by Jet MacLeod
“I’m good. Mommy picked me up from school today instead of Grandma. She said we were getting pictures made for you today. Why do you need pictures of us?”
Reagan and Grace looked at each. They both wondered how they should answer that question and make Catherine understand. Grace saw the pleading look in Reagan’s eyes.
“It is so I can have you both close to me, everyday, Catie.”
“Cool. Like Mommy has pictures of me and Grandma on her desk at work. Is that what you mean, Gracie?”
Reagan smiled at the both. She knew that Grace and she had just evaded their first of many question and answer sessions with Catie. They both took Catie in to the squad room and sat her at Grace’s desk.
Danica came out to the meet them. She smiled at little Catie. She made a mental note of how much of her mother she could see in Catie. She wondered if eliminating enough of Reagan from Catie would give them enough for a good composite.
“Hello, I’m Samantha the Computer Detective,” Sam said, introducing herself to Reagan.
“Hello, Samantha, I’m Reagan Knightley and this is my daughter, Catherine.”
“Ah, Mommy, it’s Catie,” Catie said in response to being introduced to Sam, “Hi, Samanfa, are you a lieuten-tant like Grace?”
“No, Catie, I’m a sergeant. I’m Sergeant Wannamaker. Pleased to meet you, Catie,” Sam said, shaking the little girl’s hand.
“A sarge-ant? Is that cool? It sounds cool,” Catie spouted out.
“It is. I hunt bad guys on the computer. Do you have a computer at home?”
“Yeah, but Mommy usually uses it for work. Is that what you do?”
“Yes, Catie, I use my big computer here to work. But, today, I’m going to take pictures of you and your mom for Gracie. You want to help me with that for Gracie?” Sam asked.
“YEAH!!!”
“She loves helping. She loves Gracie. She doesn’t like pictures,” Reagan added.
“Well, this should be amusing,” Sam replied.
“You have no idea,” Grace and Reagan said at the same time.
“Now, Catie, I need you to sit right here, so I can take some pictures of you,” Sam told her, sitting her in a chair in front of the computer.
“Okay.”
Sam picked up her camera and began to take pictures of the child. She took shots from the front and side and a few that were slants covering both the front and the side. Sam turned back to the computer and began to input the images in the computer program. Catie became suddenly curious about the photos and the images that she was creating from the photos.
“Is that me?” Catie asked, pointing to one of the pictures.
“Yeah, it is. Now watch what I am going to do to it,” Sam said as she started playing with the images, “I am about to take your picture and make a 3d image of it.”
“Cool.”
Sam began typing into her program. She moved the mouse around and clicked a few times. Suddenly, a rotating 3d image of Catherine popped up on the screen. Sam worked on it a little more and finally got it set where she wanted it.
“Now, it is your Mom’s turn. I am about to do the same thing with her. And, later, after I do some touch ups, I’m going to let Grace pick some pictures of you and your mother. That sounds good to you?” Sam asked Catie.
“Yeah,” Catie said.
Catie and Reagan switched places. Sam took the same style pictures. She inputted them into the computer as well. She took the pictures and made the 3d image of Reagan as well. She rotated the image around and opened another program. She began to input the 3d images in it and let the program run.
“Do you have those pictures that I asked for?” Sam asked Reagan.
“Yes, here you go,” Reagan said handing Sam an envelope.
Sam took those pictures and scanned them into the computer. She began to manipulate the pictures and made images of Reagan’s family. She took those images and put them in the newly opened program. She searched through the program and pulled the images together. She turned the program on and let it run.
Grace watched as Catie’s face came up and it began to melt away. The program was pulling as much of Reagan and her family out. The new face that faced them was strange. Reagan didn’t seem to recognize the person either.
“Who is that?” Reagan asked.
“The perp,” Sam stated, “But, wait, I have to tweak it a bit.”
“Tweak it?” Grace asked.
“Yeah, it was a man. So, first we make it more masculine. Then we add some more adult definition,” Sam answered as she clicked and typed away, the image changing with every type and click, “Then, we alter hair and eye color to try and possibly get a match. Once we have a possible composite. I’ll run through a facial recognition program and see if we have anything or anyone that remotely looks like this guy.”
“So, how long?” Grace asked.
“With the images I got, hopefully by tomorrow, I can’t promise anything, either.”
“So, now, we just wait?” Reagan asked.
“Unless one of the faces I created looks familiar,” Sam stated.
“I don’t know. Let me see them. I didn’t really at them very well,” Reagan told her.
“Okay, we’ll go slow. I can change stuff slowly. If you get something that looks familiar, then we can stop and try something else. I don’t know how else to do this,” Sam said.
“That sounds fine, where do you want to start?” Reagan stated.
“I don’t know, this is entirely up to you,” Sam started.
“How about hair?” Grace asked.
“Okay,” Reagan said.
“Well I’ll leave you two be, I’m going to take Catie to get some ice cream,” Grace told them, not giving them time to object, and walked away.
Two hours later Grace brought Catie back to the station. Sam and Reagan were still staring at the computer screen. There was a face on the screen and a print out that Sam had made. It looked like someone that Grace should know.
“Got something?” Grace asked.
“Yes!”
“Do I need to get Danica?” Grace questioned.
“Yes!”
“On my way,” Grace said, walking to Danica’s office.
“Danica,” Grace said, knocking on Danica’s office door.
“Yeah, what’s up, O’Shea? Got something? Don’t tell me that the computer actually worked. Did Reagan actually get something?” Danica inquired.
“Yes?” Grace answered.
“Let’s go,” Danica said, coming around her desk and pushing Grace back into the squad room and toward the desk that Sam was using.
“Show me!” Danica demanded.
Sam showed Danica the picture that Reagan had finally come up with. Danica looked at the picture in awe. It was amazing what Catie could do to help catch her bastard criminal father and end a case.
“Do you have a name?” Danica asked.
“Not yet, but the facial recognition is still searching. We do have a sketch. We have a brave woman and her little girl and now a composite. Soon, we’ll have a name. We are going to get him, Mom. Reagan helped solve the case,” Sam said.
“I’ll call the solicitor. They are going to love this. I need to call French and the sheriff. The press is going to need a statement. We got him now.”
“Thank you. Thank you, all. Thank you for your patience,” Reagan stated.
“We got him now, baby. You won’t have to worry about it anymore. I’ve got you and Catie. I’ll take care of him for us all now. Everything is going to be fine,” Grace said.
“I know, darling. I know. I love you,” Reagan replied.
“I love you, too,” Catie added.
“I love you both,” Grace stated, hugging them both, “Now, let’s go home.”
About the Author
JET MacLeod is a South Carolina native, born and raised. She is also a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in English. She is proud to say that she served our wonderf
ul country in the Army for over six years and was deployed for Operation: Enduring Freedom. A Gold Award Girl Scout and Black Belt in the TAI Karate System, she is proud to say that she has done more in her thirty plus years than some have done in fifty.
Never being one to follow traditions very well, she and her partner got married in Atlanta at Pride on Halloween, by a Rabbi. They currently reside in the Capital Metro Area and are readjusting to “City.” When she doesn’t have a book in her hands, she is furiously working on her next work.
Be sure to look out for her next work in her “Rainbow Cove Series” Twin Embers and her next release of Morgan’s Treasure.
She can be reached at [email protected].
