Touching Evil (8 page)

With a hitch of his trousers, the man stood.  “I believe hers is a reasonable request, one that will offer more safety for her.  She’s e-mailing an obit notice to be released to the press and we’ve agreed to a handful of her family and friends who can be let in on the truth.  I’ve directed Special Agent Gonzalez to agree to her plan.  You will, of course, personally see that she’s accompanied by an agent at all times.”

“Of course.”  It was difficult to force even those words out of his mouth so Cam said nothing else while Miller issued a few more directives for Maria before leaving the office.  Only then did he lean back in his chair, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes.

“Relax.  The news of her death will be greatly exaggerated.”

“Spare me the literary references.”  

“We’re not going to announce it,” Maria went on.  “The obit will be buried in the newspaper with minimal information pending the notification of next of kin.  Hopefully that will be enough to satisfy anyone following up to make sure Channing is really dead.”

 “This is totally unnecessary.”  Frustration had Cam biting out the words.  “She could consult from her current location where she’s already safe with an agent at her side.  No one knows where she’s at.”

“I believe she can be more valuable when she’s not kept at a distance.  And I agree with Dr. Channing that we lose a valuable element of surprise if Vance and his partner discover she’s alive.  We can make sure she’s no longer a target, and, properly disguised, she can be mobile.  Once this thing is solved, we’ll have public sentiment on our side, and there shouldn’t be any blowback for the false obit, since we’re doing it as a matter of protection.”  Maria lifted her shoulders in a gesture that was oddly reminiscent of Spencer Pals.  “I don’t see a downside.”

He lowered his hands to stare at her.  “You don’t see a downside,” he repeated incredulously.  “Jesus, Maria, you’re the same one who told me only days ago that you had second thoughts before naming me lead in this investigation.”  And the memory of that conversation still held a bite.  “And I’d been back on the job for
a year
since my stint undercover on that multi-agency task force.”  An assignment that had resulted in  recurring PTSD, which had kept him from returning to work for far longer than he’d liked.  

An assignment that continued to haunt him to this day.

“But you don’t think that Soph…Dr. Channing might be too traumatized to consult after being abducted, beaten, terrorized and nearly raped just three days ago?”  He surged to his feet, unable to contain his frustration any longer.  “Try explaining that reasoning to me.”

From the looks of her expression he imagined she was gritting her teeth.  “I’m not placing the outcome of this case and the well-being of a material witness in Dr. Channing’s hands,” she snapped.  “She’s not in charge of the investigation.   Are you really saying that her experience a few days ago damaged her credibility?  Her expertise?  You don’t believe her work on this case can result in any valuable leads?”

It was his turn to clench his jaw.  It was the resulting emotional cost to Sophie that he was really worried about, but there was no way to share that without revealing that his concern stemmed from the personal and not the emotional.  But he wasn’t done trying.

He took a turn around the office as he spoke, making an effort to level his tone. “I’m just asking you to weigh the potential personal cost to Channing.  Is it worth it in exchange for the possible leads she can give us?”

“She’s an adult.  She’s responsible for her own choices and I respect her too much to try to second-guess them.”  Although some of the temper had dissipated from Maria’s words, they still held a bite.  “And I’ll tell you one thing, I have a feeling she wouldn’t welcome your paternalistic questioning of her capabilities.”

He stopped to arrow a look at her then, one she returned unblinkingly.  Rationally he recognized this was his out.  Better that the SAC thought he was a chauvinist than to suspect that his concern for Sophie stemmed from something else.

Something far more intimate.

He was zero for two since walking into her office.  Cam recognized there were no battles left to fight here.  Silently he went to the door.  

“Assistant Director Miller has been in contact with lab manager Fenton, and your request last night for priority status on the ballistics testing has been granted.  As soon as the evidence has been logged in, they’ll start the tests.”

It was a sop, but better than nothing.  Cam figured the brass and spent bullets collected at the two scenes were their best lead so far, and the sooner they yielded results, the better.  He’d left orders that the collected brass at the scenes be taken to the lab immediately.  Maybe the tests would be started soon.

“Oh, and Prescott?”

He aimed a look over his shoulder.

Maria’s face was inscrutable.  “I’m hoping that the concern for Channing that you’ve stated so eloquently comes from a sincere lack of faith in her abilities.  Because if I start to believe you’re more worried about Dr. Channing the woman…  The case already has two agents on administrative leave.  We can’t afford to lose a third.”

ssThe warning implicit in her words was impossible to miss, and one he knew better than to respond to.  Cam shut the door behind him almost silently, a stark contrast to the resentment seething inside him.

Chapter 4

It had been ridiculously easy to find the woman he’d seen last night.

Sonny stared at the computer screen, his throbbing leg propped on a pillow and stretched out on the recliner.  IOSME, he’d discovered, stood for Iowa Office of State Medical Examiner.  Which made sense, given that she’d been at the scene last night for Janice.  Barely a pang accompanied the thought of the dead woman.  All his focus was reserved for the new one.

Dr. Lucy Benally, forensic pathologist.  Lucy.  He said the name aloud, savoring it.  It fit exactly the woman he felt as though he already knew.  The IOSME website showed the office personnel, and there was a picture of the female he’d seen last night.  Although the others wore a bright smile for the camera, Lucy’s lips were only slightly curved.  Fitting, Sonny thought approvingly, for the seriousness of the job she was entrusted with.  A second page on the site informed him that she’d been employed by the agency for the last five years, and listed her schooling and previous jobs.

A sharp pain arrowed into his wounded leg, and he muttered a curse.  Picking up the bottle of pain pills on the table beside the couch, he shook another out into his palm and popped it in his mouth.  Davis had done a ham-handed job.  He should have shot the bastard while he’d had the chance.  Sonny had ordered him to supply him with enough pain medication to get him through his recovery, and the man had been so eager to see the last of him that he’d done so uncomplainingly.  

Sonny turned his attention to courthouse searches.  Homeowners gave up a great deal of information about themselves by the simple act of buying property.  Of course he couldn’t be sure that Lucy Benally owned a house, but he hoped she did.  Not just because it made her easier to find.  But because the woman he suspected she was would be anxious to have a home to call her own.  To tend to it as lovingly as she had tended Janice last night.

A few minutes later he was reaching for his cell to log in the address his search had yielded.  A bit more digging and he found her home just outside Bondurant, less than twenty miles east of Ankeny, where she worked.  Returning to the computer, he typed the address into Google Street View.  Instants later his screen filled with the image of a neat older two story sitting on a shaded acreage, a detached two stall garage behind it.

Sometimes you really had to love the Internet.

Sonny played with the image, zooming in and out, looking at the property from different angles.  Although the house wasn’t fancy, it was plenty big for someone living alone.

Opening another window on the browser, he set to work combing public databases for a marriage license listing for Lucy Yanaha Benally.  Not finding one, he leaned back against the pillow and smiled.  It was easy to believe that a clear path toward Lucy meant only one thing.

They were fated to be together.

*  *  *  *

“You’re right.”  Cam peered closely at the enhanced image on the computer screen over Agent Samuel’s shoulder before looking down at the composite sketch in his hands again.  “It’s the same guy.  Not that there was much doubt.”

“Good thing you added cameras in all the rooms.  This is the only place he removed the goggles,” the other agent said, squinting from the screen to the drawing and back again.  “What’s he look like…five ten, one-sixty?”

Cam was silent for a moment as he judged the height and weight of the image on the screen.  “I’d say so.  And that’s a close match to the description given by Franks and Boggs, not to mention that of the kids.”

John Samuels looked up at Cam.  “Gonna release a description of the guy with the press release?”

“The news conference was a couple hours ago.  This sketch was released at that time.”  But Cam would apprise the SAC that they had positive ID.  The same man that had kidnapped Vance’s last victim in Edina had been found assaulting a corpse last night.  And had then tried to kill Sophie Channing.

He pulled out his cell to text the SAC.  “Make a copy of the security feed and bring it back to headquarters with you.”

“But secure the place first?”

“Robbins is taking care of it.”  They had deliberately left the security breach Vance had exploited here the first time he’d gained access, as well as the hole he’d left in her system that allowed re-entry.  “You can team up with Beachum on the tip line.  Nothing panned out on the BOLO this morning, but calls are starting to come in on the sketches we released.”  A valuable lead could be gleaned from a tip line, but they were also laborious to operate.  Every call that came in had to be evaluated for possible helpfulness, then prioritized.  The ones that had the most potential were then checked out.  The manpower required was not insignificant.  And it was never far from Cam’s mind that he was down two agents.

“Cam, that neighbor you said to watch for just pulled in her drive.”  Criminalist Aubrey Hartley turned sideways in the doorway to ease the girth from her pregnancy through it.  She and some of her colleagues were packing up their equipment to return to the lab.  Another who was focused on retrieving the bullets from where they were embedded around the condo would remain to finish that task.

He gave Aubrey a wide berth as he passed, an action that drew a glare from the woman.  “I’m not
that
big, wise guy.  You want to see how fast this pregnant lady can move, just keep being a smartass.”

He shot her a grin.  “How much longer?”

“Seven weeks.”  He didn’t miss the subtle movement as she pressed a hand to her lower back.  

“Fenton would let you stick to lab work for the duration.”  He knew for a fact that the lab manager wouldn’t protest at the idea.

“And let these clowns have all the fun?”  Aubrey jerked a thumb in the direction of her co-workers.  “I told my husband I’d give it a couple more weeks.  After that I doubt I’ll be able to get up off the floor even if I can squat down.  I’m hoping that by then…”  Her voice tapered off but he knew exactly what she was thinking.  That by then this investigation would be ended, finally.  Vance and his accomplice would both be behind bars, with an ironclad case built against them to ensure they stayed that way.

“I hope so, too.”  He went out the door and jogged next door to where Livvie Hammel, Sophie’s friend and neighbor lived.  But when the frazzled redhead opened the door and saw him, her expression wasn’t exactly friendly.

Silently, she opened the door for him.  When he walked inside, she swung it shut behind him.  Locked it.  “I talked to Sophia.  And you’re not leaving again until you promise to talk her out of this crazy idea.  Pretending she’s dead?  Diving into this investigation again?  I can’t believe you’re allowing that.  She could have been killed last night.  So could Carter.”  Tears welled up in her eyes.  “That man touched him.  He hurt him and could have done worse.  And you damn well better be doing something to catch him.  Why aren’t you out there looking for him?”

Her voice broke on that and she ducked her head, but not before he saw the tears spilling down her cheeks.  Cam shifted uneasily.  He had a male’s natural unease when faced with a crying woman.  “The entire area is searching for him.  We released a description on a news conference a few hours ago.  And Sophie’s safer while the assassin thinks he succeeded than she would be otherwise.”  As much as it pained him to echo Sophie and Maria’s argument, there was an element of truth in it.  “She called you?”

Livvie wiped her face on the sleeve of her tee shirt, nodding silently.  

“Delete her number from your cell or change the contact name,” he ordered.  “Get rid of any records of past calls to or from her, any texts or messages.  Tell that other friend of yours, Carrie from down the street to do the same.  It’s safer for everyone that way.”

“Safe?”  The word hitched up on the end and for a moment he thought she’d break down in sobs.  “There hasn’t been a lot of that in the last twenty-four hours.  What if that man comes back for Carter?  He didn’t get a good look at him but the guy doesn’t know that.  What if…”

Consciously gentling his voice, Cam said, “There’s no reason for him to come back.  But for your peace of mind, you and Carter should stay somewhere else for a while.  Just until we have a handle on this guy.”

Livvie looked torn.  “I couldn’t possibly leave while Sophia is still in danger.”

“She isn’t.”  At least not the type of danger Livvie was talking about.  “She’s under protection, but you’ll feel better if you get a break from this.  The phony obit has already hit the news and given your proximity to Sophie’s home, there might be nosy reporters wanting a word with you.”  

She stepped back, a look of horror on her face.  “Oh, God, Carter will hear the news.  He’ll think…”

Cam nodded grimly.  There were ramifications for this plan of Sophie’s that eddied further than she’d considered.  “Better that he doesn’t hear the news at all.  Where can you take him?”