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“Prenter told the bartender he was waiting for a woman he’d hooked up with online. About forty minutes after he arrived, a girl came up and hit on him—the bartender said she’d come in with another guy, but they fought and he left. They talked for a while, left about fifteen minutes later. The girl’s boyfriend confronted them in the alley, according to a witness, and the girl left with her boyfriend. Less than five minutes later, Prenter was shot and killed next to his car. Four bullets.”
“Robbery?”
“His wallet was taken. Not his Porsche—and he had his keys in his hand.”
“Maybe the shooter got scared. Heard someone.”
“And not take the fastest available transportation? Leave on foot? I don’t think so. I think the wallet was taken to cover up a hit. I think Prenter was intentionally targeted, and whoever did it had access to our computers.”
Fran said, “Our charter isn’t a secret. It’s not like we broadcast what we do to the world, but we don’t keep it to ourselves, either.”
“Shit.” Cody was walking—pacing—the room, his voice getting louder and fainter as he moved away from the bug. “Fran, this is serious.”
“I agree. Let me look into it. I’ll be discreet, of course—I’ll have Gina pull every computer log from every computer and we’ll see who logged into the chat room to send the message after Lucy logged out on Wednesday afternoon.”
“That’s good, but I think you need to review the background reports again, find out if there is any connection to Prenter.”
“I will.” She paused. “You said you told Lucy?”
“I had to—she’s the one who asked me to look into Prenter’s murder in the first place.”
“Lucy?” Silence. “Why would Lucy ask you to look into Prenter’s murder?”
“She saw the article in the paper, then pulled his autopsy report. She said it looked suspicious. I was placating her at first, but when I read the file I realized she was right. This whole thing is suspicious.”
The door opened and Cody’s voice sounded as if it was in a tunnel. “I’m sorry, Fran. If you find out who, we’ll handle it internally.”
“Thank you, Cody.”
The door closed firmly.
“Damn,” Fran said.
There was complete silence.
Dillon said, “There’s something wrong with that conversation.”
Sean nodded. “No mention of going to the police. Fran’s first reaction, I’d think, after disbelief, would be to inform the authorities.”
Lucy disagreed. “The parolee project is in a gray area. It’s not technically entrapment, but Fran didn’t want it getting out to the public because of the potential for bad press. Her entire life is WCF. If she thought someone on the inside was using the organization for their own agenda, I don’t know what she would do—except everything she could to protect the group.”
“But this is murder,” Dillon said.
The digital recording registered a loud noise, then files slamming and papers ruffling.
Fran’s voice, “Dammit, where is it?” More movement, a loud, long sigh of frustration. “I just don’t believe this.” Sounds of the filing cabinet opening, a furious perusal of papers, then silence for a good two minutes. Lucy thought Fran had left, then there was a jingle of keys, followed by a door slamming shut.
Sean looked at Dillon. “I should have found a way to bug her purse.”
“Not Fran,” Lucy said, not wanting to believe it. She looked at Dillon.
“You think it’s her, too,” he said quietly.
She nodded, blinking back tears. “It’s what you said earlier—about why vigilantes target certain criminals. Fran’s younger sister was repeatedly molested by their uncle. They lived in virtual poverty, their mom worked two jobs, Fran worked nearly full-time in addition to school so she could save money for college, and no one knew what a sick pervert the uncle was.”
“Most repeat child molesters are well versed at keeping their victims quiet,” Dillon said. “A combination of treats and threats, and by the time the child outgrows both, they are made to feel so guilty—convinced that they are to blame for the abuse—that they never talk about it. How did Fran find out?”
“When her sister was strangled by the uncle. The day she started her first menstrual cycle, he raped and killed her. He told the police she’d lost her innocence and he had to stop her from turning into a whore.” Lucy spoke matter-of-factly, but the case bothered her deep down in a place she kept sealed.
