Page 87 of Fear of Flames
Fletch crouched down beside Michelle’s chair. His dark stare looked up at her. “Denny loved you. You were his last concern.” When she didn’t reply, he said, “Let’s go back to bed. Maybe you can get a few hours of sleep before we head to the computer lab tomorrow.”
The emotion building within Michelle was different than simply the loss of her parents. It was the realization that she never knew them in the first place.
Standing with her hand in Fletch’s, she said, “Will you help me take my mind off of what I’m learning?”
His lips quirked and he tugged her close. “I can do my best.”
Chapter
Forty-Two
Fletch, Leo, and Michelle stood around a large screen scrolling though picture after picture. The bounded, gagged, and unconscious children ranged in age from roughly two years old to seventeen years old. Some of the children were identified with names, others weren’t. Each picture had a date and time stamp. The pictures weren’t of the children prior to them going missing, such as would be on a missing poster. These pictures were of children during the abductions.
“How the hell did Denny get these?” Leo asked.
Fletch stared in disbelief. “There are hundreds.”
Michelle walked away and spun, her eyes glued to the screen. “Did you know that some arsonists are firemen?”
Fletch and Leo turned toward her.
“Really. There’s something called a hero complex. The fireman rushes in and saves the kid or the puppy. He’s a hero. Murderers are known to participate in the search for their victims. They want to know if they’ve gotten away with the crime. They get a psychological thrill in being part of the excitement. In a case study for one of my criminology classes, the unsub was identified because he attended his victims’ funerals. Multiple people in different states—he showed up to all of them.”
“Chell, no.”
Her heart was beating in her chest, but she had to say what she was thinking. “My father was obsessed with child abductions. You said it yourself. He’d rattle off statistics. He told stories of horrors that he witnessed.”
Leo looked at Fletch and back to Michelle. “Denny wouldn’t.”
Michelle lifted her hands, as if in surrender, and backed away. “I don’t want to be right, but what if I am? What if Sheriff Perkins found out?”
“He would have arrested him, not killed him,” Fletch replied.
“Maybe the sheriff went there for that, and things took a turn. The sheriff panicked and started the fire.” She was talking fast. “Now Sheriff Perkins is dead. He can’t tell us what happened—neither one of them can.”
“First thing,” Fletch said, “before we accuse anyone, we need to understand what Denny was doing with these pictures. And once we confirm the identities of the children, we find out if they were recovered or are still missing. There are families out there that deserve answers.”
“I’ll work on that,” Leo said, “…keep going through Denny’s information. We can’t rule out Chell’s concern. However, there might be an explanation if we keep digging.”
“I need a minute,” Michelle said as she stepped out of the lab. Going down the hallway to the lounge, she poured herself a cup of coffee. Olivia was right that it was pretty good. She needed a break from life-altering revelations. Somehow, she’d have to come to terms with the fact she didn’t know her parents or her sister.
“Shelly.”
She turned, finding Peterson standing in the doorway. “Hi.”
He nodded, stepped into the small room, and motioned toward the table. “Can we talk?”
It was like the last time he asked. Michelle felt the need to comply. She nodded in return and pulled out a chair.
Peterson sat across from her and placed his hands on the table. “You’ve had some large discoveries.”
“How did you know? Fletch?—?”
“Arrow didn’t tell me. We monitor the work that’s done here at the agency. When something is flagged, it’s brought to my attention.”
“My dad…” A ragged sob lodged in her throat. “He wasn’t what I thought he was.”
“Dennis was a good man. He and Tracy told my predecessor about Sarah. It was tragic, but due to the agency, they handled it the best they could considering the circumstances.”
