good-sized stones from the area to block the opening from view, and keep out wildlife. Then he moved them whenever he wanted access.”
“You think he’s used this spot before? For other victims?”
Agent Samuels had just nailed Cam’s worst fear. He kept his reply neutral. “Too soon to tell. We don’t know enough about this offender to predict what he’s done or might do, outside of immediately seeking medical assistance for his GSW. Given the fact that this body was embalmed, it might not have even been a victim. Maybe the guy was practicing. Maybe he was in between vics and snatched a body for his own twisted perversion. We have to consider every possibility. Keep me posted regarding your progress. Unless something major comes up between now and then, we’ll meet here tomorrow, same time.”
Gathering up his things, he headed toward the door, his earlier agreement with Sophie ringing in his ears. He needed to see SAC Gonzalez and do what he could to dissuade the woman from Sophie’s plan. It behooved him to act first before she called the SAC. He’d already lost the battle of keeping Sophie out of the investigation. Cam was going to do his best to ensure her involvement was limited to consulting from afar.
But his progress down the hallway was halted when he heard his name called from behind him. Turning, he saw Mark Kohler shuffling toward him. Cam had never seen the tall lanky cyber crime agent move at any pace above a slow amble. His mind, in contrast, moved at Mach-1 speed. “Hope your news is better than the luck you had at the races Saturday.”
The other man reached up to touch the back of his neck, which sported a wince-worthy sunburn acquired, he’d told Cam earlier, at the Newton racetrack the past weekend. Although Cam wasn’t a race fan, he could easily imagine why it appealed to Kohler. The cars’ speeds had to rival that of the man’s mind.
“Depends on what you were hoping for, I suppose.” The other agent halted beside him. “A more detailed analysis of those three phones you dropped off will have to wait at least at least a day or two. But I can tell you for sure that one of their owners lied to you about not taking any pictures.”
Cam uttered a distinctly unprofessional oath. Kohler’s head bobbed in agreement. Each of the kids who’d witnessed the scene at the Raccoon River had fervently denied snapping a picture while there, and when they had all three freely given up their phones as proof, he’d hoped that meant they’d been truthful. The image, if it had been shared widely, could mean they were headed for a PR nightmare. “Which one?”
“The Samsung Galaxy s4. Belonging to the Pals boy. How is it these kids all have newer phones than mine?” The man’s voice was aggrieved.
Cam was unsympathetic. “Because your wife clamped down on your budget for useless technological gadgetry?”
That earned him a quick grin. “Nothing about technology is useless, my friend, but point taken. Anyway, your little buddy activated his Snapchat app during the timeframe you described. Took a ten-second video, which wasn’t stored on his phone, but I was able to retrieve it. Pretty good clarity, given that it was taken at night but sick subject matter. I can’t tell you right now who the recipient might be or whether there were multiples. And I won’t be able to get at that task until late tomorrow afternoon, probably.”
A hot burn of anger spread through Cam’s chest. Being lied to came with the job, but in this instance it might just turn into a media nightmare for them. Which didn’t have him feeling charitable at all toward that little weasel, Pals. “Tell me about this app. You said it wasn’t in his gallery. Does that mean he deleted it from his phone after sending it?”
“He could have, or he could have failed to save it. Snapchat allows a user to set a time limit in which the
“You think he’s used this spot before? For other victims?”
Agent Samuels had just nailed Cam’s worst fear. He kept his reply neutral. “Too soon to tell. We don’t know enough about this offender to predict what he’s done or might do, outside of immediately seeking medical assistance for his GSW. Given the fact that this body was embalmed, it might not have even been a victim. Maybe the guy was practicing. Maybe he was in between vics and snatched a body for his own twisted perversion. We have to consider every possibility. Keep me posted regarding your progress. Unless something major comes up between now and then, we’ll meet here tomorrow, same time.”
Gathering up his things, he headed toward the door, his earlier agreement with Sophie ringing in his ears. He needed to see SAC Gonzalez and do what he could to dissuade the woman from Sophie’s plan. It behooved him to act first before she called the SAC. He’d already lost the battle of keeping Sophie out of the investigation. Cam was going to do his best to ensure her involvement was limited to consulting from afar.
But his progress down the hallway was halted when he heard his name called from behind him. Turning, he saw Mark Kohler shuffling toward him. Cam had never seen the tall lanky cyber crime agent move at any pace above a slow amble. His mind, in contrast, moved at Mach-1 speed. “Hope your news is better than the luck you had at the races Saturday.”
The other man reached up to touch the back of his neck, which sported a wince-worthy sunburn acquired, he’d told Cam earlier, at the Newton racetrack the past weekend. Although Cam wasn’t a race fan, he could easily imagine why it appealed to Kohler. The cars’ speeds had to rival that of the man’s mind.
“Depends on what you were hoping for, I suppose.” The other agent halted beside him. “A more detailed analysis of those three phones you dropped off will have to wait at least at least a day or two. But I can tell you for sure that one of their owners lied to you about not taking any pictures.”
Cam uttered a distinctly unprofessional oath. Kohler’s head bobbed in agreement. Each of the kids who’d witnessed the scene at the Raccoon River had fervently denied snapping a picture while there, and when they had all three freely given up their phones as proof, he’d hoped that meant they’d been truthful. The image, if it had been shared widely, could mean they were headed for a PR nightmare. “Which one?”
“The Samsung Galaxy s4. Belonging to the Pals boy. How is it these kids all have newer phones than mine?” The man’s voice was aggrieved.
Cam was unsympathetic. “Because your wife clamped down on your budget for useless technological gadgetry?”
That earned him a quick grin. “Nothing about technology is useless, my friend, but point taken. Anyway, your little buddy activated his Snapchat app during the timeframe you described. Took a ten-second video, which wasn’t stored on his phone, but I was able to retrieve it. Pretty good clarity, given that it was taken at night but sick subject matter. I can’t tell you right now who the recipient might be or whether there were multiples. And I won’t be able to get at that task until late tomorrow afternoon, probably.”
A hot burn of anger spread through Cam’s chest. Being lied to came with the job, but in this instance it might just turn into a media nightmare for them. Which didn’t have him feeling charitable at all toward that little weasel, Pals. “Tell me about this app. You said it wasn’t in his gallery. Does that mean he deleted it from his phone after sending it?”
“He could have, or he could have failed to save it. Snapchat allows a user to set a time limit in which the
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