as you liked to call it, is because you weren't one of us."
"I didn't want to be one of you. You relied too much on each other. A good agent should be able to think and act completely independently."
"Teamwork can also be effective."
Tracy shrugged. "We can agree to disagree." She got to her feet. "I heard about Jamie Rowland's memorial celebration. Is Diego going to that?"
"He was invited, but I don't know if he's going. Last I heard he was in Ecuador." She gave Tracy a thoughtful look, remembering how interested in Diego she'd always been. "Have you stayed in contact with Diego?"
"No. I haven't stayed in contact with anyone." She paused. "I'd appreciate it if you would keep me updated on any leads you stumble upon."
"Of course," she said, very aware that Tracy thought her break in the case was pure accidental luck. But she didn't care. She wasn't looking for credit, only answers. She was, however, relieved when Tracy walked away.
Glancing at her watch, she saw it was past five. She'd never been one to leave the office early, but it had been a very long day. She decided to head back to her hotel and work from there.
She'd just gotten into her hotel room when the phone rang. She was relieved to see it was Dan. She could use a friendly voice. "Checking up on me?"
"I hear you're causing problems in Chicago. I had no idea you ever lived there. Why didn't you mention it?" he asked.
"It wasn't a happy time in my life. Who did you speak to?"
"Hobbs. He asked me if you were a loose wire that needed to be cut."
"What did you say?"
"That you're one of the smartest and most intuitive agents I've ever worked with, and he'd be a fool not to listen to you."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. But at the moment, I seem to be benched. Apparently, he is a fool," she said dryly.
"He's trying to keep a lot of people happy."
"Keeping people happy is not my concern. Finding one ten-year-old girl is. We both know Hayley doesn't have a lot of time. And it's frustrating not to be able to just run my investigation the way it needs to be run."
"Are they making mistakes, missing things?"
"I wouldn't say that. They're following all the protocols we follow, but it's just not enough, at least not for me."
"I get it. You work better from the front."
"I do," she admitted, knowing that was one reason why she liked working with Dan; he respected her need to cross boundaries when necessary.
"You want my advice, Bree?"
"Always."
"Do what you do. That kid needs you at your best. Sort out the politics later."
She appreciated his words, because Hayley was the only one who mattered right now. "That's exactly what I'm going to do."
"Good. Now tell me something else."
"What?" she asked warily.
"What's the deal with this family you're at odds with? They're related to your eyewitness?"
"Yes. Josie is the mother. Josie's husband Kyle is a person of interest. And Nathan Bishop is the child's uncle. Josie and Nathan and I knew each other as kids."
"Got it. Hobbs said you have a grudge against one of them."
"Which is a complete fabrication created by Kyle's lawyers. A long time ago, Josie stole some stuff from me. But it wasn't that big of a deal. We were street kids, Dan. We met at a time when we were all in survival mode."
"You were a street kid?"
"Yes."
"Tell me about it."
"You really want to hear all this now?"
"Considering how concerned the Chicago team is about you, I think I need to hear it."
"It's really not relevant, but here are the highlights. My mother had me when she was sixteen. She didn't know who my father was or if she did, she didn't tell me. Her father, my grandfather, was a widowed military man, and he threw her out of the house when she came home pregnant. My mom had a lot of trouble taking care of me. She had problems with drugs, problems with relationships. We were broke. We were homeless. Sometimes, we lived in shelters. Eventually, my mom died of an overdose when I was ten. I went to live with my aunt then, who was not in much better shape than my mom. When I was fourteen, I ended up in foster care, and that's where I stayed until I aged out."
"That is a much rougher story than I was expecting."
"I survived, and it made me tougher. Anyway, there's no deal with Nathan and Josie. In fact, it was actually good to see them. I wasn't sure they'd make it. But they did. They're doing well."
"So are you."
"Most days, except today, when I managed to piss off the entire Chicago office."
"Only because you were better than them."
"Thanks, Dan. You always know what to say."
"Tell my wife that. She says I have a great talent for sticking my foot in my mouth."