I wanted to be able to do something, too. “Give me back the recorder. I’ll give it to Charles, and he can upload it. I’ll have him send it to your email account, or your phone, if you can do that.”
“Have him do it right away, and I need him to call me. Are you headed over there now?” He handed it to me, and our flesh brushed at the wrist.
I wanted to grab his wrist and pull him in close. But before I could do anything, he grabbed my waist and pulled me in close. I didn’t even fight him; I was too shocked to respond.
He leaned in close, and I thought he was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes.
“Be very careful with Sebastian,” he whispered in my ear. Then he stepped away from me.
My internal temperature skyrocketed, and not just from Nick’s close proximity. I couldn’t believe I thought he was going to kiss me. I mean, with all he had on his mind, what was wrong with me? Wishful thinking in a big, bad way.
“Thanks for the warning. But I think I know him a bit better than you do.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Nick turned and walked out the door.
When the door closed, I stomped my foot hard on the floor, like a spoiled child. “Idiot,” I said aloud. “Oh, jeez, how could I be so stupid?” I stamped my other foot, went to the cabinet to grab a travel mug, and poured myself another cup of coffee.
I pocketed the recorder and headed for the office.
***
Gemma was nowhere to be found when I arrived at the office, though her car was in the parking lot. I walked past the reception area and went straight to Charles’s office.
He sat ramrod straight, which is his “things aren’t going well” position when he’s working on a problem. I was almost afraid to approach him. I decided that instead of asking how it was going, since I knew it was bad, I’d offer up information.
“I’ve got something for you,” I said, as I stepped behind him.
He didn’t jump, but he definitely stiffened. Without turning around to acknowledge me, he said, “What do you have?”
I leaned around him and set the recorder on the desk. I came around and hopped up on his desk. I was trying to lighten the mood, but the look on his face told me to get off the desk before he pushed me off. I slid off until I was leaning against it.
“Jackie and I pulled Catey out of school and had a talk with her.” I pointed. “That’s a recording of our conversation.”
Charles smiled. “Do you think there’s anything that will help find that little girl?”
“She’s not that little, Charles, she’s in Catey’s grade.”
“Compared to us, she’s a little girl.” He leaned back, relaxing a bit. “Were they friends?”
“According to Catey, Anna’s father was friends with her on their social network. She thinks maybe that’s how he contacted her.”
“So, is Tiffany friends with Catey and Anna?”
“Well, even if they aren’t friends in person, they probably are on the ‘net.”
Charles was right back at the computer, only this time it was his computer he was typing away on. “If I can get Tiffany’s information, maybe we can see what transpired.”
“How do we do that?”
“I’m getting her parents’ address now. We can go have a talk with them. Maybe Nick can meet us there. To make it easier, I need to use her computer to log into the sites.” Charles stood and grabbed a sweater from the back of his chair.
“I’m going with you. I’ll call Nick on the way.” I rushed after Charles.
Gemma was sitting at reception as we left. “You have four or five messages from Sebastian.”
“Do you have his number?”
She handed me a slip of paper. I looked at it. Did I really want to call him? I thought about it on the way to the car. Yes, I did. But the next number I dialed was Nick’s.
“We’re on our way to see Tiffany’s parents. Charles wants you to meet us there.” I waited for a reprimand to stay out of police business.
“It’s going to take me a few minutes before I can leave here. I’ll call ahead and let the officer at the house know who you are, in case I don’t get there for a while.” Nick sounded rushed. “Gotta go.”
“Nick’s going to call ahead, so the officer at the house knows we’re coming. He wants you to start without him.” I disconnected the call, but I didn’t put my phone away. I dialed again.
“Who are you calling now?” Charles asked.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said, into the phone. “Gemma said you called.”
I could hear the smile in Sebastian’s voice. “I just wanted to be sure you got my package, and that everything is cool with us.”
I chuckled. “Everything with us is perfect. And yes, I got the package. Thanks so much for the wonderful chocolates and wine.”
He laughed. “Did you get the note?”
I blushed. “Yes, and thanks. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. We’ve had a crazy day around here.”
“I remember you said things were crazy last night.”
I thought I’d make the next move. “What are you doing tonight?”
There was silence on the other end of the line. “Look, I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you later. Is this your cell phone number?”
Oh my God, I was getting the brush off. This was completely humiliating. I hung up without responding.
Within seconds, I had a text.
CHAPTER 12
“Nick’s on his way right now.”
“How do you know this?” Charles parked in front of Tiffany’s parents’ home.
“Text.” I showed him the phone.
“Should we wait here for him, or go ahead on in?” Charles gathered up his bag of “tricks” from behind his seat.
“I vote go.” The sooner we had the answers, the better.
We got out of the car, but both of us stalled. This had to be so hard for parents: not knowing was harder than knowing, no matter how bad. As we walked up the pathway to the front door, a woman opened the door and came running out. The house was one of those McMansions erected before the real estate bubble burst.
“Are you from the agency?” She sounded desperate and hopeful at once.
“I’m Charles Parks and this is Mimi Capurro, the owner of Gotcha Detective Agency. We’re here to take a look at your daughter’s computer.” Charles offered his hand.
“I’m Julie Anderson.” She shook his hand as we kept walking toward the door. “Thanks for getting here so fast.”
I just smiled and followed behind. This was out of my league, so I was here for backup. My smile turned into a gasp as we entered the double door entryway.
There are foyers that are amazing, and there are foyers that take your breath away. This one had light gray marble tiles with antiques placed expertly to show their age and grace. I noticed the hall tree first. The oak wood was polished to its natural sheen, and next to it was an umbrella stand. I’ve seen homes with antique overkill, but this was tasteful. Julie led us to a room off to the right.
“This is our library.” She opened the door to a room larger than my house. “We don’t allow the kids to have their computers in their rooms. That way they aren’t being secretive about their online activity. I thought we were being smart.”
We walked into a room with three separate seating areas, all with a couch, two club chairs and a desk. Each area had its own flower arrangement, like the kind you see in five star hotels. All three desks had a laptop and tabletop computers. Can we say computer overkill? One wall was floor to ceiling bookshelves, loaded with books.
“Well, hello everyone,” Charles said. He was speaking to the two uniformed officers and three women already in the room.
One of the women stood. “Tim went into the kitchen to see what’s taking Maria so long with the coffee.”
Julie pointed to the women. “These are my sisters: Eva, Baylee, and Morgan.” Each woman lifted a perfectly manicured hand when Julie said her name. They were similar versions of the
same woman. About five feet six, less than a hundred pounds, platinum blonde bobs, and perfectly applied makeup. The only thing differentiating them was a minimal number of years and their impeccable clothing. They all wore pencil skirts, showing off their tanned and toned legs to their best advantage, and a silk blouse, different colors and patterns, of course.
I felt like I was in a version of the Stepford Wives, but it should be called the Stepford Sisters. It felt surreal. I just put my hand up and waved. I was afraid if I engaged in conversation, I’d walk out of the house looking like Barbie with a bob.
“Ladies, lovely to meet you, but this isn’t a social call.” Charles turned to Julie. “Tiffany’s computer?”
Too much estrogen in a room made Charles queasy.
Julie led Charles and me to the desk on the far side of the room. Suddenly, there was a line behind us, following us to the desk.
Charles looked back. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Anderson, but I can’t work with so many people in the room.”
Julie didn’t hesitate. She flicked her hand to the women and the police, “Out. Now. You heard him, he needs space.”
With that, everyone filed neatly from the room. As they left, Nick walked in.
“I see you’ve met the Stepford Sisters,” he said, as he crossed the room.
I swallowed hard, stunned that he used the very words I’d been thinking. “They’re very nice.”
“Yes, they’re well trained,” he said, as he moved past me to Charles, who was already implementing his hacking skills.
I leaned over Charles’s shoulder. “Well, anything?”
Still typing, Charles said, “Nick smells better than you do. Can you switch places?”
Nick didn’t move. I didn’t, either. Charles sighed.
I watched as he worked his magic and blew right through the passwords. He was in Tiffany’s social accounts and checking out the private messages. Smack dab at the top of the page, Dylan had sent her a message.
“Hey cutie, my plans fell through. I’m stuck at home today. Come see me. We can get nasty just like you showed me in your pictures.”
“This isn’t good.” Charles went into Tiffany’s photos.
This girl wasn’t some innocent teen. There were photos of her doing a beer bong, at least I’m assuming it was beer. Scrolling down, she’d send Dylan photos of herself naked. Her hands covered her jungle and her boobs, but not much was left to the imagination. She was a bit pudgy, quite unlike her mother and aunts. I hate to say it, but she wasn’t exactly cute. She’d been giving it everything she had in those photos. She wanted Dylan to want her.
Nick looked away. “Bet she just loved the attention. She’s sending him pictures.”
Charles said, “Well, since they’re friends, I can look at Dylan’s page, too.”
“I thought you already did.” He’d been in Catey’s computer.
“I have, but I didn’t hack into his account.” Charles logged out of Tiffany’s account, then logged into Dylan’s. “Just need to adjust my tool.”
“By all means, don’t let the fact that we’re standing here stop you.” Nick grinned.
Charles pointed to the black stick on the side of the computer. “This tool, you tool.”
We all laughed, and then realized where we were and cut it short.
“I’m in,” Charles said.
“That’s what he said.” Well, they were getting all perverted. I wanted to be one of the boys too.
“Nick? Did you say that to Mimi?”
I could’ve shot Charles that very moment.
Nick lightly punched Charles in the shoulder. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Suddenly, Charles wasn’t joking around anymore. He leaned in closer to the screen. “Do you see that?”
Nick and I leaned in close. I could feel his breath on my neck. My vision blurred for a second, while my body processed this feeling.
“See what?” Nick leaned even closer to the screen.
“Right there.” Charles pointed to a girl next to Dylan in a party picture. “That’s Anna.”
“She knows,” Nick said.
“Catey did say Anna was really weird about her and Dylan.” I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense.
“First, let’s be clear,” Charles said. “We agree that William is Dylan, and that Dylan and Tiffany definitely had connections. So this means Tiffany may have been William’s last victim before he was killed.”
“So where is she?” This thought made me cringe. If William hadn’t been killed, maybe Tiffany would be safe.
Nick’s cell phone rang.
“Let’s get out of here. I’m going to take the laptop with me.” Charles packed up his tools and closed Tiffany’s laptop. He slipped it into his bag along with the rest of his stuff.
Nick had moved across the room to take his call, so I just followed Charles out of the library.
“Hold up,” Nick said to us, and then went back to his call.
I stopped, but Charles kept walking. I heard him approach someone in the foyer.
“You realize you did this to your daughter,” Charles snapped.
I heard a man’s voice. “Excuse me?”
Charles’s voice was low and full of rage. “You thrive on perfection. Tiffany wasn’t perfect. Nothing she did was going to make her cute enough to fit into this family. So she started looking elsewhere for love and attention.”
“What the hell?” It was Julie this time.
“And you, with your plastic face and plastic personality. What do you think you’re teaching your poor daughter? You fed her insecurity and drove her to search for approval from a boy she met online.”
“You have no right to talk to my wife like this,” Tim growled.
“I’m not just talking to your wife. If your daughter is gone, then you did this to her, too. Because I’ve got news for you, the boy she was showing her naked pictures to was a man, and that man is now dead. So the chances of finding your daughter just got slimmer.” He was no longer speaking low; Charles was in full rage.
Nick came running from the library into the foyer. I could tell he wanted to stop Charles from saying more, but he wanted this family to know what they’d done to their daughter.
I thought about Catey. Did Jackie make her feel inferior? I didn’t think that was the case with Catey. They had been sexting each other, but she hadn’t sent any pictures.
Nick waited a few more seconds before he grabbed Charles by the arm. He looked at the Andersons. “I’m sorry about this. We’re leaving.”
Charles yanked his arm free. “I wasn’t finished.”
Now Nick locked onto Charles’s forearm. “Yes. You. Are.” He nearly dragged him from the house.
Once we were outside, Nick let go of Charles. I walked a few steps behind them, knowing what happened when Charles blew a cork.
Behind me, I heard Tim Anderson say, “She was sending naked photos of herself to a man?”
I shook my head and kept walking.
“They needed to know. That Barbie doll, with her skin stretched across her skull, made her daughter feel fat and ugly.” Charles almost whispered.
“How do you know that?” Nick asked.
“I just know.” Charles walked away. He got in his car and left skid marks on the street as he drove away.
Nick looked at me. “Need a ride?”
I stared after the Spyder. “I guess I do.”
CHAPTER 13
The tension from Charles’s tirade was still thick in the air as Nick drove me back to my office. Nick and I didn't talk much. I looked out the window, trying to figure out what in Charles's past made him react this way.
"Do you think Charles had issues with his parents?"
"Oh, Charles has had plenty of issues. His parents were the least of his problems when he was growing up. But I do think he got his fastidiousness from his family."
"I can't say that he’s wrong. His method of delivering the message may have been wrong, but he’s right." Nick
maneuvered his car into a parking lot.
"Sorry about Charles. When he gets up on his soapbox, you never know what's going to happen."
Just as I was about to get out of the car, Nick put his hand on my forearm. "What do you think about Anna being in that picture with the real Dylan?"
"I just don't see how she could possibly be involved. Maybe William saw her with the picture, and decided to borrow the real Dylan's pictures."
"William is friends with Anna on a social networking site all of the kids are on these days."
"Stay here just a minute, I'll be right back." I didn't wait for Nick to respond and got out of the car.
I was back out in the parking lot within minutes, and to my surprise, Nick was still there.
"What would you say about going to have a talk with Anna?"
The look of surprise on Nick's face was priceless. "I take it you have some information you haven't shared with me yet. We’ve been trying to find the girl."
I climbed in this car and buckled my seatbelt. "Jackie was able to get Anna's cell phone number for me."
"What good will that do? You think if we call, she’ll tell us where she is, and then be waiting for us?"
"I wasn't so sure about that, so Jackie had Catey call Anna to see where she's at, and she's at her aunt’s house."
Nick leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Have I told you lately that you rock?"
I handed him a piece of paper with the address.
Luckily, Anna didn't live far from the Gotcha offices, and we were there within minutes.
"Do you want me to stay in the car?" I asked, even though I was unbuckling my seatbelt.
"No, I think you deserve to come with me on this one. But please, let me do the talking, at least at first.”
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I followed quietly behind Nick as we walked to the front door.
The neighborhood and the house were definitely for a lower income bracket than that of the Anderson family. I was pretty sure this house didn't have a foyer or a library. It took everything I had not to peek through the window as we waited for somebody to answer the door.
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