Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-11276487-20130727171132/@comment-202.79.203.43-20131121064528

Well, I think by that point since they were dwindling in numbers, she was on a lookout for potential recruit and then have Nazeem give them the contract to see if they had it in them. But since we did it before even being contacted sparked her interest (the We Know letter). So in order to test further, she wants us to kill one of the three victims. Obviously she couldn't let us go because she thought the first thing we'd do is inform the guard thus proving that the Brotherhood is still active in Skyrim.

The fact that she used such a lame contract to get a new recruit shows how bad the conditon of the Brotherhood was.