Profile of Evil

by Alexa Grace

  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."

  <><><>

  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.”

  “What about?”

  “We talked about school and her difficulties with her parents.”

  “But that’s not all,” Carly said. “And don’t lie to us because we have the transcript of all your email conversations.”

  “Oh, shit,” he said again, this time with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his hands over his face. “Well, if you already know, why are you asking me questions?”

  Cameron leaned forward, focusing all his attention on Daniel Suggs. “Because we want to hear it from you. Tell us about your relationship with Amanda.”

  “We became close and wanted to meet in person. She lived in Terre Haute, so I sent her a bus ticket to Morel.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “I don’t know, maybe seven or eight months ago.”

  “Keep going.”

  “Things didn’t go well once she arrived and discovered how old I was. She got pissed that I’d posted a photo of myself when I was fourteen and lied to her about my age. Amanda wanted to get back on the bus to go home, but there were no more buses going to Terre Haute until the next day, so we went to my house.”

  “How many times did you have sex with her?” asked Carly.

  “Sex? I didn’t have sex with her. I swear. We went to my house, ordered a pizza, and just talked. Amanda was very unhappy. She’d lost her parents in a car accident and missed them terribly. She hated living with her grandmother and hadn't made any friends in her new school.”

  Cameron broke in, “That’s a pretty story, Daniel. But considering what we know about your obsession with sex, I don’t believe that’s all that happened.”

  Weeping again, Daniel cried, “I swear I’m telling the truth. I didn’t touch her. I slept on the sofa that night and took her to the bus station the next day. Check at the bus station, maybe someone remembers me buying the ticket.”

  Cameron slammed his fist on the metal table and Suggs nearly jumped out of his chair. “You know Amanda is dead, don’t you Daniel? I think you know how she got that way. What happened? Did she threaten to call the cops on you?”

  Visibly shaken, Daniel bawled, “No. You have to believe me. I didn’t kill her. I would never have hurt her, not in a million years.”

  Carly slipped another photograph out of her file and held it up for Daniel. "Remember Jasmine Norris? She’s missing. Coincidentally, you communicated with Jasmine online, too. I don’t like coincidences. We’ve got two missing girls, one of them is dead, and guess what? They both talked with Daniel Suggs online. What are the chances?”

  Daniel gulped as more tears streamed down his face. “Yes, I knew Jasmine. We talked online, but we never met in person. I didn’t even have a chance to ask her, because she met another guy online and told me she was in love with him.”

  “What guy?” demanded Cameron.

  “I don’t know. Jasmine didn’t give me his name when she dropped me.”

  Hearing a knock on the other side of the one-way mirror, Carly said, “We need to leave now.”

  “Please, could you bring me a bottle of water when you come back?” Daniel pleaded.

  “Sure,” Cameron called over his shoulder as he closed the door.

  They joined Brody, who had been watching the interview from the observation glass. “What do you think?”

  Cameron replied, “I’ll work the next five years for free if that guy killed anyone.”

  “I agree,” added Carly. “He openly admitted communicating with both girls. I even believe his account of what happened with Amanda when she came to meet him. I think he has an obsession with child pornography and may have even molested some children. But is he our serial killer? I don’t think so."

  <><><>

  It was mid-afternoon, so Brody was surprised to see Deputy Jim Ryder standing in his office. He'd known the deputy for five years and had only seen him in the office in the early morning hours when Ryder was in his cubicle, checking his emails before his shift. But this early? Never.

  "What's up?"

  "I've got Shelly Tyler in the interview room."

  With raised eyebrows, Brody asked, "Shelly Tyler? Isn't she the waitress at the Donut Place? What did she do? Burn your Krispy Kreme?"

  "That’s funny, Sheriff. That may cost you a couple of your favorite chocolate-filled doughnuts next time I bring in a box," Ryder shot back with a grin. "She's pissed off at her husband, Ron, and claims he has a meth lab at the house."

  "N
o shit?"

  "Yeah, she says she can prove it."

  "Did you run her background so I can review it before I talk to her?"

  "Yes, sir," Ryder said, as he slid the report across Brody's desk. Heading out, he called over his shoulder, "I'm going back on patrol if you need me."

  Brody skimmed the report. Shelly Shipman Tyler was twenty-seven- years-old, the same age as his brother, Gabe. After graduation from Morel High School, she married Ron Tyler, thirty-nine, and moved to his farm off state road fifty-five. As far as criminal history, Shelly had one drunk and disorderly when she was twenty, but nothing since. She'd worked at the Donut Place as a waitress for the past six years.

  Ron Tyler's background told a different story. He'd been in and out of jail since his early teens and had a variety of charges ranging from petty theft to aggravated assault and battery. If he was running a meth lab, Ron Tyler was entering Class A felony land, with a possible twenty to fifty years in prison.

  Brody sighed with relief when he noticed Ron and Shelly Tyler did not have children. At their last meth bust, deputies discovered two children, ages two and four, hiding in a closet. They were poster kids for the malnourished, improperly clothed, and neglected. Both kids had tested positive for having methamphetamine in their bodies because of their exposure to the second-hand smoke lavishly provided by their parents — two people who should have protected their children instead of condemning them to a life of chronic health problems.

  Over the past few years, the number of clandestine meth labs was on the rise in Shawnee County. Meth labs were a scourge that meant trouble for law enforcement as well as first responders who have to deal with hazardous materials, corrosives, flammables, and great amounts of trash and debris at the scene. If not handled properly, injuries and deaths could occur.

  Brody pulled a file folder out of his desk and slipped Shelly's background information inside. Before he went into the interview room, he slipped into what looked like a small observation room situated next to the interview room and glanced through the one-way glass at Shelly Tyler.