“We?”
“Sorry, my fiancé, Jack. Diana helped us carry my presents out to the car. We actually invited her to come back to our place for a nightcap.”
“But she didn’t?”
“She said something about having an early doctor’s appointment the next morning. Her eye allergies had been driving her crazy and she was going to see the doctor to get a prescription for something better than the over-the-counter drops she’d been using.”
“So the drops she used were not prescription?”
“No, she was trying to get by with the over-the-counter stuff. She said they helped for a while but she thought she was using them too often so that’s why she called for an appointment.”
“And can you tell me who was at the party?”
Phyllis grinned. “Just everyone I know. Diana and my fiancé invited half the world and everyone showed up.”
“Were there teachers from here?” Kate’s eyes scanned the room again.
“Sure. I don’t know exactly how she pulled it off but the entire faculty was there. Even Mr. Phelps came with his wife and they never participate in social events like that.”
“So it’s unusual for the Principal to attend faculty events?”
“No, I guess I mean if it’s specifically a school function he’d show. But this was my birthday party with friends from everywhere and for something like that he’d never attend let alone come with his wife.”
“I see.” Kate made a note in her book. “Phyllis, was Diana having problems with anyone? If I remember correctly the first day I came here she and Betsy Johnson were at odds.”
Phyllis shook her head slowly. “No, that was settled when Field Day was reinstated and Betsy resigned as the chairperson.”
“And Betsy wasn’t upset about this?”
“No, pretty much the opposite. She never wanted to be in charge of Field Day to begin with. In fact she was pretty ticked at Mr. Phelps for assigning it to her. Everyone knows Betsy hates being outside in the heat. But sometimes Mr. Phelps does that.”
“Does what exactly?”
“Look, this makes me uncomfortable to talk about my boss, okay?”
“Phyllis, what you say to me goes no further. I’m just trying to understand the dynamics of the faculty.”
“Well, I guess I just don’t understand what this has to do with Diana’s accident.”
“Humor me.”
Phyllis looked down at her folded hands then back up at Kate. “Let’s just say Mr. Phelps is sometimes childish. If he knows you don’t want to do something, more than likely he’ll assign you to that project. And I know, some bosses do that to help you learn and grow, blah, blah, blah. But in this case it’s his way of reminding you he’s the boss. He’s not a very good principal and he’s terrible at discipline. And okay, I’ll say it, he’s not well liked by the faculty.”
“Okay,” Kate took more notes with the shorthand she’d developed over the years. “Did Diana have any problems with Mr. Phelps recently?”
“You could say that,” Phyllis said thoughtfully. “When he canceled her Field Day, Diana retaliated by calling a number of the parents. Now, you understand they would have found out about the cancelled activity when the newsletter came out, but by then it would have been too late to reinstate it. So Diana just gave them a little jump on the information.”
“And that caused a problem?”
“And then some. Diana was a well-liked and well-respected teacher on this staff and in this community. She did a lot of volunteer work on the weekends and she coached the girls’ soccer team after school. So when Mr. Phelps cancelled her opening event, she contacted parents to let them know. They in turn phoned their concern or came in to voice their complaint. I think Mr. Phelps was stunned by how much support Diana got.”
“And it made him angry?”
“Actually,” Phyllis said quietly, “I think it made him jealous. Like I said, I find him to be childish in many ways.”
“Would you also say he could be vindictive?”
Phyllis blinked in surprise. “I don’t know. But I guess if you actually thought about it, assigning people to the committees you know they are going to hate – that’s sort of vindictive. But it’s probably more just being really petty.”
“Can you think of anyone else who might have had a problem with Diana?”
Phyllis was silent for a moment. “No, I really can’t. Like I said before detective, Diana was well liked around here. And she was a great friend.”
Kate watched Phyllis’s eyes begin to fill. “I’m sorry, I know you were very close.”
“She was the best,” Phyllis sniffed and reached for a tissue. “It was hard to talk to the kids yesterday and explain what had happened. I don’t want them to think I’ve been crying when they come in this morning.”
“I can understand that. Look, I need you to make me a list of all the people who were at the party Friday night. Can you do that?”
Phyllis blew her nose and nodded. “Sure. Do you want me to do that now? I’d probably need to check with Jack to be sure I got everybody. I could contact him during my lunch hour then fax you the list.”
Kate pulled out one of her cards and handed it to Phyllis. “That would be great.” Standing she glanced at the clock. “I know the students are coming in soon. Do you have any idea of how I can talk with some of the other teachers without causing any major disturbance?”
Phyllis thought for a moment then reached over to a stack of papers on her desk. “This is the schedule for our special classes,” she said handing the page to Kate. “If a teacher is listed for art or music or physical education then she’s free during that period. The times are on the top.”
Kate studied the page. “This is a big help. I’m going to.. . .” she paused in the doorway as the school’s public address system clicked on.
“Will Detective Snow please report to the office? I repeat, will Detective Snow please report to the office.”
Kate looked at Phyllis. “That was the secretary, right? And you told her I was going to your room.”
Phyllis rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid that that was her way of letting the entire faculty know you were in the building. I told you she always finds a way to spread the news.”
Kate just shook her head. “No problem. They were going to know I was here sooner or later. Now it’s just sooner.” She tapped the card that Phyllis still held. “If you think of anything else give me a call, okay?”
“Ah, Detective, can I ask if there’s any word about Christian? I just can’t get that little guy out of my head.”
“I’m afraid not. I can tell you that the FBI is now assisting with the search. But for now, all I can say is we’re following up on all leads.” She didn’t bother to add there had been hundreds of 'Christian sightings' from New York to California and each call was being painstakingly pursued.
Kate made her way down the long hallway and back to the office where Mr. Phelps paced anxiously.
“Detective Snow,” he said the moment she stepped in. “I realize that you are probably not aware of our procedures here, but it’s necessary for a visitor to sign in and receive a visitor badge.”
Kate gave the sign-in book on the counter a little nudge. “But I did sign in,” she smiled, tapping her name with a finger. “Unfortunately you weren’t here or I would have spoken to you directly. And since you’re available now, why don’t we go to your office?”
Mr. Phelps took a slight step back before he caught himself. “Well, you didn’t get a visitor badge,” he stammered.
Kate merely touched her detective badge, which was clearly visible at her waist. “I think this will do as badges go. Now would you like to speak with me in your office?” She watched a dull red begin to creep up his neck.
“I’m busy now. You’ll have to make an appointment with my secretary. I have a school to run.” And with that, he turned, and going into his office, closed the door.
Kate looked at the secretar
y. “Well, that went well. Would you like to make an appointment for me with Mr. Phelps?” She watched the woman open an appointment book.
“Was there a time that would be convenient for you, Detective Snow?” she said tapping the blank page with her pencil.
Kate grinned. “Why don’t we say in 30 minutes? That way I can speak with a few more teachers before then.”
“I believe I can squeeze you in.” She wrote Kate’s name in bold letters. “Even with this,” she said handing Kate an official appointment card, “he’ll keep you waiting at least 10 minutes.” Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “He thinks that makes him look important.”
Kate took the card. “And doesn’t it?”
The secretary gave a slight shake of her head. “It just makes him look inconsiderate and rude, which he is.”
“Thanks,” Kate nodded and tipped the card. “I’ll be in the teacher’s room if you need to call me.”
“Detective, is there any news on Christian?”
“Not at the moment,” Kate said. “But we’re still getting tips and we’re following up on all leads.”
The secretary heaved a sigh. “First Christian goes missing then Diana is killed in a senseless accident. I can tell you this isn’t a good beginning to our year.”
“I can agree with you there,” Kate said. “I’ll be across the hall.” And with that, she left to find the teachers’ lounge to wait for her next interview.
* * *
It was nearing lunchtime when Kate finally made her way back to her office. She’d managed to interview almost everyone on the staff and the answers were all the same, Diana Harkins was well liked and well respected. No, she didn’t have any enemies and, yes, she and the principal were having a disagreement. Then, depending on who she was speaking to, the disagreement went from being something minor to a full fledged fight. And everyone had expressed surprise that Principal Phelps had attended the birthday party. Phelps had brushed off that comment with a wave of his hand. Of course he attended all school functions, he stated firmly, and he would never miss a party for one of his faculty. Now, why would you lie about this, she thought. And if you’re going to lie to me about something so small, what else would you lie about?
Kate entered the squad room to find Denzel Washington sitting at her desk and looking through Ricky’s black book.
What the heck? she thought, then walked straight to her desk. “Can I help you?” He rose to an impressive 6’2” and offered his hand. “You must be Detective Snow. I’m Special Agent Tony Lincoln.”
Kate took his hand and tried not to stare. The man was strikingly handsome with brown eyes that sparkled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you, Agent Lincoln. I was told you wouldn’t be here until late afternoon.”
He kept her hand for a moment longer than necessary, then released it with a smile. “No problem. I was able to catch an earlier flight. And from what I can see you’ve been very busy.”
Kate maneuvered around him to sit at her desk and indicated the chair beside it for him. “Which case are you here to work on?” she asked.
“Initially, I was asked to help with your missing child case. But when your second call came in the boss had me switch priorities. The Bureau will still give its complete cooperation for the missing child, but I’m here to concentrate on the sex trafficking problem you’ve uncovered. And call me Tony,” he added. “Want to bring me up to speed with where you’re at?”
Where to start? Kate thought. “Last night a friend and I were inspecting the car wreck from Friday night.”
“A friend?” he questioned.
“Jo Cazimer. She’s a probation officer for the county.”
“I see. And you and Jo just decided to drive by and see the wreck again?”
Kate felt herself begin to bristle. “That accident was one of mine,” she said stiffly. “The little girl that was killed was only 15. I couldn’t stop wondering why she was in that car in the first place and then why she went flying through the windshield. According to all the witnesses, neither car was going that fast but both drifted into the middle of the intersection at the same time.”
“And smack,” he continued, “your head-on crash with two fatalities.”
“Exactly. What I couldn’t get my mind around was why Sherry, that’s the girl’s name, didn’t get caught by the airbag. So Jo and I went to take another look to see what I missed the first time.”
“And instead of a defective airbag, you found this?”
“Actually, Jo gets the credit. She’s the one who pried the airbag compartment open.”
“Where she found there wasn’t an airbag to deploy.”
“That would be correct.”
“And have you had time to check out any of the information in this book?” He said taking the book back off her desk again.
“Not much. But I have been able to match some of the initials with some of our runaways or missing kids. Then, if you look at the dates in the book they’re fairly close to the time that each child went missing.”
“That’s quite a lot of information for not much work.”
“So far it’s just a theory. I haven’t had a chance to actually test it out.”
He handed the book back to her. “Well you and your friend have managed to find a key piece to a puzzle I’ve been working on for the past year. Sex trafficking in Central Florida is becoming an epidemic. Right now it’s the second largest criminal industry in the United States just behind drugs.”
Kate nodded. “Jo looked up some of the statistics last night while I was working on the book.”
“It’s a shame,” he continued, “but most of the predators approach offering just what their prey is looking for, acceptance and love. Physical abduction is still prevalent, but it’s not usually the first choice. I’m going to bet your victim wasn’t the most popular girl in school and didn’t have the best home life.”
“You’d be right about that.” Kate thought of Sherry’s screaming parents and how Julie had said the other girls hadn’t liked her. “I think she was struggling to fit in.”
“Then she was even more at risk. Young girls who aren’t used to compliments are especially vulnerable to that approach. And you said they met on the Internet?”
Kate nodded. “That’s what I’ve been told. My source said that Sherry was secretive about him but finally showed the girls his picture. My source was able to pick him out of a group of photos I showed her.”
“And I’ll bet that when our Ricky, which is what he’s now calling himself, started to court Sherry, he stressed keeping it private, something special just between the two of them.”
“That would make it even more alluring to someone like her,” Kate said sadly. “He’s still in the hospital if you want to interview him.”
“Do you know when he’s going to be released?”
“It won’t matter because as soon as he’s cleared he’s going to jail. Turns out besides being cited for DUI the jerk was already on probation for battery.”
“I’m not surprised. Is there an empty desk I can use? I have my own computer.” He looked around the squad room.
“Sure,” Kate said. “You can use my desk and I’ll move over to Mitch’s. He’s doing nights this week. Can I ask what you’re going to do?”
“I’m going to take this gem you and your friend uncovered and try to match it with information I already have.”
Kate shifted her laptop to Mitch’s desk then turned to see Tony just staring at her. “What?” she asked. “Do you need something?”
He held up the book. “I’m still trying to take in the fact that you just broke the case wide open that I’ve been working on for over 13 months. You’re going to get a commendation for this.”
“You shouldn’t get commendations for lucky finds,” Kate said, turning on her own computer.
“Sometimes that’s all there is,” he replied.
Kate tried not to think about the man sitting across the aisle from her. So w
hat if he was tall, dark, and handsome, she had a job to do. She booted up her laptop and went to work.
It didn’t take long to find that Principal Frank Phelps had a history of domestic violence. “Well, well, Frank,” she muttered. “What have we here?” Kate read further. Two arrests but both out of state. I wonder if that’s how you stayed under the radar here in Florida. Making a decision, she picked up the phone.
“Detective Snow for Principal Phelps,” she said when the secretary answered.
“May I tell him what this in reference to, Detective?” the secretary asked.
“I’m just doing more follow-up from this morning,” she said easily. She wasn’t surprised when he again kept her waiting before coming on the line.
“What do you need, Detective Snow? As I told you this morning, I have a school to run and I’m very busy.”
“I’m sure you are, Mr. Phelps, but I need you and Mrs. Phelps to come to the station for some follow-up questions.”
“My wife,” he choked out. “What does my wife have to do with anything? She doesn’t work here.”
“We can clear this all up when you arrive. I understand school is over at 3:00 so why don’t I expect you by 4:30.”
“That’s not convenient, Detective. As I told you I’m a very busy man and I can’t begin to know what plans my wife might have.”
“Then I suggest you call her now so she can rearrange her schedule if necessary. Do you know where the police station is Mr. Phelps or should I send a squad car?”
“Don’t threaten me, Detective. I know damn well where the station is and you’re not sending some black and white to sit in front of my house so my neighbors can speculate about us.”
“Good, I’m glad to know I won’t have to provide transportation. So we’ll look forward to seeing you and Mrs. Phelps at 4:30, agreed?”
“You’ll see me and my lawyer,” he snapped.
“Oh by all means,” she said easily. “I was just about to remind you that you’re entitled to bring representation if you wish.”
“Are you arresting me? Do I need a damn lawyer? What’s this about? And why do you need my wife? Has she called you? What’s going on?”
“Mr. Phelps, I’m sure we can get everything straightened out when you, Mrs. Phelps and your attorney arrive. So I’ll sign off and see you at 4:30. Have a pleasant afternoon. Goodbye.”
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