“I’m in,” Charles said.
“That’s what he said.” Well, they were getting all perverted. I wanted to be one of the boys too.
“Nick? Did you say that to Mimi?”
I could’ve shot Charles that very moment.
Nick lightly punched Charles in the shoulder. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Suddenly, Charles wasn’t joking around anymore. He leaned in closer to the screen. “Do you see that?”
Nick and I leaned in close. I could feel his breath on my neck. My vision blurred for a second, while my body processed this feeling.
“See what?” Nick leaned even closer to the screen.
“Right there.” Charles pointed to a girl next to Dylan in a party picture. “That’s Anna.”
“She knows,” Nick said.
“Catey did say Anna was really weird about her and Dylan.” I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense.
“First, let’s be clear,” Charles said. “We agree that William is Dylan, and that Dylan and Tiffany definitely had connections. So this means Tiffany may have been William’s last victim before he was killed.”
“So where is she?” This thought made me cringe. If William hadn’t been killed, maybe Tiffany would be safe.
Nick’s cell phone rang.
“Let’s get out of here. I’m going to take the laptop with me.” Charles packed up his tools and closed Tiffany’s laptop. He slipped it into his bag along with the rest of his stuff.
Nick had moved across the room to take his call, so I just followed Charles out of the library.
“Hold up,” Nick said to us, and then went back to his call.
I stopped, but Charles kept walking. I heard him approach someone in the foyer.
“You realize you did this to your daughter,” Charles snapped.
I heard a man’s voice. “Excuse me?”
Charles’s voice was low and full of rage. “You thrive on perfection. Tiffany wasn’t perfect. Nothing she did was going to make her cute enough to fit into this family. So she started looking elsewhere for love and attention.”
“What the hell?” It was Julie this time.
“And you, with your plastic face and plastic personality. What do you think you’re teaching your poor daughter? You fed her insecurity and drove her to search for approval from a boy she met online.”
“You have no right to talk to my wife like this,” Tim growled.
“I’m not just talking to your wife. If your daughter is gone, then you did this to her, too. Because I’ve got news for you, the boy she was showing her naked pictures to was a man, and that man is now dead. So the chances of finding your daughter just got slimmer.” He was no longer speaking low; Charles was in full rage.
Nick came running from the library into the foyer. I could tell he wanted to stop Charles from saying more, but he wanted this family to know what they’d done to their daughter.
I thought about Catey. Did Jackie make her feel inferior? I didn’t think that was the case with Catey. They had been sexting each other, but she hadn’t sent any pictures.
Nick waited a few more seconds before he grabbed Charles by the arm. He looked at the Andersons. “I’m sorry about this. We’re leaving.”
Charles yanked his arm free. “I wasn’t finished.”
Now Nick locked onto Charles’s forearm. “Yes. You. Are.” He nearly dragged him from the house.
Once we were outside, Nick let go of Charles. I walked a few steps behind them, knowing what happened when Charles blew a cork.
Behind me, I heard Tim Anderson say, “She was sending naked photos of herself to a man?”
I shook my head and kept walking.
“They needed to know. That Barbie doll, with her skin stretched across her skull, made her daughter feel fat and ugly.” Charles almost whispered.
“How do you know that?” Nick asked.
“I just know.” Charles walked away. He got in his car and left skid marks on the street as he drove away.
Nick looked at me. “Need a ride?”
I stared after the Spyder. “I guess I do.”
CHAPTER 13
The tension from Charles’s tirade was still thick in the air as Nick drove me back to my office. Nick and I didn't talk much. I looked out the window, trying to figure out what in Charles's past made him react this way.
"Do you think Charles had issues with his parents?"
"Oh, Charles has had plenty of issues. His parents were the least of his problems when he was growing up. But I do think he got his fastidiousness from his family."
"I can't say that he’s wrong. His method of delivering the message may have been wrong, but he’s right." Nick maneuvered his car into a parking lot.
"Sorry about Charles. When he gets up on his soapbox, you never know what's going to happen."
Just as I was about to get out of the car, Nick put his hand on my forearm. "What do you think about Anna being in that picture with the real Dylan?"
"I just don't see how she could possibly be involved. Maybe William saw her with the picture, and decided to borrow the real Dylan's pictures."
"William is friends with Anna on a social networking site all of the kids are on these days."
"Stay here just a minute, I'll be right back." I didn't wait for Nick to respond and got out of the car.
I was back out in the parking lot within minutes, and to my surprise, Nick was still there.
"What would you say about going to have a talk with Anna?"
The look of surprise on Nick's face was priceless. "I take it you have some information you haven't shared with me yet. We’ve been trying to find the girl."
I climbed in this car and buckled my seatbelt. "Jackie was able to get Anna's cell phone number for me."
"What good will that do? You think if we call, she’ll tell us where she is, and then be waiting for us?"
"I wasn't so sure about that, so Jackie had Catey call Anna to see where she's at, and she's at her aunt’s house."
Nick leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Have I told you lately that you rock?"
I handed him a piece of paper with the address.
Luckily, Anna didn't live far from the Gotcha offices, and we were there within minutes.
"Do you want me to stay in the car?" I asked, even though I was unbuckling my seatbelt.
"No, I think you deserve to come with me on this one. But please, let me do the talking, at least at first.”
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I followed quietly behind Nick as we walked to the front door.
The neighborhood and the house were definitely for a lower income bracket than that of the Anderson family. I was pretty sure this house didn't have a foyer or a library. It took everything I had not to peek through the window as we waited for somebody to answer the door.
The woman who eventually answered the door was average looking, average height and mousy brown hair, but somehow cute. She wore a plain white blouse with a plaid skirt that fit nicely, and hugged her hips.
"Yes," she said, with a voice that sounded like she'd been crying.
Nick smiled and flashed his badge. "We're here to speak to Anna Garrison."
The woman's face hardened. "Can I help you with something? Anna isn't available."
Nick introduced himself to the woman, who happened to be Stephanie Garrison, William’s sister, and Anna’s aunt.
I know Nick told me to sit back and be quiet, but I thought maybe this situation needed a woman's touch. So I stepped forward and offered my hand. "Hi, Ms. Garrison, I'm Mimi Capurro. It really is imperative that we speak with Anna."
Stephanie looked behind her into the house, stepped outside and closed the door. "Before you talk to her, do you mind if we go for a walk?"
She didn't wait for an answer, and continued walking towards the sidewalk. Nick and I followed like obedient puppies. Once we caught up to her on the sidewalk, she started talking.
“I’m sorry about your b
rother,” I said, though I wasn’t really sorry.
"Look, I knew someday I'd have to have this conversation, and I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. You see, I'm the one you should be arresting."
Nick tensed. "Ms. Garrison, if you're the one who killed William Garrison, then I would be more than happy to arrest you.”
"I should've killed him. The thing is, I've known about William since I was a little girl. I’m his sister, and I'm pretty sure I was his first victim."
I stopped walking. Of all of the things this woman could have said, this was the last thing I expected to hear. William had started his career as a child molester with his own sister.
“Ms. Garrison, I’m so sorry to hear this,” Nick responded.
“The only thing you should be sorry about is that I didn’t have the guts to turn in my own brother.” Stephanie pulled a tissue from her skirt pocket.
“I don’t know what to say to that, except it’s too late now. At this point, we have to move forward.” Nick touched the woman’s arm and she leaned into him.
For someone who’d been molested as a child, I expected her to flinch at his touch. But what did I know? Maybe being molested made you crave attention from others.
“It is too late to fix the past, but I’m loath to help you find William’s killer. You see, I want to wrap my arms around him and thank him for doing what I should have done years ago.”
I kinda, sorta had to agree with Stephanie, in every way.
“I tried to warn Anna’s mom about him, but he got to me first. William’s secret was safe as long as I was terrified of him. Believe me, I was truly terrified. William hung and skinned my cat as a warning to me when he thought I was about to reveal his dirty secret. I’ve never had another pet, or a boyfriend.”
Stephanie sniffed, and blew her nose into the tissue.
I concentrated on my breathing, afraid I’d start crying for the woman.
“I was more worried about what William would do if I told people about him, or turned him in, than I was about his other victims.” She choked up a bit.
“They called Anna’s mom yesterday. Since she’s the next of kin, Bridget had to identify and sign for the body. Anna and Crissy have been here since then. Anna told me everything.”
Now tears welled in my eyes. I looked at Nick for a reaction. I could see he was holding his breath.
“What did Anna tell you?”
“Oh God, she told me about her friends. She helped her dad find other girls, through her social networking pages, so he’d be satisfied, and leave her and her little sister alone.”
My breath caught. Catey’s best friend had set her up. Stunned, this time I stopped walking. When Nick looked back at me, I still didn’t move. What the hell was wrong with these people?
After a moment of shock, I stopped judging. If William had scared his own sister so badly, what had he done to his daughter?
“When did Anna tell you about this?” Nick now had his arm around Stephanie’s shoulder. He turned her around, and we started walking back toward the house.
Stephanie was visibly shaking, and her words came in short, erratic bursts. “Please, don’t be mad at Anna. She’s a little girl. She didn’t want William to hurt her sister.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Where the hell was their mother during all of this?”
Nick shot me a piercing glance, and not the good kind.
“That’s just it. I’m not sure what’s wrong with these women that they are in such denial.” Her breathing more normal, the tears had stopped. “I don’t know how a woman doesn’t see that her husband is more interested in touching his children than his wife.”
“Look, this is water under the bridge. We need to know if William had any physical contact with Tiffany Anderson.”
“Tiffany Anderson?”
I know it was Nick’s question to answer, but I said, “She’s allegedly one of William’s victims, and she’s gone missing. Since he’s dead, we have no way of knowing if she’s been kidnapped, run away, or if she’s dead. We’re at a loss.”
“I’m trying so hard to keep Anna isolated from all of this. She’s not even going to the funeral. She doesn’t want to.” Stephanie removed Nick’s arm from her shoulder, now standing taller. “You can talk with Anna, but please, don’t tell her that you know about what she did.”
I wanted to break away and call Jackie so bad. I wanted to be mad at Anna, shake her, and scream, “Why did you do this to Catey?” But who was I to judge? I didn’t grow up in the perfect family either.
When we approached the front door, Stephanie turned and said, “Wait here.”
I could hear Stephanie calling Anna’s name. “So, what do you think?”
Nick looked at me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so sad. “I think I wish I could call my mom and tell her thank you.”
“Thank you for what?”
“Even though my dad wasn’t a pedophile, he was abusive. The first time he laid a hand on me, other than for a proper spanking, he broke my arm.”
I gasped. I had no idea Nick grew up in an abusive environment. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. My mom was the least selfish person I’ve ever known. She called the police, pressed charges, and then filed for divorce.” He smiled at a distant memory.
“Strong woman.” Now I knew where his personality came from.
“And when the restraining order didn’t keep him away, she moved us. One day she packed everything we had and said she’d found us a new home.”
“He never tried to find you?”
“Maybe he did. But this was in the days before the Internet, and I just don’t think he found the time. It’s not like my grandparents were going to tell him anything. They lived in South Africa.”
I was learning more and more about Nick. “South Africa? Why didn’t your mom move you there?”
“Because she was a US citizen, and she intended to never give that up, abusive husband or not.” Nick laughed.
I wasn’t sure what there was to laugh about, so I just smiled.
When Stephanie opened the door to usher us inside, Anna was standing next to her.
I don’t know what I expected of Anna - tears, swollen eyes? She was the same height and weight as Catey, but she seemed frail. Her sienna hair was cut in a shoulder length bob, and looked like it had some sort of hair product, because its shine was unnatural. Her bluebell eyes were wide and clear. No signs of recent tears.
Stephanie made introductions all around, and then said, “They want to talk to you about Tiffany Anderson.”
This was definitely a formality, since I was pretty sure these two women were thick as thieves, and Stephanie had briefed her before opening the door.
We followed them into the living room and Anna said, “What do you want to know?”
The room was over-decorated with tchotchkes on every surface, along with dust and cat hair. I wanted to wipe off the couch before I sat down because of all the cat hair, but I sat anyway. Nick hesitated, too.
“We need to know if Tiffany was one of Dylan’s friends.”
“Dylan?” Anna sucked at acting.
“I know you know your dad’s alias was Dylan. And I’m pretty sure you were in on this whole thing from the beginning.” Nick didn’t pull any punches.
Anna sat, frozen.
Nick continued, “We have some pretty good computer forensics techs working for the police department, and we know you helped your dad meet these girls.”
Anna leaned forward. “Not Tiffany. She wasn’t his normal type.”
“What was his type?” Nick asked.
Anna looked at me. “Catey.”
I wanted to look away, but I stared at Anna, waiting.
“Tiffany wasn’t really pretty enough, but she pursued him. She wanted me to introduce her to Dylan, because she said Catey wasn’t good enough for him. She said she’d be much better. I mean, we were all friends on that site. But Tiffany contacted Dylan, my d
ad, in other ways.” Anna looked down to her lap and shook her head. “He said he only wanted to flirt with them, because they make him feel young again. He said that would be enough.”
“Enough for what?” Nick gently probed.
Anna looked down at her hands. “Enough for him to leave my sister alone.”
I just didn’t understand. This man had custody rights?
“Anna, your parents are divorced?” I asked.
“No, they’re just separated.”
Nick stepped in. “And you and your sister would stay with your dad?”
“Sometimes. But mostly, Crissy would scream, cry, and beg not to have to go. Then Mom would give in, and Dad would be pissed.” Anna smiled at the thought.
“Do you know if your dad ever had physical contact with Tiffany?”
Before Anna could answer, Nick got a phone call. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.” He walked out of the room.
“Does Catey hate me?” Anna looked worried for the first time.
“Honey, Catey doesn’t even know.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Anna’s eyes pleaded with me to say no.
“I think it’s your place to tell her, not mine.” And I hoped she’d be a good enough friend to ‘fess up, or I’d be talking to Jackie about it soon enough.
“Absolutely. I tried to tell her before. I did everything I could to keep them from meeting.” Now Anna was biting her nails, which I hadn’t noticed before, were already nubs.
“I know you did. Jackie and I had a talk with Catey. And I want to thank you for not letting it go too far. But, you see, it easily could have escalated if someone hadn’t killed your dad.”
Seeing the fear in Anna’s eyes, I realized I shouldn’t have mentioned William’s murder.
“Someone had to stop him,” Stephanie, who’d been quiet and still, interjected.
“It’s not like he didn’t deserve it,” Anna said.
There was a loud bang as the front door opened and slammed shut. I looked, expecting to see that Nick had left.
A woman, who looked to be in her thirties burst into the room. She was an older version of Anna, apricot skin and sienna hair flowing down her back in loose curls. She was beautiful, a glimpse of what Anna would look like in twenty-plus years.
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