by Jerry Cole
“Did you manage to get hold of Lee?”
“Yes, briefly. Said he was just getting into the car.”
“Well, he just sent me a text.” Andrew found his sneakers and started tugging them on. “He’s found out who the new catfish is.”
Kirsty frowned.
“I was just talking to him. Why didn’t he tell me?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what he sent me.” Andrew went into the living room and retrieved his wallet. He’s suggesting we meet for dinner and then go to confront the guy. Would you mind driving? My car’s back at the apartment.”
“Sure.” Kirsty murmured. “I’m glad the visit to Egypt was a fruitful one.”
“I’m glad, too.” Andrew said grimly.
Joseph Gulliver had taken a chunk of his life away and turned it into hell. Andrew didn’t want to go through it again. Whoever this was would be in serious trouble once Andrew got hold of him.
Providing Lee didn’t hold him back.
Chapter Eight
That had been a bit of a downer. Luke Gibbs was not the new catfish cyber-stalking Andrew. If anything, he was the last person who would do that. He had a new family and while he loved his son, Luke really wanted him to get help and go back to how things were. He wanted his son back. Taking on a fake profile to go after one of his son’s former victims didn’t really make sense.
They were back to square one. Lee was going to have to go through all the witness statements and everyone who knew Joseph from beforehand. From what he had gleaned from the Robert Hodgson profile, it was the old one from before. Someone would have to have access to the passwords to get it reactivated.
It had to be someone who knew Joseph Gulliver. Someone who was on his side. Joseph had to have passed the details on to someone he knew. Why, Lee didn’t really know. Maybe Joseph wanted to create more havoc to stick two fingers up at his father. He would never know, since Joseph was not going to be talking.
His contact in Port Arthur hadn’t gotten back to him yet, so Lee made a stop off at his office. Get through some of his own files and have a word with Kirsty. She needed to get her things straight. Lee and Andrew were about to embark on a relationship and if she had a problem with it, she was going to need to put it aside or find another job. Lee couldn’t have Kirsty behaving strangely around him or causing problems.
A relationship with Andrew. Lee smiled at that. That was something he could certainly get behind.
There was no one at the office. It was nearly six in the evening, so Kirsty might have gone home. But Lee had texted her to wait at the office so they could go over what Lee had discovered and what Kirsty might have found out. Hopefully, she had a bit more luck with the online searching.
She was nowhere around, and the office was locked. It looked like she hadn’t been in all day. Hadn’t Lee contacted her and she said she was at her desk? Yet there was no indication she had been in at all.
What was going on?
Maybe she was on another assignment. They did work separate cases. Or she had gone to visit her mother. Kirsty was close to her and she wasn’t very well, so Kirsty often visited her in the nursing home. Lee didn’t press; it was clearly a painful issue.
He tried her cell phone, but Kirsty didn’t pick up. Then he tried Andrew. Nothing, either. Curious. But Lee wasn’t too worried. His security system was linked up to his phone and it hadn’t been tripped at any point. Chances were Andrew was busy with his work and didn’t want to be disturbed. He was like that.
Lee was settling at his desk when his cell phone rang. He answered it immediately, his heart skipping at the thought of talking to Andrew.
“Hey, you. Was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
A pause. Then a deep chuckle sounded.
“I didn’t realize you missed me that much, Lee. I would’ve got back to you sooner.”
“Oh.” That was embarrassing. Lee was glad they weren’t face-to-face. “Daniel. Sorry, I thought it was someone else.”
“Obviously. You’ve never spoken to me like you want to take me somewhere more private.”
“As if I would take you somewhere more private.”
“Ouch. You know how to knock a guy down, Lee Brown. My poor heart.”
At least his police contact had a sense of humor. Daniel Leathers had known Lee for years, so while he wouldn’t take offence, he would be ribbing Lee for a while. Lee cringed as he sat back.
“You wouldn’t be able to handle me, Daniel.”
“More like you wouldn’t be able to handle me. Just ask my wife.”
“I’d rather not.”
Daniel laughed. There was a creaking at his far end. More than likely Daniel was at his desk with the well-worn leather chair that made noise whenever he moved.
“Anyway, I got your message. What’s up?”
“I need a favor from you.”
“You always need a favor. You do nothing except ask for them.”
“Oh!” Lee pretended to be offended. “You know how to cut me down, Detective Leathers.”
“Well, sometimes you need it. Use and abuse, that’s you, Lee.”
Lee rolled his eyes.
“You’re an asshole, Daniel.”
“Only for you.” Daniel still sounded amused. “What do you need?”
“You remember the Joseph Gulliver case? It would be about five years ago now.”
“I do.” Daniel groaned. “That little shite’s back again? He gave me a headache dealing with him.”
“Well, he’s not back but his profile is. I wanted to get a list of witnesses from you, those who knew Joseph.”
“Don’t you have your own notes?”
Lee glanced over at his filing cabinet.
“It’s quicker to talk to you.”
“Meaning you want to go down the lazy route.” Daniel tittered. “That’s just you, Lee.”
“At least I found out about Joseph’s biological father and you didn’t.”
“Who says we didn’t?” Daniel paused. “Wait, you went to see Luke Gibbs?”
“Just got back from Egypt. It was brief, but it was enlightening.”
“I spoke to Luke five years ago and he was horrified at what his son was up to. Joseph and his mother refused to speak about him.”
“Well, Marie Gulliver has made her peace with Luke.” Lee rubbed at his eyes. He was worn out. “Luke said that he visited Joseph in prison. That he was going to therapy and responding well to it. Until six months ago.”
“What happened six months ago?”
“Luke told Joseph that he had a half-sister.”
Daniel grunted.
“And considering his hatred for his father’s new life, that didn’t go down well, I bet. Where is he now?”
“Dead. Murdered in his cell three months ago.” Lee looked at his cell phone. “Seriously, you didn’t know about it.”
“I wasn’t the main detective on it, so no. Shit.” There was some more creaking. “And you think someone else is doing this catfishing cyber-stalking thing again.”
“Yes, and it’s worse.”
Lee went through what Andrew was experiencing again. He also mentioned the messages he had seen for himself that Andrew hadn’t looked at. They were vile, to say the least.
“Shit.” Daniel hissed through his teeth. “How many victims are going through this? All of them?”
“Right now, it’s just Andrew Chase. I’ve checked all the others, and they haven’t heard anything.” Lee found himself standing and pacing. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“I can imagine. I would be pissed if someone was targeting me for the fun of it.”
This was certainly not fun anymore. Lee went through the mental list of witnesses that he could remember. One name is jump out at him, and for good reason.
“There’s one name that stands out for me.”
“Shoot.”
“I seem to remember one of Joseph’s neighbors. A middle-aged woman with a lot of mental health pro
blems. She seemed to be firmly in Joseph’s corner, that it was a set up and we needed to leave the poor boy alone.”
The woman had charged out onto the lawn as Joseph was being taken out in handcuffs, screaming at the police and almost being arrested herself. She seemed to have more passion in the case than Joseph’s own mother, who was crying and trying to hide from the press.
“I think I know who you’re talking about. She was mentally ill, schizophrenia.”
“Didn’t she get committed shortly after the trial?”
“I think so. And you think this woman might have been the one who took over the profile page.”
“It’s a possibility.”
It was a bit of a stretch, but Lee didn’t have many options. He had ruled out both the parents, and Joseph’s only sibling was a six-month-old baby. Someone close to him had to have reactivated the account.
“I’ll try and find the name.” Daniel sighed. “But I can’t promise anything. It’s going to be archived, since it was five years ago. And even if she is in an institute now, you wouldn’t be able to get in to see her.”
“Not when I have you around.” Lee purred.
Daniel chuckled.
“I knew there was something you liked about me other than my body.”
“Your wife can keep your body. I just want your mind.” Lee rubbed at his eyes and yawned. “What was the name, Daniel?”
“Give me a few minutes to look. I’ll call you back.”
“Sure.”
Lee hung up and wandered over to the window. He had a nice view of the Buffalo Bayou from his window, the river snaking its way through eastern Houston. It was getting dark, the sun setting and leaving an orange glow across the buildings and the park across the bayou. Lee liked watching the sunset. Sometimes, he even got to watch the sun rise. That was a beautiful moment.
But he got a better view from his home. Whenever he couldn’t sleep, Lee went outside with a beer and watched the sun creep its way up the horizon. There was something strangely soothing about watching night turn into day or vice versa.
Maybe that was something he could share with Andrew. Another private part of his life that Lee was willing to extend to someone else. The thought didn’t feel him with panic. In fact, he felt good about it.
He couldn’t wait to get back and see Andrew. Hopefully, he will have some answers as to who was doing this, and Lee would be able to turn it over to the police. Then he and Andrew could breathe a sigh of relief.
Lee tried calling Andrew again. He didn’t pick up. Lee left a text message, grinning as he detailed what he wanted to do to Andrew when he got back. Now that he was more aware of what he really wanted, Lee felt like the floodgates had opened. He felt much more comfortable about himself, more self-assured. Who knew that a revelation like that would change him?
There was no answer from Kirsty, either. And that was concerning. Kirsty always answered her phone. Lee tried not to worry about it. She more than likely didn’t want to upset her mother. The woman was, apparently, a bit of a nutcase.
He was in the process of calling Andrew again when the phone started ringing in his hand. It was Daniel again. Lee put it on loudspeaker.
“What have you got?”
“Well, I can tell you that the lady’s dead and she’s been dead for about six months now.”
“Shit.” Lee kicked at his chair. “That would have been a decent lead.”
“I don’t think she would have been stable enough to handle the internet. According to the reports I was able to get, she was spouting off stuff that sounded so ridiculous not even the doctors knew what was going on.” Daniel sighed. “The poor woman lived in her own little bubble and refused to let anyone in, even her family.”
Great. Just great. Now Lee had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t believe that a complete stranger reactivated an old fake account and targeted Andrew.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t someone attached to Joseph at all. Maybe it was someone who knew Andrew. Someone close to him. That was even more chilling.
“Who committed her and when?”
“You still think she might have done something?”
“It’s worth seeing who else could have had access and was in Joseph’s corner. She’s the best bet for now.”
Lee didn’t want to contemplate that someone Andrew knew well and cared for was cyber-stalking him. Daniel grunted.
“I don’t know if she’s your best bet, but she was committed about a year ago. Her daughter, Kirsty Peacock, signed all the papers.”
Lee froze. Had he heard that correctly?
“Wait, what?”
“What?”
“Did you say Kirsty Peacock?”
“Yes. The woman kept saying that her name was Amanda Stokes. Wouldn’t respond to anything else. But she never bothered to change her name back after her divorce, so all her medical records had her as Amanda Peacock.” Daniel stopped. “Wait a minute, isn’t that your partner’s name?”
It was. And now Lee had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew who the catfish was.
***
Andrew’s head was hurting badly. He opened his eyes but saw only blackness. The floor was moving, and he kept bumping into something that dug into his back.
Andrew tried to sit up, but a sudden jerk threw him around. His head hit something right above him, which had Andrew curling into a ball as pain shot through his skull. Damn, that hurt.
Where the hell was he? Andrew reached out and gingerly felt around him. He tried to stretch his legs, but the box he was in wasn’t big enough.
No, not a box. Not with that growling close by. He was in a car. In the trunk.
Now Andrew could feel himself beginning to panic. The walls were closing in more, and Andrew could feel his throat closing up. He would not panic. He would not. But Andrew couldn’t stop himself.
The last thing he remembered was leaving Lee’s house with Kirsty. Lee’s text said they were going to meet and have dinner before confronting the new catfish. Andrew had been up for a fight. He could only hope whoever was doing this would take a swing at him, and then he would have an excuse for snapping. This should not be happening again, and Andrew was fed up with it. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone?
Oh, God. Kirsty. Where was she? She had left the house with him, and she didn’t sound distressed. Whoever had attacked them must have surprised her. Was she lying on Lee’s drive bleeding out?
Andrew felt in his pockets. His cell phone was gone. Shit. He was on his own.
He could only hope Lee got worried when he didn’t respond and go looking for him. And that Kirsty was okay.
The car jolted a little more before coming to a stop. Andrew lay still, frozen as he heard someone climb out and shut the door. Footsteps came around to the trunk, pausing for a moment. Then the trunk was flung open and Kirsty was standing there.
Andrew was confused. He started to sit up.
“Kirsty, what…?”
He froze when Kirsty pointed a gun in his face.
“Don’t try anything or this will end far too quickly for you.” She reached in and grabbed his arm. “Get out.”
Andrew was too stunned to fight back, and he ended up sprawling on the ground. Kirsty backed out of reach, still pointing the gun at him. She looked completely different now. Dressed all in black, her hair done up in a bun. What the hell was she doing?
Andrew rolled onto his front and pushed himself to his knees. He could see his surroundings, barely. They were in the woods, tall trees around them. The trail they were on was so misused that it was practically non-existent. And Andrew could hear water nearby. They were close to a lake.
What the hell was Kirsty up to?
“Come on, get up.” Kirsty snapped. “I haven’t got all night.”
“What’s going on, Kirsty?”
“Shut up and stand up.”
Andrew pushed himself to his feet. He swayed a little. The knock to his head made things a little blurry. Kirsty had
one heck of a swing on him. He turned to her, only to find the gun inches away from his face.
“Kirsty…”
“Shut up.” The gun almost jabbed him in the face and Andrew had to take a step back. Kirsty was breathing heavily, her jaw tight with the darkest scowl Andrew had seen on her face. “You brought this on yourself, do you know that. If you had backed away like you were supposed to, this wouldn’t be happening. You would be able to carry on with your life.”
What was she talking about? Backed away from what?
Then Andrew realized what she meant. The pieces were fitting together. And Andrew didn’t like the overall picture.
Oh, God.
“It was you. You’re the one who reactivated the fake profile.”
Kirsty took a step back. The gun was still pointed at his face.
“I knew Joseph when we were kids. Before Dad took us away from Mom. She was too unwell to look after herself, never mind us. But I kept in touch with Joseph. He was a sweet kid. When I heard what he had been up to, I couldn’t believe it.” She shook her head. “That wasn’t Joseph. He wouldn’t harm a fly. Someone had to be framing him.”
“And you thought the private investigator who had him arrested framed him.” Andrew felt sick. He swallowed. “Did you become Lee’s partner just to get close to him?”
“I wanted to know why Lee had targeted him. I knew private eyes were a bad lot. They would do anything as long as the price was right.”
“Not Lee. He’s as honest as they come.”
“I know that now.” Kirsty snorted. “So, I did my work. I put in the hours I needed to get my license. Took forever, but I did it. I kept tabs on Lee all that time and when I was ready, I put it together so it looked like his old partner had broken confidentiality agreements, screwed up big-time.”
Andrew stared.
“You set Charles up?”
“Of course I did. Charles was as honest as they came. But I needed to get close to Lee, and Charles was smart. He would have known what I was up to.” Kirsty shook her head. “But damn Lee, I found out he was honest as well. A good man. Bribes were thrown away or reported. That man would take the shirt off his back for someone in need. Soon, I wanted that shirt, but not for that sort of need.”