Then Pollack looked right at me. “A reporter at the Washington Post denies it, but why wouldn’t he?” She continued, “The leaks come from a crime analyst named Monnie Donnelley. You’re working with her, aren’t you, Dr. Cross?”

Suddenly the conference room seemed very small and constricting. Everyone had turned toward me.

“Is this why I’m here?” I asked.

“No,” said Pollack. “You’re here because you’re experienced with sexual-obsession cases. You’ve been involved with more of them than anyone else in the room. But that isn’t my question.”

I thought carefully before I answered. “This isn’t a sexual-obsession case,” I told Pollack. “And Monnie Donnelley isn’t the leak.”

“I’d like you to explain both of those statements,” Pollack challenged me immediately. “Please, go ahead. I’m listening with great interest.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said. “The abductors, the group or ring behind the kidnappings, are in this for the money. I don’t see any other explanation for their actions. The slain Russian couple on Long Island is a key. I don’t think we should be looking at past sex offenders as our focus. The question should be, Who has the resources and expertise to abduct men and women for a price, and probably a very large price? Who has experience in this area? Monnie Donnelley knows that and she’s an excellent analyst. She’s not the leak to the Post. What would she have to gain?”

Stacy Pollack looked down and shuffled some of her papers. She didn’t comment on anything I’d said. “Let’s move on,” she said.

The meeting resumed without any further discussion of Monnie and the charges against her. Instead, there was a lengthy discussion of the Red Mafiya, including new information that the couple murdered on Long Island definitely had connections to Russian gangsters. There were also rumors of a possible mob war about to break out on the East Coast, involving the Italians and the Russians.

After the larger meeting, we broke off into smaller groups. A few agents took workstations. Stacy Pollack pulled me aside.

“Listen, I wasn’t accusing you of anything,” she said. “I wasn’t suggesting that you’re involved in the leaks, Alex.”

“So who accused Monnie?” I asked.

She seemed surprised by the question. “I won’t tell you that. Nothing is official yet.”

“What do you mean, ‘nothing is official yet’?” I asked.

“No action has been taken against Ms. Donnelley. We will probably pull her off this investigation, though. That’s all I have to say on the subject for now. You can go back to Quantico.”

I guessed I’d been dismissed.

Chapter 60

Chapter 60