“Is that why you abandoned the baby instead of killing her?”
“She really did love that baby. Even before it was born. She was always holding her tummy and talking to it. Like it could hear her, even in there.”
More time passed.
“I hid the baby under a bush. I figured, what harm could it do to let it live? It wasn’t like the baby could do anything to hurt him. Not like it was old enough to identify him. It was harmless. If somebody stumbled across it, and rescued it, then it was just meant to be. It couldn’t hurt Haynes.”
Saying the man’s name seemed to frighten her into silence again. It was a long time before the girl pushed stray strands of hair back from her face and continued her narrative.
“I scratched my face and got dirt on it. I went back late to where he’d parked the car, way after I was supposed to be there, and I told him I’d gotten lost. I told him no one would ever be able to find it.”
“I guess he was surprised when he heard the news.”
“I hid out with a friend. I wanted out. I thought there might be something else for me out there… maybe because I helped the baby, God might forgive me for everything I had done and make a way for me to get out. But he didn’t.”
“How did you get away to hide with your boyfriend?”
“I had privileges. Because I’d been with them for so long, and always did what I was told.”
“Until the baby.”
“Yeah. Until the baby. I hope wherever Trish is, she knows what I did for her.”
It was a moment before her interviewer responded kindly. “I’m sure she does.”
❋
Micah left her parents in the living room as she went to the kitchen to check on dinner. She had cooked her own beans for the chili, which never tasted quite the same if she took a shortcut and used canned beans. The flavors of the home-bottled tomato sauce and spices had blended and deepened as it simmered away on the back burner and the hearty, garlicky smell filled the whole house. Marianna said she could smell it all the way outside as soon as they had gotten out of the car.
Micah had split a loaf of hand-shaped bread from the bakery in half and slathered it with butter and garlic and put it in the oven just before Cole and Marianna had arrived. The crusty garlic bread would make a perfect companion to the chili.
Meow chirruped and wound around Micah’s legs, eyeing the pot as Micah stirred it, clearly eager for her share.
“It’s ready,” Micah called. “Why don’t you come sit down and we’ll eat?”
“It smells so lovely,” Marianna gushed as they entered the kitchen. She put a warm hand on Micah’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re not doing too much? I don’t think you’ve had long enough to recover.”
“Mostly it just cooks itself,” Micah said with a shrug. “I just mix together a few ingredients and let it sit on the back of the stove.”
They sat down at the table and watched as Micah got out the garlic bread and cut it into large slices, which she put on the table, and then as she spooned a little of the chili into a bowl for the kitten, blowing on it so that it wouldn’t be too hot for her.
“You can’t give that to the cat,” Cole complained. “It doesn’t have any meat in it. Won’t it upset her stomach?”
“I’m only giving her a little bit. She’s used to some beans now and then.”
“Cats are carnivores. You can’t feed them vegetarian.”
“She isn’t vegetarian,” Micah agreed. “Cats need taurine. And she gets it. She just has a few homemade beans every now and then, and she likes them.” Micah put the bowl on the floor, and Meow rushed forward with an eager squeak to gobble them up.
Micah added fresh chopped parsley and cilantro and a squeeze of lime to the chili and stirred it in. She set the pot of chili on a hot pad on the table and sat down with her parents.
“Well, we should toast the resolution of your case,” Marianna suggested. “To Micah, carrying on the family tradition of catching criminals!”
Cole raised his glass.
Micah picked up her own glass, fiddling with it. “It wasn’t just me. There were a lot of people involved. I couldn’t have done it on my own.”
“Nobody does it on their own,” Cole agreed. “But it was your pictures that put a face on Sweetie’s father and your attacker.”
“The FDP composites,” Micah corrected.
She remembered the LEO from Snohomish who insisted on calling her pictures ‘virtual mugshots.’
“The girl who helped save the baby, she said that Sweetie was harmless because she couldn’t identify Haynes. But she was wrong. She did identify him.”
“The girl was nearly right,” Cole said, raising his glass in a toast once more. “She was virtually harmless.”
❋
Micah couldn’t help feeling anxious as she approached Sara’s building. She had done the best she could, but the project had been so different from what she usually did. She was accustomed to working with adult faces, practical models that would be used to identify suspects or victims of violence. People always praised her composites for how lifelike they were, but that was compared to old-style sketches or flat computer composites. She didn’t normally do artistic portraits.
Sara or Gregory buzzed her up. As before, it was Gregory who opened the door for her and ushered her in.
“How is she?” Micah asked.
He made a helpless gesture. Not an ‘I don’t care’ shrug, but ‘I don’t know what to do.’
Micah nodded her understanding and followed Gregory into the living room with the big, empty windows. Sara looked a little better than she had previously. Micah had been worried that she would be much worse, her face skeletal. Time had provided some distance, but she was clearly still grieving. Micah bent down to give her a brief hug.
“How are you, Sara?”
Sara rubbed her forehead, looking tired and pained. “I should be asking you. You’re the one who got mugged. I can’t believe that happened to you.”
“I’m better than I was. The bruises look bad, but they always do when you start to heal.”
Sara considered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I guess so.”
Micah sat down on the couch next to Sara, putting her art portfolio on the floor and unzipping it. Without any discussion or ceremony, she pulled out the mounted drawing and handed it to Sara.
She waited, watching Sara’s face as she took in the picture, waiting for her reaction.
Sara’s eyes welled with tears. “Oh, Micah. It’s perfect.”
Micah studied it with a critical eye. She had done her best to combine Sara’s and Gregory’s features as they might have appeared on a baby. The pose was the one Marianna had liked, with the baby’s fist pressed against his cheek. He was cradled in two pairs of hands, Sara’s and Gregory’s. It was not a religious picture, but Micah had washed it in light, creating an ethereal effect.
Gregory came over to look at it and touched the edge of the board. “That’s amazing,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”
Micah made space for him to sit down, and he cuddled close to his wife, both of them gazing at the picture.
“Our beautiful baby,” Sara whispered.
“I hope it helps,” Micah told her. “I don’t want you to be sad.”
“I’m still going to be sad. But this will help. I’m going to put it in our room. Right by the bed.” She sniffled. “Oh, he’s so sweet.”
Micah thought about Sweetie. She was glad that the blond girl in the video had been able to preserve the baby’s life. How many other girls and babies had not survived? How many years had Haynes been operating?
Now Sweetie could be adopted by a family that would love her as much as Sara and Gregory loved their baby. A family that would raise her as Micah’s parents had raised her after she’d been abandoned. She wasn’t sure she’d ever understood the depth of that love before. But she could see it in Sara’s eyes.
Trisha had loved Sweetie too. She hadn’t begg
ed the older girl to save her own life, but to save her baby.
Even with all Trish had gone through in her young life, her baby was all that had mattered.
❋
It was a new day. Micah was back at EvPro. A few members of the staff had been quietly let go, due, Micah assumed, to their involvement with Haynes. There had been a lot of chatter for the first little while. Micah had avoided even looking at her inbox and, when she had finally felt safe to do so, she had first searched for certain keywords and culled all of the gossipy emails into her trash. Then she had slowly gotten back into the flow of things, checking to see what assignments she had been given and catching up on a few files that had been neglected. Her door was shut, but in a few minutes she would open it and allow herself to be part of the community again.
But first, she had one phone call to make.
She tapped Wes Watley’s name on her phone. It rang a few times. He was probably busy and it would go to voicemail. Then there was a click.
“Watley. Oh, hi Micah.” He let out a long sigh. “How are you doing? Better?”
“It’s going to be a while before I’m completely healed, but at least I look like a normal person now, not all covered with bruises.”
“Good. And… emotionally? Are you back at work?”
“Dipping my toes in. So far, so good. I just wanted to thank you… there aren’t very many people who could have persuaded the FBI to act when they did. They really think a lot of you.”
“It was just luck. They had accumulated a lot of data already, and with what you had on Haynes and that cop, they were ready to close the net. It really wasn’t just me.”
“But it was partly. And thank you… for the video.”
“I didn’t send you a video.”
Micah smiled. “Okay. You didn’t send me a video. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your help.”
“Well, I was the one who pointed you at the Baby Sweetgrass case to start with. What kind of jerk would I be to just turn you away when you were in a fix?”
“Speaking of that… who was your client, anyway? Did he get what he wanted?”
“You identified the baby, her mother, father, who was responsible for her abandonment, and a dirty cop. I think I can safely say that he got what he wanted.”
Micah waited for a moment to see if he would add any more details, then swiveled her chair to face the door. It was time to get to work.
“If you ever need anything from me, you only need to ask.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Micah pulled the phone away from her face and looked at it to see if the call had been dropped.
“Wes?”
“I may just take you up on that. We’re looking into a possible serial killer here. Weird kind of case. The cause of death is… I don’t even know what to say about it. I might have a lead. I’ll let you know.”
~ The End ~
About this Book
From USA Today Bestselling Author, P.M. Workman, comes a gripping techno-thriller, part of a multi-author series tied together by an interlocking cast of characters, all centered around the fantastic new promise of high technology and the endless possibilities for crime that technology offers, in a world where getting away with murder can be not only plausible, but easy…if you just know how.
Micah lived a quiet, comfortable life, her involvement in law enforcement limited to the composite pictures that she produced with her computer and colored pencils.
But everything is turned upside down when she involves herself in the case of an infant found abandoned in the Sweetgrass Hills.
With the help of her knowledge of DNA and law enforcement contacts across the country, Micah is closing in on a killer. But her investigation draws the killer’s attention, and she finds herself in the middle of an operation that could mean the end of her career—or worse, her life.
About High-Tech Crime Solvers
High-Tech Crime Solvers includes:
Virtually Lace by Uvi Poznansky:
Michael Morse, an expert in VR simulation, stumbles on a dead body on the beach. A suspect himself, can Michael stay free for long enough to identify the real culprit?
Virtually Undead by Robert I. Katz:
Neurosurgeon Michael Foreman is drawn into a twisted conspiracy when his best friend is murdered playing a new video game, Virtually Undead.
Virtually Harmless by P. D. Workman:
Private consultant Micah Miller’s involvement in law enforcement is limited to the composite pictures that she produces with her computer and colored pencils. But everything is turned upside down when she involves herself in the case of an infant found abandoned in the Sweetgrass Hills.
Virtually Dead by Edwin Dasso:
When multiple executives in Vancouver begin disappearing and are then found dead with no signs of trauma, private investigator and former FBI agent Wes Watley is asked by a friend of a friend to investigate.
Virtually Timeless by Casi McLean:
Twins Sydney and Noah Monaco become involved in a conspiracy involving attempted rape, kidnapping, assault and an ancient artifact that isn’t supposed to exist.
Virtually Gone by Jacquie Biggar:
When Detective Matthew Roy and reporter Julie Crenshaw are called on to investigate a string of sexual abuse cases, they don’t expect Julie to land in the crosshairs of a serial killer.
Virtually Undetectable by Libby Fischer Hellmann:
Fired Bank Manager Rachel Foreman and her mother, renowned investigator Ellie Foreman, track through the lawless corners of the web to find out who is targeting the female CEO of a Fortune 500 company who is accused of murdering a disgruntled former employee.
Virtually Impossible by Barbara Ebel:
Dr. Hook Hookie extrapolates genetic information that informs patients of their hereditary health risks. But he isn't the only one with a use for the high-tech genetic machinery—a villainess with ill purposes stalks the Medical Center.
In addition, the authors compiled a cookbook with recipes cooked by their characters:
Virtually Yummy: Recipes that Inspire
The recipes in this book come from different sources: some of them are family recipes, some were garnered from our travels around the world, and others—inspired by our research, which enables us to write about the adventures of our characters and their culinary feats. But no matter where these recipes come from, we find them not only delicious but also inspiring. We hope you will too.
About the Author

Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author P.D. Workman writes riveting mystery/suspense and young adult books dealing with mental illness, addiction, abuse, and other real-life issues. For as long as she can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure and from a very young age she was trying to write her own books.
Workman wrote her first complete novel at the age of twelve and continued to write as a hobby for many years. She started publishing in 2015. She has won several literary awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody for her young adult fiction. She currently has over 50 published titles and can be found at pdworkman.com.
Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, Workman has been married for over 25 years and has one son.
Subscribe to her Newsletter and follow her on these sites:
Amazon
Website
BookBub
Twitter
Facebook
Acknowledgment
My sincerest thanks to my readers and fans for their support and encouragement. To my coauthors in the series and especially Uvi Poznansky for spearheading it and keeping us all on track. Thanks to Jim Grusendorf for editing faithfully month after month. And thank you to my family and friends for supporting my writing career and recommending my books to others.
A Note to the Reader
If you enjoyed this book, please take the time to recommend it to other purchasers with a review or star rating and to share it with your
friends!
Please click here to post a review:
Amazon
BookBub
Goodreads
Also by P.D. Workman
Mystery/Suspense:
Zachary Goldman Mysteries
She Wore Mourning
His Hands Were Quiet
She Was Dying Anyway
He Was Walking Alone
They Thought He was Safe
He Was Not There
Her Work Was Everything
Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thrillers
Unlawful Harvest
Auntie Clem’s Bakery
Gluten-Free Murder
Dairy-Free Death
Allergen-Free Assignation
Witch-Free Halloween (Halloween Short)
Dog-Free Dinner (Christmas Short)
Stirring Up Murder
Brewing Death
Coup de Glace
Sour Cherry Turnover
Apple-achian Treasure
Vegan Baked Alaska
Muffins, Masks, Murder (Coming Soon)
Tai Chi and Chai Tea (Coming Soon)
Santa Shortbread (Coming Soon)
Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective
What the Cat Knew
A Psychic with Catitude
A Catastrophic Theft
Night of Nine Tails
Telepathy of Gardens
Delusions of the Past
California Corwin P. I. Mystery Series (Cowritten with D. D. VanDyke)
The Girl in the Morgue
Stand Alone Suspense Novels
Looking Over Your Shoulder
Lion Within
Virtually Harmless Page 25
