“Did you offer?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“Lindsey’s father wouldn’t even look me in the eyes when he said no.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s thinking what everybody around here is thinking.”
“What’s that?”
“That I had something to do with Lindsey’s disappearance. That I did something to her to keep her from testifying against me.”
“You told me you didn’t. Should I still believe you?”
Tom glared at Rainy but softened the angry look that flashed across his face.
“Yes, you should believe me,” he said. “Why do you even ask?”
“Because in my profession, I deal with liars all the time. Do you know anything about antisocial personality disorder?”
“You mean a sociopath? Some, I suppose.”
“These people make a lifestyle out of their criminal behavior. They lie without remorse. But they’re not delusional. They don’t believe their lies. They’re just unbelievably good at lying.”
“The navy trained me in kinesics. I got pretty good at telling when people were lying.”
“Well, I’ve come across sociopaths who are so good at lying, they can fool a lie detector.”
“Not a hard thing to do.”
“These people can fool seasoned FBI investigators, spouses, children, parents… kinesics experts, too.”
“And you think I’m a sociopath and a liar?”
“No,” Rainy said. “I just asked if you were.”
“Well, if I’m that good a liar, why would you ever believe me?”
“Because I want to believe you,” Rainy said.
Tom made sure to look Rainy in the eyes. He knew all the tells of a liar—rapid blinking, excessive face touching, smiling with just the mouth, even a defensive posture.
“I had nothing to do with the disappearance of Lindsey Wells,” Tom repeated. Tom didn’t say anything more. Rainy would know liars often overexplained themselves, offering more details than requested.
“What’s the real reason you asked me to come to Marvin’s funeral, Tom?”
“Let’s go to your car, and I’ll tell you on the way to the cemetery.”
Rainy’s sedan brought up the rear of a forty-vehicle-long procession. Tom sat in the passenger seat. He had not forgotten that his last trip with a law enforcement officer was spent handcuffed in the backseat.
Rainy spoke first. “Are you ready to talk?” she asked.
“I wanted you to see how much Marvin was loved. I wanted you to get a feel for who he was as a person. Because I wanted you to care about his death.”
“Care in what way?”
“You don’t really believe Marvin died the way they said he did, do you?”
“What am I supposed to believe?” Rainy answered. “They caught the guy who did it.”
“But he’s denying having anything to do with it. He says the evidence was planted in his apartment. It’s a frame job. I told you what Marvin found out.”
“About Boyd’s stock-trading scheme?”
“You know this wasn’t a random attack. You know to look for connections.”
“Possible. But how do you prove it?”
“Look, we’ve got to come down hard on Cortland,” Tom said. “If you don’t want vigilante justice, than that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Rainy sighed and gave Tom a disapproving look. “I could talk to some people,” she offered. “There might be something we can do to investigate Cortland. But it’ll take a lot of paperwork, a lot of meetings, and I’m not promising anything. Okay?”
“I reserve my judgment until I see how much you do,” he said.
“Tom, no joke. You can’t go after these guys yourself, just because you think they did this to Marvin.”
“I know they did it to him,” he said. “Just promise me that you’ll do your best.”
“I promise,” Rainy said.
At the cemetery Marvin’s pallbearers stopped seven times while carrying the casket to the grave. Mourners followed behind as a show of respect. A misty rain fell as Marvin’s casket was lowered into the ground. Mourners used the back of a spade to shovel dirt into the hole, a symbolic gesture of their unwillingness to part with the departed.
Tom expressed his condolences to the parents and relatives waiting in two rows to receive them. Tears prickled his eyes again. He promised to pay a condolence call during shivah, the customary seven-day period of deep mourning.
The rain fell harder on their walk out of the cemetery. Tom held a black umbrella high enough to let Rainy stay dry, too. As they passed underneath the cemetery’s iron gates, Tom turned and looked behind him. He could still see mourners clustered around Marvin’s grave.
A sour taste washed the back of his throat. It’s my fault you’re dead, Tom thought to himself. Marvin was trying to help him, and it cost him his life.
Back inside her car, Rainy turned the ignition and put the vehicle into drive. It was a quiet ride back to the funeral home parking lot. Rainy pulled up next to Tom’s car.
“I’m so sorry about Marvin,” Rainy said, with the sedan’s engine still idling.
“Rainy, I’m glad you came. I know you’ll do whatever you can to help. I’m going to get some of my military friends involved, too.”
Tom broke from her gaze. Rainy touched his arm and brought him back to her.
“Tom, do you need me to stay longer?”
The moment she asked, Tom realized that he did. He needed her to stay more than anything. He had wanted Rainy to come to Marvin’s funeral so she could see the man Marvin had been, but just as strongly, Tom had wanted to be near Rainy again.
“You’d do that?”
“I’m not seeing this case the same way I did when I first came to Shilo.”
“What’s changed?”
“Now I’m seeing a father who loves his daughter more than anything in the world. And then I’ve got a laptop computer that was obviously tampered with to make the log file dates sync up. I’ve got a plausible reason for somebody to frame James Mann, evidence your daughter found on Mitchell Boyd’s computer that could link Boyd to PrimaMed, and then, suddenly, Lindsey Wells goes missing? Marvin was right. The evidence against you fell into my lap. It was too neat and pat. And you’re right, too. I know better than to overlook a coincidence.”
“Marvin died because he got too close to the truth.”
“Speaking of truth, if I find out you’re lying to me, I swear to you, Tom Hawkins, I’ll put you down so hard, you’ll never get back up.”
Tom smiled. He found the fierceness in her voice irresistible.
“I’m supposed to bring pizza home for dinner.”
“I love pizza,” Rainy said.
Chapter 70
Tom cleared the dinner dishes from the table and put the pizza boxes in the trash. He returned to the kitchen, carrying with him two glasses of wine, a merlot from a California vineyard that he’d grown fond of. For Jill he brought a Diet Coke.
Tom raised his glass and looked up at the ceiling. “To Marvin,” he said, hoisting his glass skyward. “You fought for me. Now I’m going to fight for you.”
Tom and Rainy each took a sip of wine. Jill drank some Coke, then went back to texting.
“They didn’t find her,” Jill said, looking up from her phone with a longing in her eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Rainy asked.
Jill shrugged. “Maybe you can convince my dad to let me go on the search.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “I think your father is right to keep a close watch over you. Whatever happened to Lindsey could be connected to Mitchell Boyd. Until we know more, it’s better if you stay close by.”
“The whole team is planning two shifts, starting at six in the morning and another at four in the afternoon,” Jill said. “How much safer can I be? I’m like a prisoner. It’s not fair.”
“I agree, it’s not,�
� said Tom. “But it is safest. Once we know what’s going on, we can reassess. For now, it’s the way it’s got to be. What if something really bad happened to Lindsey? What if you’re the next target, Jill? I can’t let anything happen to you. I won’t.”
“If something happened to her, it would be because of me,” Jill said.
And to Marvin because of me, thought Tom.
“She’s going to be found,” Tom said, trying to reassure her.
“I know she is,” Jill said softly. She looked a bit sheepish, uncomfortable even. Tom could tell she wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure how to say it. “Are you guys dating, or something?” she blurted.
Tom hadn’t known what Jill was going to say, but he certainly didn’t expect that. He suppressed most of an embarrassed cough, while Rainy’s cheeks flushed.
“No,” Tom said. “Rainy’s going to help investigate what happened to Marvin.”
Jill turned to Rainy, seeming satisfied with that answer. “What about Mitchell Boyd? The pictures I saw on his computer? Are they connected to Lindsey’s disappearance?”
“We looked at his computers. His phone, too. Everything came back clean.”
“I knew it would,” Jill replied. Her voice was downtrodden and weighty.
“But I’m not done looking,” said Rainy. “I think there is something there. With Tanner Farnsworth. Mitchell Boyd. Something, but I don’t know what. Not yet, at least.”
“I understand,” Jill said. “I’m just glad you believe me.” Jill took another sip of Coke and stood up from the table. “I’ve got a lot of homework to do. I’m going to go to my room. Thanks for dinner, Dad. Good night, Rainy.”
“Good night, Jill.”
Tom watched Jill and Rainy shake hands good-bye. He caught a glimmer of sadness in his daughter’s eyes. He wondered if it was over Lindsey Wells, or something else. Did Rainy’s presence make her miss her mother? he wondered.
Rainy sat down across from Tom. Her face, naturally beautiful, looked angelic in the flickering glow of two low-burning candles. Tom waited for the expected music to blast out of Jill’s room before he spoke. He didn’t want his daughter to overhear the conversation to come.
“Tell me more about what you found at Boyd’s house,” Tom said. “You think he’s the link?”
Rainy kept her gaze fixed on Tom as she took in a deep breath. She could look at me like that for hours, he thought.
“I think we need to figure out who set you up.”
“Well, Mitchell Boyd had these images, too. Isn’t that what Jill found on his computer?”
“Allegedly, yes.”
“So, we go after him.”
“It’s not that easy. He says he had a virus. He rebuilt all his computers from scratch.”
“He’s a liar,” Tom said.
“Tom, why didn’t Roland Boyd go to the police after you broke into his house?”
“Maybe he was worried about the police finding out what was on Mitchell’s computers.”
“Could be,” Rainy said. “Murphy told me they questioned Tanner Farnsworth. According to phone records, Lindsey called him last.”
“And?”
“And he’s got an airtight alibi. Mitchell Boyd does as well.”
“Let me guess,” said Tom. “Both kids were with Roland Boyd.”
“You read the report.”
“In this town, I know where the questions stop. I get framed for something I didn’t do. Jill finds pictures of herself and Lindsey on Mitchell Boyd’s computer. Lindsey goes missing. Mitchell’s computers get a virus. Marvin is murdered. Connect the dots and it draws a picture of Roland and Mitchell Boyd.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“What does proof have to do with justice?” Tom said, too loudly. “Can you prove that I’m innocent?”
“No. I can’t prove it,” Rainy said. “But I can still believe it.”
Tom shook his head in disgust. “So you can’t prove I’m innocent. Only believe it. And you can’t prove the Boyds are guilty.”
“No, but I can work on getting search warrants and wiretaps to find out the truth. The courts and lawyers are the ones to prove it.”
“You’ve got a lot of faith in the system.”
“I have to. Otherwise, I couldn’t do my job.”
“Marvin had faith, too. Look where that got him.”
“You’ve got to be patient. It’s just not going to happen overnight.” Rainy took a sip of wine and glanced down at her watch. “It’s getting late,” she said. “I better go.”
“I’m glad you came.”
“Me too,” Rainy said.
“I’ll walk you out.”
The clouds had cleared, and the night sky was a canvas of stars. Rainy pulled her car keys out of her purse but didn’t immediately open the car door.
“You really are on my side, aren’t you?” he said.
Rainy smiled from the corner of her mouth, in a way that Tom had never seen before. It made her look even more attractive. He didn’t know what made him reach out and take hold of her hand. He was just glad that she let him.
“So what was this really?” Rainy asked, still holding Tom’s hand.
“Dinner,” Tom said.
“But was it… a date?”
“I wouldn’t lie to my daughter.”
Rainy laughed. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“But this could be a date.”
“What? Here? Outside your house, by my car?”
Tom nodded. “Not the best of locations, I agree. Not the best circumstances, by any stretch. But it’s all about intention.” Tom took hold of Rainy’s other hand and tingled as their fingers interlocked.
“Is our date over?” Rainy asked.
Tom nodded again. “Yeah, busy day tomorrow.”
“Well, I had a nice time.”
“Do you kiss on the first date?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t been on a date in so long, it’s hard to remember.”
“So you might be willing to kiss, is that what you’re implying?”
Rainy cocked her head in a coy, playful gesture. “Jury’s out on that one,” she said.
Tom let go of Rainy’s hands. He cupped her cheeks with his hands. Her eyes grew wide and seemed to draw him to her. There was a brief hesitation when their lips first touched. She leaned into him, and they kissed harder. They each pulled away at the same instant. Again, he held Rainy’s hands.
“The jury may be out,” Rainy said, “but the verdict is in.”
She gave Tom a last quick kiss, then climbed into her car. Tom stood at the edge of the driveway and watched her drive away. He waited until her car’s taillights faded from his view.
He had made it halfway back up the driveway when he heard a loud crash. He recognized the sound instantly. It was the noise glass made when it shattered. The next sound he recognized, too, but it was one he’d never heard before.
It was the sound of his daughter screaming.
When Tom got to Jill’s bedroom, his daughter was still screaming. He saw shattered glass and the rock someone had thrown through her bedroom window. He picked up the rock and saw a note attached with rubber bands. The note read:
Your father is a rapist and a kidnapper. He’s probably got Lindsey in your basement. You should kill yourself so you don’t have to live with him. If you don’t, somebody will do it for you.
Chapter 71
When Rainy showed up to work the next morning, she thought everybody was looking at her strangely. Other agents. Receptionists. Security. Could it be because of Tom? She decided it was just her imagination running away with her. If Tomlinson knew what she’d done, he wouldn’t be his usual terse, grouchy self. He’d be downright furious.
“You kissed a guy you were investigating?” he’d probably scream.
But Tomlinson didn’t know. Nobody did. Only Tom and Rainy knew what had happened between them. It might never hap
pen again. It was a downright stupid thing to have done. Inexcusable and indefensible, really. Perhaps, with enough persuasion, what she’d done could be rationalized: the emotions of the funeral, the missing girl, and the failed computer battery proving his innocence to her. But engaging in debatable behavior wasn’t a wise career strategy at the FBI. In a world of black and white, rights and wrongs, the stuff in the middle typically did not sit well with management.
For a brief moment, while they were kissing, Rainy felt happy. She felt truly happy. She’d allowed herself to be lost in that moment. To feel like she was finally thinking of herself.
Rainy had slept only a few restless hours. She kept thinking about him. She had woken up thinking about him. She had showered thinking about him. She had tried not thinking about him, which in itself was thinking about him. Rainy knew only one way she’d be able to kiss Tom Hawkins again. Kiss him and feel truly free to do it again.
She had to get Tom Hawkins out of the middle. She had to convince the D.A. prosecuting his case to drop the charges. And to do that, Rainy needed something more powerful than belief in his innocence.
She needed proof.
The only avenue left for Rainy to explore was those images James Mann had given to her. Mann was right to be perplexed about those disparate hash values. The oddity wasn’t limited to an isolated image or two. Every duplicate image James Mann sourced from what she had officially logged as the Shilo NH Sext Image Collection generated a different hash value. It didn’t make sense.
Why were the pixel colors changed, but the image composition left untouched? she wondered.
Carter wondered if opening an image in a photo-editing software program, such as Photoshop, could have altered the pixels in some way. They tested Carter’s theory, but without success. This was shaping up to be the sort of outlier Marvin Pressman would have jumped all over. It was the sort of curiosity that demanded an explanation.
Rainy and Carter worked late in the Lair trying to solve what was shaping up to be an unsolvable puzzle.
Tomlinson showed up an hour later. “Agent Miles, I need you to do a PowerPoint presentation for me,” he said.
Helpless Page 35