Page 26 of See How They Hide

“Now?” She shook her head. “Now I think it means something completely different. But I have no idea what.”

Ryder burst into Matt’s office, stopped halfway in. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “But I found something important.”

“You have the floor,” Matt told him.

Ryder looked a bit sheepish at having interrupted the meeting, but Matt motioned him to sit and said, “You were talking with Agent Stewart in Denver?”

“Him, others,” Ryder said. He pulled out his tablet and brought up a set of notes. “It was Crossman’s birth certificate that made me believe we’re dealing with an organized criminal group of some sort. It’s a real document, issued from the State of Colorado, with an authentic seal. But it’s false. Not fake, but we confirmed with the hospital administration that Chris Crossman was not born at St. Matthews Hospital on that date. Agent Stewart went to the county office and there is birth data for both Benson and Merrifield at St. Matthews Hospital.”

Catherine frowned. “So they were all born at the same hospital, years apart? There could be a motive here, though I’m not seeing it.”

Ryder shook his head. “No, I’m saying the birth certificates are falsified, that someone inserted the birth information digitally into the system, so the county issued official, certified birth certificates.”

“Is that even possible?” Catherine asked.

“Yes,” Ryder said, “for an extremely skilled hacker who has deep knowledge of the Colorado systems.”

“I spoke with the US Marshals when we couldn’t confirm Jane Merrifield’s identification,” Matt said. “None of our victims are in Witness Protection or known to any other agencies. None of their fingerprints have popped either. And while the Marshals are capable of creating false identification, there is a record.”

“It’s a hacker,” Ryder insisted. “I’ve reviewed all government-issued documentation that we have on all the victims, and Agent Stewart helped with the field work. Crossman had a Colorado driver’s license when he moved to Santa Fe ten years ago when he used thatlegalID and his birth certificate to obtain a New Mexico license.”

“He was a certified teacher,” Catherine said. “He graduated from college, he received his credentials—he had to take the test, be verified.”

“He may have taken the certification test,” Ryder said. “I’m still verifying that. But according to the school district where he substituted, they never followed up to confirm his college degree from University of Colorado Denver. I asked Agent Stewart to contact the university directly for proof of his attendance.

“If it was one oddity, it would be interesting but not suspicious,” Ryder continued. “While we have yet to find any official documentation on Robert Benson, his social security number was issued in Colorado. Crossman and Merrifield have documentation from Colorado, but it’s incorrect or false. Merrifield’s home residence is wrong. The high school listed on her college records said she never attended. The local police and Agent Stewart haven’t found any individual in Denver who personally knew Jane Merrifield. Crossman has a suspicious birth certificate and no record that he was born at the hospital listed. And while Mrs. Benson said that her husband had lived in Colorado, we can find no records on him. She’s looking for his birth certificate now, said she saw it once before they married, but it’s not in their important papers. We have more to go through, but he never had a driver’s license in Colorado.”

“What about social security numbers?” Catherine asked. “False documentation is difficult but not impossible. False social security numbers are much more difficult.”

“Merrifield’s was issued over three years ago—the same month she applied to SOU. And Crossman’s was issued ten years ago, before he bought the house in New Mexico.”

One person not having a social as a child was possible, Matt thought. Some parents didn’t apply when they were born, and after birth there was a longer process. But two was definitely unusual.

“What about Benson?” Matt asked.

“His was issued eleven years ago in Colorado, shortly before he turned up in Weems,” Ryder said. “To get a social security number as an adult, you have to submit your birth certificate and a second document proving identity. Plus, you have to show up at the SSA in person and explain why you don’t have a number. There will be a log, and I’ve requested the information, but they’re telling me it’ll take weeks to retrieve the data.”

“Write up exactly what you need and I’ll get Tony to flex his muscle,” Matt said, speaking of the assistant director in charge of their team.

“Already done,” Ryder said. “I have a theory, though.”

He looked a little sheepish, but Matt nodded, urged him to continue.

“Someone with incredible skill to cover their tracks hacked into multiple systems to insert falsified information for these people. Their licenses are real, their birth certificates are real. They are real people—but they were not born under those names at St. Matthew’s. This is well above my abilities, but I’d like permission to talk to the cybercrimes team at the lab. They might have some ideas about who could be behind this.”

“Do it,” Matt said. “This is the first solid lead we have. Does anyone have questions?”

“Ryder,” Kara said, “when you and Agent Stewart follow up with the agencies in Colorado, can you add Riley Pierce to your list?”

“Sure.”

Matt saw where Kara was going with this. “You think she’s also living on false identification.”

“Yep,” Kara said. “Riley and Jane knew each other before college. They were roommates for three years until Riley took an internship in France. It reasons that Riley at a minimum knows more about Jane’s past than we do, and could have her own false identity.”

Ryder nodded, jotted down the information, turned to Matt. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’d like to get started on this.”

“Go,” Matt said.

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