The Predator (9 page)

Closing the door to her bedroom behind her, Cassie dropped her bag on the floor and flopped onto her bed. She could almost hear her mother scolding her for lying on her bedspread with her Nikes on, but right at that moment, she didn’t care.

She’d never been so humiliated. She was mad at herself, more than him. She was the fool who’d thought he actually meant it when he’d called her beautiful.

She picked up the pretty pink-and-white cushion that decorated her bed and squeezed it hard to her chest. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t he have been different? Why couldn’t he have been there, smiling and cheering for her and making her heart sing?

She tensed at the gentle knock on her door.

“Cassie, I heard you come in. Are you all right?”

Her mother’s soft voice, full of concern almost brought tears to her eyes, but she bit her lip against the surge of emotion. She wasn’t a baby any longer and it was high time she stopped acting like one. How was she ever going to capture the interest of a boy like Justin if she blubbered over every little disappointment like a baby?

The knock came again and she knew if she didn’t say something, her mother would come in.

“I’m fine, Mom,” she managed. “Just tired from netball. It was a hard game.”

“Can I come in?” The request was voiced softly, without demand and Cassie ignored the guilt that assailed her. She’d always tried to be honest with her parents, just like they’d taught her to be and it made her uncomfortable to lie to her mother now. She knew her parents wouldn’t approve of Justin. They hadn’t even let her have a Facebook page.

Despite weeks of begging and pleading, they’d refused to give in. It was one of the disadvantages of having a father who was a long-serving detective. He’d seen too much of the wrong side of society to be anything but overprotective of his own kids and her mother was in full support of his decision.

Not that she couldn’t understand their attitude. In fact, most of the time she was glad to know they cared. Plenty of kids weren’t as lucky to have parents like hers. But there were times, like now, when her parents wouldn’t approve of her behavior. They hadn’t exactly banned her from online chat rooms, but they’d cautioned her long and hard about the risks associated with them and they’d no doubt be horrified to know she’d struck up a friendship with a boy she’d met there.

But life was so different now compared to when they were young. The Internet hadn’t even been invented when they were teens. They just didn’t understand how vital it was to be part of it. To talk to your classmates, to meet new friends. She appreciated their concern, she really did, but they just didn’t—and perhaps, couldn’t—understand.

Knowing if she didn’t respond as her mother expected, she’d become suspicious, Cassie sat up on her bed and hung her sneakered feet over the side.

“Sure, Mom. Come in.” She plastered a smile on her face and waited for the door to open.

* * *

The house stood in darkness and had been quiet for more than an hour when Cassie finally found the courage to open her laptop and login to her favorite chat room. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw he was there.

She chewed on her thumbnail. Should she acknowledge him? What should she say? What if he ignored her? God, she couldn’t bear it if he ignored her.

Hey, there, gorgeous. I was wondering if I’d get to talk to you today.

Her heart skipped a beat. He’d noticed her and wanted to talk. Her tension eased slightly, but she bit her lip. He’d made no mention of failing to show up at her game. Should she play it cool, like it hadn’t really mattered? Was that the best way to handle it?

Before she could decide, he commented again.

Sorry I couldn’t make it to your game today. Dad had a list of chores for me that took me most of the day. I couldn’t believe it. I had to wash the car and mow the lawn. He even made me sweep out the garage. All I wanted to do was to be at your game. How did it go, anyway?

Relief surged through her and she felt giddy with happiness. She giggled and swiped at the tears in her eyes and hurried to type a response.

Sorry to hear about your day from hell. Mine wasn’t so hot, either. We lost 10-4. Our Center was away and I had to switch positions. The girl who played in my position didn’t get a single goal. It was so frustrating. I’m glad you weren’t there to see it.

His reply came quickly.

I wish I had been. Even watching you lose would have been the highlight of my day. I would have given you all the sympathy you wanted. When do you play again?

Cassie went warm all over. Her heart filled to bursting and she wrapped her arms around her chest and held on tightly. She wanted to hold onto the feeling of joy and excitement for every second that it lasted—and even longer.

She knew he was the real deal. He hadn’t been stringing her along. He
did
think she was beautiful. She smiled in contentment. She couldn’t wait until the next game.

* * *

James read the words as they crawled across his screen. His excitement stirred. It hadn’t been her. The fat little Goal Attack hadn’t been her. He hadn’t even noticed the Center. He’d been too furious at what he’d thought was Lady G’s duplicity.

Hope and anticipation surged through him. Maybe all was not lost, after all.

CHAPTER TEN

The squad room door opened, drawing Alex’s gaze. Brandon strode in and she quickly averted her eyes. She tamped down on the fluttering of her heart and the nerves that tightened her belly. No matter how many times she told herself she was over him, her body continued to betray her.

They’d been working together for nearly a month, yet he still had the power to distract her. Thank God they’d both been too busy concentrating on the job at hand to spend much time in idle chitchat.

Patrick strode out of his office and headed toward the whiteboard. Detective Sergeant Larry Perkins, his second-in-command, was by his side. Both men looked tense. Alex’s stomach clenched in anticipation.

“All right folks, gather around. We need to talk.”

Alex pushed her chair back and joined the handful of other officers who had pulled the morning shift. She chose a spot next to Ronald Gregson, a veteran agent with more than twenty years behind him and who looked more like a cuddly grandfather than the hardened agent she knew him to be. Brandon pulled up next to her.

Her nerves escalated and it had nothing to do with the upcoming briefing. She studiously ignored him and trained her gaze on her boss.

“Okay people, here’s what you need to know. I’ve just gotten off the phone from INTERPOL. Over the last few weeks, every agency involved has ramped up their efforts and we’re very close to identifying the suspected ringleader. There is one Internet Service Provider, or ISP address that consistently appears in the sites offering pictures of young children for sale.”

Patrick glanced around the group of officers. “The information just in from INTERPOL is that they’ve narrowed the search to an address in a small farming village on the outskirts of Antwerp. The Belgian police have been notified and are putting together a taskforce as I speak.”

“What role do we play in it?” asked Jack Nelson, one of their newer members.

Patrick acknowledged the question with a brief nod in Jack’s direction. “At this stage, nothing. We’ve been asked to sit tight until INTERPOL and the Belgians formulate a plan.” He met the gaze of each one of them, his expression grim.

“You can all appreciate the need for utmost secrecy. If even a whisper of this gets out, these guys will disappear into the cyber ether and we’ll have lost any chance of identifying them. Any hint their ringleader is under suspicion and it will be all over for us and our investigation.”

“What do you expect will happen, sir?” Brandon asked, his voice low.

Patrick turned and faced him. “I expect the local Belgian police will put the house under surveillance and, when the time’s right, storm the place with a search warrant. That’s what normally happens in these situations.” Patrick turned to his second-in-command. “Larry has some images of the house in question courtesy of Google Earth. You might all like to take a look.”

Larry moved toward the SMART board next to the whiteboard on the wall and logged in to Google Earth. Less than a minute later, a non-descript farmhouse perched amongst green fields on the edge of a town filled the screen.

Alex stared at it, unable to believe how perfectly innocent it looked. If the intelligence was accurate, this unobtrusive structure housed a monster. She shook her head. Brandon leaned closer.

“Scary, isn’t it? How normal it looks?”

She nodded and kept her gaze focused on the screen, unwilling to engage him in conversation.

Patrick walked to the SMART board and picked up a pointer. “You can see that although it’s on acreage, there are a couple of neighboring properties here and here that are uncomfortably close. The taskforce will need to take the proximity of these houses into account when formulating any plan to storm the building in question. We only hope, when the time comes, the occupant or occupants surrender peacefully.”

Ryan stepped forward. “How many people do they think are involved?”

“At this stage, I understand there’s only one suspect. The house is owned and occupied by Nicolas Janssens. He’s a public servant who works in some administrative capacity with the Antwerp Water Works, also known as the AWW. As far as they can tell, he lives alone.”

Alex cleared her throat. “I assume once the search warrant has been executed, the taskforce will seize the suspect’s computer and analyze the data?”

Patrick turned to her. “You assume right. The computer will be sent to the FBI at Quantico. Their experts will go over every inch of it and analyze whatever information they find. Obviously, we’re hoping the computer will help identify the suspect’s suppliers and customers, including those residing in Australia.”

His gaze moved around the room. “That’s where you all come in and where your lives are going to get busy. You might have thought you’d been busy before, but let me tell you, it will have nothing on the hours you’re going to have to put in once we’ve identified the ISPs based in Australia.”

Larry paced in front of them. “Time will be of the essence. Once they’ve carried out the raid on the suspected ringleader, every minute will count. It will only be a matter of time before this guy’s clients figure out something’s not right. Overnight, people will shut down accounts, delete browser histories and destroy hard drives. This will be a complex operation and one that requires the expertise and finesse of the very best in law enforcement.” His gaze encompassed the team of officers standing in a loose semi-circle. “That’s why you’re here.”

Alex shared nods and glances of acknowledgement amongst the officers. She could feel Brandon’s gaze on her, but refused to look at him.

“According to INTERPOL, Janssens has been operating for a substantial period of time. They’re anticipating the discovery of thousands of ISP addresses and even more customer email addresses stored on his computer,” said Patrick.

Jack groaned. The super’s gaze narrowed on him. “You’re right to groan. It’s a mammoth task. Just be thankful it’s not your responsibility to plow through them all. Every credit card transaction found on that hard drive and linked to a suspicious online purchase will be checked out and either discounted or added to the list of suspects.”

His gaze returned to encompass the group. “Fortunately for us, given that we have a proportionately smaller population than Europe or North America and going on past experience, we anticipate only a very small number of those will originate from Australia. Even so, as Larry said, when this breaks you’re going to be busier than you ever thought possible.”

Brandon straightened and Alex tensed and then cursed under her breath. She hated that she was so sensitive to his every move.

“From what you say,” Brandon said, “tracking down suspects’ ISP addresses is going to take them considerable time. What do we do in the meantime?”

Patrick cocked an eyebrow in Brandon’s direction, his mouth twitching. “Angling for some time off already, Munro? If you can’t handle the pace…”

Most of the officers chuckled. Brandon flushed. Alex felt a wave of sympathy, even as a smile formed on her lips.

Patrick waved them silent. “Sorry, Munro. I couldn’t help myself.” He cleared his throat. “While the FBI is doing their bit, I expect each of you to keep the users you suspect might be predators engaged and interested online. I want you to increase your presence in the chat rooms and provide a distraction. We don’t know how many of them are going to turn up on Janssens’ hard drive. We don’t want them suspecting anything’s amiss and we want to keep them too involved to worry about contacting their supplier. Keep collating data and adding it to the whiteboard. You never know what might be helpful.”

Larry clapped his hands. “All right people, that’s about it. If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to ask. Otherwise, you can all get back to work. Thanks for your time… And good luck.”

The group of officers dispersed. Brandon followed a couple of others in the direction of the tearoom. Alex swallowed a sigh of relief and headed back to her desk.

It was only mid-morning, but already she was tired. The long hours were wearing her down. She’d almost forgotten what her son looked like.

She couldn’t wait for the end of the week and the promise of a couple of days off. They’d be all the more precious now that she knew there’d be no time off once the investigation hit full swing.

She was planning to take Sam to the aquarium at Darling Harbour and she couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when she told him.

“I thought I’d return the favor. White with one, right?”

The deep, familiar voice drawled close to her ear and Alex’s traitorous heart took off at a gallop. Lost in her plans for the weekend, she hadn’t even noticed his approach.

Brandon leaned over and placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her. His arm brushed her shoulder. Her breathing stilled. Heat stole up her neck and spread across her cheeks and she cursed silently, knowing she was now going to have to attempt some form of conversation.