through the phone. “So do I. Another thing to keep in mind when you make your decision.” A chime sounded—his next patient arriving. “Gotta go. Love you.”
Her decision. Letting her know he’d support her, whatever she decided. But also a warning that he and Megan would be the ones who had to live with her choice.
Shit. How screwed up was she that she’d rather focus on worming her way into the mind of an obsessive child predator than deal with her own future?
Chapter 8
S PECIAL AGENT ISAAC WALDEN swiveled his chair so that he could look past June and the others to keep an eye on Lucy. So typical, the stubborn way she limped around her office, checking her plants before finally allowing herself the comfort of sitting down. Lucy never took the easy way out, whether it was standing up for a victim, chasing a target, or acknowledging that her body needed more time to heal.
In so many of their cases, time was the enemy. And Lucy refused to surrender.
Should he tell her that time was also running out for Seth? No. Not his secret to share.
He glanced at the former prosecutor. Close examination revealed the ravages of the fight he was losing. Thinning hair; sagging, sallow skin; an unhealthy yellow-green pallor. According to the doctors, Seth should have been dead and buried weeks ago, but the man was as stubborn as Lucy, refusing to slow down until he was certain that June and her unborn child were provided for. Family first, that was what was keeping Seth alive.
A sigh rippled through him as he watched Seth sooth June’s hair, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. She covered his hand with her own, an unconscious gesture of intimacy that reminded Walden of his own wife. Five years this Thanksgiving he’d lost her, but not a day went by that he didn’t feel her presence with him. Her voice chiding or coaxing him on dark days when all he wanted was to stay in bed; the glint of her smile in every pretty girl he passed; the ghost of her warm touch when he returned home at the end of the day as if his apartment wasn’t cold and empty.
“We need a money trail,” Walden mused. June and Seth glanced over at him, Taylor’s rapid-fire typing didn’t falter. The kid was annoying that way, able to multi-task and handle several lines of thought simultaneously.
“Good thought,” Taylor said. “I already applied for a warrant for the ad—even on Backlist, ads have to be paid for. Funny that. The guy could have posted on a dozen DarkNet forums anonymously and for free. If all he wanted was to stake a claim, declare his intentions to his fellow pedophiles, why go public?”
“He wanted our attention,” Seth said.
“He wanted your attention,” Walden corrected. “You’ve been chasing this Daddy creep for years. Maybe you’re getting close?”
Seth shook his head mournfully. “Not that I know of. But we did submit filings for a new batch of civil suits right before June went in for that ultrasound. Maybe he’s connected to one of those cases?”
“You’re suing men who have already been convicted of possessing the Baby Girl images, so I doubt it. The investigators would have already combed through their lives.”
“Maybe he’s worried one of those men could lead us back to him?” June asked. “Maybe that’s your money trail? Who they bought the images from.”
Walden beamed at her. She’d come so very far from the girl he’d met four years ago. That girl would have never spoken up when surrounded by three men. She would have sat quietly, waiting for their instructions.
“Good thought,” he said, although he was certain the original investigations covered it. Although they didn’t have his secret weapon: Taylor and his team of cybersleuths. “Seth, can you forward me the criminal case numbers? We’ll start combing through the evidence, see if anything was missed.”
“That’s going to take time.”
“My guys are pretty fast,” Taylor said. Not boasting, simply stating
Her decision. Letting her know he’d support her, whatever she decided. But also a warning that he and Megan would be the ones who had to live with her choice.
Shit. How screwed up was she that she’d rather focus on worming her way into the mind of an obsessive child predator than deal with her own future?
Chapter 8
S PECIAL AGENT ISAAC WALDEN swiveled his chair so that he could look past June and the others to keep an eye on Lucy. So typical, the stubborn way she limped around her office, checking her plants before finally allowing herself the comfort of sitting down. Lucy never took the easy way out, whether it was standing up for a victim, chasing a target, or acknowledging that her body needed more time to heal.
In so many of their cases, time was the enemy. And Lucy refused to surrender.
Should he tell her that time was also running out for Seth? No. Not his secret to share.
He glanced at the former prosecutor. Close examination revealed the ravages of the fight he was losing. Thinning hair; sagging, sallow skin; an unhealthy yellow-green pallor. According to the doctors, Seth should have been dead and buried weeks ago, but the man was as stubborn as Lucy, refusing to slow down until he was certain that June and her unborn child were provided for. Family first, that was what was keeping Seth alive.
A sigh rippled through him as he watched Seth sooth June’s hair, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. She covered his hand with her own, an unconscious gesture of intimacy that reminded Walden of his own wife. Five years this Thanksgiving he’d lost her, but not a day went by that he didn’t feel her presence with him. Her voice chiding or coaxing him on dark days when all he wanted was to stay in bed; the glint of her smile in every pretty girl he passed; the ghost of her warm touch when he returned home at the end of the day as if his apartment wasn’t cold and empty.
“We need a money trail,” Walden mused. June and Seth glanced over at him, Taylor’s rapid-fire typing didn’t falter. The kid was annoying that way, able to multi-task and handle several lines of thought simultaneously.
“Good thought,” Taylor said. “I already applied for a warrant for the ad—even on Backlist, ads have to be paid for. Funny that. The guy could have posted on a dozen DarkNet forums anonymously and for free. If all he wanted was to stake a claim, declare his intentions to his fellow pedophiles, why go public?”
“He wanted our attention,” Seth said.
“He wanted your attention,” Walden corrected. “You’ve been chasing this Daddy creep for years. Maybe you’re getting close?”
Seth shook his head mournfully. “Not that I know of. But we did submit filings for a new batch of civil suits right before June went in for that ultrasound. Maybe he’s connected to one of those cases?”
“You’re suing men who have already been convicted of possessing the Baby Girl images, so I doubt it. The investigators would have already combed through their lives.”
“Maybe he’s worried one of those men could lead us back to him?” June asked. “Maybe that’s your money trail? Who they bought the images from.”
Walden beamed at her. She’d come so very far from the girl he’d met four years ago. That girl would have never spoken up when surrounded by three men. She would have sat quietly, waiting for their instructions.
“Good thought,” he said, although he was certain the original investigations covered it. Although they didn’t have his secret weapon: Taylor and his team of cybersleuths. “Seth, can you forward me the criminal case numbers? We’ll start combing through the evidence, see if anything was missed.”
“That’s going to take time.”
“My guys are pretty fast,” Taylor said. Not boasting, simply stating
Similar Books
