closely with those of us in law enforcement. I never met Ms. Caldwell myself, but I’m told she was a top-notch lawyer and one hell of an investigator.”
Flaherty was shocked. She spun on Weidel. “We haven’t released the victim’s identity yet,” she said accusingly.
Weidel reddened just a little. “We haven’t released it to the
press
yet, Lieutenant. Obviously, it’s imperative the governor be kept in the loop with the most up-to-date information we have.”
“That’s pretty up-to-date. We only got a positive ID yesterday evening, and I don’t think I’ve even had the chance to confirm that with you, Captain.” A tone of accusation remained in Flaherty’s voice. As the officer in charge of the investigation, she should have been notified of any information given out, even to the governor.
Loring, the U.S. attorney, got up out of his seat. “Look, Detective, I worked with Ms. Caldwell for two years when I was in the FBI and she was at the Justice Department. Are you suggesting the people in this room shouldn’t be notified of events in the investigation as they develop? I thought we were all on the same team, but maybe I was misinformed.”
“And I thought I was in charge of this investigation,” Flaherty shot back. “But maybe I was misinformed.”
“Just because you have jurisdiction here doesn’t mean we shouldn’t know what’s going on. We have a right to be kept in the loop.” Loring was raising his voice now, and clearly looking for a little turf in the investigation. Flaherty suspected he was more interested in furthering his own political fortunes than finding the killer of a junior colleague he probably didn’t even know well. It pissed her off.
“Oh sure. The feds are always so forthcoming with the local cops, right? I remember all the times we were consulted on the Whitey Bulger case.” Flaherty’s barb found its mark, and Loring’s ears went red with anger. Several years before, the FBI and the Justice Department had protected a number of informants high up in Boston’s Irish mob who went on killing sprees with impunity. The most notorious was James “Whitey” Bulger, the head of the Winter Hill Gang. The local cops were left chasing their tails as they tried to clean up the mess.
Ultimately, Bulger was indicted on a slew of charges, including eighteen counts of murder, but escaped when his FBI handlers tipped him off before the state police and DEA could arrest him. Several FBI agents resigned. One was convicted of aiding Bulger and was sent to jail. The fallout was still radioactive, and even though Loring hadn’t been directly implicated, he was the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston office at the time, and had signed off on the Bulger operation. The incident hadn’t done permanent damage to his career, but he was still defensive about it. The mere mention of it was enough to make him seethe at Flaherty, but he kept his mouth shut.
“That’s a pretty cheap shot at a guy who just lost a former colleague, don’t you think, Lieutenant?” chided Commissioner Backton.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Flaherty said to Loring, and the sincerity behind it took everyone in the room by surprise, defusing the tension that had been building. She took a deep breath. “Obviously I’m willing to keep people in the loop. But you’ve all run investigations, and you all know how important the control of information is to the success of the investigation. Everything must go through me.” She looked Weidel straight in the eyes. “Otherwise, you can reassign the case.”
“Now wait a minute. If you think you’re in any position to dictate terms, Lieutenant, think again,” Weidel began, but the governor cut him off.
“No, Captain, the lieutenant is right. It is
her
investigation.” He looked at Flaherty with a calculating smile. The message was clear: the case was hers to live or die with—alone. “I think Lieutenant Flaherty is quite aware of how
Flaherty was shocked. She spun on Weidel. “We haven’t released the victim’s identity yet,” she said accusingly.
Weidel reddened just a little. “We haven’t released it to the
press
yet, Lieutenant. Obviously, it’s imperative the governor be kept in the loop with the most up-to-date information we have.”
“That’s pretty up-to-date. We only got a positive ID yesterday evening, and I don’t think I’ve even had the chance to confirm that with you, Captain.” A tone of accusation remained in Flaherty’s voice. As the officer in charge of the investigation, she should have been notified of any information given out, even to the governor.
Loring, the U.S. attorney, got up out of his seat. “Look, Detective, I worked with Ms. Caldwell for two years when I was in the FBI and she was at the Justice Department. Are you suggesting the people in this room shouldn’t be notified of events in the investigation as they develop? I thought we were all on the same team, but maybe I was misinformed.”
“And I thought I was in charge of this investigation,” Flaherty shot back. “But maybe I was misinformed.”
“Just because you have jurisdiction here doesn’t mean we shouldn’t know what’s going on. We have a right to be kept in the loop.” Loring was raising his voice now, and clearly looking for a little turf in the investigation. Flaherty suspected he was more interested in furthering his own political fortunes than finding the killer of a junior colleague he probably didn’t even know well. It pissed her off.
“Oh sure. The feds are always so forthcoming with the local cops, right? I remember all the times we were consulted on the Whitey Bulger case.” Flaherty’s barb found its mark, and Loring’s ears went red with anger. Several years before, the FBI and the Justice Department had protected a number of informants high up in Boston’s Irish mob who went on killing sprees with impunity. The most notorious was James “Whitey” Bulger, the head of the Winter Hill Gang. The local cops were left chasing their tails as they tried to clean up the mess.
Ultimately, Bulger was indicted on a slew of charges, including eighteen counts of murder, but escaped when his FBI handlers tipped him off before the state police and DEA could arrest him. Several FBI agents resigned. One was convicted of aiding Bulger and was sent to jail. The fallout was still radioactive, and even though Loring hadn’t been directly implicated, he was the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston office at the time, and had signed off on the Bulger operation. The incident hadn’t done permanent damage to his career, but he was still defensive about it. The mere mention of it was enough to make him seethe at Flaherty, but he kept his mouth shut.
“That’s a pretty cheap shot at a guy who just lost a former colleague, don’t you think, Lieutenant?” chided Commissioner Backton.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Flaherty said to Loring, and the sincerity behind it took everyone in the room by surprise, defusing the tension that had been building. She took a deep breath. “Obviously I’m willing to keep people in the loop. But you’ve all run investigations, and you all know how important the control of information is to the success of the investigation. Everything must go through me.” She looked Weidel straight in the eyes. “Otherwise, you can reassign the case.”
“Now wait a minute. If you think you’re in any position to dictate terms, Lieutenant, think again,” Weidel began, but the governor cut him off.
“No, Captain, the lieutenant is right. It is
her
investigation.” He looked at Flaherty with a calculating smile. The message was clear: the case was hers to live or die with—alone. “I think Lieutenant Flaherty is quite aware of how
Similar Books
