Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(41)
Jenna blinked at Wolfe; his tech-talk was way over her head but she had to join in the conversation. “Some of the kids mentioned you often send them bonus cards. Why?”
“Ah, Sheriff, I earn the cards during gameplay and share them with other players. We all share bonuses—it’s part of the online gamer environment.” Provine glanced up at Wolfe and hunched his shoulders. “You know your stuff and yeah I’ve used cheat codes, but I didn’t write them, I traded them online.”
“Uh-huh. Do you recall where you were between the hours of eight and ten yesterday morning?” Wolfe took out his notebook and pen.
“Yesterday?” Looking slightly bemused, Provine rubbed the back of his neck. “Here, I live in the apartment out back of the store—why?”
“Just routine inquiries.” Wolfe made a note in his book and his cold gaze moved over the smaller man. “Can anyone verify your whereabouts?”
“Yeah, I open the store at nine and a delivery arrived about the time I opened.” Provine shrugged. “The kids started to arrive around that time as well. During school vacation the place is usually packed. It’s the free Wi-Fi but they do buy games and their parents stock up on the latest tech for birthdays and holidays.”
“Can I see the proof of delivery slip?” Wolfe narrowed his gaze. “What about the period between eight and nine?”
“I was in my apartment, alone, having breakfast.” Provine let out a long, aggravated sigh. “I’ll make you a copy of the delivery note.” He moved to the counter, took out a box crammed with paper, sifted through, then slid one into a scanner. He handed the document to Wolfe. “Is that all? I really need to keep an eye on the kids before they break something.”
Jenna took the copy from Wolfe and read the information. As Provine had stated, the delivery arrived at nine. She folded the paper and moved her attention back to the storekeeper. “Thank you. Do you know Felicity Parker?”
“Yes, she comes in frequently with her friends.”
Jenna nodded. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Saturday, she was in with the usual crowd.” Provine looked interested. “Yes, that was the last time. She didn’t come by yesterday. I remember her friends asking me if I had sent her any bonuses because she wasn’t answering her phone earlier in the morning. They thought she might be playing her game, and you know kids, they get engrossed for hours at a time.”
“And did you send her any bonuses?”
“Yes, I sent out quite a few on Sunday, it brings the kids back into the store. You have no idea how keen they are to play the latest games. During summer break, Lucas and Chad are usually waiting outside the store for me to open. They catch the early bus into town.” Provine smiled. “They always end up buying a game or one of the new gadgets, and the girls are great at grabbing my lunch. It saves me closing up for an hour like today.”
That proves where Chad and Lucas were on Monday morning. “You send them out in emails?”
“No.”
Jenna met his gaze and shrugged. “So if you don’t use email, I gather you text them these game bonuses and… ah ‘cheat codes’, you would have to know their cellphone numbers? Exactly how many of these underage girls’ numbers do you have in your contacts list?”
“Zero.” Provine gave her an indignant glare. “They play online. Haven’t you ever played a game on Facebook or one of the other interactive games sites? It’s a community and people have player names. Most of the kids tell me their player ID so we can swap bonus cards online. I send the bonuses et cetera to their gift boxes.”
“Okay.” Wolfe flicked her a glance and closed his notepad. “That’s all we need for now. I’ll drop by and place an order soon.” He turned for the door.
Jenna followed him into the street. “What do you think?”
“I’ll have to unpack my equipment to discover if he is doing anything.”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Jenna opened the door to the cruiser and slipped inside. “What could he be doing?”
“I’m not sure yet but if he is chatting in an online games room, he could be dangerous, but Felicity and her friends seem to be playing online using their cellphones. If this is the case, without the phone, we have zip. I doubt I’ll find anything via their computers.” Wolfe dropped into the passenger seat and fastened the seatbelt. “I’ll spend the rest of the day checking out Felicity’s laptop and see if anyone has hacked it, but don’t expect instant results—it takes time, maybe a day or two.”
Jenna started the engine and headed back toward the sheriff’s office. “Can you explain in plain English? I understand hacking but what relevance does that have to the case?”
“She might have been telling her friends on social media her plans for the day. Kids share everything and don’t seem to worry who reads their posts or looks at their images. They friend anyone because the number of friends they have is a status symbol.”
Jenna pulled the vehicle into her reserved parking space and turned in her seat to stare at him. “Is that possible? I mean, social media have privacy laws as a fail-safe. No one could find out where she lives for instance.”
“There lies the problem. Once information is out there in cyberspace, it’s too late. The kids post pictures of their locality and friends all the time and it wouldn’t take a hacker to track them down.” Wolfe gave her an intense stare. “In my line of expertise there is no such word as ‘fail-safe’ on the internet.”