“About a week ago, I received the results of the current stats on abused women in Milwaukee and the surrounding counties.”
When he said nothing, she continued. “What was alarming, and the reason I’m here today, is to show you this.” She opened a folder and pulled out a sheaf of papers. They were clipped together except for a top page on which several lines were highlighted.
“One of the statistics is way beyond the norm.” She passed him the top sheet. “The highlighted section shows the number of women who have gone missing following the reporting of an instance or more of domestic violence. The percentage is at least seventeen percent above the norm and is based on numbers for the last three years. Statistical variation has been taken into account. You’ll see references on that sheet explaining how the data was handled and the number arrived at. It is definitely too high to be put off as a statistical aberration.”
Conlin looked at the sheet she’d handed him, his brow furrowed.
She said, “I find this very disturbing. That’s why I’m here.”
“Ms. Rayburn—“
“Please. Call me Lisa,” she interrupted.
“Okay. Lisa. Isn’t this something that should be taken up by the women’s centers? Why homicide?”
Lisa had expected his reaction, but that didn’t make his attitude any less irritating.
“Let me guess,” he said with a wry half-smile, “you think there is a serial killer out there murdering abused women.”
“You know, Detective, I’m not sure what is behind this increase, but I find it alarming. I was hoping you’d share my concern.”
Lisa, regretting that she’d volunteered to come here after she’d talked to Amanda about it, began to put her papers back in the folder, preparing to leave.
Conlin handed her the sheet of paper she’d given him. “Give me a minute to explain the realities of this situation.”
Lisa took a deep breath, her ire rising. “The realities?” She fought for patience. “All right, tell me what you think is responsible for this number.”
“The thing is, there could be more than one reason for this statistic to be so high.” He sat back in his chair, offering no additional information.
Lisa, recognizing that she would get nowhere with the boor, stood to leave. “Detective, I’m extremely troubled by these disappearances, and have no intention of letting this go. Since I haven’t succeeded in capturing your interest, you leave me no choice but to meet with the heads of all the women’s centers. I’m sure that once all of them get behind the issue, your department may have a different opinion.”
His eyes narrowed. “Well, Ms Rayburn, let me see if I can put you in touch with someone who can explain our position to you.”
8
Lisa followed Conlin into an elevator, taking a moment to admire his athletic build. She guessed him to be in his mid-forties and thought he was probably attractive to a certain segment of women—a segment that did not include her. He wasn’t really handsome, but detectives always had a certain appeal. Must be the shoulder holsters they wore. Lisa liked men softer, a little less worn than the hardened detective—and younger.
She asked, “Who is this mystery person we’re going to see?”
“No mystery—there is just someone you need to talk to.”
“Someone who will set me straight, you mean.”
“That isn’t what I meant at all. I’m taking you to see James Wilson. He likes to be called a consultant, but he’s actually a full-time employee here. He doesn’t have a formal job title.”
“Then what exactly does he do here?” she asked as they stepped out of the elevator.
“Wilson is the unspoken head of the Computer Crimes department, but officially it’s run by Lt. Marian Bergman. Wilson’s a technical genius, and also our stats person. He coordinates computer crime investigations and oversees computerized forensics.”
“Impressive.”
They entered an office sparsely equipped with basic office furniture. There were no photos, plants, diplomas, awards, or other personal items to give a visitor any hint of the person the office belonged to. A man sat with his back to them, concentrating on a large monitor, quietly typing. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his hair an unusual shade of silvery brown that seen from a distance, made him appear to be in his forties.
He turned to face them. Lisa was surprised to see James Wilson was far from the stereotypical computer nerd and looked to be in his early thirties. Casually well dressed, he could be described as ruggedly handsome.
Conlin made the necessary introductions.
Wilson rose from his chair, extending his hand. She took his hand, warmed by his firm touch. He had the long slender fingers of a piano player.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Rayburn?”
His eyes appeared the same silvery brown as his hair—or were they gray? She doubted that the faint growth of stubble on his face was a fashion statement. He probably had a thick beard and been at the job since early morning. Before she could respond, Conlin suggested they use the conference room.
When they were settled at a long table in the adjoining room, the detective began, “James, Lisa was referred to me by Patty Barkley. She’s writing a book and came across some information that she felt we should look at.”
As soon as he mentioned writing a book, Lisa’s experienced radar detected a barely perceptible shift in Wilson’s features. Clearly, writers were perceived as an irritating distraction by the police department. Lisa repeated her story as she told it earlier, once more abbreviating it as much as possible. Somewhere in the middle of her narrative, Conlin excused himself and left the room, stating that he’d be at his desk if she needed him for anything. He’d pawned her off.
Alone with James Wilson, she made her point, concluding, “Detective Conlin said you could explain why this figure is so high.”
Wilson looked thoughtful. Before he could answer, a woman wearing a stern expression pushed into the conference room.
“James, as soon as you are done here I need to go over something with you,” she announced, with no acknowledgement of Lisa’s presence.
Lisa took an immediate dislike to the woman whose photo was on a badge that read Lt. Marian Bergman. It hung from a cord around her neck and was centered on the front of a double-breasted gray dress with two rows of metallic buttons down the front. She wore her black hair in a braided knot, polished and slick as a cue ball.
Remembering how Conlin had described the unusual pecking order in the department, Lisa was curious how Wilson would respond to the rude attitude of the woman supposedly his superior.
Unflustered, he looked at his watch. “When I finish up here I’m meeting Pettretti from the FBI. I won’t be back until about 3:00, but I can meet with you then if that works.”
Bergman didn’t argue, her body language speaking for her as she turned on a spiky heel and left the room. “I suppose it will have to.” Her mannerisms, clipped speech and rigid posture—like her appearance—contributed to her air of military composure.
Wilson studied the sheet Lisa had handed him as if there’d been no interruption. “I see your figures come from records kept by the Women’s Center. Our statistics on missing persons don’t break people down into defined categories. And abused women going missing? Our detectives would deal with those on a case-by-case basis.
“If you’re only looking at abused women, I don’t see how you could expect to gather accurate data. Many of these women leave of their own volition and come back just as readily.
“Assuming the figure is accurate, there could be multiple causes for the rise in numbers.”
Lisa couldn’t speak for the accuracy of the figures. She’d talked to Amanda but had yet to discuss them in detail with the centers, hoping to have feedback from the police when she did. Certain that with this short discourse, James Wilson thought she’d go back to suburbia and forget all about it, she asked, “Do you mind sharing some of these multiple causes with me?”
He reached over to a table next to the wall and yanked over a wireless keyboard. As his fingers started tapping on it, a large computer screen hummed down from the ceiling at the end of the conference table.
He said, “I’m bringing up a website we were watching about a year ago.“
A colorful website with a black background popped onto the screen. “This is the home page of something called “The Vanishing Wife,” subtitled, “How it Could Be Done.” As he scrolled through the site, Lisa realized she was looking at a how-to for anyone wanting to get rid of a spouse. The pictures were explicit.
“Our Computer Crimes Division tried to locate where the site was coming from and who was behind it. While not exactly illegal, we felt it was worth our time to track down the source, and discovered that it had already been dismantled—still there but no longer functional. After a while it popped up again at a different web address with a new look but in a watered-down format, and again, by the time we located it, it was defunct. On the third go-round, it was written in a way that would almost convince the viewer it was satirical.”
Lisa, sickened, was silent.
He brought up another website, again with a black background, titled “The Men’s Club.”
The paragraph below the title described it as a place for “The gathering of men who find it difficult to control errant and disobedient women.” There were connections on the site selling various tools used for punishment and bondage. Lisa flinched at the long list of handcuffs, whips, poisons, lightweight aluminum clubs and chains. One page gave a blueprint and instructions for installing an escape-proof room.
“We’ve checked into many of these websites. Some of these investigations led to the person or persons who were behind them and some didn’t. Again, even when we had a real person to interview, their sites were cause for suspicion, not arrest. Without a link to a crime, there is little we can do to stop this kind of thing.” The screen went dark and Lisa watched as it disappeared back into its housing.
“My personal opinion? Since no bodies have turned up, the most likely explanation is an underground organization that assists women in changing their identities and leaving the area.”
Lisa rebutted, “But in all my years of working with abused women, I’ve heard no hint of any secret organization of the kind in Milwaukee. I’ve heard about them in general, but it seems to me there would at least be rumors floating around if there was one here.”
“We have a credible source that claims it does exist but no real leads as far as where or how it operates.”
He tossed the keyboard back to the side table and faced her, crossing his arms. Annoying as he was, Lisa couldn’t help admiring him; the man reeked of masculinity. God, she missed Tyler.
Wilson said, “It is very possible that this statistical increase may be innocuous. With the advent of the Internet, it is becoming easier for these women to disappear on their own.”
Before he could dismiss her, Lisa said, “A woman who was a patient of mine went missing recently. So my concern isn’t based on statistics alone. I do not believe this woman left of her own accord or that her husband had anything to do with her disappearance. My concern for her safety, coupled with these statistics, has me very worried about her and other women like her.”
He stood. “While that explains your interest, I have to tell you that I see no reason to believe these disappearances are related. As I said earlier, missing person reports are handled on a case-by-case basis and that is how your client’s disappearance will be investigated.” He took a step toward the door.
Lisa rose from her chair, fighting her annoyance. “Well, I thank you for your time and the information you’ve given me, frightening though it may be. Maybe the women’s centers should be giving these women warning pamphlets. They seem to be an endangered species, for more reasons than one.”
Wilson smiled for the first time since she arrived in his office, a fleeting smile bearing no pleasantries. “We appreciate your coming in with your concerns. If anything more conclusive develops, please contact us.” He handed her a card with his name and phone number. No title.
On the drive home, Lisa stewed about her visit to MPD that had turned out to be a dead end. She had to do something. If someone or some group was preying on abused women, it had to end. As if abused women didn’t have enough problems. They’d be easy prey, vulnerable to assault from another front.
Lisa was all too familiar with it. She’d left her obsessively controlling husband when he’d begun to terrorize her daughter Paige, who at eighteen months wasn’t getting the hang of potty training. She’d put up with his rigid dominance when it was only applied to her, but once he moved on to their daughter, she was through. He hadn’t gotten violent, but she’d been sure it would only have been a matter of time.
9
Lisa’s office in downtown Pewaukee occupied the back half of an old storefront building, and was owned by a real estate attorney whose offices took up the front half of the first floor. The upper floor was rented out for storage.
The view of the marshy, south end of Pewaukee Lake, adorned by ancient oak trees, had sold her on the space. Taking advantage of it, Lisa added a large bay window across the back of her office.
The attorney, Earl Albright, was seldom around unless he had a meeting in his conference room, leaving the office in the hands of his assistant, Shannon Cavanaugh.
Shortly after Lisa’s last client left, Shannon tapped on the door and hurried through, closing the door behind her. In her late twenties, she was a tall, heavy-set woman with gleaming, long, black hair. Her face wore a mischievous look that complemented her engaging grin. “Sorry to barge in, but I saw your client leave a few minutes ago. I thought you were done for the night, but there’s a woman here to see you.”
“I’m not expecting anyone. Did she give you her name?”
“Nope.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’m just surprised to have someone come in so late, unscheduled. If you want I’ll send her in and hang around until you’re finished talking to her. It’ll take me another thirty minutes to finish up anyway, and I thought maybe we could grab some Thai food.”
“All right, send her in.”
A moment later, the woman made an entrance into Lisa’s office. Wearing leather boots with stiletto heels, she was nearly as tall as Shannon. The woman was built like a runway model and wore slim black jeans that fit taut across her hipbones, topped by a leopard print camisole. A short, chestnut-brown leather jacket completed the outfit.
Lisa asked, “Can I help you?”
She stepped closer to the desk. Her gold filigree earrings dangled nearly to her shoulders and shone brightly in the soft light from the green-shaded, antique desk lamp. Her face was graced with high cheekbones, a perfectly shaped nose, wide mouth, and incredible blue eyes, visible in spite of the tinted lenses of her gold-rimmed eyeglasses.
Her voice when she replied was vaguely musical. Maybe a touch of Jamaica? “If we talk, will it be confidential? I mean, you being a psychologist and all.”
It would have been difficult to determine her ethnicity, although her complexion was a shade of soft caramel and her hair a closely cropped Afro, the short curls defined and lustrous.
Perplexed, Lisa responded, “It would be if you were a client.”
She reached into a hidden pocket in the small leather jacket, pulled out the tiniest wallet Lisa had ever seen and offered her a hundred dollar bill.
“How ‘bout I put you on a retainer? This be enough to cover that?”
“That’s not how it usually works. Do you plan on coming in for therapy?”
“Can’t say I don’t need it. May take you up on that sometime, but right now I need to have a talk with you that has to be jus’ between us.”
She accepted the bill. “I’ll take this as a ‘retainer’ with the understanding that you come to see me for therapy at some point in time. And, to make it official, I’ll give you
a receipt, so I’ll need your name.”
The woman reached into her wallet, this time pulling out a business card, which she offered to Lisa. Printed on it was, Teal J. Peacock, Security Consultant, and a phone number. A tiny peacock decorated the lower corner of the card.
Apparently expecting a comment on her name, she quickly offered, “Mostly, I go by TJ.”
“TJ, is there someone in particular you don’t want me to discuss our conversation with?”
She grinned, nodding her head. “You figured that out! Guess that’s why you’re the shrink.”
Lisa fumbled under the desk for the pumps she’d kicked off, then gave up and came out from behind her desk in stocking feet. She led TJ to a matched set of green leather chairs, fronted with matching footstools. The chairs were positioned on either side of a round, beveled-glass topped coffee table in front of the bay window, the seating arrangement softly lit by a Tiffany-style floor lamp in shades of blue and green. TJ took a seat, slipping off her jacket to reveal a pair of well-toned arms, one of which boasted a hammered-gold snake bracelet wound around her bicep.
Lisa began, “Can you tell me who you want this conversation kept from?”
Her gaze met Lisa’s, her chin up, defiant. “Detective Richard Conlin.”
“Conlin? Are you with the police department?”
“Was once, but that’s a long story for another time.”
“Then what is your connection to him and why can‘t he know about your being here?”
“He and I kinda have a relationship.” She paused, and put her feet up on the footstool. “He told me about your visit to the department. That’s why I’m here. And he can’t know about it, cause I been telling him for years somethin’s goin’ on. You got to see firsthand how helpful it was to tell him about it. Better if he doesn‘t know I‘m still lookin’ for answers.”
Lisa’s heart rate picked up. “Wouldn’t my conversation with him have been in confidence?”
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