Catch and Release

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Sheppard parked across the street and entered the lobby of the FBI field office on West Roosevelt Road, a large building constructed of glass and concrete that resembled the side of a cruise liner. Sheppard always thought that such an extravagant building was unnecessary. A simple office building would suffice for the vast majority of the work conducted inside, but the FBI was a well-funded organization and had no problem showing its wealth.

The lobby of the field office matched the exterior facade. Large lights hung suspended from the ceiling. Two-story-high walls covered in wood and metal and a marble tile floor created the feeling of a large cave that could swallow a man whole. The center of the lobby was filled with bench seating and flower-packed gardens in an attempt to create an indoor-outdoor flow. Sheppard never understood all that new aged feng shui stuff and didn’t particularly care to. He liked to keep everything as simple as possible. The simplest solutions were usually correct.

He hurried through the vast, empty space, scanned his identification to get past security, entered the elevators at the far side of the lobby and hit the button for the seventh floor. He usually occupied a small cubicle on the fourth floor, but his bosses were very clear this morning. Come straight to the conference room on the seventh floor. You’ll be briefed there.

Sheppard entered the darkened conference room and took a seat near the end of the twelve-foot mahogany table. Another example of excess in Sheppard’s opinion. He looked around the table and found that he was the last one to arrive.

Although Sheppard knew most of the people in the room, his attention focused on the two people seated at the front. He knew one as his immediate superior, Supervisory Special Agent Seth Riley. The second man, he didn’t know but recognized his appearance. Six foot two, lean and muscular build, short haircut, and an expensive suit paired with cheap shoes. This man was a federal agent like everyone else in the room, but from which agency?

Riley leaned forward in his chair, picked up a remote in front of him, and lowered a screen at the head of the table. As soon as it lowered into position, a projector suspended from the ceiling displayed a picture of a murder scene. The same scene Sheppard had viewed on his Echo Show less than an hour earlier.

Riley turned to face the rest of the table. “Good morning, everyone. I’m sure many of you have seen the news and have already figured out why you were called in here. Earlier this morning, Ayatollah Abdus Salam was murdered in his home. Preliminary forensics have led us to believe that it was a single person who committed the murder, but we have not yet been able to gather any specifics about who may have done this. This murder follows the same modus operandi as two other murders in Wisconsin, leading us to suspect this may be a serial killing, landing the case in our jurisdiction. Many of you will have seen Mr. Salam on the news. He was a very outspoken leader in the local Muslim community and garnered a great deal of media attention regarding his views on how the Islamic faith needs to adjust to become more inclusive of the modern world. These views received a great deal of praise in the Western world and a lot of criticism among other, more traditional Muslim leaders.”

Riley pressed a button on the remote control, and various pictures of the three murder scenes scrolled on the screen. Everyone at the table looked at the screen, looked at each other, then back to the screen. Sheppard glanced over at the yet to be introduced agent sitting next to his boss.

“How do you fit into this?”

Riley leaned back in his chair, looking slightly annoyed at Sheppard asking the question out of turn.

The unknown man rose, brushed his hands down his midsection to smooth out the wrinkles in his suit, looked up, and said. “An excellent question, Agent Sheppard. My name is Arturo. My agency has been keeping an eye on Mr. Salam for some time now, and I have been ordered to liaise with the FBI on this case. To lend you our assistance, as it were.”

“And which agency would that be?”

Riley rose out of his chair fast enough to push it backward with his legs.

“That’s enough, Sheppard! You’ll be told all you need to know. How about you sit back and listen before you get another note in your file?”

Sheppard sat back, letting his arms fall onto the arm rests.

The man known only as Arturo moved to the back of the room and switched on the lights before returning to the front, where the screen was now retracting to reveal a smart board. Arturo tapped the board, bringing up various crime scene photos.

“Shall we go through what we know thus far?”