What does he mean about providing proof? she asked him.
There were several strands of hair in a baggie in the package as well, he answered. Were having them tested to see if theyre a match.
Okay, theres a lot to pore over in that thing, Keri said, turning to the Raineys. But for now lets focus on the non-psycho stuff. First off, you made the right choice by reaching out to us. Parents who follow instructions not to contact authorities usually have worse outcomes.
I didnt want to call you, Tim Rainey admitted. But Carrie insisted.
Well, were glad you did, Keri reiterated, then turned to Ray. Have you talked to them about the money?
We were just about to when you got here, Ray said, then focused his attention on the Raineys. Its not a bad idea to secure the money, even if we hope not to hand it over. It gives us more options. Have you thought about how you might get it?
We have the money, Tim Rainey said, but not in cash. I called our bank to talk about transferring some securities over. They said that its hard to do that kind of transaction after hours and impossible on such short notice.
Ive reached out to our fund managers and they say the same thing, Carolyn Rainey added. They might be able to get it for us by early tomorrow morning, but not by midnight and not in cash.
Keri turned to Ray.
It is odd that he had the letter arrive so late, she said. He had to know it would be almost impossible to get the money in time. Why make it so difficult?
This guy doesnt sound like hes operating from a full deck, Ray noted. Maybe hes not up to speed on the timing challenges of financial institutions.
There is another option, Tim Rainey interrupted.
Whats that? Ray asked.
I work for Venergy, the new mobile gaming platform based in Playa Vista. I work directly for Gary Rosterman, the guy who runs the company. Hes filthy rich and he likes me. Plus Jessica and his daughter went to the same Montessori school until last year. Theyre friends. I know he has cash on hand. Maybe hed front me.
Call him, Ray said. But if he agrees, ask him to be discreet.
Rainey nodded aggressively. His dark visage lifted slightly. He seemed heartened by having renewed hope. Or maybe it was just having something on which to focus his attention.
As he dialed the number, Ray turned back to Keri and nodded for them to step away from the Raineys. When they were out of earshot, he whispered, I think we should take the letter back to the station. We need to have the whole unit on this, get their ideas on what it means; maybe bring in the psychologist. We should check for recent similar cases in the area.
Agreed, Keri said. I also want to filter the letter through the federal database to see if it matches anything else. Who knows what well find? Ive got a really bad feeling about this one.
More than usual? Why?
Keri explained her concerns about typing the letter versus using a computer. It resonated with Ray.
Whether this guy is crazy or crazy like a fox, he seems like a pro, he said.
Tim Rainey ended his call and turned to them.
Gary said hell do it, he said. He said he can have the cash in hand in about three hours.
Thats great, Ray said. Well send someone to collect it when its ready. We dont want a civilian transporting that kind of money if we can avoid it.
Were going to head back to the station now, Keri told them. Seeing the sudden anxiety in their faces, she quickly added, Were going to leave two uniformed officers here with you, as a precaution. They can reach us any time.
But why are you leaving? Carolyn Rainey asked.
We want to run the ransom note through our databases and talk to some experts. Were getting our entire Missing Persons Unit involved in your case. But I promise well be back in a few hours. Well lay out the whole plan for the park with you and explain exactly what were doing. As soon as we leave you, Im going to call to have surveillance set up there right away. Everything will be in place well in advance of the meet. Weve got this.
Carolyn Rainey stood up and gave her a surprisingly powerful hug. She did the same to Ray. Tim Rainey nodded politely at both of them. Keri could tell that his brief respite from his angst had faded and he was back in permanent crisis mode.
She understood his position better than most and knew that trying to talk him down or tell him to try to be calm was a waste of time. His daughter was missing. He was freaking out. He just did it more quietly than most.
As they left, Ray muttered under his breath, We better find her quick. If we dont, Im worried her dad is going to have a stroke.
Keri wanted to disagree but couldnt. If shed gotten a letter like this when Evie was taken, she might have literally lost her mind. But the Raineys had something going for them, even if they didnt know it. They had Keri.
Then lets find her quick, she said.
CHAPTER FIVE
Im telling you, its just a cover, Detective Frank Brody shouted indignantly. All that blather about mechanisms and the Lord is just to throw us off. This guy is a con man, pure and simple!
The station conference room was a mass of noisy, angry voices and it was starting to piss Keri off. She was tempted to yell at everyone to shut up, but painful experience had taught her that some of these people needed to wear themselves out before anything useful could be accomplished.
Brody, an old-school veteran of the unit less than a month from retirement, was convinced the letter was a sham. As usual, he had some kind of sauce on his shirt, which was tucked in but missing a button so that part of his large stomach was exposed. And as usual, Keri thought, he was more interested in being loud than in being right.
You dont know that! shouted back Officer Jamie Castillo. You just want it to be true because that makes the case easier to understand.
Castillo wasnt a detective yet, but because of her competence and enthusiasm, shed become essentially a junior member of the unit, almost always assigned to their cases. And despite her junior status, she was no shrinking violet.
Right now, her dark eyes were blazing and her black hair, tied back in a ponytail, was bobbing up and down along with her animated responses. Her muscular arms and athletic frame were both tightly coiled in frustration.
None of us are experts in this sort of thing, Detective Kevin Edgerton insisted. We need to bring in the police psychologist.
Keri wasnt surprised that Edgerton wanted to go that route. Tall and skinny with perpetually unkempt brown hair, he was a computer genius who knew the ins and outs of everything from a smartphone to the utility grid. But not yet thirty years old, he didnt always trust his instincts when it came to things with less clear-cut solutions. It was his nature to defer to expertise, if it was available.
The problem was that Keri wasnt confident the police psychologist would have any more insight into the letter than the rest of them. Any conclusions he was likely to draw would just be speculation. If that was the case, she trusted her own speculation more than most others.
Lieutenant Hillman held up his hands in an appeal for calm and quiet. To Keris surprise, everyone complied.
I sent a copy of the letter to Dr. Feeney at home. Hes looking at it now. Well probably get feedback soon. In the meantime, any other thoughts? Sands?
Ray had been sitting quietly, rubbing the top of his bald head, taking it all in. From this angle, Keri could clearly see the reflection of the station lights off the glass left eye that replaced the eye hed lost boxing. He looked up and she could tell where he stood before he even spoke.
Im inclined to agree with Frank. That letter is just so over the top that its hard to buy. Everything is so overheated. That is, except for the part about wanting the money and where to bring it. That section is completely straightforward; pretty convenient, if you ask me. Still
What? Hillman asked.
Well, Im just not sure whether it makes any difference. We know so little and dont have much time. Regardless of whether hes a psycho or a con artist, theres still a drop with him in a few hours.
Im not sure I agree, Keri finally said. She didnt love contradicting her partner publicly under any circumstances and especially not with the way things were between them at the moment. But it wasnt about that right now. It was about the job and finding this girl. Keri had never held her tongue about a case before and she wasnt about to start now, regardless of the personal consequences.
Look, I dont know for sure if this guy is faking or for real. But I think it does matter which is true. If hes just pretending to be some kind of religious fanatic and this is all just about money, Id prefer it. Then this is transactional for him, not personal. And that scenario is way more predictable. It means hes more likely to show up. And its more of a priority for him to keep Jessica alive.
But you dont buy it, Ray said, proving he knew her as well as she knew him.
Im skeptical. I think its possible that money stuff was so straightforward because he didnt really believe in it and was just saying what he was supposed to in a ransom note. What if thats the fake part and the real part is the crazy stuff? I mean the contrast between those sections is so dramatic as to be ridiculous. The overheated language seems to be where his passion is.
Seems to be, Brody interrupted. Keri reminded herself to keep a level head. The short-timer was baiting her, hoping he could rile her up to make her argument seem less credible. She nodded politely and continued.
Yes, Frank, seems to be. I dont pretend to know anything for sure. But all that talk of freeing her from her own evil spirit, of the machinery of the Lord, its pretty detailed, like hes developed some kind of personal liturgy to reflect his own warped religion one where hes in control, like hes the Pope of his own demented faith. And if thats true, weve got a much bigger problem.
How so? Edgerton asked.
Because if this is all truly about cleansing spirits and pleasing his deity, then he doesnt really care about the money. It might just be a way to justify the abduction to himself in societal terms. He tells himself its about the money so he can function in some kind of normal way. But deep down, he knows thats just an excuse, that the real reason he took her is much deeper and darker.
So Locke, Hillman said, youre suggesting this guy is having some internal struggle and that the money is just a way for him to hide what he really wants to do to the girl from himself?
Maybe.
That seems like a stretch, he said. Other than the language he used, what do you have to support the theory?
Its not just the language, Lieutenant. The very fact that he offered to return her, to let her own father purify her, suggests that he might be trying to fight this thing, that hes trying to find an out, some way to not free her from the demon by killing her.
She stopped talking and looked around at the faces of her co-workers, which were a mix of skepticism and genuine intrigue. Even Hillman seemed to be reconsidering.
Or he could just be after the money and your mumbo-jumbo is as full of BS as he is, Brody said derisively. His comment seemed to drain the room of goodwill and Keri felt everyone retreating to their safe corners.
Youre a Neanderthal! Castillo said, disgusted.
Yeah? he spat back. I think you could use a good hair dragging.
You want to go right now, old man? Castillo said, taking a step toward him. Ill knock your beached whale ass back in the ocean.
Enough! Hillman shouted. Weve got a twelve-year-old girl to save and we dont have time for this crap. And Brody, another sexist comment like that and Ill dock your pay for the rest of your frickin career, even if thats only a month, you got me?
Brody reluctantly shut his mouth. Castillo looked like she wasnt done yet so Keri put her hand on her shoulder and led her away.
Let it go, Jamie, she muttered under her breath. The guys one more burrito away from a heart attack. You dont want to get blamed when he keels over.
Castillo chuckled despite her anger. She was about to reply when Detective Manny Suarez walked into the room. Manny wasnt much to look at, with his longish stubble, his love handles, and his heavy-lidded eyes that reminded Keri of Sleepy the dwarf. But he was a tough, able detective. And most importantly right now, he was returning from the FedEx office where the ransom note had been dropped off. Keri hoped he had good news.
Give me something good, Hillman said.
Suarez shook his head as he sat down at the conference room table and pulled out one lonely receipt from the manila envelope he was holding. He slammed it on the table.
This is it, he said. This is the one piece of meaningful evidence I was able to retrieve from the FedEx store. It has the time and date of the purchase, which was made with cash. Thats it.
Wasnt there any security footage you could match to the time of purchase? Hillman asked.
There is, but its mostly useless. The exterior footage from the place shows someone walking in. But that person is wearing a bulky sweatshirt with a hoodie and sunglasses. Im having it circulated but it wont be much help. Its hard to even tell whether its a male or female.
What about inside the FedEx store? Castillo asked.
Suarez pulled out a second sheet of paper from the envelope and put it on the desk too. It looked like a photo but it was basically white with black around the edges.
This is a still image from the interior camera, he said. It looks like he was using a pair of laser refraction sunglasses that blow out anything onscreen. This is what the footage looks like the whole time the person is in there.
Thats hardcore tech, Edgerton noted, impressed. Usually that sort of thing is only used in high-end robberies.
What about other cameras? Ray asked. Ones he didnt look at directly.
They were unaffected. But the suspect stood conveniently out of frame of each of them. Its like he knew exactly where every camera would be and steered clear of all but the one he couldnt avoid, right behind the register. And thats the one thats blown out.
Im assuming he avoided any other exterior cameras on the way out too? Keri guessed. No chance he walked to his car and we can get a make or license plate?
No chance, Suarez confirmed. We have him walking around the corner. But the direction he went leads to an industrial block where none of the businesses have cameras. He could have gone anywhere from there.
I hate to pile on, Edgerton added, studying the laptop in front of him. But Ive got more bad news. Jessicas backpack and phone were busts. CSU just emailed me that they didnt find any unexpected prints.