Silent Scream (54 page)

“We all do,” Abbott said. “Sit down and let’s get a plan.”

They’d reviewed the texts from all the students’ phones, piecing together the timeline. Replays of the video made
it clear that the four students hadn’t known Tracey Mullen was in the building.

“The first fire they did for a cause,” Noah said. “Joel was the champion, but Mary, who is friends with Lincoln, left the
glass ball as the tribute to Moss.”

“She was only eleven when Moss set that last fire,” Micki said.

“But he’s a legend in radical circles.” Barlow shrugged. “Somehow she heard of him. Maybe through a teacher, a parent, her
own Internet wandering.”

Olivia reread Mary’s personal information that they’d gotten from Truman Jefferson and the university. “She’s twenty-three,
single. Parents deceased. She paid for her own tuition, no loans or financial aid. She has to have some alternate source of
income. Her job at the real estate office didn’t pay enough for room and board.”

“Emergency contacts are left blank,” Noah added. “She was a loner.”

“With an IV drug addiction,” Olivia said. “Her transcripts say she was majoring in philosophy and took Environmental Ethics
last spring. That’s where she met Joel.”

“The car she parked in front of Truman’s office was paid for,” Noah said. “Other than her laptop, we found nothing unusual.
The car was registered to her dorm address.”

“Where does she live during the summer?” Micki asked.

Olivia tossed the paper to the table, frustrated. “PO box. Dammit.”

“Okay,” Abbott said calmly. “We’ve gone over Mary and we’re stuck. Let’s talk about the blackmailer, because somewhere they
intersect.”

Olivia nodded. “The night of the condo fire, the blackmailer knew they’d be there, because he showed up with a
camera. He also knew Tomlinson and Dorian Blunt. They tie somehow. On some plane, they
all
intersect. Where?”

“The blackmailer is the shooter,” Micki said. “He went around to the dock side of the condo where Austin was hiding.”

“Austin said he ran when he smelled smoke,” Abbott said. “He made it out the door on the dock side and realized Tracey wasn’t
there. He never saw the arsonists—they were on the other side of the building. Austin saw the shooter come around the building.
Weems confronted him, the man fired, got in a boat, took off his ski mask and sped off.” He tossed a sketch on the table.
“Our shooter.”

“I’ve seen that face a thousand times, a thousand different places,” Olivia said.

“I know, but right now, it’s the only face we’ve got.”

Noah studied the timeline. “The blackmailer knew Eric had bought a ticket to Paris, because he texted Albert’s cell with the
flight time. How would he know that?”

“Same way he knew the interpreter was helping us,” Olivia said. “He followed us.”

Noah shook his head. “He didn’t physically follow Eric. Eric paid for his plane ticket over the Internet, straight out of
his bank account. He had access to Eric’s computer.”

Olivia suddenly remembered the sight of David’s cell phone next to hers on his nightstand. “Or his cell phone,” she said slowly.
“That’s why he took their phones.”

“But he didn’t take Eric’s phone,” Barlow said. “Mary did.”

“Maybe because he didn’t kill Eric,” Olivia replied, “and Mary did. He needed Eric to have his own phone and the prepaid he
provided. It’s how he communicated with him.”

“But that doesn’t explain how the blackmailer knew Eric had bought a plane ticket,” Noah said. “Unless he was monitoring Eric’s
cell activity.” He turned to Micki, whose suddenly narrowed eyes told them she’d figured it out. “So, how did he do it?”

“Sonofabitch. Somehow he got access to their passwords and user names. I’ll bet he snuck in through an unsecured wireless
connection.”

“In other words, airports, bookstores, coffee shops,” Abbott said and Micki nodded.

“People get the warning that any data they send can be seen by others, but don’t realize that with the right software, it’s
not just data you send. It’s any data on your device.”

“So if Eric saved his bank account information…,” Noah said.

Micki took Eric’s phone, hit some buttons, and made a satisfied sound. “Eric’s info is all right here. I’m in his bank account
now. Somebody wiped him out yesterday, right about the time Albert received the text warning him Eric was going to flee the
country.”

“Trace where the money went,” Abbott commanded crisply.

“It’s not just bank info. Phones store e-mail server information and passwords. Once he got that, he could look at their e-mail
from anywhere. Find out about all kinds of things.” Micki paged back through Eric’s stored messages, then turned the phone
to show them. “Like saving the wetlands. It’s all here. Eric and Joel’s whole plan.”

“Or like affairs,” Barlow said. “Tomlinson had photos of him with his mistress on his desk when he died. That was his blackmail.”

“Oh,” Olivia said, a piece of the puzzle connecting. “The
pictures of Tomlinson. The blackmailer found out about his affair and took those pictures a long time ago.”

Micki’s smile was sharp. “Last winter, when the mistress wore snow boots.”

Olivia nodded. “Louise had the ‘before’ pictures. I bet the blackmailer sent them to her because Tomlinson didn’t pay. She
then hired the private detective who took the ‘after’ pictures. Louise mixed them all together to give to her divorce attorney.
The hit was exactly what you said, Barlow. An execution. Payback.”

“So where did he cross paths with Eric, Tomlinson, and Blunt?” Abbott asked.

“I’ll have another look at Tomlinson’s financials,” Barlow said, “cross-referencing them to Dorian’s and Eric’s. Maybe they
spent money at, or visited, the same place.”

“That helps us with the blackmailer,” Olivia said.
Who killed Kane.
She wanted to focus on him, find him. Gut him like he deserved. But she could see the harrowed terror in David’s eyes. “What
about Mary? If Phoebe’s still alive, Mary’s probably keeping her for leverage. But we’re no closer to knowing where.”

Noah pulled Mary’s personal data sheet close and went through it once again. “There’s one old address that came up on her
background check, but the uniforms we sent to check it said no one knew her. She might have lived there years ago, but not
recently and there was no sign of Phoebe’s car in the neighborhood.”

Olivia frowned, belatedly realizing something didn’t fit. “Wait. Her father’s not dead. Her roommate said she had a dad and
a brother who’s a doctor.”

“Go back and talk to the roommate again,” Abbott said.

Olivia gathered the Mary pages. “What about Lincoln?
They’re friends or have some relationship. Maybe Lincoln would know where she’d go.”

“Donahue said she’d call when he was interviewable,” Abbott said.

“I know,” Olivia said. “But Truman said the Feds searched his house last night. I bet they have files, a laptop, something
that tells us how Mary found Lincoln to begin with.”

Abbott’s expression darkened. “Lincoln’s still ours on the B and E and assault.”

“Tell that to Special Agent Crawford,” Noah said, “because that’s who Truman claims did the search.”

Abbott’s jaw cocked. “I will. Micki, trace Eric’s money. Barlow, check for places Eric, Tomlinson, and Blunt intercepted.
Keep me informed and nobody take off their vest.”

Wednesday, September 22, 4:05 p.m.

David put his tray on the table Tom had staked at the Deli. “Busy today.”

Tom glanced up from his laptop. “I know. Students are talking about the dead guy found in the dorm, the cops are talking about
Kane, and the firefighters are either talking about your partner or… you.”

“Wonderful.” David sat and slid Tom’s sandwich across the table. “Eat.”

Tom frowned at the food, then at David’s lack of it. “Where’s yours?”

“Can’t.”

Tom pushed the plate to the middle of the table. “Neither can I. Eat half.”

He managed to choke down a few bites, watching as Tom plugged his wireless card into his laptop’s slot. “I’m still not sure
I get the allure of this place,” David said. “Food’s only okay.”

“It’s better than the dining hall. But most people come here to socialize.” He pointed at all the customers on their laptops.
“And because Kirby has free Wi-Fi.”

David looked up at the counter. “Which one’s Kirby?”

“The manager. Not up there right now. He’s the one who chats and says ‘buh-bye.’”

“Oh. Him.”

Tom looked up. “Kirby bothers you?”

David fought the urge to squirm. “He’s just… intense.”

Tom shrugged. “I think the flirtation is an act. He’s not a bad guy. He helped Eve seven months ago when that so-called reporter
was following her. Made sure she knew the reporter had been talking to that professor’s secretary, stalking her and her friend.”

David remembered it. “That information helped save Eve’s life so I guess he can make eyes at me. Plus, he always sends coffee
to the fire scenes if we’ve been there all night.” Still, there was something about the man that made him uncomfortable.

Tom nodded. “There, I’m in.”

David eyed the card sticking out of Tom’s laptop. “If they have free wireless here, why use your card?”

Tom’s eyes widened in dismay. “Tell me you don’t use free, unsecured Wi-Fi?”

David nodded warily. “Yeah. Why?”

“Just askin’ to be hacked,” Tom muttered. “This card is secure. Nobody can touch my hard drive.” He slid his chair around
the table so David could see the screen. “I
also put a coating over my screen so you have to be right in front of it to see anything.”

“Trusting soul, aren’t you?” David asked.

“No.” Tom typed Mary’s name and a screen full of links appeared. The first two pages were references to the two dead college
students. There were three, David knew, but the police hadn’t released the connection to Joel Fischer yet.

Tom kept paging and frowned. “I get nothing on the name. What else you got?”

“Ethan gave me her social.” David turned the laptop toward him and typed it in from memory.

“I would have started with that,” Tom grumbled. “Results—twenty-three, single. No dependents. No out- standing student loans.
One savings, one checking account.”

“That’s the other address Ethan gave me.” David pointed to the screen. “The police checked already. She doesn’t live there
and the current residents don’t know her. Can you check who were the previous residents?”

Tom entered the address into a property tax Web site. “Current owners have been there for three years. The previous owner
used this as a rental property. Previous owner is Mrs. Annie Walsh, who is still alive and local.”

David was already on his feet. “Let’s go.”

Wednesday, September 22, 4:35 p.m.

Olivia and Noah got out of their car and approached the abandoned green Taurus. They’d been en route to the university to
reinterview Mary’s roommate when they’d gotten the call that Phoebe’s car had been sighted on a remote road.

The officer who’d called it in pointed to a man who stood soberly watching them. “He lives a half-mile from here, heard about
the victim on the radio.”

“We’ll talk to him in a second, thanks.” Olivia walked around the car, afraid of what she’d see. “No blood. Unlocked.” Her
stomach clenched, she popped the trunk. Then sagged in relief when she saw it was empty. “I had a bad picture in my mind.”

“So did I,” Noah said unsteadily.

Olivia walked the shoulder ahead of Phoebe’s car, stopping when a flash of silver caught her eye. With a pen, she dug the
chain from the dirt and held it up so the medallion swung. “Noah. It’s a St. Jude medallion. Do you know if Phoebe wore one?”

“I think so. Eve has one just like it.”

She dropped it in a baggie and carefully tucked it in her pocket. For David.
Just in case
. But she wouldn’t let herself think that way. For David.

“Tire treads,” Olivia noted. “There was another car here.” They crossed the road and introduced themselves to the man who
waited. “When did you notice the green car?”

“About a half hour ago. I was coming back from an appointment in town. It wasn’t here on my way in, but another car was. That
was two hours ago.”

“Which car was here, sir?” Noah asked.

“A black Lexus.” He rattled off the license plate. “I was going to give them a day to move it before I had it towed. I first
noticed it today. It wasn’t there as of ten last night.”

Olivia called in the plate number, then hung up, annoyed with herself. “Thank you, sir. You’ve been a big help.” She hurried
back to their car and got on the radio, Noah close behind. “It’s Eric’s car,” she said. “We never checked to see if he had
one.”

“We were in a rush to find Albert,” he said after she’d put out a BOLO.

“I know.” But they couldn’t worry about that now. “All right. We know Phoebe was here and not bleeding. That’s good. Let’s
check to see if Eric’s Lexus has GPS.”

Wednesday, September 22, 5:05 p.m.

“Goddammit,” Olivia snarled as they pulled in front of Mary’s dorm. “Eric’s road assist was disconnected four days ago. They
tried contacting him and got no answer.”

“Then I hope the roommate has some new information for us.”

They found Mary’s roommate, Helen, in the resident advisor’s room, trying to study.

“Helen, earlier you said you met Mary’s dad,” Olivia said. “When was this?”

“After Christmas, last year. He brought her a present and she threw it in his face. Called him
Daddy
.” Helen mimicked a mocking tone. “Like he was a douche.”

“What did he give her for the present?” Noah asked.

“Ten fifty-dollar bills.” She shrugged. “I was eavesdropping big-time. I’ve roomed with this group of girls for two years
now. The others are okay, but Mary kept to herself. Everything was a big mystery. So when the man came up, I was surprised.
So was she.”

“She didn’t go down and get him?” Noah asked. “I thought that was the rule.”

Helen shrugged again. “I guess his badge got him through.”

Olivia got another very bad feeling. “What kind of badge?”