red shirt threw a Frisbee to a sleek Irish setter that leaped in the air to catch it. Two young women walked side by side on the sidewalk, pushing babies in their strollers. Through the trees she could see beyond the hazy foothills to the Great Smoky Mountains silhouetted in the distance.
A knock at the door startled her and she turned around.
“Come in, Trent.”
“We finished reviewing the phone records and the past month’s emails of each of the victims. There were no red flags except for this, and I’m not sure it’s even related to the shootings.” Trent walked over to her and handed her a folder. “Look at these emails between Natalie Benchfield and someone who refers to himself as Vincent.”
Brill read several of the exchanges and glanced up at Trent. “Natalie was emailing back and forth with a man she met in a chat room?”
“Sure was. Some of it’s provocative. Her parents don’t seem to know anything about it. Said they trusted her and didn’t put any parental controls on her computer. This Vincent character said they should set up a time to meet.”
Brill sighed. “And did they?”
“She gave him her cell number the day before she left home. Her phone records show that she got a five-minute call from an untraceable number—a prepaid cell phone—on Thursday afternoon just after school let out. It’s the last call she got before her dad took her phone away.”
Brill shook her head. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yeah. It’s possible Natalie had already arranged to meet Vincent before she got into the fight with her dad.”
“Then it’s possible she provoked the fight to give her an easy way to leave the house.” Brill read another page of the email dialogue. “Clearly, Vincent whoever-he-really-is was looking for more than friendship. It’s hard to say from their back-and-forth just how naive Natalie was or wasn’t.”
“I’m guessing wasn’t. On page five she gives him a detailed description of the undergarments she was wearing.”
“She was thirteen, for heaven’s sake.” Brill shook her head and handed the file to Trent. “Have you told her parents?”
“That’s my next stop.”
“All right, let’s pursue this as a possible child molestation case. Talk to the medical examiner and let’s see if we can get a DNA match to someone in our sex-offender database.” Brill looked out through the blinds on the glass wall to the busy detective bureau. “This girl might have been the victim of two separate crimes.”
Late Sunday evening, Ethan stood on the porch at Drew’s and gave his mother an extra-long hug, the flowery fragrance of her hair reminding him of Vanessa’s.
“If you two need anything,” Lisa Langley whispered, “and I mean anything, you call us.”
“We will, Mom.”
Lisa turned to Drew and cupped his face in her hands. “Are you sure we can’t talk you into coming to Maryville with us for a few days?”
“Thanks, Aunt Lisa. But I’ve got a final on Tuesday. You’d just have to run me back over here.”
Tom Langley shook Drew’s hand and then pulled him into a bear hug. “Lots of people are praying for you, Drew. You’re going to get through this.”
“Thanks, Uncle T. I know I will.”
A second later, the four of them converged, and it was hard to tell who was hugging whom.
“You and Mom be careful on the road,” Ethan said. “As soon as we can, Vanessa and I will drive over to see you.”
“That’ll be great,” Tom said. “Okay, Mama, let’s get out of here and let these young men wind down. Drew, I hope you do great on your final. And Ethan, I hope you get off to a good start on the job. I told Ralph if he doesn’t treat you right, he’ll have to answer to me.”
So why doesn’t he answer to you for not treating Drew right?
Ethan walked out on the porch, the sky overhead a blazing mantle of lava pink, and stood with Drew as his parents walked to their car, waving as they drove off.
“That wasn’t
A knock at the door startled her and she turned around.
“Come in, Trent.”
“We finished reviewing the phone records and the past month’s emails of each of the victims. There were no red flags except for this, and I’m not sure it’s even related to the shootings.” Trent walked over to her and handed her a folder. “Look at these emails between Natalie Benchfield and someone who refers to himself as Vincent.”
Brill read several of the exchanges and glanced up at Trent. “Natalie was emailing back and forth with a man she met in a chat room?”
“Sure was. Some of it’s provocative. Her parents don’t seem to know anything about it. Said they trusted her and didn’t put any parental controls on her computer. This Vincent character said they should set up a time to meet.”
Brill sighed. “And did they?”
“She gave him her cell number the day before she left home. Her phone records show that she got a five-minute call from an untraceable number—a prepaid cell phone—on Thursday afternoon just after school let out. It’s the last call she got before her dad took her phone away.”
Brill shook her head. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yeah. It’s possible Natalie had already arranged to meet Vincent before she got into the fight with her dad.”
“Then it’s possible she provoked the fight to give her an easy way to leave the house.” Brill read another page of the email dialogue. “Clearly, Vincent whoever-he-really-is was looking for more than friendship. It’s hard to say from their back-and-forth just how naive Natalie was or wasn’t.”
“I’m guessing wasn’t. On page five she gives him a detailed description of the undergarments she was wearing.”
“She was thirteen, for heaven’s sake.” Brill shook her head and handed the file to Trent. “Have you told her parents?”
“That’s my next stop.”
“All right, let’s pursue this as a possible child molestation case. Talk to the medical examiner and let’s see if we can get a DNA match to someone in our sex-offender database.” Brill looked out through the blinds on the glass wall to the busy detective bureau. “This girl might have been the victim of two separate crimes.”
Late Sunday evening, Ethan stood on the porch at Drew’s and gave his mother an extra-long hug, the flowery fragrance of her hair reminding him of Vanessa’s.
“If you two need anything,” Lisa Langley whispered, “and I mean anything, you call us.”
“We will, Mom.”
Lisa turned to Drew and cupped his face in her hands. “Are you sure we can’t talk you into coming to Maryville with us for a few days?”
“Thanks, Aunt Lisa. But I’ve got a final on Tuesday. You’d just have to run me back over here.”
Tom Langley shook Drew’s hand and then pulled him into a bear hug. “Lots of people are praying for you, Drew. You’re going to get through this.”
“Thanks, Uncle T. I know I will.”
A second later, the four of them converged, and it was hard to tell who was hugging whom.
“You and Mom be careful on the road,” Ethan said. “As soon as we can, Vanessa and I will drive over to see you.”
“That’ll be great,” Tom said. “Okay, Mama, let’s get out of here and let these young men wind down. Drew, I hope you do great on your final. And Ethan, I hope you get off to a good start on the job. I told Ralph if he doesn’t treat you right, he’ll have to answer to me.”
So why doesn’t he answer to you for not treating Drew right?
Ethan walked out on the porch, the sky overhead a blazing mantle of lava pink, and stood with Drew as his parents walked to their car, waving as they drove off.
“That wasn’t
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