The Predator (6 page)

“So where do we go from here?” he murmured, keeping his eyes averted.

She heaved a sigh, the sound so desolate it tore through him. He looked up, his gaze clashing with hers.

“I’m sorry, Alex. Coming here was a mistake. I’m sure there’ll be somewhere else I can transfer to. I-I’ll speak to Patrick tomorrow.”

The words, tasting sour on his tongue, were the last words he wanted to utter, but he forced them out. He’d come to make amends and set things right. He’d come to win her back. It was time to admit it. He was still in love with her. He’d always been in love with her.

But it was never going to happen. He could see that now. She’d moved on without him. She had a flourishing career and the child she’d always wanted. She had no need for him in her life.

“That might be for the best.”

The quiet words shredded his heart. He almost gasped from the pain of it. Instead, he turned away and stared at the computer screen that blinked in front of him. He knew the very second that Alex turned on her heel and left.

* * *

Alex glanced at her watch and sighed. Her break was nearly over. Despite the late hour, she’d escaped the confines of the office and had spent the time wandering past the brightly lit store fronts that lined the city’s central business district. The late fall air was crisp enough to cool her cheeks, but she welcomed the discomfort.

She’d managed to avoid any further conversation with Brandon by burying herself in her work, but the chat rooms were slower than usual and there had been nothing to spark her interest. The usual suspects were busy elsewhere tonight, it seemed.

She’d always had a passion for children. It was only when it had become a problem for them that she’d realized Brandon hadn’t shared her passion. She’d taken it as a given that during the course of their marriage, they’d welcome children. It’s what people did. It wasn’t something people negotiated and had to put into writing.

But when it had become obvious they were on completely different pages when it came to having a family, she realized her mistake. By then, it was too late to avoid the inevitable arguments and the anguish. Even then, she’d never dreamed it would be a deal breaker.

Her thoughts turned to Sam and she sighed. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt guilty about him not having a father. Even worse, it was her fault his father didn’t even know he existed. In the early days, she’d often defended her decision against her mother not to let Brandon know. She’d been so angry and hurt and bewildered; the last thing she’d wanted to do was gift him with her much longed-for child.

But now, four years down the track, the pain of his abrupt departure had lessened, despite what she’d told Brandon. She knew him well enough to know when he’d pledged his life to hers, he’d taken his marriage vows seriously and although he hadn’t shared with her the reasons why he’d irrevocably changed his mind, she’d come to hope they were at least valid. Perhaps it was time to come clean? Perhaps she owed it to both Brandon and her son to make them aware of each other’s existence? The thought filled her with equal parts optimism and terror.

Finding herself back at the entry to the AFP offices and no closer to an answer, she squared her shoulders and headed back inside.

* * *

Alex frowned at the hub of excitement in the squad room. A crowd of agents surrounded Brandon’s desk. She stowed her handbag beneath her desk and sauntered closer, doing her best to look disinterested.

“What’s going on?” she asked the agent nearest to her.

“Brandon’s got a bite.”

Alex moved a little closer and peered at the entries on Brandon’s screen. Her eyebrows rose and her instincts kicked into gear. It certainly appeared like he was onto something.

Brandon was posing as a thirteen-year-old boy. A chat room user, logged in as “Adam,” had posted some increasingly suspicious questions in response to Brandon’s innocuous comments. As if aware of her presence, Brandon twisted in his chair and stared at her. She flushed and averted her gaze.

“What do you think, Alex? You’ve been here longer than I have.”

His question was issued in a moderate tone, but Alex caught the gleam of challenge in his eyes.

“Yes, well, he certainly warrants closer attention. These are exactly the kind of questions these scum tend to pose. You’ve done a good job drawing him out.”

Brandon’s eyes widened at the praise. He smiled warmly, appearing to genuinely appreciate her comment.

“Thank you, Agent Cavanaugh. Coming from you, that means a lot. From the way everyone around here speaks about you, it’s obvious you’re highly thought of.”

Alex blushed and looked away.
He’d been discussing her with the other agents?
She didn’t know whether to feel upset or flattered.

“I wish I’d worked with you years ago. Instead of going in different directions, maybe we could have…you know.” Brandon’s comment was little more than a murmur, but Alex heard every word. Her heart clenched and her eyes stung with sudden emotion.

“Maybe,” she whispered huskily.

As if in silent agreement, the agents surrounding Brandon dispersed one by one and returned to their workstations. Alex turned to leave.

“I’m really sorry, Alex. It was wrong of me to transfer here. This is your turf. I get that. You love it here and you’re good at it. Better than good—you’re great. The kids out there need you. They need you to protect them from the pond scum that seek them out, luring them with a level of deceit that takes my breath away.”

He took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “I promise you I’ll go and see Patrick in the morning and request a transfer.”

Alex closed her eyes. Her shoulders slumped. There were a thousand good reasons why it was best for both of them if he left as quietly as he’d arrived. She opened her mouth to wish him luck.

“There’s no need to do that. You’re making progress… You’ve picked it up in no time at all and God knows, we can use the extra manpower. It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the team or to the kids to ask you to leave.”

He stared at her in surprise. “But, what about…?”

Her lips tightened. “I meant what I said, but we’re adults. I think we can put aside whatever personal issues we may have for everyone’s sake, don’t you think?”

He smiled again and her heart did a somersault. “Yes, of course we can. From now on, cool and professional will be my middle name. You won’t even know I’m here unless we need to speak about work.”

A reluctant grin tugged at the corner of her lips. “I’m not sure you need to go to that extreme. People might talk.”

He hesitated and then held out his hand. “Truce?”

A lifetime of seconds dragged by, each one haunted by memories. The pain of his leaving would never be forgotten, but it was time to forgive. She took his proffered hand. “Truce,” she murmured.

His gaze held hers for long seconds. Her heart thumped hard. Panic gripped her. Was she really ready for this? She pulled her hand away. Brandon lowered his gaze.

“I guess it’s asking too much to suggest we could be friends?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “Friends? Is that even possible after all we’ve been through?”

He looked up at her, his eyes burning with intensity. “We used to be best friends.”

A pang of regret went through her. “We used to be a lot of things.”

Guilt flooded Brandon’s face and he looked away. She sighed. He wasn’t the only one who felt guilty.

“I guess it’s not too late to try.” The words fell out of her mouth. His gaze found hers, hope igniting in their depths.

“I guess not,” he murmured.

A fleeting smile lifted her lips. “So, how was your coffee?”

He grinned back at her. “Hot.”

She chuckled. He smiled back at her. “You remembered,” he said. “You remembered how I take it.”

“Black with one? Of course.”

His gaze locked with hers again and her heart squeezed tight. The seconds multiplied. She was relieved when he cleared his throat and broke the tension.

“So, tell me about the investigation. I mean, I understand we’re trying to crack a pedophile ring that’s using the Internet to solicit children, but why are the AFP involved? Don’t the State police usually investigate this kind of thing?”

Alex nodded, thankful for the change of subject. “Yes, each state has its own Special Ops Team, but this investigation shows plenty of signs of being international—hence our involvement. The intelligence we’ve received indicates the main source of the illegal pornography is coming out of Belgium. The images are being emailed to a handful of accounts around the world. The owners of these accounts are the facilitators. They purchase the images from the head office in Belgium and then on-sell them to their customers.”

Brandon nodded, his lips pursed. “Sounds complicated.”

“It is,” Alex agreed, “and time consuming. Hence the barrage of twelve-hour shifts. But little by little, and with the help of INTERPOL and the FBI, we’re collating information about the users of these accounts. The aim is to identify them, find them and lock them up for a very long time.”

“And the names on the whiteboard?” He nodded in the direction of the board hanging on the far wall of the squad room. Already, more than half a dozen names had been listed with various descriptions in abbreviated shorthand underneath.

“They’re the potential targets we’ve identified through the chat rooms. Each of us compiles our own list of information based upon the targets we come in contact with.”

“How do you weed them out from everyone else in there? I’ve only been here a short while and it does my head in when I consider how many people visit these places. It was only when Adam, a guy in the chat room, triggered something inside me that I called some of the others over to take a look. Is that how you know when it’s someone you need to look at a little closer? Is it based merely upon gut reaction?”

Alex nodded with understanding. “Gut reaction has a lot to do with it. The rest of it comes with experience. You have to remember, I’ve been doing this for a few years and while most of these guys lie about who and what they are, the good news is that a lot of them stick to the same basic story.”

She moved to prop her hip against his desk. “There are a few basic things to look for. They generally pose as schoolboys, tend to reside in the same suburbs, have the same sporting interests and these basic facts stay the same as they move from chat room to chat room.” She shrugged. “I guess it helps them keep things straight in their heads. Only one set of lies to remember, so to speak. I use much the same technique myself.”

She pursed her lips. “I thought Patrick briefed you on all of this?”

Brandon nodded and smiled. “He did, but it’s useful to get the operational lowdown from the foot soldiers. When does a user make it to the whiteboard?”

“Each investigator will compile a list of similarities between individual chat room users. Once you take time to analyze it, you see a pattern of common information begin to emerge. In this way, we can narrow down a list of potentially hundreds of suspects. Once we’re confident about a suspect and his online aliases, he goes up on the whiteboard.”

“It must be tough to stay sane while you’re joining so many dots, but you thrive on it, don’t you?” He said it softly, his voice full of admiration.

Alex blushed. “Yes,” she said simply. “I do.”

“So, how are your parents? Do they still live in Canberra?”

Adjusting to the change of subject, Alex shook her head, regretting that Brandon had missed so many important events in her life. “No, Dad passed away about three years ago.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Why would you?”

She said it without malice, but he didn’t reply.

“Mom hated being in the house on her own,” she continued. “She said it held too many memories. She moved into a duplex just around the corner from me not long after we buried Dad.” Alex smiled, chasing the shadows away. “She’s a great help with Sam and it’s lovely to have her so close. I guess it worked out well for everyone.”

“I guess so.”

Brandon looked at her like he wanted to ask more questions. His mouth opened and then he closed it again. A sudden yearning to return to the way they had been almost overwhelmed her. What had the past four years been like for him? Had he missed her even a little bit? Had he returned to Jakarta? Was there anyone special in his life?

She clamped her jaw shut. It was none of her business. They’d agreed on friendship, nothing else. If she wanted him to respect her privacy, she had to respect his. It was only fair. “So, what about you? Do you have any kids?” The words fell out of her mouth and into the silence.

* * *

Alex snapped her teeth together the minute she said the words. She couldn’t believe she’d uttered them. What the hell was she doing? Hadn’t she just told herself to mind her own business?

Brandon looked surprised and slightly confused. Who could blame him? She was up and down, hot and cold. All over the place. She gritted her teeth and silently wished for her life to be returned to normal. Back to a time before her way-too-good-looking husband intruded into every corner of it.

She had no business asking him about his kids. He was none of her business, just as she was none of his. Besides, what the hell did she care whether he had children with someone else? She couldn’t care less.

Liar.

The word branded itself inside her head. Heat crept up her neck and across her face. She turned away and pretended interest in the view of the city lights outside the darkened window.

She should have known better. Brandon had always been way too observant. It was what made him such a good cop.

“No, I don’t have any kids.”

Her gaze flew back to his and she was startled at the regret that lingered in the deep blue of his eyes.

“That’s good. You always said you didn’t want any,” she replied dismissively, hoping he bought her act.

He stared at her. “I said a lot of things. Four years is a long time, Alex. A lifetime, for some. People change.”

“Have you?” She tried to keep the challenge out of her voice, but only partially succeeded.