"Greg, I gotta go."
"Okay, well let me know. And one thing, Jack."
"What?"
"Get me some art."
"Right."
As I hung up, I thought that might be a little too hopeful on his part. Getting a photographer in on this would be a long shot. I had to worry about getting myself in first.
"Jack, this is Bob Backus, assistant special agent in charge. He leads my team. Bob, Jack McEvoy of the Rocky Mountain News."
We shook hands and Backus had a vise for a grip. That was as standard FBI macho as the suit. As he spoke he reached down absentmindedly to the desk and straightened the calendar.
"Always glad to meet one of our friends in the Fourth Estate. Especially one that doesn't come from inside the beltway."
I just nodded. It was bullshit and everybody there knew it.
"Jack, why don't we go over to the Boardroom and get a cup of coffee," Backus said. "It's been a long day. I'll show you around a little on the way."
As we went upstairs Backus said nothing of consequence other than to express condolences about my brother. After the three of us were seated with our coffee at one of the tables in the cafeteria called the Boardroom, he got down to business.
"Jack, we are off the record," Backus said. "Everything that you see or hear while in Quantico is off the record. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes. For the time being."
"Okay. If you want to talk about changing the agreement, talk to me or Rachel and we'll hash it out. Would you be willing to sign an agreement to that effect?"
"Sure. But I'm going to be the one who writes it."
Backus nodded as if I had scored a point in a debate final.
"Fair enough." He moved his coffee cup to the side, brushed some unseen impurity off his palms and leaned across the table toward me. "Jack, we've got a status meeting in fifteen minutes. As I am sure Rachel has told you, we are going full speed. We'd be criminally negligent, in my opinion, if we proceeded with this investigation in any other way. I've got my entire team on it, eight other BSS agents on loan, two techs assigned full-time and six field offices involved. I can't remember when we've had that kind of commitment to an investigation before."
"I'm glad to hear that… Bob."
He didn't seem to flinch at my use of his first name. It had been a small test. He was seemingly treating me as an equal, calling me by my first name often. I decided to see what would happen if I did the same. So far, so good.
"You have done some very fine work," Backus continued. "What you have done has given us a solid blueprint. It's a start and I want to tell you we're already more than twenty-four solid hours into it."
Behind Backus I saw the agent who had spoken to me in Walling's office sit down at another table with a cup of coffee and a sandwich. He watched us as he began to eat.
"We are talking about a tremendous amount of resources being committed to the investigation," Backus said. "But right now our number one priority is one of containment."
It was going exactly the way I had expected and I had to struggle to keep a look on my face that did not give away that I knew I held sway over the FBI and the investigation. I had leverage. I was an insider.
"You don't want me to write about it," I said quietly.
"Yes, that's exactly right. Not yet, at least. We know that you have enough, even without what you've learned from us, to write a hell of a story. It's an explosive story, Jack. If you write about it out there in Denver it is going to attract attention. Overnight it will be on the network and in every newspaper. Then "Hard Copy" and the rest of the TV tabloids. Anybody who doesn't have his head in the sand is going to know about it. And, Jack, plain and simple, we can't have that. Once the offender knows we know about him, he could disappear. If he is smart, and we already know he is damn smart, he will disappear. We'll never get him then. You don't want that. We're talking about the person who killed your brother. You don't want that, do you?"
I nodded that I understood the dilemma and was silent a moment as I composed my reply. I looked from Backus to Walling and then back to Backus.
"My paper has already invested a lot of time and money," I said. "I've got the story down cold. Just so you understand, I could write a story tonight that says authorities are conducting a nationwide investigation into the likelihood that a serial killer of cops has been operating for as long as three years without detection."
"As I said, you've done very good work and nobody's arguing what kind of story this is."
"So then what are you proposing? I just kill it and walk away, wait for you to hold a press conference one day when, and if, you get this guy?"
Backus cleared his throat and leaned back. I glanced over at Walling but her face showed nothing.
"I won't sugarcoat it," Backus said. "But, yes, I want you to sit on the story for a little while."
"Until when? What's 'a little while'?"
Backus looked around the cafeteria as if he had never been there. He answered without looking at me.
"Until we get this person."
I whistled low.
"And what would I get for sitting on the story? What would the Rocky Mountain News get?"
"First and foremost, you'd be helping us catch your brother's killer. If that is not enough for you, I'm sure we could work out some sort of exclusivity agreement on the arrest of the suspect."
No one spoke for a long moment because it was clear the ball was in my court. I weighed my words carefully before finally leaning forward across the table and speaking.
"Well, Bob, as I think you know, this is one of those rare occasions when you guys don't hold all the cards and can't call all of the shots. This is my investigation, you see? I started it and I'm not just going to drop out. I'm not going to go back to Denver and sit behind my desk and wait for the phone to ring. I'm in and if you don't keep me in, then I go back to write the story. It will be in the paper Sunday morning. It's our best circulation day."
"You'd do that to your own brother?" Walling said, the words tight with anger. "Don't you give a shit?"
"Rachel, please," Backus said. "It's a good point. What we-"
"I give a shit," I said. "I was the only one who did. So don't try to lay any guilt on me. My brother stays dead whether you find this guy or not and whether I write the story or not."
"Okay, Jack, we're not questioning your motives here," Backus said, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "We seem to have gotten into an adversarial stance and I don't want that. Why don't you clearly tell me what you want. I'm sure we are going to work this out right here. Before the coffee even gets cold."
"It's simple," I said quickly. "Put me on the investigation. Complete access as an observer. I won't write a word until we either get the son of a bitch or give up."
"That's blackmail," Walling said.
"No, it's the agreement I'm offering to make," I responded. "It's actually a concession because I have the story now. Having to sit on it is against my instincts and against what I do."
I looked at Backus. Walling was angry but I knew it didn't matter. Backus would make the call.
"I don't think we can do that, Jack," he finally said. "It's against bureau regulations to bring somebody in like that. It could be dangerous to you as well."
"I don't care about that. Any of it. That's the deal. Take it or leave it. Call whoever you've got to call. But that's the deal."
Backus pulled his cup in front of him and looked down into the still steaming blackness. He hadn't even sipped it.
"This proposal is well above my level of authority," he said. "I'll have to get back to you."
"When?"
"I'll make the call right now."
"What about the status conference?"
"They can't start without me. Why don't both of you wait here. This shouldn't take long."
Backus stood up and carefully slid his chair into the table.
"Just so we're clear," I said before he turned away, "if allowed into this as an observer, with two exceptions I will not write about the case until we have an arrest or you determine it is fruitless and focus your primary efforts on other cases."