Page 48 of Fight or Flight
He shook his head. “My bad. I’m used to normal, routine investigations. Sorry,” he said, a bit sheepishly.
Ilene placed both cell phones back on the counter. “As long as we’re clear, and this isoff the books,let’s see the damned video. We’re wasting too much time. Tyler, can you access the security footage? Is there a password or anything else I don’t know?”
“I’ll try,” Tyler said. “She used her iPhone, not that other phone. She had it in her jeans pocket.”
“She did; the iPhone was in her back pocket. This burner phone was in her front pocket.” Ilene’s curiosity was piqued as she wondered about the burner phone. Was there more to Katherine’s story than what she’d told them?
Tyler scanned the apps on Katherine’s iPhone, stopping when he saw the app for the security cameras. He clicked on it, surprised when he wasn’t asked to enter a password. He was sure when he watched her open the app in the bathroom earlier that she’d logged in using a password. Apparently, she never signed off, which made sense, as she’d been frightened. He opened the footage. “Here it is,” he said, and gave the phone to the detective.
Ilene stood closer to Ray so she could view the footage. “Stop,” she said after viewing for a minute or so.
“Ms. Silva, I see it too.” Detective Davidson used his thumb and forefinger to expand the screen, then clicked on the photo of the figure wearing the hoodie. He continued to scroll through the images, clicking various images and enlarging them. Then, when he had finished, he emailed the pictures to his own phone. “I have a friend who can run these through facial recognition,” he explained. “See this?” He held up one of the screenshots he’d enlarged for them to view. “The side of the face when they’re looking at the cameras. I’m pretty sure this is a man who didn’t realize his hoodie wasn’t completely hiding that part of his face. Or maybe he’s unaware of the camera. I won’t ask if any of you all recognize this guy. It’s hard to tell, but technology is pretty damn good. With luck, my buddy will enhance what he can, then run it through the program. George will put a rush on the prints. I’ll have to get all of your prints to compare to any unknowns.”
“Mine are already on file,” Ilene said.
“Doctors have to have background checks, so I have prints on file as well,” Tyler told him. “I never thought they’d be used in an investigation, but they’re all yours. I assume you know where to locate them.” He said this last part a bit sarcastically. The cop was overbearing, and Tyler wasn’t sure he liked the guy. He found him arrogant.
“Same,” Doc said. “It’s been several years, though prints don’t change.”
The detective had his recorder on the counter, recording every word they said. The green light stuck out like a sore thumb. “I need Ms.Winnie’s permission to contact the security company.”
“Ray, stop with the act. You know who she is—the crazy lady on the mountain. I’m not going to give out her personal information, like her name. She’s a recluse for a reason. You can ask her what name she goes by when she’s awake.” When Ray asked Ilene for a favor, she’d make sure to run him through the wringer, as he was doing now.
“Sorry—don’t take it personally, Ilene. I’m trying to help out. I’m just set in my ways,” Ray said. “Give me a break here, okay?”
“Just do something. I promised I could fix this. I told Ms. Winnie I’d do whatever I could, and I want you to continue to refer to her as such until she decides to tell you otherwise.” Ilene turned to Doc Baker. “Right, Franklin? You know I always keep my promises.”
Doc raised his brows. “Of course. You haven’t let me down yet.”
George returned to the kitchen. “I’ve finished the prints. Not too much—broken glass, just a couple of panes. Appears it was hit by something.”
Tyler couldn’t help it; he had to speak up. “Ilene, don’t refer to her as ‘the crazy lady on the mountain.’ It’s demeaning,” he said. It wasn’t right, and here they all were, in her home, while she was knocked out on medication, talking about her as if she didn’t exist.
“Don’t be so touchy. It’s nothing personal.” Ilene snickered.
George cleared his throat. All eyes were back on him. “I’m going outside to see what I can find.”
“Thanks, George,” Detective Davidson called out. “He’s a workaholic. What about this fan club thing? I want to take a look at her computer. At least let my forensics guy see if he can find anything threatening.”
“No, you can’t take her computer. It’s a work thing. We wouldn’t want to overstep our boundaries. It will have to wait until she gives her permission,” Tyler said.
“Exactly what type of work does Ms.Winniedo?” Detective Davidson asked Tyler.
Doc took over. “It’s a computer tech job. I don’t know all the details, but as long as I’ve known her, she’s worked from home.” He didn’t elaborate any more than necessary.
Tyler glanced at Doc. “I’m not sure what company she’s employed by. Apple, Microsoft, maybe?” Tyler knew this wasn’t true, but it kept Katherine’s computer out of their hands for now. He wasn’t a whiz with computers; couldn’t access hers even if he tried. But he was smart enough to realize she wouldn’t want her Friendlink page up for review without her permission.
“Since this is off the books, I won’t insist,” the detective said. “If you find any threat directed at Ms. Winnie,I’d like to know. Wouldn’t want to discover I missed any hint of a stalker or an unhappy boyfriend.”
Tyler agreed. “I may be speaking out of turn, but I don’t believe any of her Friendlink”—he almost saidfansagain, but caught himself—“connections are responsible for this break-in.” And Tyler felt sure there wasn’t a boyfriend involved. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that Katherine hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time. She’d said as much earlier. As a psychiatrist, he was an expert on human behavior. While he hadn’t performed a clinical evaluation, it wasn’t required in this particular situation. She had panic attacks and was an agoraphobe. In her own way, she’d been up-front about this with him and Doc. From his short time with her, she appeared to be a high-functioning, successful author. Her success was real, not imaginary, as it might be with one suffering from a delusional disorder or psychosis of any kind.
Again, he hadn’t an ounce of her medical history to make a real diagnosis. She’d been traumatized, and her way of protecting herself was to remain in her safe space. Which happened to be a mansion on one of North Carolina’s many magnificent mountains, close enough to the Blue Ridge Parkway to have a view most would envy. Tyler could see how easy it was for her to live as she did. With modern technology and a fortune at her disposal, Katherine’s lifestyle was manageable until tonight, when her personal space had been violated.
“Let’s hope not. Internet scams are on the rise. Folks have been fooled too many times. Men prey on women. Some have gone as far as to stalk and kill. Women aren’t always the victims; men are often victims, too. I don’t like telling you all this, but be aware,” the detective continued.
Doc shook his head. “No, she’s too smart to be taken in by an online romance or whatever they’re calling it these days. Dating games.”
George returned to the kitchen with his black box closed up. “I have enough to work with. I took the liberty of walking around the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary. This is a huge property. I can’t cover it all on foot, though I didn’t see anything suspicious in the areas I searched, other than her horses are in a tizzy.”
