by Tim Kizer
“Yes, we did. The killer turned on the phone only when he sent messages to the Keeners. He sent some of the messages from the Balboa Park area, some from the Presidio Park area, and some from the Fashion Valley Mall area.”
This information provided no clue as to where the killer might live.
“Has the killer turned on the phone since July fifth?”
“No.”
“Some parents install a tracking app on their children’s phones to keep track of them. Did Melissa’s phone have a tracking app?”
“No, it didn’t. By the way, I asked the Keeners if Melissa had life insurance. They said her life was insured for five hundred thousand dollars.”
“Have they received the insurance money?”
“Not yet.”
“They had a motive to kill her.”
“I realize that.”
So were the Keeners suspects now?
Alice closed the laptop. “Stephen, would you do me another favor?”
“What is it?”
“Some pervert called me from a blocked number last Thursday. It was a very nasty call. Can you ask my cellphone company for a list of the numbers that called me last Thursday?”
If Hagan agreed to get her the numbers, she would go to a hypnotist.
“Do you want me to talk to this guy?”
“No. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Okay, I’ll get the list.”
“Thank you, Stephen.”
“Is the phone number you have now the same number you had thirteen years ago?”
“No. Why?”
“Can you give me the number you had at the time Melissa was adopted?”
“I don’t remember it. I’ll text it to you when I find it.”
2
It took Alice less than half a minute to find the phone number she’d had thirteen years ago: she had it in her contact list. She texted the number to Hagan, and five minutes later he replied: “Did you have a landline?” She answered: “No.”
She spent the next hour researching hypnotists in the Los Angeles area.
Chapter 14
1
As Hagan studied the text message transcripts for Henry Dixon’s disposable phone, he discovered that on March 24 Dixon had asked a girl named Sophie to meet him. The girl had agreed. Hagan searched Dixon’s fake Facebook account’s friend list and found one Sophie. Her last name was Engstrom, she was cute, with big blue eyes and long golden hair. She had told Dixon that she was fourteen and that she lived in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Dixon had told her he was seventeen.
Dixon was the one who had initiated contact. His first Facebook message to Sophie had been sent on March 8. Dixon had never solicited sex from the girl in his texts or Facebook messages to her.
Sophie’s phone number was registered to Paul Engstrom and was part of a family plan. Paul Engstrom lived in University Heights and was probably Sophie’s father.
2
Paul Engstrom’s apartment was on the first floor of a two-story building with a tile roof. After Hagan introduced himself, Engstrom asked, “What do you want?”
“Are you Paul Engstrom?”
“Yes.”
“Does a girl named Sophie live here?”
“Yes.”
“How old is she?”
“Fourteen.”
“Is she your daughter?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Is she home?”
“Yes.”
“Can I talk to her? I need to ask her a few questions.”
Engstrom frowned. “Okay.”
He let Hagan in.
“Is she in trouble?” Engstrom asked.
“No.” Hagan sat down in a chair.
Engstrom switched off the TV and shouted, “Sophie, come here!”
About ten seconds later, Sophie, dressed in a white T-shirt and pink shorts, walked into the living room and said to Engstrom, “What is it?”
“This man is a police detective,” Engstrom said. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Hi, Sophie,” Hagan said. “I’m Detective Hagan with the San Diego Police Department.”
“Hi.”
“Mister Engstrom, do you mind if I talk to Sophie alone?” Hagan asked Engstrom.
“Why do you want to talk to her alone?”
“I think she’d feel more comfortable if we talked alone.”
Engstrom looked at his daughter and said, “I’ll stay.”
“All right.” Hagan took Henry Dixon’s photograph from the folder, showed it to Sophie, and said, “Do you recognize this man?”
“No,” Sophie replied.
“You’ve never seen him?”
“No.”
“Do you have a cellphone?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you send text messages to a guy named Tyler Simmons last March?”
“Tyler Simmons?” Sophie nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“Did you talk to him on the phone?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you get his number?”
“He gave it to me through Facebook.”
“On March twenty-fourth you and Tyler agreed to meet at a Starbucks on Twenty-eighth Street. Did you meet him?”
Sophie looked from Hagan to her father and then back to Hagan. “Yes.”
“How old is this Tyler?” Engstrom asked suspiciously.
Hagan held up Dixon’s photograph and said, “Is this Tyler?”
“No.”
“Sophie, you need to tell me the truth. We know you met this man because his phone and your phone were in the same place at the same time on March twenty-fifth.”
Sophie sighed. “Okay. Yes, this is Tyler.”
“How old is this guy?” Engstrom said, staring at Dixon’s picture. “He’s at least twenty-five. Sophie, why the hell do you hang out with twenty-five-year-old guys?”
“He’s seventeen,” Sophie said.
“No, he’s not seventeen.” Hagan put Dixon’s photograph in the folder. “He’s thirty-two.”
“Thirty-two? What the hell!” Engstrom scowled at his daughter.
“He said he was seventeen,” Sophie said.
“Where does he live?” Engstrom asked Hagan, his fists clenched. “Can you give me his address?”
“Has Tyler ever talked to you about sex?” Hagan said.
“Yeah.”
“Have you ever had sex with him?”
Sophie shook her head. “No.”
“Has he ever asked you to have sex with him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you refuse to have sex with him?”
“Yeah.”
“Has he ever tried to force you to have sex with him?”
“No.”
“Has he ever asked you to have sex with him in an email?”
“No.”
“Has Tyler ever shown you his penis?”
“No, he hasn’t.”
“You’ve got to give me this guy’s address, Detective.” Engstrom’s face was red with anger.
“Has he ever touched you in a sexual way?”
“Well, we kissed a couple of times.”
“Has he ever touched your private parts?”
“No.”
“Has he ever touched your breasts?”
“Yes.”
By kissing Sophie and touching her breasts Dixon had committed child molestation. If he was found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
“How many times have you met Tyler?”
“Just one time.”
“Did you go to his apartment that day?”
“No.”
“Why did you do it, Sophie?” Engstrom said angrily. “Why did you do it?”
“I thought he was seventeen, Dad,” Sophie replied.
“Are you blind?”
“Dad, why are you so mad?”
“Did you and Tyler go anywhere?” Hagan asked.
“We went to the movies and then Tyler took me home.”
“What theater did you go to?”
“The one in the Horton Plaza Mall.”
“Tyler kissed you and touched your breasts. Where did he do it?”
“In his car.”
“Has Tyler ever sent you his naked pictures?”
“No.”
“When was the last time he contacted you?”
“April.”
“Are you going to put this guy in prison?” Engstrom said. “This guy’s a pedophile. He belongs in prison.”
“I’ll do my best to put him behind bars,” Hagan said.
“Give me his phone number.”
“Thanks for answering my questions,” Hagan said to Sophie. Then he took out his card and handed it to Engstrom. “Here’s my card.”
“Can you give me Tyler’s number?” Engstrom said.
“Mister Engstrom, taking the law into your own hands is a bad idea. I suggest you stay away from Tyler. Let us handle this.” To Sophie, he said, “Sophie, if Tyler calls or texts or emails you, do not reply. Don’t talk to him, don’t see him. He’s a murder suspect. We believe he killed a girl about your age, whom he met on Facebook.”
“This guy’s a murderer?” Engstrom shouted. “Jesus!”
“He’s a dangerous man, Sophie. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Sophie said quietly.
3
At seven o’clock, Frank Caruso called Hagan and said that he wanted to tell him why Anita had failed the lie detector test.
“I talked to my daughter, and she explained everything to me,” Caruso said. “Your guy asked her if she knew who killed that girl, and she said no. Your guy says it was a lie. Well, the thing is, Anita thinks she knows who killed that girl. She thinks it’s her boyfriend, Adam. You know Adam, right?”
“Yes, I know him.”
“Adam told Anita he wanted to kill Melissa for breaking up with him. He used to date Melissa, you know that, right?”
Hagan nodded.
“That’s why Anita failed the lie detector test. She thought she knew who killed that girl.”
“Did Adam confess to your daughter that he murdered Melissa Keener?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“When Anita was asked if she murdered Melissa, she said no, and that was a lie. How did she explain that?”
“She felt guilty. She could have warned Melissa that Adam wanted to kill her, but she didn’t.”
Maybe Anita felt guilty because she had persuaded Adam to kill Melissa?
“Why didn’t Anita warn Melissa?”
“She didn’t think Adam was really going to kill Melissa.”
The explanation Frank Caruso had given him was somewhat convoluted but plausible. Hagan was inclined to accept it because he considered Henry Dixon a better suspect than Anita at the present time.
Chapter 15
1
Adam Linder’s mother, Irene Linder, was home when Hagan came to his house on Thursday, July 20. She sat down beside her son on the sofa to listen to their conversation.
“When we talked last week, you said that you didn’t want to get back at Melissa for breaking up with you,” Hagan said to Adam. “Is that correct?”
“Yes,” the boy said.
“You talked to Adam last week?” Irene said.
Hagan saw a flash of anger in her eyes.
“Yes, I did.”
Irene looked at her son and said, “Adam, why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I forgot,” the boy replied.
“What did you talk about?” Irene asked Hagan.
“I’m investigating the murder of Adam’s ex-girlfriend Melissa Keener.” To the boy, Hagan said, “Your girlfriend, Anita, says that you told her you wanted to kill Melissa for breaking up with you.”
“She told you that?” Adam frowned.
“Yes.”
“She’s lying,” Irene said. “Don’t believe her. She’s a liar.”
“Adam, did you tell Anita you wanted to kill Melissa?” Hagan asked the boy.
“I... I don’t remember,” Adam said.
“I think she’s telling the truth,” Hagan said. “You wanted to kill Melissa for breaking up with you.”
“Anita’s a liar,” Irene said.
“Was it Anita’s idea to kill Melissa?” Hagan asked.
“I didn’t kill Melissa,” Adam said.
“My son didn’t kill that girl,” Irene said.
“Did you and Anita talk about killing Melissa?”
Adam cleared his throat. “Anita wanted to kill her. She hated her guts.”
“Did Anita tell you she wanted to kill Melissa?”
“Yes, she did. She really hated Melissa. A month and a half ago she put dog shit in Melissa’s school bag.”
“Did Anita kill Melissa?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think she killed Melissa?”
Adam shrugged.
“Anita thinks you killed Melissa.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“She’s wrong.”
“Did Anita ask you to help her kill Melissa?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t like where this is going, Detective,” Irene said. “Adam doesn’t have to answer your questions. This interview is over.” To Adam, she said, “Go to your room, honey.”
The boy stood up and walked out of the living room.
“Would you let Adam take a lie detector test?” Hagan asked Irene.
“No.”
“Did Adam tell you anything about Melissa’s murder?”
“He didn’t tell me anything about it.”
2
Anita was home alone. She thought for a long time before agreeing to answer Hagan’s questions. Her father had probably instructed her not to talk to the police, and she defied him, as teenagers were prone to do.
“Yesterday, I talked to your father about why you failed the lie detector test,” Hagan said. “I’d like you to tell me why you failed the test.”
“I failed it because I think that Adam killed Melissa and because I feel guilty.”
“You think Adam murdered Melissa?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any proof that he killed her?”
“No.”
“Did he confess to you that he murdered Melissa?”
“No.”
“I talked to Adam half an hour ago. He said you wanted to kill Melissa.”
“I didn’t want to kill her. Adam did.”
“Did you put dog poop in Melissa’s school bag?”
“Who told you that?”
“Adam.”
“It was a practical joke.”
“I don’t know if I can believe you, Anita.”
“Why?”
“You threatened to kill Melissa.”
“I didn’t mean it.”
“I think Adam’s telling the truth.”
“Why do you believe him?”
“He sounds honest.”
“Did he take a lie detector test?”
“No.”
“Did you ask him to take it?”
“Not yet.”
“Ask him to take a lie detector test. He’ll fail it.”
3
At four o’clock, Hagan received a report from the Questioned Documents Unit concerning Alice’s signature on the consent to adoption form. The document examiners were unable to make a conclusive determination.
Hagan finally had something that made it easier—just a little bit easier—to believe Alice’s story.
He thought of the contact number that was listed on Alice’s personal data sheet in Melissa’s adoption file. It was different from the number Alice had texted to him two days ago. He figured it had belonged to one of Melissa’s abductors.
Hagan called the North American Numbering Plan Administration and requested the name of the phone carrier that had owned the contact number on Alice’s personal data sheet in March thirteen years ago. When he heard
that the carrier’s name was Trident Mobile, he realized that the lead was probably a dead end: a lot of burner phones, including the one used by Henry Dixon, were serviced by that company.
As he expected, Trident Mobile didn’t know who’d had the number on Alice’s personal data sheet in March thirteen years ago. They couldn’t provide call records because they kept them for only one year.
Chapter 16
1
Dr. Simon Teague was a tall man with thinning salt-and-pepper-hair and piercing gray eyes. He had studied hypnosis at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute and was a board certified hypnotist. He had told Alice on the phone that he had helped a number of people recall repressed memories.
Dr. Teague’s office was small and cozy, its windows overlooking the red-tiled courtyard with a tiered fountain in the center. They sat in plush chairs facing each other, with their legs crossed. Teague had on a gray herringbone tweed jacket, a gray shirt, and black pants.
“What would you like to remember?” Teague asked.
“I want to remember what happened after I gave birth to my daughter,” Alice said.
“What period of time would you like to cover?”
“One month. I want to remember who told me that my daughter was dead and who showed me her body.”
“I’m sorry about your daughter. When did she die?”
“They said she died an hour after she was born.” Alice bit her lip. “I want to tell you something, Simon… Please don’t think I’m crazy.”
“Go ahead.”
“I recently learned that my daughter didn’t die. It turned out she was given up for adoption. They say it was me who gave her up for adoption, but I don’t remember doing it. I want to find out if I really gave my daughter up for adoption.”
Scribbling on his legal pad, Teague said, “When did you learn that your daughter was alive?”
“About three weeks ago.”
“And up until then you thought your daughter was dead?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Do you still want to remember who told you your daughter was dead and who showed you her body?”
“Yes. I want to remember their full names and faces.”
“What’s your daughter’s name?”
“Melissa.”
“How old is she?”
“Thirteen.”
“What are the names of her adoptive parents?”
