Bringing All the Bad, стр. 16
Captain Mann looked a little better this morning. His face was less gray, the circles under his eyes still there but not quite so deep. With a grim smile, he said, “My friend at the US Attorney’s office did that. She’s on it. They’re working on a classified brief for this one. That means it will be closely held, even in their own office. She believes me.”
Those last three words almost broke Mel’s heart. Having to fight against the system to get even the barest hint of support for victims crushed the soul. She had no doubt that Captain Mann had been brushed off as overreacting by those who should be on their side.
“We’ll get them,” she said. It was all she could say.
He nodded, the smile gone. “I got your email with the latest from Baby. I hardly know what to say. She’s got some pretty specific details in there.”
“I know. That’s what’s so odd. Why give her a story this detailed? What does anyone gain from that?” Mel asked, still as confused as ever as to the source of the strange tale.
“Who knows? Maybe a detailed bio works for the girls like it does for undercover cops. The more they can believe, the more they can blend in. Maybe this keeps her docile, believing it’s her fate or whatever.”
A raised voice beyond the glass walls of the office drew Mel’s attention. A woman with blonde hair drawn up into a messy knot and her arm in a sling was poking her finger into her partner’s chest. At least Paul seemed to be handling it well. That reminded her of the other half of the discussion she needed to have with her boss.
“And you’re not changing your mind about pulling Paul off the case?” she asked.
Mann was watching the byplay too, and he didn’t take his eyes off the situation when he answered. “No. He can still work the research and paperwork. He can work the phones. Nothing on the street though. He’s too close to the edge on this one. He’s still fine with adults.” When the woman broke down in tears and allowed Paul to lead her to his desk, Mann finally looked away and back at her. “I think he might be topped out.”
Mel nodded in understanding. It wasn’t a hit against Paul. It was just the way it was. Most detectives didn’t last long in this department. It was too hard. Her former partner had moved to homicide after two years. He’d told her much later that it was easier to deal with dead kids than brutalized ones. That might sound harsh, but it’s the opposite.
It was the eyes that did it. The living, pleading, hurt eyes.
The only two who had lasted in the department were sitting in this office. Mel sometimes wondered if that meant there was something wrong with them. How could they keep doing what they did?
Perhaps Mann was thinking something along the same lines, because he sighed and changed the subject. “I did as you asked and had the name Raymond run, along with every possible variation on that name. A few hits, but nothing like this. One on the registry lives within an hour of the RV park, but that’s for adult rape. If that is Papa’s name, then he hasn’t been caught doing anything like this before.”
“A first name isn’t much to go on anyway.”
“No, it isn’t. Out of curiosity I ran a general search through the criminal database. Might as well put the search string as male. Too many hits to count.”
“I’ll get more of the story. Not today though. She’s getting some educational testing so they can see what schooling she’s gotten. As far as she remembers, she’s never been to school. She said she had tutors for a while. I did see the latest social services report. Looks like most of them have either never been to school, don’t remember it, or at best have only vague memories of it.”
“Jesus freaking Christ. Like they need any more challenges on top of what they’ve got,” Mann said, wiping his hand roughly down his face.
She gave him a moment, then said, “I’m going to meet with the evidence folks today. They’ve got everything set up in a warehouse, exactly as it was at the park. Photo-boards of what they collected too. I’m going to see where we’re at. They’ve got something like eight-hundred samples in line for DNA testing and the lab is giving them grief. Most of it is probably from the girls themselves, but given the collection locations, a good number might be old customers. Can you do anything about that?”
“I’m trying, Mel. I really am. The DA said that old samples don’t have sufficient evidentiary value. The US Attorney might be willing to fund it, depending on what we get elsewhere.”
“Then I’ll do my best to find something worthwhile elsewhere.”
He gave her another tired smile, then both of them looked as the noise level in the squad room rose again. The woman was once again loud enough to be just this side of yelling.
“Can you?” Mann asked.
“Yeah, I’ll go see what’s up.”
As Mel approached, the woman got to her feet, the chair squeaking across the tile as she hit it with the back of her legs. Her back was to Mel, but she must have sensed someone approaching. She whipped around to face Mel when she was within a few paces of the desk, her expression swiftly bunching up in fear. Mel could read much in that expression. This woman was still reacting to everything too strongly. She was hypervigilant and very, very angry that she felt that way.
“Can I be