Convincing people to break rules turned out to be a monumental task.The VA flatly refused to release that information without a court order.Ditto the Navy’s Medical Corps.Faith tried calling the retired former head of the 53rdSurface Warfare Medical Squadron while Michael called the captain of the USSComfort.Both officers regretted to inform their respective callers that they didn’t have access to the information requested.
Lunchtime found both of them desperate and frustrated.Faith had been so excited for this idea when it first came to her earlier, and now she felt like she had just slammed her head right into another wall.
Michael found the way out, and when he did, Faith only wished more fervently that they had reached their answer earlier.“We could try getting that court order.Then we’re not breaking rules,andwe have legal pressure to make the Navy talk.”
Faith sighed.“That means looping Tabitha in and making this an official Bureau request.No way she works with us on that.”
“She’s not a witch, Faith.”Faith glared at him, and he amended his statement.“Okay, she is, but she’s not so much a witch that she’s going to let a murderer run wild just to screw with you.She’s your enemy because she genuinely believes that you’re a threat to the Bureau.”Her glare strengthened, and Michael added, “And she’s wrong.Obviously.I’m just saying that ifItalk to her, I think I can get her to work with us.”
Faith sighed.“And if not, then what happens?We get pulled off the case?Less capable agents get the job?She didn’t want me on this case, remember?She was trying to shut you up and practically begging Smythe to give me the instructor’s job at Quantico.”
“That’s whyI’mgoing to talk to her,” Michael repeated.“You’re going to pace around the room staring moodily at the ground and imagining Tabitha getting booted out of the Bureau for being an asshole.”
Faith chuckled in spite of her frustration.“All right.Well, how about this?Instead of pacing, I’ll get us some lunch.”
Michael grinned.“Have I ever told you that I love you?”
“It’s come up.Just don’t let Ellie find out you’re still saying it.”
“Why are you so worried about Ellie?She likes you now.”
“She tolerates me now.That’s not the same thing.”
Michael rolled his eyes.“I’ll send her a picture of us passionately making out.Sound good?”
Now, it was Faith's turn to roll her eyes."Call Tabitha.Get that court order.Get that list of possible suspects."
“Sir, yes, sir.”
She chuckled on her way out.Michael was a good partner, but he was also the little brother she never had, in all the best and worst ways.
***
By the time she returned with sub sandwiches for both of them, Michael was on the phone with the Medical Corps getting the answers they needed.It turned out he was right about Tabitha.Fine with Faith.As long as she didn’t need to deal with the smug ASAC herself.
According to the Medical Corps and the VA, four of the medical staff who interacted with both Martinez and Barnes were treated for severe PTSD as a result of their time spent in combat, three nurses and one doctor.One of the nurses was female, five-one, and one hundred four pounds, and could be ruled out based on the fact that she wasn’t strong enough to carry dead men up hills and dig their graves.
That left three people.Faith’s excitement built again.Finally, they were closing in on their killer.
The first person she called was Chief Petty Officer Martin Coster.She dialed the number the VA had listed for him, and a female voice answered the phone."Hello?"
“Hello.Is Martin available?”
There was a brief pause before the voice on the other end asked curtly, “Is this some kind of joke?”
Faith frowned."No, ma'am, it isn't.This is Special Agent Faith Bold of the FBI, and I'm calling because I need to talk to Martin Coster about a very serious matter.Is he available?"
“Uh, no, he’s not available,” the woman replied, anger rising in her voice.“He took his own life two months ago.”
Faith blinked.“Really?His VA records don’t show that.”
“Because the VA is run like a piece of shit by pieces of shit,” the woman snapped, her already frayed emotional control gone.“If you think I’m lying, call the Clark County Coroner’s office.They also saw half of his head splattered across my kitchen table.”
She hung up without waiting for Faith to reply.Faith stared at the phone, kicking herself for flubbing that interaction so badly.
She felt a rush of sympathy for the woman on the other end of the phone call.How horrible to be so affected by what one had experienced that silence was preferable to the echoed screams of the past.How horrible to love someone going through that pain and be unable to reach them past the walls of memory that imprisoned their mind.Faith didn’t condone anything the killer had done, of course, but she could understand how someone suffering similar grief could think death was preferable to living with that pain.
That didn’t make it right, though.Not for the victims or for their families.That kind of darkness was another thing Faith had experienced personally, but whether it was administered by one’s own hands or the hands of another, death wasn’t the way out.
