by Kieran York
Royce carefully logged answers into her small notebook. “His harassment of you, did you officially report it?”
“I told my supervisor, Rhonda. She said she’d mention it to Mrs. Austin. But she warned me that Alec and Mrs. Austin would stick together. Rhonda stayed nearby whenever Alec was on the ward.”
“Could you tell me what he did to make you concerned?”
“He’d act goofy. When he knew he was in my sight, he would lean next to the poles; you know the posts near the nurse’s station. He would hug them, stick his tongue out and…” her voice trembled, and then faded.
“It’s okay; I just need an idea what he did.”
“He would act like he was rubbing up against the pole. Copulating. Then he would point to me, and then himself. Once when I went to get fresh sheets, he followed me into the linen room. He tried to pin me against the wall. He was muscular. But I fought my way out. I threatened to scream. Then I heard voices, and he left. I felt so dirty. I still feel his body gyrating against me.” Disgust and anger spread across her face. “I did nothing to encourage him. Nothing.”
The tears in Amber’s eyes began to overflow. She grabbed a napkin and pressed it to her eyes. Royce walked to Amber. She knelt as she took Amber’s hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through this. It isn’t fair. I hope you’ll get some help. There are support groups.”
“Many people don’t believe it happens. Or they think that the woman is doing something to invite it happen. Like flirting. I wasn’t. And then when you report it, everyone wants to brush it away as if it never happened. When Rhonda told Mrs. Austin, Eileen said that I’d probably got the wrong idea. I was exaggerating. She said there’s a difference between being asked on a date and being raped.” Tears were rolling down her face. “But it feels as if he raped me. Rhonda knew that I’d turned him down. And she knew what happened. She did report it. But I guess I’d have to be raped to have anyone acknowledge it. Or quietly live with it.”
“Unfortunately,” Royce said as she squeezed the young woman’s hand. “Unfortunately, even if a woman is raped, she has to go through the same battery of questions. And put up with the same ugly game.” Royce stood. She knew Amber had been violated in some way. The young woman was trembling. Did she kill Alec? Royce felt strongly that Amber was not the vigilante type. “Alec will never bother you again. But remember, there are more just like him. We recommend screaming, if possible. It often helps. Report it. And in situations like this, all women need to stick together. If you see it happening to someone else, stay near. We’ve all got to help one another.”
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
Royce walked to the door, then turned. “Please go to someone you trust. Talk with them. A very special woman, the veterinarian, Hertha, has encountered an evil man. He had stalked her, and he kidnapped her, or tried to. She told me that she felt a terrible helplessness. And she talked about that pain of feeling dirty. I’m certain she’d be glad to talk with you. She will tell you that it gets better, Amber.”
When Royce left, she felt exhausted. She recalled the day, over fifteen years ago, when she nearly lost Hertha to a crazed serial killer. For several moments, Royce’s heart felt as if it had been smashed. Her chest felt heated. Her breathing intensified. Women should never need to endure these things.
***
Nick had interviewed several of Wilderness Center’s staff members. When Royce stopped by the Crystal Sheriff’s Office that noon, they compared notes. After the sheriff relayed the conversation she’d had with Amber, Nick slapped the desktop. “Damn, Royce, I hate that term harassing. It is sexual assault. Women are intimidated and taken advantage of. I think of harassing someone as being like bothering them. When they put hands on, or do what Alec did, that is sexual assault.”
“Did you get any women to talk about their treatment at the center? The nurses, aides, and helpers,” Royce questioned.
“Nope. They didn’t confide in me. They’d say things like they didn’t care much for him. One woman called him a creep. I can’t help thinking they were being intimidated. Maybe they didn’t trust me. You might give it a try. You’re more sympathetic than I am.”
Royce grinned, “If we’re going to make a personality contest out of it, we should be sending Sam inside.”
Nick bolted forward, “That is not a bad idea!”
“I’m betting he’d get answers. It’s worth a try.”
“Royce, as to how any of the execs treated patients, reports went from okay to sometimes rough. At times Alec was angry at them.” Nick closed his eyes and covered them with his hand. “My dad said that they were fine with him. But as you mentioned, no one was going to mess with the undersheriff’s father.”
“And that may leave others. Alec and Larry were probably the worst of the worst.” Royce shook her head. “I’m sure that there were abuses. But the D.A. is sending an investigator to question some of the patients. Alec and Larry took Seth down. They bloodied him. But many have said that Seth was violent. I know that we have to take violent people down, too. We try not to harm them. It’s a thin line between keeping everyone safe - them and us.”
“I’ve had a bunch of bruises over the years. And you’ve taken a bullet.”
Royce placed her Stetson on her head. “Let’s be careful out there, Nick. And please remind your deputies to keep a good defense - always.”
She and Chance walked slowly to the car. She felt that the events of missing persons, and a murder left so many unanswered questions. They were swirling in her brain. Many more questions than answers.
***
Veterinarian Carrie was examining Melo, the black Cocker spaniel. She looked up and smiled. “Ear infection,” she diagnosed. She said to the owner, “A drop or two, twice a day, and it will be fine in a few weeks.”
“Is Hertha here?” Royce asked.
“She’s in the surgery. Just knock and let her know you’re entering.”
Royce tapped lightly on the door. “Come on in, Royce,” Hertha called to her.
“I hate to bother you, but I spoke with Amber Kerr, one of the nurses at Silver Wilderness.” Her voice stalled. So many times she’d entered the surgery, and was in awe of the concern and love with which Hertha treated animals. “She was sexually harassed by the man that was murdered.”
Hertha put down her scalpel. “Good thing I’m only starting with the operation.” Her brow furrowed. “Why are you telling me this? Do you think she killed him?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think so. I’m telling you because she needs to talk with someone about being harassed. I thought of you.”
“I’ll be glad to talk with her.” Hertha looked away. “Sometimes I forget that day. Those weeks of being stalked. But I never completely forget it. It’s always with me.”
“But you get through it. I just hoped you’d share your courage with Amber. So that she can get through it. Or at least know she isn’t alone.”
“I’ll try, Royce. It’s been so long ago. But however I can comfort her, I want to help.”
“Thanks, Hertha. How are the kids?”
“Fine. They miss you.”
“I miss them. How is Antero’s arm?”
“Healing. Royce, I’m sorry that I blamed you for Antero falling. I’m confused, and frustrated.”
“So am I. But right now I haven’t time to try to wade through problems. This case is constantly on my mind.” Royce’s head lowered. “You know how I am when folks are endangered, and we have a killer on the loose. I apologize, I’ve always behaved like this – completely involved with my work.”
“I hear that your ex is coming to town.”
“Lyn, yes. She is going to lend her expertise to the case we’re working on. She put together a brilliant prosecution of a similar trial. It was an elder abuse case. She’ll probably only be here a couple days. Enough to help D.A. Mike Parker with the complexities.”
“You both enjoyed one another’s company.” Hertha’s eyes began to flood. “I thought she was foolish for leav
ing town.”
“She likes the ‘hot topic’ trials. And she’s great at what she does. I understood from the beginning that it was temporary. Timber County was a stepping stone.”
“She might have made you happy.”
Royce swallowed away her answer. Lyn had made Royce happy. “Maybe I’m meant to be single,” Royce confessed.
“I hope not. Above all, I do want you to be happy.”
“I’ll give Amber your telephone number. And thanks again for helping.”
***
Returning to the Sheriff’s Department, Royce was sullen about the lack of direction that was happening with the Alec Zellner murder case. There had been painstaking forensics done at the crime scene of the death. Nothing in the way of trace DNA. Fingerprints on the bike belonged only to Alec. Footprint showed only to be boots, large, but indeterminant because of the stony earth. Royce felt betrayed by the technology that sometimes helps solve crime. Why not this one?
She never enjoyed the nuances of drama, that one big break that provided evidence. But she admitted, it would be nice to have some proof positive that the crime was solvable.
The perpetrator of the murder assumed that it would be classified an accident. That might have been the redeeming grace. However, the killer sanitized the rope and club, and tidied up the scene. It was a well-executed cleanup. The murderer knew how to think beyond. Into the future.
At least things were going nicely with the case being built about defrauding the elderly. Yet the difficulty was, who might have been implicated. If it were the trinity of Austins and Dr. Verner – were they all culpable? Would they blame Alec for the majority of it? Royce hoped his computer would tell all.
And where the heck was Seth Eagan? Was a snowstorm threatening to freeze his body? Had he fallen, and would he remain undiscovered until Spring? Had he hitchhiked to Denver?
Royce scratched Chance’s neck. She hoped that Deputy Chance was not seeing Royce’s dour grimness. She hoped to portray toughness. The kind of confidence that a sheriff should have. The kind her father had.
Answering the phone call with absolutely no vibrato, Royce smiled. “So how is the finest D.A. in the land?”
Lyn laughed. “I’m probably only second finest. Our team is not finding the password we need for entry into Alec Zellner’s computer.”
“Your tech team has worked magic on every code you’ve ever needed.” Royce was bewildered. “What’s wrong?”
“We underestimated Alec. He was some kind of tech whiz. He’s got this wild setup. We need to be very careful. He has created a self-destructing program alarm. If we screw it up, we’ll lose the computer’s entire contents. Every file in the whole damned thing is going to blow. It will erase it totally. And we’ll end up with nothing.”
“I didn’t need to hear that this afternoon,” Royce grimaced. “Listen, I’ve got a deputy here and he’s a qualified computer genius. Maybe he could take a look at it.”
“Your D.A. worked with both of your techs, and ours. There’s a puzzle of some type embedded.”
“I could ask Sam. Maybe he could go over to the Prosecutor’s office and take a look.”
“Do you want to entrust the case with this deputy? Is he that good?”
“He’s not a guy that would be overconfident.” Royce chuckled. “He’ll ask for directions if he needs them.”
“Bless him,” Lyn laughed. “Get it set up and I’ll have a couple of my Brainiac pals available if Sam needs them.”
Chapter 17
“I’m not sure I can help with this,” Deputy Sam nervously objected.
“Come on, Sammy, you’re our go-to guy,” Nick encouraged Sam. “Just take a look at the computer. Royce will be right there with you.”
Sam nodded affirmatively. “Okay, we can try.”
Royce bolstered Sam. “You’ll be fine. You’ve cracked every tech problem we’ve had. You’re the tech-sleuth!”
Royce accompanied him down the long haul from the Police Department to the District Attorney’s Office. “I don’t want to let you and Nick down.”
“When someone is trying, I’m never let down,” Royce commented. They entered the District Attorney’s office.
Sam was introduced to Mike. The tall, thin deputy’s smile forced its way onto his face. “Howdy,” he said as he shook hand with the D.A. “Wouldn’t it be wiser to send it to the CBI team?” Sam questioned.
Mike answered, “We’ve sent them all the information we have. They’re mystified. They sent out the information, and it seems even FBI doesn’t know how to help. We’ve got a computer, and no way to get into it without destroying it.”
Sam was seated with the computer in front of him. He lifted the lid and perused the keyboard. With some effort, he got the computer on. Then he scratched his head. “This does have a trap set. We first need to get to the trigger. I’m thinking maybe it sets up with an exterior tripping devise. Like on a CD, or maybe a flash drive. That could activate the drive, but I’m betting that we would still need the password. If we didn’t get that right, it would erase.”
Mike commented, “There wasn’t any compact disk in Alec’s office. There weren’t any thumb drives. Nothing.”
“Just a moment,” Royce called Nick’s cell phone. “Nick, when you searched Alec’s apartment, did you find any flash drives or CDs?”
“No equipment like that at all,” Nick reported. “Nothing on his body either. Fancy clothes, a huge TV. It was a playboy penthouse. We checked closets…”
“I just had an idea. I’ll call you later, Nick.”
She phoned her office. “Wanda, have one of the deputies bring over the flash drive that is in my center drawer.” She hung up and then explained. “I found a flash drive in Seth’s home. I’m thinking that he may have stolen it from Alec’s office. No one would deny Seth knows how to pilfer with the best of them.”
The D.A. asked, “How did you get into his home without a warrant?”
“Mike, I went in with the permission of the custodian of the home. He helped clear the belongings out. The things left behind were given to him. He gave me permission to take the flash drive.” Royce’s lips wobbled their way into a smile. “He had the key to the home.”
Mike chuckled, “Damn, you’re good, Sheriff.”
“It’s probably nothing. It had that list of Seth’s financial victims. People from the area that Seth defrauded. I’m understanding why he had the list. But why was it hidden on a flash drive? They said Seth didn’t even own a computer. And what would it have to do with Alec?”
When the flash drive arrived, Royce handed it to Sam. The deputy swallowed. “You want me to try?”
Mike shrugged. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”
Sam slowly slipped the flash drive’s post into the computer. The page opened. There were two files. One was the list of Seth’s defrauded victims. The second was an asterisk with a padlock. Sam cautiously pressed the asterisk file. The file opened to a page requiring a password.
“This is far as we dare go without a password.” Sam looked disappointed. “I’m sorry. I’m pretty sure this guy took all these precautions. He isn’t going to use his name, or his hometown, or his hobby. It would need to a word meaningful to him that nobody would figure out.”
Mike offered, “By all accounts he was a complete narcissist, so he may have used his name.”
Royce leaned forward. “He called himself Valiant Dude. He told me that when I met him on the trail riding his bike. I admonished him to be careful, and he replied that he was Valiant Dude.”
They looked around the room, from one to the other. “Shall I try?” Sam’s voice sounded dry.
Mike looked at Royce. “Sheriff, I say yes. What say you?”
“Yes,” Royce replied with a slow, reticent motion. “Would it be one word or two?”
Mike and Sam both answered, “One word. That would make a better password.”
Sam slowly, cautiously entered each letter. With each key strike, he felt safer.
It might very well be the password. “Valiant is ‘i-a-n-t’ isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes,” Royce answered. She was glad that Miss Daisy’s insistence on her pupil’s spelling properly. That made a big impact on the young Royce. “I-a-n-t.”
Sam continued. There was a moment pause before the computer lit up, showing all of the files. “Looks like he’s got all of the reports and files for Silver Wilderness Center.”
The D.A. shook his head. “This is exactly what we need. We’re going to find that it was well-protected for a reason.”
Royce recalled, “Eileen mentioned that Seth often wandered around the Center. Often, he just appeared out of the blue. And that she and Alec didn’t like it. I’m guessing Seth lifted the flash drive from Alec’s office.”
“Why would Seth want a flash drive with his victims, and Alec’s code?” Mike questioned. His eyes hadn’t stopped blinking rapidly since Sam began.
Sam asked, “Maybe he just took it without knowing what it was. Or maybe he had seen the list when it was on Alec’s computer screen. Seth didn’t want that list to come out.”
Mike continued. “Seth might not have wanted local victims seeing it.”
Royce sighed. “The victims were public knowledge. The trial had listed them all. There was nothing local victims hadn’t already had a way of finding out. We’ve been looking at the list, and there were a couple on there that didn’t seem to be from these parts. Our local newspaper folks know a lot of local genealogy. I’ll have Gwen and Nadine take a look at it.”
Mike requested, “Right now, with it open, can you send it to these two email accounts? My computer and Lyn’s computer? That would be a backup for us.”
“I should be able to accomplish that,” Sam said with a smile. He navigated the files promptly, and without incident. After he’d finished, he closed the computer lid. “You’ll have the other files on your computers now. You can save Alec’s computer to present in court. I can help open it anytime now.”
Everyone in the D.A.’s office, and Lyn Evans on Skype, thanked Sam profusely. On their walk back to the Sheriff’s Department, Royce thanked him. And she told him that Lyn Evans would probably give him a hug when she arrived in Timber. He blushed, then asked if Royce thought Lyn might bring some chocolate for him, too.