Across State Lines

by C. J. Johnson

  “What in the….?” Mia and Frankie said in unison.

  Chapter 43

  “Sarge, you need to come and see this,” Frankie shouted.

  Frankie wanted to look away but found her gaze transfixed on the monitor. It appeared to be a live feed coming from a little girl’s bedroom. The child did not look like she was any older than nine, but the angle of the camera and position of her body made it difficult to be certain. She was wearing pajamas and appeared to be sleeping in a twin-size bed. A nightlight illuminated a dollhouse flanking the bed.

  Sergeant Baker walked in and, upon seeing the video feed, repeated what Frankie and Mia had said.

  “Does the search warrant cover the computer?”

  “Yeah. We didn’t know if he had videos linked to his computer, so we threw it on there. I’m going to see if we can get Brad out here. We need to figure out where this feed is coming from and do a scan to see if there is any child pornography on this computer. If there is, we may need to get a piggy-back warrant.”

  Mia and Baker watched the little girl sleep while Frankie talked to the cyber unit and made a follow-up call to Jessica for the piggy-back warrant. It didn’t look like she was being held against her will or was in distress, but it didn’t make the video any less creepy.

  “Jessica is on board with us writing another warrant if needed. Brad will be here in thirty minutes. Did we figure out where the other camera is? Or where this little girl is?” Frankie asked. “Is she in this house? I don’t remember Keeley or anyone else mentioning children.”

  “I think the other camera is in one of the extra rooms, but I haven’t found it yet. He doesn’t have any kids, so it’s definitely not a nanny cam,” Mia said.

  Just as Frankie was preparing to go back to the second floor to look for the camera, Baker called out, “Come back up here, you are going to want to see this.”

  Frankie and Mia joined Baker behind the desk and watched as a man entered the room. They each held their breath to see what he was going to do. Frankie observed the man sit on the edge of the bed and watch the little girl. He reached down and gently touched her face, then brushed her hair to the side. Frankie and Mia held their breath when he touched the blanket resting on her shoulders, exhaling only when he stood up. Frankie stared intently at his face, certain she had seen the man before, but unsure where.

  “Mia, does this guy look familiar to you?”

  “I was just thinking the same thing, but I can’t figure out where I know him from.”

  The man walked closer to the camera, giving them a better shot of his face. Frankie grabbed her cell phone and snapped a photo.

  “Maybe we can try to run him through facial recognition. Dammit, he looks familiar.”

  They continued to watch the man until he finally left the room.

  “Thank God,” mumbled Frankie to herself.

  “Where you guys at,” came a booming voice from below.

  “3rd floor,” Baker responded. “Come on up.”

  Brad Stephens, a detective from the Cyber Unit, took the stairs to the third floor two by two. He wore a KC Royals polo and a baseball cap with blue jeans. The only thing identifying him as a detective was the badge hanging from his neck, and the gun holstered on his belt.

  “What kind of stuff did you all stir up tonight?” Brad asked.

  Frankie explained what they had found and showed him the monitor.

  “What’s this?” Brad asked.

  “We aren’t sure. Is there any way you can identify the IP address or anything that will tell us where this child is?”

  “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll see what I can find.” Brad grabbed his equipment and got to work.

  Chapter 44

  “You might as well start working on your piggyback warrant,” Brad announced. “I ran a scan on the computer and found at least two dozen images of child pornography. I suspect we will find more when we do a forensic exam of the hard drive. I also got you an IP address on that live feed. You may not need a warrant if you site exigent circumstances. But I think I’d get one just in case and add the exigent circumstances to the formal request.”

  “Thanks Brad. I’m going to run and get the warrants. Mia and Sergeant Baker will be here looking for that last camera. You going to hang around?”

  “Yeah, I have one more preview scan I can run, and I want to make sure everything gets disconnected properly.”

  “There is a whole recording set up downstairs in the basement. Would you mind disconnecting all of it as well?” Frankie asked.

  “You bet,” Brad answered while simultaneously watching the computer scan.

  Frankie drove to the Metro Patrol Division station and quickly typed up the second and third warrants. She decided she might as well get one for the IP address while she was working on them. If she got lucky, she might be able to get an address for that little girl by morning. She was back at the house in less than two hours.

  “Anything new since I left?”

  “We found the other camera,” Mia said. “You won’t believe where.”

  “Do tell.”

  “In the guest bathroom. From the angle of the camera, it appears he likes to watch people using the toilet.”

  “Gross.”

  “I know, right?” Mia said.

  Based on the scope of the second warrant, the four detectives began searching the house for anything that could contain images of child pornography. At Brad’s direction, they collected all the videotapes, DVDs, compact discs and USB drives along with the computer.

  “It’s not uncommon for guys collecting and manufacturing child porn to tape over commercial VHS tapes. They will cover the security tab, fast forward a bit, and then record. It’s a good way to hide the CP in plain sight.”

  Frankie started looking through the desk drawers, looking for any type of printed images. A stack of photographs filled an envelope in the top drawer. Frankie almost returned the envelope to the drawer. The first few photos looked like a birthday party. Something told her to continue looking. Midway through the stack, Frankie was glad she did. The first few photos were of pre-pubescent girls, wearing bikinis, and playing in his pool. The next few photos were, Frankie assumed, the same girls. However, in these photos, the angle of the camera focused on their buttocks. The last photos Frankie pulled from the envelope were of an adult woman. The photographs depicted the woman’s body in varying sexual positions. In some, her body appeared to be covered in oil. In all of them, she appeared to be unconscious.

  “Hey Mia, don’t these photographs look like the video Keeley described?”

  Mia looked at the photographs Frankie was holding before saying, “Yeah, they do. This guy is sick.”

  Frankie continued to go through the desk, finding varying images on photo paper and some on plain copy paper. She pulled out each file, wondering with each one what she would find. When the files began to look like financial records, she almost stopped searching, but something made her continue to look through the files carefully.

  “Mia!” Frankie yelled.

  Mia ran upstairs from the second floor and breathlessly asked, “What? Did something happen to that girl?”

  “What? No, she’s still asleep. Check this out. Look at Kristoff’s credit card statement, then look at what’s attached to it.”

  Mia scanned the documents carefully, then began to laugh. “We’ve got you, you stupid son of a bitch!”

  Chapter 45

  Frankie escorted Alexandre Kristoff to the interrogation room located on the fourth floor. It was after 3 AM, and she was completely sickened by what she had found at his house.

  Frankie dismissed the pleasantries she normally attempted with people she interviewed and moved directly to why they were there.

  “Alexandre, we received a report you were videotaping people having sex at your house without their consent. As a result of the search warrant, we identified other misdeeds. Let’s talk about the videotaping first. How many cameras do you have set up in
your house?”

  “How many did you find?”

  “Don’t be cute, Alexandre. It’s late and I’m not in the mood. Give me the number.”

  Alexandre sat, silent.

  “Fine, we will continue to examine your home. We will be thorough. Let’s talk about these photographs first.” Frankie laid out the photographs of the naked woman, posed in varying positions. “Who is she?”

  Alexandre continued to sit in silence.

  “Is that really how you want to play it?” Frankie was tired and irritated but took a deep breath and tried to change her approach. “Look, Alexandre, in the morning, I’m going to tell the prosecutor everything we found. I would like to give them your side of the story too. I can’t do that if you won’t talk to me.”

  Alexandre seemed to give what Frankie said some thought. After a few moments, he said, “I have five cameras in my house, but I suspect you know that already. They are purely for security purposes. I entertain a considerable amount and own quite a few antiquities. I would be very unhappy if any were to come up missing. I also have a lovely outdoor space, one that some could construe as having a certain element of risk. As a result, I keep cameras outdoors as well.”

  Mia fought the urge to ask what his reason was for having one in the powder room aimed at the toilet. She would ask about it later.

  “And who is this girl?” Frankie showed Alexandre a photograph of a naked young woman covered in baby oil, wearing only a yellow tie.

  Frankie thought she saw a small smile begin to form on Alexandre’s lips then quickly disappear.

  “That is an old friend of mine. Actually, a former lover.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Sonja Lincoln.” The name seemed to roll off Alexandre’s lips.

  “How can we get in touch with her?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know. We had a bit of a nasty breakup and sort of lost touch. I think she’s somewhere in Kansas. Possibly one of the little college towns.”

  Well, that narrows it down, Frankie thought.

  “Did Sonja know you were taking her photograph?”

  Alexandre didn’t immediately answer. Once again, he appeared to be weighing the risk of being honest.

  “Of course she did. She was posing in any of the photographs you may have found. What kind of pervert do you think I am?”

  Frankie filtered the answer that popped into her mind. Instead, she decided it was time to ask him about the other photographs.

  “Alexandre, you had beautiful, framed photographs in your home. It appears you have traveled a bit.”

  “I have been fortunate to have had the means to see the world.”

  “Who took the photographs lining your staircase?”

  “Why, I did, of course.”

  Chapter 46

  Frankie pulled out the photographs of the young girls in bathing suits and asked, “Who are these girls?”

  “Those are my niece and her friends. I believe it was her 12th birthday. She asked to use my pool for her party.”

  “Did you do the photography for the party?”

  “Of course. I wanted to document the memorable experience for her. I created an album as part of her gift.”

  Frankie turned over the photographs that appeared to be of just the girls’ buttocks.

  “Did you include these in the album? Was this part of the ‘memorable experience’?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Why did you take them?”

  “Detective, I believe you are fishing. Do all of your photographs turn out perfectly? It’s obvious I snapped the camera before I had it in focus.”

  To herself, Frankie thought, “Not likely given the photographs on the walls of your home.” Instead, she laid down the other photographs of various young girls’ behinds.

  Alexandre sat quietly.

  Not challenging his silence, Frankie laid a photograph of a naked, pre-pubescent girl in front of him and said, “We found this one in your desk. Did you take it as well?”

  “Detective, I collect art. But to answer your question, no, I did not take that photograph. It is obvious you do not know much about the fine arts if you think this is in any way vulgar. It is purely a work of art.”

  Frankie fought the bile rising in her throat and the desire to physically harm him. Instead, she asked, “Alexandre, who is the little girl on your computer?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The live feed of the little girl and her bedroom. Who and where is she?”

  “Oh, you must mean my niece. It’s a nanny camera my sister wanted me to test for her.”

  “What is your sister’s address?”

  Alexandre hesitated before answering, “11760 North Corrington.”

  Sergeant Baker was watching the interview on the monitor. Frankie trusted he was calling dispatch to have a radio car complete a residence check.

  “Have you ever visited any child pornography websites?” Frankie asked, already knowing the answer.

  Alexandre physically recoiled at the question. Regaining his composure, he said, “Why would you ask such a thing. Of course not. As I said before, I’m not a pervert.”

  Frankie allowed silence to fill the room, hoping Alexandre would attempt to fill it.

  “Well, there may have been a time or two when I was doing a search on the internet that something came on the screen that I wasn’t expecting. It’s happened to everyone at one time or another. You click on a link in an e-mail or a pop-up advertisement and end up with something perverse on the screen. If you saw something like that on my computer, that’s all it was.”

  Frankie pulled out a manila folder full of documents. She opened the folder and pulled out a printout from an internet site. The printout identified a username, email, and subscription information.

  “Alexandre, is this your email address?” Frankie asked, pointing to the email address listed on the printout.

  “Uh, um, yes.”

  “And are these the last four digits of your credit card number?”

  “I’d have to have my wallet. I have a plethora of credit cards and do not have all of the numbers memorized.”

  Frankie pulled another document from the folder. She laid it in front of Alexandre. The color drained from his face.

  “We found this bank statement in your desk. The name on the statement is yours. The transaction number for a charge of 21.99 is the same as the transaction number on this printout,” Frankie said, tapping the printout from the internet site.

  Alexandre scanned the documents and then said, “I want to speak to my attorney before we go any further.”

  Chapter 47

  Mia returned Alexandre to the jail while Frankie talked to Sergeant Baker.

  “The address doesn’t exist, Frankie. We’ll have to wait for his internet provider to respond to our warrant.”

  Frankie was disappointed but not surprised. And since Alexandre had asked to speak to an attorney, she could not confront him. Once Mia got back to the office, they returned to Alexandre’s residence. With the help of Baker and Stephens, they did one more scan of the house. Frankie couldn’t get the images of the unconscious women out of her mind. Something in the photographs was nagging her, like there was something she was supposed to remember but was couldn’t.

  Almost as an afterthought, Frankie opened the minifridge at the bar by the pool. She stood and stared at its contents. Three bottles of Blue Moon, two oranges, a chilled bottle of Chardonnay, a bottle of diet Coke and a bottle of Captain Morgan spiced rum. Frankie closed the refrigerator and stood staring at the pool.

  Jerking the refrigerator back open, Frankie said, “Mia, come here.”

  “What’d you find?” Mia asked.

  “Does anything seem off about the contents of this fridge?”

  Mia stared for a moment before saying, “Why is it clear?”

  “Exactly.”

  Baker and Stephens joined the pair on the patio. Baker said, “Want to invite us
to the party?”

  Frankie held up the bottle of Captain Morgan and showed it to Baker, “Anything seem unusual about this bottle?”

  “I thought Captain Morgan was brown,” Baker said.

  “It is. So why is there a clear liquid in this bottle?” Frankie asked, a smile creeping up her face.

  “GHB?” Baker asked.

  “That’s what I’m thinking. It could explain the women in the photos and maybe even the behavior Keeley described observing on the videos. I’ll send it to the lab to be tested.”

  “This was supposed to be a simple invasion of privacy case,” Baker said. “I should have known with you two there would be nothing simple about it.”

  Frankie started laughing, nudging her shoulder against Baker’s, “It’s one of the reasons you love Mia and me so much. We keep things interesting.”

  Baker couldn’t help but laugh. Frankie was right, there was rarely a boring shift when those two were working.

  They finished their walk-thru of Kristoff’s house and headed back to headquarters. Frankie sat at her desk, staring at the computer monitor. The sun was rising and her energy was waning.

  “Sarge, do you mind if we go catch a few z’s before finishing up this file for the prosecutor? I’m falling asleep at my computer,” Frankie said.

  Mia rubbed her eyes and said, “I agree Sarge.” Looking at her watch, she added, “It’s almost 7. I can be back by noon. What do you say?”

  Baker stood, stretched his back and said, “Yeah. Let’s take a break and come back at noon so we can get this son of a bitch charged.”

  Chapter 48

  Frankie got home in time to talk to Tyler on the phone before he left for Sunday school. Ten minutes later, Frankie was sound asleep with her cat curled up on the pillow next to her.

  The sound of the alarm on her phone jolted Frankie from a sound sleep. Rolling over, she cursed at the phone as she silenced the alarm.

  Frankie stretched and groaned, then got off the bed and went to the kitchen for a banana and a bottle of water before hitting the shower. Before she could start the water, her phone began to buzz.