by Blake Pierce
The commotion was coming from the larger barn. As they approached it, Kate noticed the faint wailing of an ’80s country song, something by Randy Travis, coming from the barn. The doors were open, revealing a huge open space. On one side, there were a few chicken coops, all vacant. On the other side was various farming equipment lined up almost methodically: a tractor, bailing wire, a stack of old two-by-fours, shelves of seeds and fertilizer, and sacks full of hay and grain.
Two men were standing by the two-by-fours, making another stack with several other boards strewn at their feet. Before entering the barn, Kate knocked as loudly as she could on the massive open door. Both men turned to look at them. Neither of them were wearing shirts. One of the men looked to be about twenty or so, his chest and stomach chiseled and his shoulders bulky. The other man was middle-aged, his hair starting to go gray.
“Can I help you?” the older man asked.
“Is one of you gentlemen Edgar Lee?”
“That’s me,” the older man said. “Who’s asking?”
Showing her ID, Kate stepped inside, DeMarco behind her. “We’re Agents Wise and DeMarco with the FBI. We were hoping to ask you a few questions.”
The baffled look on his face was nearly comical. He swiped sweat from his brow with a bandana and collected his shirt from a nearby post. “Can I ask what about?”
“Of course. But perhaps not in front of present company,” she said, nodding toward the younger man.
Lee slipped his shirt on and walked over to the agents. “FBI?” he asked. “Seriously? I think there might be some kind of mistake.” He then lowered his voice and said: “Is it about the same things from three years ago?”
“Not exactly,” Kate said. They were outside of the barn now, walking together through the yard in the direction of the house. “I assume that being from Deton, you heard about what happened to the Fullers.”
“I did. God, that was terrible. From what I hear, the theory is that Mercy killed them and then left town.”
“We’re not here to discuss theories,” DeMarco said. “We’re trying to find out exactly what happened and we discovered that Mercy served as a babysitter for you when the divorce started to go nasty.”
“Well, hell…you two just go right for the heart, huh?”
“A girl is missing and her parents are dead,” Kate said. “So yes…please forgive us if we don’t waste any time getting to the point.”
“So are you here to ask about the working relationship when she was babysitting? Or are you here to remind me that I made some very stupid mistakes three years ago?”
“A bit of both,” Kate said. “I’d first like to know how the hell you were able to get the Fullers to allow their daughter to babysit for you with the questionable pornography charges on your record.”
“I was never convicted,” he said. “There’s nothing that happened that labeled me as a sex offender or any nonsense like that. And Lydia, my ex-wife, was generous enough to keep the secret. No sense in ruining my reputation and all that. It’s the one nice thing she did during that last year of marriage.”
“So the Fullers had no idea? We understand that you and your wife were once friends with the Fullers.”
“We were. But when the marriage fell apart, a lot of people in town chose to take sides. And the Fullers chose my wife. It’s one of the reasons they asked Mercy to stop babysitting for me.”
They stopped near the backyard. Apparently, Edgar Lee had no intention of inviting them into his home.
“What was that working relationship like?” Kate asked.
“There wasn’t much of one at all. She’d come watch the kids while I was out dealing with lawyers or just taking some time to blow off steam. I’d see her for about five minutes when she arrived and then her parents would come get her when I got home.”
“Did she call her parents when you arrived back home, asking them to come pick her up?”
“Yes.”
“So how long would you say she was typically in your house between the time she called her parents to the time they actually showed up?”
“I don’t know,” he said, clearly irritated. “And quite frankly, I don’t like what you’re implying.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Kate said. “But based on what we know of you—the charges of potentially underage pornography and an affair, for instance—we have to work with what we have. So, if you could tell us as much about the time you spent with Mercy Fuller, it would be greatly appreciated.”
“I just did. When I came in, I usually went right to the fridge and grabbed a beer. She only babysat for me three times. Each time, she sat in the living room and watched TV while I drank a beer in the kitchen. I’m not stupid…I knew my history would piss people off if they knew about it. I kept my distance and spoke to her as little as possible.”
“Who else knew about this babysitting job?”
“My wife, her parents, apparently whoever told you. We tried to keep it quiet because of my history but this fucking town…no one can keep a secret.”
“Mr. Lee, would you mind if we had a look around the premises?” DeMarco asked.
“For what, exactly?”
“To rule you out as a suspect.”
“You see me as a suspect?” he barked.
“A man on the edge of a divorce, having an affair, with a history of interest in teen pornography…yes. I’d say you’re a suspect at this point.”
Kate hoped DeMarco would quiet down but could tell that she was only getting ramped up. She was quickly learning that issues of child endangerment were a hot button for DeMarco. She was speaking to Lee in a condescending tone, as if trying to goad him.
Apparently, it worked.
When he stepped forward and raised his hand to punch DeMarco, it took them both by surprise. Kate, standing to the right, acted on pure instinct. While DeMarco saw the punch coming and went into a defensive posture, Kate caught Lee’s arm, twisted it down and back at the same time, and then swept his legs out from under him.
He hit the ground with a thump, all of the air rocketing out of him.
“That was unnecessary,” Kate said as she brought out her handcuffs. The remark was directed at Lee but she hoped DeMarco had caught her gist as well.
“You can’t do this,” Lee hissed. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Had you not taken a swing at an FBI agent, you’d be right,” Kate said. “We’d ask a few more questions and then be on our way.” She slapped the cuffs on him and then, with DeMarco’s help, got him to his feet. “But now you’ll be spending some time at the Deton PD, answering even more questions.”
Lee struggled against them for a moment but then seemed to think better of it. As Kate led him back to the car, she looked back behind them. She saw the sheds behind the barn, all rather old and in bad shape.
Any of them would be the perfect place to hide someone…or a body, she thought.
Her eyes remained on the sheds even as she and DeMarco escorted Edgar Lee into the back of their car.
***
Within ten minutes of making the call, both Barnes and Foster showed up at Lee Farm. While the local police stood guard over Edgar Lee and asked him questions, Kate and DeMarco investigated Lee’s property.
The barn was obviously the epicenter of the day-to-day farm operations. The only questionable things found inside the barn were a few porno magazines hidden in the bottom of a toolbox and an old laptop. The laptop, while clearly quite old, was of particular interest because even though it seemed to have been discarded under a few receipts and empty nail boxes on a workbench, it still had a charge of about thirty percent—indicating that it had been used recently. When Kate turned it on, it came to a password screen, making it impossible for her to see what was on it.
The sheds came next. One looked to have been disregarded a long time ago, still standing only out of some family obligation. It was empty with the exception of several dried wasp nests in the rafters and junked parts to what look
ed to be a very old tractor. The other two held only old farming equipment; one of the sheds was packed with the stuff: ancient tires, old rakes and hoes, a bail of copper wire. A small shelf sat on the far wall, stacked with a few farming magazines. A small drugstore calendar sat there as well, offering a month-by-month depiction of 1989.
With the investigation over, Kate and DeMarco walked back to the driveway. Lee was in the back of Barnes’ car while Barnes and Foster spoke to him through the opened back window. Kate brought the old laptop with her, not wanting to run the risk of leaving it behind if it did have something of interest on it. The fact that it was old, partially charged, and hanging out in his barn seemed somewhat peculiar as far as she was concerned.
“Anything?” Barnes asked.
“Other than taking a swing at an agent, not so much,” Kate said. “I think it might be worth looking into what might be on this laptop, though. Got anyone at the station that can get into it?”
“Sadly, no.”
“I can take a crack at it,” DeMarco said. “I was kind of a tech geek in high school and college—something I still tinker with.”
“You get anything else out of him?” Kate asked.
“Just the woe is me, everyone-is-out-to-get-me diatribe.”
Kate noticed that Lee was very tense as he sat in the back of the patrol car. His eyes were locked on the laptop in her hands, making her think it was a good idea to bring it after all.
“Want to huddle up at the station, then?” Barnes asked. “Staties are on their way…should be here in about an hour or so. Canine unit will be pretty much right behind them.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Kate said, wasting no time and getting into her car. She was starting to think there might indeed be something on the laptop. Maybe not anything directly related to Mercy Fuller, but certainly something that would shed more light onto Edgar Lee and if he was hiding anything from them.
“Hey, Kate?” DeMarco said as they made their way back up the driveway. “I feel like I maybe owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For losing it on Lee…for just laying into him. Honestly, I was hoping he’d snap…hoping he’d try something. Men that get their thrills on young girls get under my skin in a way that I’m not particularly proud of.”
“I get it,” she said. “I’ve done the same thing in the past. Goading people you think are guilty into doing or saying something stupid used to be my weapon of choice. But I think if I hadn’t have stopped that punch, you might have a busted nose right now.”
“Yeah, you handled that like a beast. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” It wasn’t totally the truth. Her right shin was flaring with little spark of pain from where she had swept Lee to the ground. While she was still fit, she was not conditioned to that sort of physical altercation. She was not looking forward to the soreness and the bruising that was going to come as a result.
They got back out on the road and followed Barnes and Foster back to the police station. Kate once again found herself drawn to the way the trees seemed to almost lean in toward them. It made her feel like the forest was keeping some deep, dark secret and it would do anything it could to keep it hidden.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
All charges against Jeremy Branch in the Mercy Fuller case were dropped the night before around nine o’clock. He was still in a heap of trouble due to the drug possession and possible rape charges from other footage found on his phone. So when Barnes and Foster escorted Edgar Lee into the Deton PD, the interrogation room was available. Kate and DeMarco followed close behind him. Kate took note of the two news vans in the parking lot, the news anchors and camera people scrambling to catch up to them before they made it inside.
When they entered, there were phones ringing and officers talking over one another. Kate caught a flustered look on Barnes’ face as they led Lee to the interrogation room. “You okay, Sheriff?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s just that this case is making me realize just how small-time we are. One interrogation room…less than ten officers on staff. When the state guys show up, this place is going to be packed out.”
“Well, let’s see how much we can get done before they show up, what do you say?”
“If you can handle interrogation,” DeMarco said to Kate, “I can get started on trying to get into the laptop.”
“That’s perfect.”
“Foster, why don’t you go with Agent DeMarco? Anything she needs, you do your damndest to get it for her.”
With their assignments in order, Kate and Barnes entered the tiny interrogation room with Lee. He sat down on the other side of the desk rigidly, as if he might started fighting at any moment. But the moment his butt was in the seat, he seemed to switch gears, kicking into apologetic mode.
“Look,” he said. “I lost my temper and took a swing at your partner. But she was pushing. She was bringing up things from my past that I have tried very hard to put behind me.” He sighed heavily and then added: “If you’ll bring her in here, I’ll apologize.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” Kate said. “First, since you seem to be in a bargaining mood, I need you to tell me everything there is to know about the time you spent with Mercy Fuller.”
“I’m not proud of it…but I made myself not speak to her. I had to be in another room. I didn’t trust myself with her. I know…I know some of the things I’ve been in trouble for in the past are messed up. I knew it then…when she was at my house, waiting for her father to pick her up. I swear to you…I never so much as touched her.”
It was the trembling in his jaw and the way he kneaded his hands together that made Kate believe him. Still, he remained tense and nervous. He was hiding something.
“Did you interact with Mercy at all when you and your ex-wife were friends with the Fullers?” Kate asked.
“Nothing beyond waving hello or asking if she wanted a snack or a drink on the few times they came over. She was pretty good friends with my oldest daughter. Whenever our families were together, the two of them would hang out most of the time.”
“And where is your family living right now?”
“Somewhere near the North Carolina border. A small town—even smaller than Deton, I think—in the middle of nowhere.”
Kate figured if it came to it, they could get contact information for his ex-wife and children. But she was pretty sure that would not be necessary. She still had one weapon in her arsenal, one more mode of attack that might give them everything they needed.
“My partner is currently trying to crack into the old laptop we found in the barn. I find it suspicious that an older model laptop—at least seven or eight years old—was in your barn, partially charged.”
“Why? Laptops are expensive. I’ve had that one for years. It runs slow, but does the job. Why get a new one? I work on a farm. A laptop isn’t necessarily a necessity.”
“I’d agree with that,” Kate said, trying to disarm him. “What do you use it for?”
“Music. Some YouTube stuff. Old wrestling videos, mainly. I use iTunes sometimes, too. But it lags sometimes.” He chuckled nervously here and said: “So maybe it is time for me to try to get a new one, huh?”
“Would you give us the password to get into it, then?”
Lee paused for a moment, still wringing his hands as he considered the question. Slowly, he started to shake his head. “No. I’m not going to do that. That’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Right now, you are in custody for attacking an agent,” Kate said. “But given the nature of your history and your relationship with Mercy Fuller, we can stretch that to holding you as a suspect in her disappearance. That would give us every lawful right to do whatever we need to your laptop. With some paperwork, we could also have a look around your house and the entire farm. So why not save us the time and tell us the password for your laptop?”
Again, he shook his head. But the taut expression on his face indicated that he knew he was essential
ly screwed.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Barnes said, stepping forward. “If Agent DeMarco can’t crack it, someone with the state PD will. And I’ve got state units on the way to help in the search for Mercy Fuller right now. One way or the other, we’re going to find out what’s on there. And the longer you refuse to give us a password, the more certain we become that you’re hiding something.”
Lee said nothing. He slowly sat back in the chair, trying to get more comfortable.
“Do you think you’re proving something?” Barnes asked. “Buying yourself more time, maybe? You—”
“Sheriff, can I speak with you outside?” Kate asked.
Barnes nodded, making a little chuffing noise in the general direction of Lee. Kate opened the door to the interrogation room, letting Barnes go out ahead of her. They took a few steps away from the closed interrogation room door before Kate said anything.
“He’s guilty of something, but I’m becoming more and more sure it has nothing to do with Mercy Fuller.”
“Any ideas?” Barnes asked.
“Based on studies and past cases I’ve heard about, there seems to be significant evidence that men that are addicted to pornography rarely ever truly get over it. And if Edgar Lee’s preferences of the past teach us anything…well, let’s just say I’m not going to be surprised if we find a lot of underage pornography on this laptop.”
Barnes nodded, his hands on his hips. He managed to crack a dry smile when he said, “Well, if nothing else, we’ve discovered where a lot of Deton’s drugs are coming from and we’ve potentially busted a man for child pornography…all while trying to crack the Fuller case. So then why does it feel like we’re still losing?”
“Because there’s still a girl out there somewhere, and we need to find her.”
“Do you think she’s still alive?” He asked the question quietly, like he really wasn’t sure if he wanted an answer.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “But I do know that every minute that passes without us finding her, her chances become that much smaller.”
