Part 4 (2/2)
”He's on his way,” Caroline answered, still looking Rheyna in the eyes.
”I was thinking that I would like the pictures taken in here. What do you think, Rheyna?” Terasa asked.
”I think it's a great idea,” Rheyna answered as she began setting up her equipment, grateful for the distraction, and a few much-needed minutes to get it together. She was fully aware by the rapid beating of her heart that Caroline was still watching her. Something told her that if she looked up, she would see two bright blue eyes laughing at her.
”What in the h.e.l.l is wrong with me?” she mumbled under her breath as she attached the camera to the tripod. ”I'm acting like a schoolgirl with a crush.”
She looked up just as Anthony Castrucci appeared in the doorway. His mammoth body swallowed the doorframe. He, on the other hand, looked exactly as Rheyna had pictured. He walked into the room with his right hand man, Sonny Valachi, following closely on his heels.
Sonny nodded his head at Rheyna and took a seat just inside the door.
”Anthony, this is Rheyna Moretti. She's the photographer I hired,” Terasa said, looking at her husband.
He smiled and nodded at her. ”Ms. Moretti, I'm all yours. Where do you want me?” he asked.
In a nice jail cell, she wanted to say, but bit her tongue. Instead, she said, ”Here, in front of the picture window, please.” She indicated the seat next to Terasa and then moved behind the couch. She pulled the cord to move the Venetian blind out of the way.
”Caroline, can you stand right here, behind your parents?” she asked before walking back over to her camera. As she bent down to peer through the lens, she had to admit that the three of them made a striking family. Caroline had obviously received the best of each parents' genes.
”Caroline, can you place your right hand on your father's shoulder? That's good, now hold it right there. Okay, smiles, everyone.”
Rheyna snapped several photos in succession. ”Okay, now, what I'd like to do is get a couple individual shots. I'll start with you first, Mrs. Castrucci, if that's okay with everyone.”
”Of course, dear,” Terasa answered.
As soon as Caroline and her father moved, Rheyna snapped the photos. ”Okay, all done,” she said.
Terasa stood and motioned for her husband to take her spot.
”Would you like me to sit in the same spot, Ms. Moretti?” he asked.
”That would be fine, thank you,” she answered.
She bent to look through the lens and felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She quickly took the photos and stood upright.
Big Tony got up and turned to Rheyna. ”If you don't need anything more from me, Ms. Moretti, I have a business trip to prepare for.”
”Nope, that should do it. Thank you, Mr. Castrucci.”
Caroline walked over and took a seat on the couch. ”I guess it's my turn,” she said, smiling at Rheyna.
”Yes, it is,” Rheyna, answered. Once Caroline was settled, she snapped off more pictures than she needed. She looked up from the camera. ”All done,” she said as she began taking her equipment apart.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Caroline leave the room and felt a pang of disappointment. She was grateful when Terasa walked over and looped her arm through hers; otherwise, she would have stood there psychoa.n.a.lyzing herself.
She smiled at the older woman. ”When I get back, I'll get the proofs made. It shouldn't take me too long.”
”Thank you, Rheyna, I appreciate that,” she said as she walked with Rheyna to the front door.
”I'll call you in the morning,” Rheyna said. Her thoughts turned to Caroline. ”Or I can bring them over to you, if you prefer.”
Terasa laid her hand on Rheyna's shoulder. ”Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother? I've already put you out as it is.”
Rheyna smiled at her. ”Nonsense, I have an appointment in the morning not too far from here. I can just drop them off after I'm done.”
”All right, you win, but only if you're positive that it's not too much trouble.”
”I promise you, it's not.”
”I guess I will see you sometime tomorrow then,” Terasa said, smiling at Rheyna. She stood in the doorway and watched Rheyna walk to her car.
Rheyna climbed into her Jeep and tossed the camera bag on the seat beside her. She waved goodbye to Terasa and headed down the driveway.
Later that night, after checking in with Laura, Rheyna sat down at the computer to download the Castrucci photos from the memory card. She loved technology, especially when it worked to her benefit. She loved the touch-up portion of the software, where she could literally erase tattoos or instantly airbrush on a ready-made tan. She opened the software and brought up the Castrucci photos. It took less than an hour to arrange the photos and print out the proofs.
She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. She twisted off the cap and took a swig. Her thoughts turned to the bureau and the technology in the field of criminal investigation. She vividly remembered the day Sigh-ock opened for business.
Dedicated by President George Bush in 1998, the twenty-million-dollar, high-tech operations center, located on the fifth floor of the J. Edgar Hoover Building was roughly the size of a football field and measured more than 40,000 square feet. It was specifically designed to accommodate up to 450 additional staff members or agents in the event of an emergency.
The center's main purpose was to provide crisis updates to the FBI using sophisticated computers and communication equipment. When and if a crisis began, the center sent out updates to the top people throughout the FBI, as well as other U.S. government agencies.
The glaring need for an updated center became evident in the summer of 1996 when bureau officials tried to manage simultaneous investigations regarding the explosions at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, TWA flight 800 over Lockerbie Scotland, and the Saudi Arabia truck bombing at Khobar Towers. It was total chaos trying to handle it all. The crises left the FBI shorthanded on personnel and severely handicapped for s.p.a.ce. There weren't enough rooms or telephones, and some of the bureau's best agents were a.s.signed to makes.h.i.+ft desks throughout the hallways, reading confidential doc.u.ments.
On the day of the dedication, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh introduced reporters to the new facility with a one-time-only tour. At the time of the dedication, the bureau's fastest growing sector was counter-terrorism. Between 1993 and 1998, the number of offices stationed in the U.S. and around the world had more than doubled.
As of January 2008, the FBI Headquarters in Was.h.i.+ngton provided direction and support to fifty-six field offices, roughly four-hundred satellite offices-commonly referred to as resident agencies-four specialty field installations, and over fifty liaison offices-or Legal Attaches-throughout the world.
The security at Sigh-ock was super tight. When exiting the elevator, the first thing one sees is a huge vault door, similar to the kind found in a bank. To the right, and affixed to the wall, is a keypad that requires a security key fob code for entry.
On each side of the doors are two large, red signs informing visitors that they have now entered a high-security area. Outside the doors, all activity is monitored and recorded by several strategically placed cameras twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
Located directly inside the door and off to the right was a small galley kitchen with a microwave and coffee maker. She smiled as she thought about the first time she pa.s.sed the room and saw the sign over the microwave that read, ”Food and Drinks Prohibited.”
She thought back about her ill.u.s.trious career with the FBI and how it all began around fifteen years ago. She never dreamed about being a cop, let alone an agent with the FBI, and for as long as she could remember, she had wanted to be a photographer.
That all changed the day she met Special Agent Laura Forrest. They had met some sixteen years ago while Rheyna was attending George Was.h.i.+ngton University. She had seen Laura from a distance off and on the entire time she was in school. Laura was the one who conducted the FBI recruiting drive every semester outside the main entrance to the college.
Secretly, she had thought Laura was too small and too attractive to be a FBI agent. She was sorry to admit that she had a stereotypical view of what an agent should look like, and Laura definitely was not it. Laura stood maybe five-feet-four inches tall with heels on. With blonde shoulder-length hair and green eyes, she was what Rheyna would cla.s.sify as a sweet piece of eye candy.
Her so-called agaydar' had gone into overdrive from the first moment she had seen her. Laura had grinned at her like a Ches.h.i.+re cat, a grin that said, ”I know your secret, too.” Although they never spoke until the day she graduated, Rheyna had liked her immediately. After the ceremony, she was busy packing her things to leave campus for the last time, when Laura unexpectedly appeared at her dorm room with a recruiting pamphlet in her hand.
She introduced herself and asked Rheyna if she had ever given a thought to joining the FBI. Not one to mix words, Rheyna told her, ”Thanks, but no thanks.”
What Laura said next surprised her: ”What's the matter, afraid you can't hack it, don't have what it takes? I guess my instincts were wrong about you.” Laura tossed the pamphlet on the bed and walked out of the room without another word, and that was all it took.
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