A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan #19)(110)
“Livestreaming from where?”
“The Philippines. Some town north of Manila. I gotta say, the vice boys over there jumped right on this when we made contact. Issued warrants, busted the guy running the webcam outta his home. So far, they’ve ID’d a dozen kids between the ages of six and fifteen.”
“The children are OK?”
“Who the hell knows? They’re with social services, or whatever it is the Philippines got. Here’s the part tears your heart out. My contact says a lot of those being arrested are family members.”
“Seriously?”
“He says the parents live in poverty. They got no jobs, no hopes of scoring nothing in life. For a couple hundred bucks, they allow their kids to be sexually abused for the entertainment of pervs all over the globe.”
“It’s that widespread?” The heat-chill expanding across my chest.
“Yeah. The feds are taking over. And Uncle Sam will have lots of help smoking out this pond scum. Britain, Australia, and Germany are already on board.”
“Unger orchestrated the IT for Body?” Pleased with the calm tone of my voice.
“No doubt.”
“What are they facing?”
“For now, possession and distribution of child pornography and exploitation of a minor related to child pornography. The DA is busting ass to make sure these dirtbags get the max possible.”
“Whatever the sentence, it won’t be enough.” If they serve any time at all, I thought, remembering how Aiello had skated.
“Never is,” Slidell agreed.
“Anything on Jahaan Cole or Timmy Horshauser? On any of our kids?” I knew the answer but couldn’t help asking.
“No.”
A long, heavy silence filled the line. Then, “Heavner’s out.”
“Good riddance.” I’d already discovered that via another news feed. In light of the scandal and her connection to Body, Dr. Morgue had resigned as Mecklenburg County’s chief medical examiner. The search for her replacement had begun.
“Here’s a nugget you’ll find rich. You know those pics you got by text? The ones kicked this whole thing off?”
“Yes.” I didn’t recall telling Slidell about the images, but apparently, I had. Or maybe he’d learned of them from Ryan.
“Heavner sent them.”
“What? No way. Why? How do you know?” So shocked I was babbling.
“Because of the Body fiasco, a search was run on Heavner’s computer. Seems she was using a special email account to communicate with a reporter named Breugger.”
“Gerry.” The lizard. The only journalist addressed by name at her presser.
“Whatever. She shared intel with Breugger, probably hoping to see her name in the papers.”
“I’ll bet the farm she hit Brennan instead of Breugger when both names came up as auto-suggested recipients for the text.”
“Ain’t that the kickass of irony? Heavner shares pics hoping for glory and brings a simmering shitpot down on her head.”
Snippets of a conversation floated back from the past. Paulette Youngman, designer light glinting off one unfashionable lens. Morality hijacked by a need for fame and public adulation.
Another happy ending. At least, for me. Hopefully, my exile would soon be at an end.
“What now?” I asked.
“Peppers and the IT guys are going through Body’s computers. Ditto Unger’s. I’m looking at a cell phone turned up when I was with CSU at the Weddington crib. Looks like Body used it strictly for personal stuff. The thing’s not even password protected. No surprises in the contacts, no photos, emails, or text messages. Little in the call history—mostly his kid.”
“Any unusual software?”
“There’s a couple programs I don’t know what the fuck they are. Soon as I hang up, I’ll shoot the device up to Peppers.”
“Text me screen shots of the apps?” Not particularly hopeful, but what the hell? I had nothing else pressing, and a smartphone can tell a lot about a person.
“How do I do that?”
I explained the key combo and how to send the images. A few more exchanges of info, then we disconnected.
I sat a while cross-legged on the bed, thinking about our conversation. I fervently hoped the DA would succeed in bringing the house down on Unger and his boss. For me, taking a snake like Body off the street and off the internet and airways would be as satisfying as locking up a homicidal felon. I knew Slidell felt the same. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were missing something. That Body was guilty of an offense more sinister than child porn. Why buy off witnesses? Why take the risk of ordering Kimrey to torch my home? To poison me?
Nevertheless, I was pleased with Slidell’s update. And with the fact that he was still digging and had taken the time to brief me. Unanswered questions swirled in my brain for only a few minutes before I drifted back to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, after logging nearly twelve hours with the covers drawn close, I was up and making coffee in the kitchen when I heard more texts chime on my phone. Additional bulletins from Slidell? I walked to the living room and gazed through the floor-to-ceiling window forming one wall. The sun was just clearing the gray skyline in the east, turning the high-rise towers and brownstones lining rue Sherbrooke a misty reddish bronze. Dawn, and Skinny was already awake and revved?