A Flight of Fantasy (Sarah Woods Mystery 12)

by Jennifer L. Jennings

  “No problem,” I said. “Take your time. I can wait.”

  “You don’t understand.” Rita’s tone was becoming more clipped. “My daughter doesn’t fall asleep unless I lie down with her. Some nights it takes hours.”

  “I understand,” I said. “I have a son. He’s in college now, but I remember when he was little, he wouldn’t fall asleep unless I had read five of his favorite books. Every single night. I kinda miss those days.”

  Rita smiled wearily. “Yeah, well. Could we do this another time?”

  “I could stop by your office tomorrow,” I suggested. “Would that work?”

  By the tight expression on her face, I could tell she was less than pleased with that idea. Her daughter was starting to fidget, so Rita let her down and said to her, “Amy, go to your room and pick out which pajamas you’d like to wear to bed, okay?”

  The girl nodded and ran out of sight. When Rita turned back to face me, her eyes bore into mine. “Now what’s this all about?”

  “What were you doing at Dr. Wheeler’s house tonight?”

  She blinked rapidly. “What are you talking about?”

  “I have pictures of you at his house. Would you like to see?”

  “You’ve been following me?”

  I sidestepped that question and decided to take a different approach. “Does the principal at Fitch High School know you’ve been moonlighting as an escort?”

  Rita’s jaw clenched. “This has to do with that Wayne fellow. You must work with that guy I met yesterday at the Four Seasons.”

  “That’s right. Now, can I come inside to discuss this? It’s pretty cold out here.” I rubbed my hands together to demonstrate just how cold I was.

  She reluctantly opened the door for me to enter. “Have a seat if you like. But make it quick.”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate this.” I followed her to the kitchen where the distinctive smell of macaroni and cheese filled the air. Rita gestured to a stool at the island and I took it.

  “I already told your partner what happened,” Rita began. “A guy approached me last Thursday and offered me money to show Wayne a good time.”

  “Where, exactly, did this man approach you? Because, we already went to Panini Heaven and asked around. Nobody has ever seen you before.”

  She looked away, clearly deflated. “Shit.”

  “Look,” I said. “Why don’t you level with me? We both know that nobody put you up to this. Did you go to Wayne’s house to steal something from him?”

  “I’m not a thief.”

  “Then what were you looking for?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Who is Dr. Wheeler to you?” I persisted. “What were you planning to do at his house tonight?”

  Rita shook her head. “I can’t get into this right now. I need to put my daughter to bed.”

  “If you don’t give me something, I’ll be forced to go to the police with this. I don’t want to do that. You seem like a great mom.”

  “You’re threatening me?”

  “If you tell me the truth about why you went to Wayne’s house, I’ll convince him not to press charges. We can work this all out ourselves. But if you refuse to come clean …”

  “Fine.” Rita stood up and marched out of the room. I sat there, bewildered, wondering where she was going. I didn’t hear the girl crying, but maybe she was just checking on her. When she reappeared, she had a manila envelope in her hand. She slapped it down on the counter in front of me.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Evidence I’ve been collecting for weeks. I’m just not sure what to do with it yet.”

  “Evidence for what?”

  Rita crossed her arms and dropped onto the stool, her eyes downcast. “One of my students at the school, she’s been in a lot of trouble this year. Drugs, theft, promiscuity; typical behavior for someone who lives with abusive parents. She’s confided in me, and has asked me not to tell anyone about what Dr. Wheeler is doing with her.”

  Something clicked in my brain and a piece of the puzzle went into place. “Your student, was she the one you stayed after school with today?”

  “Yes. She’s been a patient of Dr. Wheeler for a few months. After some trouble at home, I recommended that she start getting some treatment. I did research and found out that Dr. Wheeler does a lot of pro bono work and he was willing to make time for her.”

  I was completely intrigued at this point, not knowing what to expect. I gestured for her to continue.

  Rita nodded. “He specializes in troubled teens, specifically with drug and alcohol abuse. I had no idea he was a sick bastard.”

  I blinked hard. “What?”

  “When my student told me in confidence that Dr. Wheeler asked her to take off her clothes as part of a trust exercise, she complied. He took advantage of her, and then posted her pictures online.”

  Completely stunned by this accusation against a well-respected doctor, my first instinct was to not believe it. “Why would a man like him risk his career and reputation to do something as careless as that?”

  “He wasn’t careless. He was cunning. He did a hell of a job trying to hide his identity online. I’ve done a lot of research on this. Pedophiles have a very intricate underground web of security protocol, using untraceable usernames and passwords. I just happen to have a friend with extensive computer knowledge. He was able to trace some of these usernames on the blog. I was able to find out that Dr. Wheeler is a member of a site called Teenager Revealed. Now, the title itself doesn’t sound particularly sexual or deviant but, when you actually read some of the posts, it becomes clear that these men are all sick. I have no idea if there’s any truth to these posts, or if these guys are just writing out their fantasies but, the fact that these photos have been shared is disturbing to say the least. I know it’s a sickness but these men talk as if there’s nothing wrong with lusting over young teenagers.”

  “Other than Dr. Wheeler, have any of the other members posted pictures of other girls?”

  “No. As far as I can tell, Dr. Wheeler was the only one. As you can imagine, however, it only serves to encourage that kind of behavior.”

  “What proof do you have?”

  “Go ahead and see for yourself.” She tapped the envelope on the counter forcefully. “But I’m warning you, it will give you nightmares.”

  I picked up the envelope and emptied the contents into my hand, holding my breath. Rita was right, the girl was completely nude. The look of trepidation and embarrassment in the girl’s eyes made me quiver with rage. It was obvious she was not enjoying herself. “How old is she?” I asked.

  “Only fourteen. A freshman.”

  “What’s her name?”

  She paused as if she didn’t want to tell me. “Allison Kenney.”

  “Do her parents know about this?”

  “No, she’s afraid to tell them. Her parents are never around anyway. Like I said, the family has a lot of problems.”

  “And how did you get these photos?” I asked, flipping them upside down on the counter so as not to expose the poor girl any more than was necessary.

  “Look, I have a duty to protect her, don’t I? I figured if I could collect some kind of evidence myself, then I could present it to the police and Allison wouldn’t have to testify. So, I was able to get inside Dr. Wheeler’s office a few weeks ago after business hours. I downloaded files from his computer and found out that Dr. Wheeler has a blog online. He and six other men regularly post comments and offer their own experiences.”

  I hesitated. “Experiences with under-aged girls?”

  Rita made a disgusted face. “Yes.”

  “Shit,” I said, shaking my head, realizing exactly how our client was involved in this. “Are you going to tell me that Wayne Miller is one of the guys who posts on the blog?”

  “Yes. Wayne is the only one who lives locally. The other four guys live in different states. I have the usernames for each one but, like I said, it’s been a stru
ggle to obtain real names. These guys are smart and they are evil. They’ve become experts at hiding their identities.” Rita leaned over and pointed to a username: waynethebrain69. “That’s Wayne Miller.”

  The reason Reece wanted Wayne’s files now made perfect sense. “Please continue,” I said.

  “Well, once I knew that Wayne lived locally, I got his address and started following him on my own; to see if any of the stories he had written about were actually true. After a few weeks, I realized that all he did was go to work then come home. He doesn’t seem to have any friends. Then last Thursday night, I followed him to that event at the Hilton, A Flight of Fantasy, and I realized that it might be my only chance.”

  “So you got into the event and came on to him. How did you know he’d fall for it and invite you back to his house?”

  “Well, I didn’t know for sure. I realized he was a light drinker and if I could convince him to drink more than he was used to, I figured it might make him more agreeable.”

  “So you got him to take you back to his place?”

  “Yes. Once he was passed out, I searched his entire house, looking for signs that he’d been molesting girls but I found nothing.”

  “So it’s possible that Wayne’s stories were made up.”

  Rita shrugged. “Not necessarily.”

  I scratched my head. “So, I don’t understand why you went to Dr. Wheeler’s house tonight? What was that all about?”

  “I was going to confront his wife about what her husband did to Allison; then I realized it was a stupid idea. Besides, their kids were there and I just couldn’t go through with it. He would have denied the whole thing anyway.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I can’t begin to tell you how stressed out I’ve been over this. I feel like I’ve let Allison down.”

  “You’ve done enough,” I said. “At this point, it’s up to Allison. She has to come forward.” Another thought occurred to me. “Do you know if Dr. Wheeler has done this before with other patients?”

  “Not that I can prove, but this can’t be the first time. He’s too good at it.”

  At the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen, I looked over and saw Rita’s daughter standing there in her pajamas holding the string of a deflated balloon. Most kids sleep with their teddy bears. Amy had a thing for balloons. “Mommy, I’m thirsty.”

  Rita prepared her daughter a sippy cup of milk and ushered her out of the kitchen. “Please excuse me,” she said. “I need to tuck Amy into bed. Give me a few minutes.”

  “Take your time.”

  I realized that Carter must have been wondering what’s going on. I got my cell phone out and called him.

  “Sarah, is everything okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

  “I’m good,” I said, keeping my voice to a whisper. “But you’re not going to believe what Rita has presented to me. She has proof that Wayne and Dr. Wheeler are both involved in some nasty shit involving under-aged girls.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “I’m afraid so. One of the girl’s is Rita’s student at the high school where she works. Apparently this girl is also a patient of Dr. Wheeler’s. He’s been taking nude photos of her.”

  “Have you seen them?”

  “Yes. They’re right here in front of me. Wayne is our client, so what are we going to do about this?”

  “First, we need to substantiate Rita’s story. I’ll need to look over whatever information she has. If everything checks out to be true, then we’ll decide what to do.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if Rita will agree to that.”

  When Rita finally returned to the kitchen, I noticed how tired she looked. “Who were you talking to on the phone just now?” she asked.

  “My partner Carter. The one you met yesterday at the hotel lounge.”

  “I see. So, what did he have to say about all this?”

  “He’s shocked, just like me. If we find out that you’re right and Wayne Miller is a part of this group, then that changes things for us. I won’t work for someone like him.”

  A panic look crossed her face. “You can’t tell Wayne Miller about this. He’ll contact Dr. Wheeler and warn him for sure.”

  “We’re not going to mention any of this for now, at least until we can prove that waynethebrain69 is actually him. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but we have to make sure.”

  “And then what? I can’t go to the police because I stole these files and I’m sure there are laws against that. With my luck, Dr. Wheeler will sue me for slander or some horseshit like that.”

  “You need to convince your student to come forward,” I said. “Or else other girls might be subject to the same mistreatment. You have to convince her to be strong. Her testimony is imperative.”

  “I’m working on it but she’s afraid. I can’t blame her for that.”

  “I’d be willing to talk to her,” I said. “If you think I can help.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Of course - but if I’m going to get involved, you need to trust me implicitly and I need to have copies of everything you have found on Dr. Wheeler’s and Wayne’s computers.”

  “No problem.” She indicated the stack on the counter. “You can take it all.”

  I gathered the sheets, returned them to the folder and then securely tucked the envelope into my purse. “I’ll be in touch sometime tomorrow after we’ve had a chance to look these over.”

  She let out a sigh of relief and managed a weak smile. “Thank you for believing me. It actually feels good to talk to someone about this. Get it off my chest. I’ve been so consumed with this, I feel guilty for neglecting my daughter’s needs. I know she senses that I’m not happy.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking a personal question, why are you working as an escort?”

  Rita closed her eyes and lowered her head. “It’s a long story.”

  “I have the time.”

  She looked up, opened her eyes, and gave a little shrug. “My ex-husband left us a few years ago. He couldn’t handle the stress of raising a child with special needs. When I was pregnant with Amy, the doctor told us our daughter would have a ninety percent chance of having Down’s Syndrome. We made the decision to love our child no matter what. Unfortunately, Jim didn’t keep his word. He let us down and, not just that, he racked up a fortune on our credit cards, then left me with all of it. He hasn’t paid child support and he hasn’t talked to Amy in over a year. She requires special schooling and I want to give her the best opportunities. I decided I would need to get a second job in order to make it all work.”

  “…and having sex with strangers is the only job you could find?”

  “It’s the only job I could find that pays well. I make more money as an escort in one week than I do in one month of being a guidance counselor.”

  “Don’t you have family who can help out?”

  “Not really. My mom is gone and my dad is in a home. My brother and his wife live in Canada and I barely hear from them. My next-door neighbor is retired and she watches Amy whenever I have a client. She’s been a tremendous help and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

  “I admire the sacrifices you’ve made,” I said. “You obviously care very much for your daughter as well as your students.”

  “I’m a guidance counselor, so my job is to counsel my students. Most people think all we do is guide them toward future endeavors like college and so forth, but we also have to be in tune to their emotional and psychological behavior. Sometimes it’s hard to connect with teenagers so when one of them opens up and confides in me, I want to be there for her.”

  “I understand. You have a strong sense of duty and I admire that but you’ve risked a lot.”

  “If I don’t, then who will?” she said.

  “I understand. I really do.” I got up and grabbed the files. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

  * * *

  When we got back to Bridgeport I invited Carter up to my apartment for a beer while we confirm
ed the truth of Rita’s theory. It didn’t take very long for Carter to prove that wanynethebrain69 was, in fact, our client, Wayne Miller.

  When we read Wayne’s stories about having sex with thirteen-year-old girls, the details seemed so outlandish they read more like science fiction than true life. At least he’d never posted any photos. The fact that anyone would find these stories entertaining made me want to vomit.

  “Wayne is the kind of guy who probably never had a date in high school,” I said. “Think about it. I know how cruel girls can be in high school. The constant rejection and teasing probably left him with deep-rooted scars. Maybe these stories he writes are pure fantasy. Maybe even therapeutic in a sick sort of way. An opportunity to release his demons without resorting to violence.”

  “I see what you’re getting at,” Carter said, “but this kind of mentality could turn violent under certain circumstances. I can tell you one thing, I wouldn’t want him hanging around young girls.”

  “Well, that’s what makes Dr. Wheeler so scary. He’s around kids all day long. He knows how their brains work and he can manipulate them. Just like he did with Reece’s student, Allison.”

  Carter took a few minutes to think it over. “Tell you what. Why don’t we give Wayne the chance to explain himself? We owe him that much. Maybe he’ll be willing to testify against Dr. Wheeler if this thing ever goes to court.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s see if he’ll meet us tomorrow morning.”

  Chapter 15

  Tuesday, October 20th

  The next morning, we showed up at Wayne’s house early before he was heading to work. Wayne offered us coffee but we both declined.

  Carter cleared his throat nervously as the three of us sat down at his kitchen table. “Wayne, what can you tell us about a blog called Teenager Revealed?”

  Wayne looked up from his coffee cup and blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Your user name is waynethebrain69,” Carter continued. “And you regularly post stories on the site. We’ve read a few of them. Quite an imagination you have. Is there any truth to them?”