Profile of Evil (26 page)

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In his office, Cameron typed an update to text to Brody, the most important being that the fingerprint analysis revealed the girl in Morel Hospital was identified as Alison Brown. Cameron had already contacted Alison's mother, Margaret, and sent a deputy to pick her up at her home and transport her to the hospital. He'd worked with the Victim Advocates group to find a safe place for Margaret to stay while her daughter was hospitalized. Once Alison was released, the sheriff's office would put both into protective custody.

He'd assigned ten deputies the day before to search a twenty-mile radius from Hal Locke's farm to try to determine where the killer lived. They discovered two state highways and a half-dozen county roads within the search range, along with five farms, in addition to Hal's, and twenty houses in the Country Way community. Lane Hansen, along with his search-and-rescue dog, Hunter, arrived at the Locke farm in the afternoon to try to determine the route Alison took after she escaped. After familiarizing Hunter with Alison's scent, the two searched a wooded area nearby, but Hunter lost the girl's scent about midway. They hadn't made the progress Cameron had hoped for, and to say he was disappointed was an understatement.

Just as he clicked the button to text his report to Brody, Deputy Sawyer entered his office.

"Why aren't you answering your phone?" Gail demanded, her hands on her hips, making no effort to hide her annoyance.

Pulling his cell phone out of his desk drawer, Cameron realized he'd accidentally left it on vibrate and hadn't heard any calls.

"Who's trying to reach me?"

"A lady who says she's the director of the Morel Public Library."

"Oh, that's Diana Tan. She's probably trying to reach me to let me know the two true crime books I reserved are in," Cameron said.

"Maybe it's just me, but it didn't sound like that kind of call," said Gail, who limped back to her desk.

While Cameron looked up the phone number for the library, he thought about Diana Tan. He'd known her since grade school, and dated her off and on through high school. Very pretty and petite, Diana had dark, exotic eyes and most of the guys on the football team were hot for her. But there'd been no sparks between the two of them, no chemical attraction. Certainly not like the magnetic pull he had for Mollie Adams, his best friend since kindergarten.

The phone rang a couple of times until she picked up.

"Hi, Diana. This is Cameron Chase. Are the new Ann Rule and Kathryn Casey true crime books I reserved in?"

"Not yet, Cam. That's not why I called. I need to meet with you right away. I just learned about something I need to tell you." Diana's words came out in a rush, making Cameron realize the normally laid back woman was troubled about something.

"Are you okay? You sound like this is serious."

"It is. I have to talk to you in person. When can you be here?"

Retrieving his car keys from of his pocket, Cameron said, "I'll be there in five minutes."

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Cameron had always loved the public library that was so old it had been declared a historic building. As a child, his mom had declared Saturday the family's library day, and he remembered spending hours reading his favorite books in an overstuffed chair by the warmth of the brick fireplace.

Entering the building, Cameron noticed a dozen people or more browsing the stacks. As he searched for Diana's office, he passed a filled computer lab where the only sound he heard was the tapping of fingers on keyboards.

Reaching her office, he tapped on the door and the library director immediately appeared.

Diana thanked him for coming and introduced him to Lisa Mitton, who served as the head librarian. Diana closed her office door for privacy as he joined Lisa at a small, round conference table near Diana's desk.

Nervously biting her lip, Diana said, "Lisa supervises a team of five full-time librarians and three part-timers. She's brought something to my attention that I want her to share with you, Cameron."

"About a month ago, I noticed one of my librarians, Daniel Suggs, was spending a lot of time in the computer lab. This isn't all that unusual because it's part of Daniel's job description to help users with the computers. So at first, I wasn't concerned." said Lisa.

"Go on," Cameron prompted.

"I began to notice Daniel spending his work breaks, including lunch, at a computer in the lab. When I asked him about it, he explained he was taking an online course, so I let it go until yesterday. I was getting a cart out of the back room that adjoins the computer lab. As I was rolling the cart through the lab, I noticed Daniel at a computer."

"Excuse me for interrupting, Lisa. Does Daniel use one particular computer in your lab, or all of them at any given time?" asked Cameron as his mind questioned Daniel's need for so much computer time. He'd arrested many men for child pornography and sensed this is where the discussion was going.

"Just one. He uses the last computer in the last row of the lab."

"Thanks. Keep going."

"I could clearly see the computer's screen, and what I saw made me sick. He was pulling up photos of children in various stages of undress in suggestive poses. Some of the kids looked as young as three or four."

"What did you do?"

"I was so shocked I didn't know what to do, so I came to Diana."

"You did the right thing. Glad you called me, Diana," said Cameron as he punched in a number on his cell phone. "I'm calling my brother, Gabriel, who is a forensic computer consultant for the sheriff's office."

"Hi, Gabe. I've got a computer-related issue at the public library and could use your help. Can you come over? Great. See you then." Cameron said and disconnected. To the two women, he said, "Gabe will be here in a few minutes."

Frowning thoughtfully, Diana asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Since the computer in question belongs to the library and can be used by anyone, the first thing I'm going to do is to ask your permission to analyze the data on the computer Daniel uses."

"You've got it," Diana said. Anger narrowed her eyes, stiffening her jaw.

"Do you know if Daniel has a personal computer?"

"Yes," said Lisa. "He has a Dell laptop he brings to work once in a while."

"Depending on what he's uploaded on the work computer, we may get a warrant to search his home, along with his personal computer. Where is Daniel now?"

"This is his day off," Lisa stated. "He'll be back at work tomorrow."

"Gabe will want to take the computer with him. Let's go get it ready."

<><><>

In the hallway, outside Alison's hospital room, were bouquets of flowers, small stuffed animals, and colorful balloons. Clutching a soft, pink teddy bear, Carly entered the girl's room.

"Where did all of this come from?" Carly asked the nurse, who was taking Alison's pulse.

"The hospital staff. Several stuffed animals are from the Sheriff's office. Alison has touched a lot of hearts."

Carly nodded with understanding, for the young girl had impacted her heart, too. She knew better than to get so personally involved with a victim, but the small, angelic-looking girl in the hospital bed had already won her heart as well as Carly's fierce determination to keep her safe.

"How is she?"

"The same. We're watching her closely and praying for a miracle."

"So are we," said Carly, as she sat by Alison's side. She gently pulled the girl's hand into her own and waited for the nurse to leave. Alison's face looked so innocent and younger than her thirteen years, as she lay on the pillows the nurse had just fluffed.

"Hello, Alison," Carly said softly. "My name is Carly Stone, and I'm really glad to meet you. You don't have to be afraid anymore, sweetie. We'll protect you from whoever did this to you. I promise. Oh, I almost forgot. This is for you." Placing the teddy bear in the crook of Alison's arm, she added, "I know you probably think you're too old for this, but there is something comforting when you hold a teddy bear in your arms. When you wake, maybe you could name it. It can be your good luck bear. Heaven knows, you're overdue for some good luck."

A knock at the door drew Carly's attention. She turned to see Alison's mother, Margaret, enter the room. Tears flooding down her face, Margaret went to the other side of the bed and pulled her daughter into her arms and sobbed. The deputy who drove her to the hospital stood awkwardly in a corner to give them privacy. Carly moved into the hallway and waited.

"I never thought I'd see you again, Baby. I love you so much, Alison. I am never going to stop telling you that. It's okay you're sleeping now. Your mommy understands. The coma is going to give your body time to heal, and then you're coming back to me. I can't make it without my little girl. You have to come back to me, Alison."

<><><>

The next day, Gabe scheduled a meeting to brief the others on what he'd found on Daniel Suggs’ library computer.

Tired after a sleepless night, Brody found it hard to hide his annoyance. "Okay, Gabe. This better be good. I'm wondering why you invited Carly and me to a meeting to discuss a librarian's porn collection."

"The full analysis of Daniel Suggs' computer will take days or weeks, but I wanted you to know about the initial results. I have some information you’ll find interesting."

"What did you find?" asked Cameron.

"The guy has over one thousand images of children on the computer he uses at the library."

"Damn pervert," Brody said angrily.

"That's not all. He was communicating with Amanda Jenkins on Facebook for over a month before she disappeared. Here is a printout of their conversations through emails."

Accepting the stack of papers, Carly straightened in her seat. "Amanda Jenkins? Was he connected to any of the others?"

"Like I said, I'm not through with the analysis. But I thought you might want to get that search warrant for his home and computer."

"Cam, create a search warrant and get it to Judge Carlson for her signature, then arrest him and bring him in for a little talk," said Brody who then turned to Gabe. “Call me the second your full analysis is completed.”

<><><>

With Brody and Cameron, Carly stood at the observation window and stared at the man sitting in the interview room. Daniel Suggs sat at a metal table, obviously nervous and wiping the beaded sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. He was five feet six inches tall and weighed about one-hundred-and-twenty pounds. He had pale skin, with blonde shaggy hair, and large blue eyes.

“
I don’t think this guy looks physically able to carry the victims’ dead bodie, or dig shallow graves. Truthfully, he’s so pale and scrawny he looks anorexic,” Carly remarked. Was there a chance this guy was their killer?

“
You’d be surprised what a smaller man can do with a rush of adrenalin,” Brody replied.

Cameron agreed and added, “We have deputies about his size. Believe me, they can handle themselves quite well.”

“
Let’s interview him before he wets himself,” Brody said. “Cameron, do you want to join Carly and take a shot at him?”

“
Absolutely,” Cameron said with a smile, as he followed Carly into the interview room.

As soon as they sat at the table, Daniel Suggs began trembling.

“
Hello, Daniel. My name is Carly Stone. Detective Chase and I would like to talk to you about a couple of things.”

“
What things? Am I in trouble?”

Clearly, Daniel Suggs was freaking out. Cameron answered his question. “I’d say you’re in a hell of a lot of trouble, especially if you’re not truthful with us. You can start off by telling us why you have over a thousand photos of little kids in various stages of undress on your work computer.”

“
Oh, shit,” Daniel said as he leaned on the table, covering his face with his hands. Still trembling, he started to sob so hard he got the hiccups.

They waited until he calmed down, and then Cameron said, “You’re facing a long prison sentence if you get convicted of possessing child pornography.”

“
Oh, no,” Daniel wailed. “This can’t be happening. I didn’t do anything to those kids. I was just looking. I swear.”

“
You can tell that to the judge at your hearing. Right now, it is to your benefit that you answer a couple of questions.”

“
What about?”

Carly held up a photograph of Amanda Jenkins, watching Daniel’s reaction as he looked at it. He colored fiercely, stains of scarlet appearing on his cheeks.

“
It’s Amanda,” Daniel admitted.

Placing the photo on the table before him, Carly asked, “How do you know her?”

“
She’s a Facebook friend.”

“
That’s all?”

“
No, Amanda and I moved our conversations off Facebook and communicated through email.”