Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Fletch, Leo, and Michelle stood around a large screen scrolling though picture after picture.
The bounded, gagged, and unconscious children ranged in age from roughly two years old to seventeen years old.
Some of the children were identified with names, others weren’t.
Each picture had a date and time stamp. The pictures weren’t of the children prior to them going missing, such as would be on a missing poster.
These pictures were of children during the abductions.
“How the hell did Denny get these?” Leo asked.
Fletch stared in disbelief. “There are hundreds.”
Michelle walked away and spun, her eyes glued to the screen. “Did you know that some arsonists are firemen?”
Fletch and Leo turned toward her.
“Really. There’s something called a hero complex.
The fireman rushes in and saves the kid or the puppy.
He’s a hero. Murderers are known to participate in the search for their victims. They want to know if they’ve gotten away with the crime.
They get a psychological thrill in being part of the excitement.
In a case study for one of my criminology classes, the unsub was identified because he attended his victims’ funerals.
Multiple people in different states—he showed up to all of them. ”
“Chell, no.”
Her heart was beating in her chest, but she had to say what she was thinking. “My father was obsessed with child abductions. You said it yourself. He’d rattle off statistics. He told stories of horrors that he witnessed.”
Leo looked at Fletch and back to Michelle. “Denny wouldn’t.”
Michelle lifted her hands, as if in surrender, and backed away. “I don’t want to be right, but what if I am? What if Sheriff Perkins found out?”
“He would have arrested him, not killed him,” Fletch replied.
“Maybe the sheriff went there for that, and things took a turn. The sheriff panicked and started the fire.” She was talking fast. “Now Sheriff Perkins is dead. He can’t tell us what happened—neither one of them can.”
“First thing,” Fletch said, “before we accuse anyone, we need to understand what Denny was doing with these pictures. And once we confirm the identities of the children, we find out if they were recovered or are still missing. There are families out there that deserve answers.”
“I’ll work on that,” Leo said, “…keep going through Denny’s information. We can’t rule out Chell’s concern. However, there might be an explanation if we keep digging.”
“I need a minute,” Michelle said as she stepped out of the lab.
Going down the hallway to the lounge, she poured herself a cup of coffee.
Olivia was right that it was pretty good.
She needed a break from life-altering revelations.
Somehow, she’d have to come to terms with the fact she didn’t know her parents or her sister.
“Shelly.”
She turned, finding Peterson standing in the doorway. “Hi.”
He nodded, stepped into the small room, and motioned toward the table. “Can we talk?”
It was like the last time he asked. Michelle felt the need to comply. She nodded in return and pulled out a chair.
Peterson sat across from her and placed his hands on the table. “You’ve had some large discoveries.”
“How did you know? Fletch—?”
“Arrow didn’t tell me. We monitor the work that’s done here at the agency. When something is flagged, it’s brought to my attention.”
“My dad…” A ragged sob lodged in her throat. “He wasn’t what I thought he was.”
“Dennis was a good man. He and Tracy told my predecessor about Sarah. It was tragic, but due to the agency, they handled it the best they could considering the circumstances.”
Sarah.
That wasn’t the subject Michelle expected. “They never mentioned her. It was as if she never existed.”
“It was easier for them that way. You were so young. You weren’t responsible for what happened.”
She sat straight. “What? I was two. Of course, I wasn’t responsible.”
“Your parents didn’t want you to know, but I’m afraid that your skills are as good as Arrow said. Now that you have the power of the agency behind you, you could learn the truth. I thought it would be better if you heard it from me.”
“My sister was abducted.”
“No, your sister fell down the basement stairs after she tripped over you. It was an accident.”
An accident.
A tragedy.
“Tripped? Over me? I don’t understand.”
“Your mother was home with the two of you. She went down in the basement to do laundry. The two of you were running around and playing. The next thing she heard was a scream and then the falling. She tried to get to Sarah in time, but her little body was contorted. Her neck was broken.”
Spine fracture.
“You’d fallen too. According to what was recorded, you didn’t make it to the bottom of the stairs. You stopped on the landing; however, Sarah continued the fall.”
Michelle was frozen, unable to move or speak, paralyzed by this information.
“Because of the agency, Tracy and Dennis chose not to alert the authorities of the accident. Instead, they constructed a tale about her playing in the yard and disappearing.”
Words began to form. “The body that was found, was it Sarah?”
“They believed so. Dennis was able to facilitate the mix-up in evidence. DNA testing was never done.”
“They cremated her.” Michelle’s voice was a mere whisper.
A chill scattered over her.
Flames.
Peterson nodded. “It was a horrible situation. If the police would’ve gotten involved with the accident…your parents didn’t want you to grow up with the knowledge you facilitated your sister’s death. Imagine how that would look now, with the current grand jury.”
“I was two. I wasn’t responsible.” Michelle felt the way she had when she tried to defend herself regarding her mother’s death. “I’ve been lied to.”
“Not anymore. Now you know the truth.” Peterson’s chair scooched across the vinyl floor as he stood. “We do good things here. I didn’t want you to spend any more time on a case that will remain closed. We need you to concentrate on the cases that we can affect.”
Michelle sat in silence as Peterson walked away.
Her coffee was lukewarm.
Her parents covered up the death of her sister. They were secret spies. And her father was not only involved in the prevention of child trafficking, but quite possibly in the assistance of child trafficking.
“Chell,” Fletch said, a bit out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you. Come see what we found.”
Michelle wanted to share what Peterson told her, but it was too new. Instead, she picked up her coffee and followed Fletch back to the computer lab.