Past Imperfect

When Heidi Sternberg, a military contracting clerk during Erica Jensens deployment, is found dead the day the two were supposed to meet for lunch, this gives Erica reason enough to find Heidis death suspicious. While the police conclude the death was by suicide or OD, Heidis widow questions the ruling. With few leads forthcoming from the top-level military contractor, Ericas search for the truth is thwarted by national security issues and lack of access to highly-sensitive intel.

Meanwhile, Ericas father nearly begs Erica to find the source of a blackmail note he received. It contains a cryptic message and specifies a five-day deadline for payment. Erica encounters all the difficulties one would expect of investigating matters that took place decades ago, including fading memories, lack of online records, and flat-out lies. And, unfortunately, the further she digs, the uglier the truth gets. In both cases, Erica confronts a reality thats neither pretty nor comforting..