The Genesis Chamber

by Beighton Devlin

  “Sure, we store all the messages on a database in our mainframe here.” Maria noted he looked please with himself. “At the moment we have the capacity to store them for one hundred days, but, as the popularity of the app grows, we won’t be able to store them for that long.” He looked at the two detectives.

  “Can we have a look at some of the old messages?” she asked, turning her attention to Chris.

  “Absolutely, Maria. I told you we are here to help in any way we can.” He paused and took a deep breath. “All you need is a court order, and you can look to your heart’s content.”

  Maria was taken aback; her eyes widened. “I thought you said you were going to help us!”

  “Come on, Maria; you know me. You know I would help, and I’m offering to help, but we all need to be covered here.” He leaned forward and interlaced his fingers while leaning his elbows on his knees. “Just bear in mind that anything you found without a warrant would be inadmissible in court anyway. We have had dealings with law enforcement before,” he added.

  “Okay.” Travis looked back and forth from Chris to Miller. “What if we were to give you some names? Would you be able to look and tell us if it’s worth our while getting a warrant?”

  “That’s still a very gray area.” He thought for a moment and glanced at Miller. “How about this; you give me the information you have on the messages you want to look at. Then, when you get the warrant, call me, and I’ll personally make sure that all the information is waiting for you when you get here.” He sat back in his chair. “Honestly, that is the best I can do, and I think you both know it.”

  “Okay, thanks for your help.” Maria realized her words may have sounded sarcastic. “Sincerely, Chris, thank you.”

  “Yes, thank you, Chris.” Travis stood up and shook his hand before offering it to Miller, who didn’t move.

  The detective bent down to take a look under the peak of the red baseball cap. He hesitated for a moment, then moved a little closer.

  “Hey, have we met before?” he asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Miller dipped his head further and stood up to leave. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, boss.” He scurried out of the office as quickly as possible.

  “Nice meeting you, Martin Miller!” Travis shouted after him, emphasizing the name as if saying it in full to make sure he remembered it later.

  Maria noticed what he had done and glanced at the disappearing programmer, then back to her partner, before turning her attention to Chris and Jen.

  “Thanks again, Chris,” she said as he stood up. “By the way, Jen, great presentation yesterday; well, what I saw of it.”

  “Thanks, Maria.” Jen blushed.

  “Okay, we’ll get out of your hair and leave you to...” She waved her hand at Chris’s desk and computer. “Whatever it is you were doing.”

  “Give Dad a kiss for me,” Jen said with a cheerful smile, as they walked towards the office door.

  Maria stopped in her tracks, causing Travis to nearly bump into her. “How about I just say you said hi?”

  “That will be fine.” She laughed. “See you soon.”

  They continued to leave, but Travis stopped before they reached the door.

  “Oh, just out of curiosity, Chris, how long has Mr. Miller worked for you?” he inquired.

  “About eighteen months, why?” he asked.

  “Just like to know all the facts.” He shrugged. “Thanks again. Nice meeting you both.” He gently nudged Maria to continue and they left the office.

  ***

  “Okay, spill the beans,” Maria demanded, as she put her seatbelt on and fumbled to get the key in the ignition. “What was all that about with Miller?”

  He turned slightly in his seat and leaned against the car door. “Well, I thought Sinclair looked a little familiar, but that Miller guy . . .” He paused. “I definitely recognize him. I’m pretty sure I recognize him from one of the files in the office.”

  She was about to start the car but stopped and stared at him, open-mouthed. “You have got to be fucking shitting me!”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m pretty certain that’s where I’ve seen his face before.”

  “If that’s true, Andy is going to go ballistic.” She started up the car. “His daughter hanging out with a sex offender will not sit well with him at all.” She shifted the car into gear and drove away.

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 25

  It had just turned midday by the time they got to the CACU. As usual, the office was empty, a fact that hadn’t escaped Maria’s attention. She began to think that Travis was the only officer assigned to the department.

  “How come you’re the only person I ever see in this place?” she asked Travis.

  He had already got to the row of filing cabinets and was busy frantically running his fingers along the files in one of the drawers.

  “I told you, we’re only a small unit,” he answered, without taking his attention away from his search. “The other guys spend most of their time in court or taking statements, leaving me here alone to do most of the dog work.”

  Maria made her way over to the wall of shame and casually scanned the pictures. “I still can’t believe all these fuckers are on the loose,” she muttered to herself.

  “Got it!” he shouted, as he pulled a file out of the drawer and waved it in the air. “Miller, Martin.” He flipped the file around and tapped his finger on the name to show her. “I knew I had seen that guy.”

  “Mother fucker.” She glared at the file as she marched over to take a look at it with him. “What is he in the system for?”

  He flipped the file open and went straight to the charge sheet. “It looks like he was just unlucky.”

  “Yeah, the prisons are full of guys like that; you know, the ones who are just unlucky,” she said with heavy sarcasm.

  “Seriously though.” He laughed. “It says here he was caught having sex with an underage girl, but he wasn’t even a full year older than her. He got charged with statutory rape even though the act was consensual.”

  “Unbelievable.” She shook her head and tutted.

  “It’s not that unbelievable. I mean, let’s be honest; quite a few of us could have been charged with the same thing,” he answered,.

  “True, but I meant it’s unbelievable that Pee Wee found someone to have consensual sex with him in the first place.” She smiled.

  “Ouch! That’s a bit harsh!” He grinned back at her.

  “So what happened? How long did he get?” Her curiosity was well and truly pricked.

  “The judge showed leniency after a plea from the girl’s parents. His name was to be kept on record for ten years, then destroyed if he didn’t reoffend,” he explained.

  “Hmm.” She thought for a moment. “I think I should hold off telling Andy for a while. But, I will have a quiet word with Pee Wee and let him know he needs to stay away from Jen.”

  “You really think Andy would beat the shit out of the guy?” he asked.

  “Let’s just say it’s a risk I would rather not take.” She looked at the file and studied the photograph of the youthful-looking Miller. Then she glanced at her watch. “Hey, the courthouse will be closed for lunch by the time we get there. How about you put that away and we get some lunch. We’ll apply for the warrant later.”

  He closed the file and returned it to the cabinet before scurrying along to catch up with her, paying particular attention to her backside again and smiling.

  ***

  They opted for a booth and slid into their seats opposite each other. Maria looked around, deep in thought.

  “What’s wrong?” Travis asked.

  “I was just thinking I seem to spend half of my life in this place,” she said, and continued scanning their surroundings.

  “There are worse places to spend your time,” Coop said, as he approached the table with his customary beaming smile. “Besides, you add a bit of glamour to the place,” he added, a
s he placed two empty mugs on the table and filled them with piping-hot coffee.

  “Hey, old man.” She looked up and returned his smile. “Do you know Detective Travis?” She paused and held her hand out in the direction of her partner. “He’s the one helping me with this case.”

  “Yeah, I saw you at Jen’s presentation yesterday but didn’t get a proper chance to introduce myself.” He put down his coffee pot, wiped his hand on his apron and offered his hand to Travis. “How is the case going?” he asked, as they shook hands.

  “We think we have another connection. It’s to do with an app the perps are using to message the kids and set up meetings.” She paused, not wanting to give away too much information, as she was sure it would only confuse the old Luddite. “So, anyway, after we leave here, we’re heading to the courthouse to get a warrant to go through the files at AppTech.”

  “AppTech?” Coop repeated.

  “Yes,” she confirmed. “The app is one of theirs. We wanted to look on their database to see if we could get a lead from the messages that have been sent—”

  “And Chris is making you get a warrant?” he interrupted, and reached inside the pocket of his apron to get his phone.

  Maria put her hand on his to stop him from retrieving the phone.

  “Chris made a valid point. Without a warrant, any evidence would be inadmissible, you should know that,” she said calmly. “He has promised to be fully cooperative as soon as we have a warrant.” She squeezed Coop’s hand. “He does want to help but, he wants to do it the right way.”

  Coop released his grip on the phone and nodded his head in agreement. “Smart kid, always was.” He stuck his chest out a little, like any proud father would. “So, what’s the plan now?”

  “Well, after two of your world-famous Southwestern omelets, we’re going to apply for a warrant. Then we’re going to head to Seaton’s place and see what we can turn up there.” She removed her hand from Coop’s and gave him a wink. “See, old man, I’ve got this covered.”

  “In that case, two omelets, coming right up.” He picked up his coffee pot and walked off.

  “How come you didn’t tell him about Miller?” Travis asked.

  “Because as nuts as Andy will go when he finds out,” Maria smiled and kept her eye on Coop as he went behind the counter, “it pales in significance to what Coop would do if he knew his only granddaughter was hanging out with a sex offender.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about his temper from a few of the old timers at the PD.” He sipped his coffee. “So, what’s the next stage of the plan?”

  Maria looked at him thoughtfully. She was trying to come up with something that what would get the case moving along. “Until we get that warrant, there isn’t a great deal we can do. And to be honest, I’m not sure that it will turn up anything.” She sighed.

  “Let’s hope Andy has come up with something.” He tried to lift her spirits.

  “He would have called if he had something.” She sighed again. “I’ll call him when we leave here and get a situation report.” She seemed to drift off into thought again. “Why can’t we just catch a break on this bastard?”

  Travis looked at her. “I’ll tell you what; you’re looking a little stressed. Why don’t we apply for the warrant, go and canvas the Seaton neighborhood, then let me take you to dinner, somewhere different.”

  She glared at him.

  “Hey, I’m only saying you look like you could do with some downtime,” he said, in an attempt to calm her down. “A bit of ‘you’ time. Relax, have some nice food, and maybe a glass of wine, or two.”

  She pondered for a moment. “Okay, let’s see how it goes with the warrant first. Then I’ll let you know about taking me out for dinner.”

  “There you go.” He smiled.

  “Just to make things clear,” she pointed at him, “this is not a date. You make any wrong moves and I will shoot you where you stand. Clear?”

  “Absolutely.” He smiled broadly.

  “You know, you’re showing qualities I like in a work partner.” She smiled.

  ***

  Maria let out a slow, relaxing sigh as she took in the intimate surroundings and soft lighting of Dino’s Italian Ristorante. The quiet and low-key atmosphere served to enhance the romantic senses, and indeed, over the years, the place had seen many a nervous prospective groom go down on one knee.

  “I did warn you not to get any ideas; this is not a date.” She pointed her fork at him with a half-smile.

  He had just taken a mouthful of carbonara, which he chewed and swallowed as quickly as possible, no doubt in an attempt to defend himself against her insinuation that he had other things on his mind.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He gulped. “I just love the angel hair pasta here. It’s the best in town.” He reached out and took a swill from his glass of Chianti to wash down his hastily eaten food.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Glad we’re clear.” She, too, grabbed a mouthful of her Chianti. She had hardly put her glass down before he was ready with the bottle to refresh her drink. She was slightly enamored by this show of chivalry, something she had never been treated to before. “So, tomorrow we pick up the warrant, and go over the cell records at AppTech.”

  “You know I’ve had an idea about the phones,” he said, as he placed the bottle back into the ice bucket.

  “Oh yeah?” she smirked. “Please do enlighten me.”

  He swept his tongue across his front teeth. “Well, there is a way of finding out the last locations of the kids’ cell phones by tracing back through the cell towers.”

  “Really?” she asked, as she held her glass midway to her mouth. “How?”

  Travis smugly held his glass and smiled. “It’s not that complicated.” He sipped his wine. “I’ll take you through it in the morning. This is supposed to be chill time.”

  “Okay, but first thing in the morning we’re on this.” She picked up her glass and held it out to make a toast with him. “You know what? We may make a detective out of you yet.”

  He picked up his glass and tilted it towards hers. “Here’s to good friends, good colleagues, and a good first date.” He smirked.

  As the glasses were about to touch she pulled hers away. “This is not a date!” She smiled again and touched glasses.

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 26

  Maria and Travis got to the office early the following day. They got straight to work on his theory. She stood next to him, making notes as he typed away on her computer, looking for the information that would give them the kick-start they needed. They were hard at work when Andy strode purposefully, almost marching, into the office.

  “Where the hell were you?” he demanded.

  Maria looked up from her notepad. “Morning, partner.” She smiled, sensing his bad mood. “Before you start all your hollering, check your cell.” Then she dismissed him and went back to writing on her pad, leaving Andy to fumble in his pocket to find his phone.

  When he retrieved it, he pressed a button to illuminate the screen and focused on the message alerts, then turned his attention back to Maria.

  “My bad,” he said sheepishly. “I must have accidentally put it on silent.”

  Grinning, she looked back at him. “Bet you feel pretty stupid right now, don’t you?” she teased.

  “Bite me.” He broadly smiled, drawing a laugh from his partner. “I tried calling you last night to give you an update.”

  “Oh… I, err…I was busy last night,” she replied, slightly burying her face in the notepad.

  Travis smiled a ‘cat that got the cream’ kind of smile. Andy leaned forward slightly to get a closer look at him and raised an eyebrow. The new detective caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye, stopped smiling, and continued typing on the computer.

  “Okay, so what are you doing now?” he asked, turning back to the female detective.

  “Well, Travis had an idea that seems to be panning out, so far,” s
he said, and bent down to take a closer look at the current information on the screen.

  The senior detective put his hands on his hips as if waiting for an explanation. No one spoke for a moment. “Are you planning on sharing the idea, or should I just wait for the police report?” he asked, sounding a little dejected.

  She put her pen down and held her hands up apologetically. “Sorry, partner. Travis had the idea of trying to locate the last known location of the phones of the missing kids.”

  Andy rubbed his chin, giving her the impression he had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Okay.” She faced him to talk him through it slowly. “Basically, there are cell towers all over the place that ‘ping’ your mobile.” She paused to let him take in the information. “Anyway, the closest tower to you will ping your cell. These pings are all stored on a database so you can basically tell what time a phone went past what tower.” She paused again to make sure he was following her. The confused look on his face made it clear to her she was not explaining it well. “Okay, let me try this.” She pointed at the computer screen. “By looking through this information, we can determine where the kids’ phones were when they were last active.”

  “Wow,” he exclaimed. “That’s a bit Big Brother, isn’t it? So, what’s the outcome?” he asked.

  “We’ve compiled a list of some of the missing kids and tracked their cells through the towers, and found quite a few in the same place,” she said, obviously pleased with the results.

  “Really?” He seemed surprised.

  “Yes. We’re just checking these last few, then going to CACU to go through some more files down there.” She paused. “Hey, I forgot to ask, how did the interview with Percy go?”

  “Not well.” He ran his hand through his hair. “He was very defensive at first.” He walked over to his desk as he spoke. “And he was genuinely upset by the whole thing. He knew he would be the chief suspect and that his past would be brought up.” He sat behind his desk and turned his computer on. “Anyway, I took his statement. Then I checked in with Palmer for a TOD. He gave me a two-hour window. In that time frame, Percy has an iron-tight alibi.”