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“I’m sick of the Goody Two-shoes,” Max snorted. “Let’s hit Casey’s outside of town. We can enjoy a beer in peace rather than having to pretend enjoy that sucky wine we’ll have to stick to in town. ”
“Your roots are showing, Max,” Keiley teased her. “Better be careful or Delia will learn your daddy worked the dockyards before he came to Scotland Neck with all that money. ”
“I could only get so lucky,” Max retorted dryly. “Just think of all the bullshit I could get out of that way. Old Victoria Staten wouldn’t harass my husband whenever I didn’t sign up for her little pet orgs anymore. ”
The charity “orgs,” or organizations. Keiley laughed in genuine amusement.
“I’ll meet you there,” she promised her. “If you get there first, order my beer. I’m going to need it. ”
“No kidding,” Max agreed with her. “The place was like a school of sharks moving in for the kill. Maybe I need two beers. I’ll see you in a few. ”
“In a few. ” Keiley hung up, frowning at the edge in Max’s voice. Just what the hell had gotten into those damned women on the charity committee? At this rate, she wouldn’t have to worry about working a booth at the festival because she would be blacklisted before she bought the supplies.
She sighed wearily. Maybe the planets or something were just out of phase. What else could explain it?
8
“Okay, what do you have?” Mac sat down at his desk and powered up his laptop as Jethro opened his own at the side of the desk.
“Dell hasn’t been able to track down anything on our playboy,” Jethro said. “That boy just doesn’t have what it takes to investigate sex crimes. He doesn’t have a clue. ”
“Neither did I,” Mac grunted.
“Only because you left too soon,” Jethro grunted as Mac opened the P2P port between the two computers to access the information Jethro had brought with him.
“You think it’s a sex crime, then?” Mac asked. That had been Mac’s specialty.
“Our boy is working himself up to it. ”
“What makes you think I left too soon, then?” Mac asked.
“This. ” Jethro pulled up the information on his laptop. “What we have is a stalker that likes to play games. His female victims are the pawns, but what he’s after are the knights. ”
“You’re screwing your chess up, Jeth,” Mac growled. “Women are queens, the men are the kings. Stalkers are always after the queens. ”
“Not in this case,” Jethro said. “Were you aware that the first victim’s husband was in law enforcement?”
Mac nodded. “That’s how I got the case. ”
“Did you also know that each of the victims’ husbands were or had been involved in investigations involving stalkers or sexual predator cases with a high rate of success?”
Mac leaned back in his chair and stared back at Jethro with narrowed eyes.
“I questioned her husband rather than her first. The stalking began during the period of time that her husband was involved in a similar case. She was active online. A well-respected accountant with several influential clients. We think she was targeted here. ” An open chat forum popped up on the computer screen. “This is the Advanced Electronics open business forum. They hire various professionals to come in to give advice to whoever pops in. Registration is minimal. Our other two victims were hit here. ” Another forum popped up, similar in design and intent. “And here. ” Yet another forum window pulled up. “From what I’ve been able to figure out, the three victims were the only ones who reported the stalking at the time. We had four others who didn’t report it because it eventually went away. ”
“Were the four victims’ husbands involved in similar cases?” Mac asked.
“Two of them were married. One was divorced; one was single. All with spouses, exes, or lovers in investigative fields. He played with those, though not to the same extent. Missing or moved personal articles during a span of two to four months on the unreported four as well as those reported. Then a farewell e-mail that clued them in to the fact that they were being played with. Scared the hell out of them, but when it never occurred again, they went on with their lives. ”
“He went further with the three who reported the stalking,” Mac mused.
“Began the same, though,” Jethro pointed out. “Missing and moved items. These are organized professional women. They don
’t just move or lose items. But suddenly they can’t find a tube of lipstick, a favorite shirt, or car keys. He’s found easy access into their homes, despite the fact that they were married. He finds a way to watch them or listen in. These women, three pictures popped up, were also in the process of becoming involved in relationships with investigators. These three he began e-mailing, harassing online, and embarrassing them during their online forums. ”
Mac shook his head. “Embarrassing them how?”
“Personal or Professional Secrets. Intimate details of their lives and so on,” Jethro reported.
