Missing and Endangered

by J. A. Jance

  “Where’s that?”

  “A few miles east of here,” Joanna answered. “The guy’s name is Rusty Miller. He lives on a ranch and apparently has a soft spot in his heart for bluetick hounds. I don’t know him personally, but I know of him. As far as I can tell, he’s a good guy, but here’s the thing. If I showed up and told him how all of this came about, there’s a possibility he might be willing to give Coon back.”

  “What good would that do?” Lyn asked. “He can’t go back home to Sierra Vista, not with Madison in charge. She obviously hates him.”

  “That’s all true,” Joanna agreed, “but I wondered if you and Izzy would be willing to take Coon? That way he wouldn’t be lost to Peter and Kendall completely. They might even be able to visit with him on occasion.”

  A long pause followed. Finally, without replying, Lyn Hogan got to his feet. “Hold on a minute,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Joanna hoped he’d go up to the room and maybe check with his wife. Instead he walked over to the front desk and exchanged a few quiet words with the desk clerk.

  “Okay,” Lyn said when he returned. “The fellow over there tells me this here hotel is what they call pet-friendly. Do you want me to ride out to Double Adobe with you?”

  Joanna shook her head. “That might make for too much pressure. After all, since Rusty was kind enough to take the dog in the first place, it’s not fair to force his hand on giving him up. Let me go there first and test the water. If he’s willing, we can make an appointment to effect the transfer.”

  Lyndell Hogan nodded. “Sounds like this Rusty fellow is a good enough sort. It wouldn’t be fair to paint the poor guy into a corner. If he wants to keep Coon, he should.”

  Chapter 31

  It took the better part of an hour for Jenny to cajole Beth into eating something and getting dressed, but when it came time to leave the room and head for the interview, Beth shut down.

  “I can’t go out in public,” she said tearfully. “I can’t face the people out there. I just can’t.”

  “But you have to,” Jenny insisted. “You can’t stay in our room forever. I know it seems like everyone you meet will know what happened, but most of them won’t. And if the few who do know about it try to hassle you, that will say more about them than it does about you. You were used, Beth, used and taken advantage of. You’re the victim here, and doing this FBI interview is the only way to fight back.”

  “All right,” Beth agreed at last, “but I’m not going unless you come with me.”

  Twenty minutes later they were in Jenny’s dual-cab Ford F-150 and headed for the campus police department on Pine Knoll Drive. Once there, they met up with FBI Special Agents Adele Norris and Pete Flores. When Beth made it clear that she wanted Jenny’s company in the interview room, Agent Flores shook his head, saying that wouldn’t be possible.

  “Then I’m not going in either,” Beth told him, stopping just short of the door. “If it weren’t for Jenny, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. If she can’t sit in on the interview, I won’t do it.”

  Jenny was both surprised and gratified to see Beth sticking up for herself.

  “It’ll be all right, Pete,” Agent Norris said. “What we’re really looking for here is a comprehensive history, and maybe Jennifer will be able to add a bit of context from time to time.”

  Flores conceded grudgingly, and Jenny was allowed to enter. Once they were all seated, Jenny was relieved when Agent Norris seemed to take charge of the interview.

  “Here’s what we have so far,” she told them. “As I told you last night, we’re quite sure that the man you know as Ronald Cameron doesn’t exist in the real world. So far the FBI has been able to find a number of Ronald Camerons, but none of those appear to be the one you have in mind. For the purposes of this interview, however, that’s how we’ll refer to him, as Mr. Cameron. Is that all right with you?”

  “I guess,” Beth said.

  “So tell us again exactly how you and Mr. Cameron became acquainted.”

  “It was right after school started,” Beth answered. “We met on a dating site. I posted a profile, and he responded.”

  “Which dating site?”

  Beth told them. “It’s one of the better sites,” she said. “At least that’s what I was told—that everyone who was on it was properly screened.”

  “Of course they were,” Agent Norris said, but it was clear she didn’t believe a word of it. “So how did you post the profile?” she continued. “Did you use your phone?”

  Beth nodded.

  “We’ve been examining that. So far we’re unable to find any record of those early interactions,” Agent Norris said.

  “They’re gone?” Beth asked.

  Agent Norris nodded. “So what can you tell us about them?”

  “We mostly just texted back and forth—getting-to-know-you kind of stuff,” Beth replied. “Nothing important.”

  “Wait,” Jenny said. “Don’t you remember? To begin with you were using my phone because you didn’t have one yet.”

  “Are any of those communications still there?” Agent Norris asked.

  “Maybe,” Jenny said. “Let me check.”

  There are plenty of people in the world who routinely delete their text conversations, but Jenny wasn’t one of them. So while the questioning continued, she began scrolling back through months’ worth of texting history before eventually finding what she wanted—a series of banal texts, one of which included Ron’s photo from his profile. When Beth had shown the picture to Jenny, she’d been impressed by how good-looking he was and thought Beth lucky to have found him.

  “Here’s a photo of Ron,” Jenny said, holding up her phone so Agent Norris could see the screen. “At least this is the one that was on his profile.”

  Agent Norris took the phone and studied it for a moment. “Do you mind if we borrow this?”

  “Not at all,” Jenny said.

  Agent Norris handed the phone to her partner, who immediately left the room.

  Now that Jenny was focused less on searching her phone and more on the interview itself, she found herself admiring the way Agent Norris went about it. Her questions were methodical, but not abrasive or threatening. One step at a time, she demonstrated how, by pretending to be interested in everything about Beth, Ron Cameron had gradually sussed out all the mundane details of her life, including several items that had provided him with the correct answers to various security questions on Beth’s various media platforms.

  “No doubt that’s how Mr. Cameron managed to install the key-logging software on both your phone and your computer.”

  “A keylogger?” Beth asked. “What’s that?”

  Agent Norris explained. “It was a way for him to have access to everything you did on your computer—every word you typed, every Web site you visited, every text or e-mail you sent.”

  “You mean he’s been spying on me?”

  Agent Norris nodded. “And not just with the keylogger either,” she added. “He had set the camera app on your computer so that if you happened to leave the lid open while it was on your desk, he could observe everything that happened in the room, even when the computer wasn’t actively in use.”

  “So he was spying on both of us—on me and on Jenny?” Beth demanded.

  “That would appear to be true.”

  That revelation left Jenny feeling shocked and violated. How many times had she undressed in front of that computer without having any idea that someone else—a stranger, really—was watching her and maybe recording her as well? Jenny wished she could simply sink into the floor. But when she looked in Beth’s direction, she realized that something totally unexpected had happened.

  All through the interview, as Agent Norris had laid bare Ron’s whole grooming process, Beth’s answers had been tentative and sometimes almost inaudible. As they came closer to the time of the photo shoot and the breakup that followed, Jenny feared that Beth would break down completely and bolt from
the room.

  But for Beth the revelation about Ron’s Web-based spying was evidently the last straw. From that point on, she was finally angry enough to be willing to fight back. Her answers went from tentative to firm. When it came time to discuss the photos and the breakup, Beth related what had happened without a hint of hesitation.

  “So on the night of the photos, everything was going well?” Agent Norris asked.

  Beth nodded.

  “But the very next day it all went bad. How did that happen?”

  Instead of answering Agent Norris directly, Beth turned to look at Jenny. “It happened that night, as soon as you knocked on the door,” she said. “I told Ron that I had to go because you needed to use the bathroom. When I hung up, I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I still thought Ron and I were okay, but it turned out we weren’t. The next time I talked to him, he was raving mad. He told me I had to stop being roommates with you and that I shouldn’t go to Bisbee to spend Christmas with your family either.”

  “Then what happened?” Agent Norris asked.

  “I got mad, too, and we ended up having a big fight,” Beth said, “the first one ever. I told him that Jenny was my friend and I was keeping it that way. I told him he didn’t get to boss me around like that.”

  “You see,” Agent Norris explained, “that was the first chink in Ron’s armor. For people like that, it’s essential to maintain absolute control in any given relationship. Their whole game plan is to isolate their victims from friends and relations so they can dominate their lives completely. When you refused to abandon your friendship, Ron most likely felt disrespected because you’d chosen Jenny over him. As far as he was concerned, that was unforgivable, and from that moment on there was no going back.”

  “And that’s why he sent out the pictures—to humiliate me because I stood up to him?”

  Agent Norris nodded. “It’s more than that, Beth. He doesn’t just want to humiliate you. He wants to destroy you.”

  “But why?” Beth asked.

  “Because you stopped playing by his rules,” Agent Norris explained. “Once that happens, it turns into all-out warfare. That’s why he distributed your contact information and why there are those hundreds of messages stacked up on your electronic devices—but take heart, Beth. There’s a good chance one or more of those senders has left behind enough cyber bread crumbs to lead us back to Mr. Cameron and to his other victims as well.”

  “You think there are others?”

  Agent Norris nodded. “I’m sure of it,” she said. “In fact, you can take that to the bank. And once we finally do find him, I’m hoping you and some of the others will be willing to come forward and testify against him.”

  “In court?” Beth asked. “In public?”

  Agent Norris nodded.

  “Will the photos be there?” Beth asked. “Will they have to be entered into evidence?”

  “It’s more than likely they’ll be an integral part of the prosecution’s case.”

  There was a pause. “All right, then,” Beth said finally. “If that’s what it takes to destroy him, that’s what I’ll do. But you said earlier that this would turn into all-out warfare. What does that mean, and what am I supposed to do?”

  “For one thing you go on with your life to the best of your ability,” Agent Norris said. “If he reaches out to you in any way, don’t respond. For the moment I’d advise you to avoid using electronic devices of any kind. That means no cell phone, no texting, no e-mails to anyone. You need to avoid posting anything online that might reveal where you are and what you’re doing.”

  “Why?”

  Agent Norris sighed. “Here’s how this type of interaction usually proceeds. To begin with, there’s the isolating relationship that devolves into sexting. When the inevitable breakup occurs, revenge porn rears its ugly head. We’ve already checked all those boxes. Unfortunately, things often don’t stop there. If Ron is somehow able to gain access to your new account addresses or phone numbers, you’re likely to be buried in masses of spam texts and calls. And after that . . .” Agent Norris paused.

  “What?”

  “Unfortunately,” Agent Norris replied, “there are far too many cases where things have escalated into actual physical harm.”

  “You’re thinking he might come after me?”

  “I wish I could tell you that won’t be the case, but I can’t. People like Mr. Cameron have more than a couple of screws loose. Until we have him in custody, your safety is paramount. Don’t wander around on campus alone. That goes for you and for Jenny here as well. If he’s targeting you, he might also be targeting your friend. Follow a buddy system. If you’re out and about, you both need to have someone with you at all times.”

  “But Ron lives on the other side of the country,” Beth objected.

  “That may be what he told you,” Agent Norris corrected, “but that doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Agent Flores stepped into the room. He was carrying a file folder in one hand and Jenny’s phone in the other. He passed the phone to Jenny and the folder to Agent Norris.

  “I ran it through our facial rec,” he said. “This is what came back.”

  Agent Norris opened the folder and sifted through several documents inside before passing one of them along to Beth.

  “Does this look familiar?” Agent Norris asked.

  A surprised Beth glanced up from the photo and stared at Agent Norris. “That’s the same photo that was on his profile,” she said. “Does that mean you’ve found him?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” Agent Norris said. “The photo in your hand is lifted from the obituary of a young man named Michael Darrell Johnson, who died two years ago in a one-car rollover accident on Highway 79 south of Florence, Arizona.”

  Beth seemed mystified. “What does that mean?” she asked.

  “It means that your stalker, aka Ron Cameron, used someone else’s photo to create his dating profile. My guess is he probably has any number of aliases and any number of photos.”

  “So he can do this to other unsuspecting people?”

  “Yes,” Agent Norris agreed.

  “Then we have to stop him, don’t we?”

  “Yes to that, too, but this photo raises another worrisome issue. Michael Johnson’s death was big news in Tucson because it happened along almost the same stretch of highway where a movie star named Tom Mix died decades ago. So the story attracted a lot of attention here in Arizona, but I doubt it was big news anywhere else.”

  “Are you saying my stalker may have an Arizona connection—that he might even live here?”

  “He might,” Agent Norris said. “Remember what I said earlier about watching your back because the situation might escalate?”

  Beth nodded.

  “That goes double now,” Agent Norris said, “and again, that means for both of you.”

  The interview ended a short time later, and Beth and Jenny headed back to the dorm. “Are you scared?” Jenny asked as she pulled into traffic.

  “I’m too mad to be scared,” Beth answered. “Mad at him for doing it and mad at myself for being so stupid.”

  In a way Jenny didn’t quite understand, the interview that she’d expected to undermine and diminish Beth had instead invigorated her. Somehow Agent Norris’s gentle questioning had put at least a few of Beth’s broken pieces back together.

  “What do you want to do this afternoon?” Jenny asked.

  “I want to walk over to the food court and have lunch,” Beth replied. determinedly, “and I’m not going to wear a bag over my head either.”

  Chapter 32

  Kendall was asleep when the doorbell rang the next morning. She waited to hear if Mommy would go to the door. When she didn’t, Kendall was torn. If the person at the door was a stranger, she wasn’t supposed to open it, but what if it was Grandma Puckett? That was what she wanted more than anything—for Grandma to come back. Finally, unable to resist, Kendall slipped off
the bed and went to answer.

  When she opened the front door, no one was there. She was about to close it in disappointment when she saw a glass dish of some kind sitting on the front porch. Aluminum foil covered the top, and a small envelope was taped to the foil. Kendall tore open the envelope and found a note inside.

  The class misses you. Hope you will be back soon.

  Mrs. Baird.

  The note made Kendall’s eyes mist over with tears. When she lifted one corner of the aluminum foil, she found a miracle hiding inside. The whole thing was full to the brim with macaroni and cheese topped by a thick layer of crunchy bread crumbs and bacon bits. It smelled delicious, and when she picked the dish up, it was still warm.

  Kendall turned to find Peter standing in the open doorway behind her, sleepily rubbing his eyes. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Breakfast,” she told him, “macaroni and cheese.”

  It was a feast. They both ate two whole helpings. When they were done, Kendall put what was left in the fridge and loaded the dishes in the dishwasher. Mommy didn’t like to get up and find a mess in the kitchen. They watched cartoons for a while and colored, too, but the day seemed to drag.

  “Why can’t we go to school?” Peter asked.

  “Because of Daddy,” Kendall told him.

  “Will we ever be able to go to school?”

  “I hope so.”

  “When?”

  “I don’t know. Grandma Puckett told us that the funeral is on Friday, so maybe next week.”

  “I’m bored,” Peter said.

  “So am I.”

  At lunchtime they had another serving of macaroni and cheese. They were just finishing up when the front door opened and Mommy walked in. All morning long Kendall had assumed that their mom was just sleeping late in her room, but clearly she hadn’t been home at all. Now she was, but she was also drunk and angry. Kendall recognized the symptoms.

  Mommy staggered up to the table and pointed down at the partly empty glass dish. “What’s that?” she wanted to know.

  “Macaroni and cheese,” Peter answered, although it was pretty obvious what it was.