Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(63)

“That is weird,” Joanna agreed.

“While I was at it, I looked back through her call history. There are calls almost every night, right around midnight, lasting an hour or more, but they’re always from a blocked number. And those are always incoming calls, not outgoing ones. It’s as though Ron always calls her and she never calls him.”

“That sounds pretty one-sided.”

“Hey, Jen,” Butch said from the background. “Do you still have that backup drive I gave you?”

“I have it,” Jen replied, “but I haven’t used it. Why?”

“The cops took Beth’s phone, right?”

“Of course.”

“Once the detective gets there, he’s going to take her computer, too. But before he does, make a clone of her computer. Robin may be calling in the big guns from the FBI, but there might be a snippet on there, some detail that only someone who knows Beth well will be able to recognize. If that’s the case, you might be able to help.”

“Is that legal?” Jenny asked.

Joanna was the one who answered. “You had access to her computer and to her passwords, right?”

“Right.”

“I doubt that would constitute an illegal search. Go ahead and make the copy.”

“All right,” Jenny said. “It’ll take a few minutes, but I’m on it.”





Chapter 27





Jenny did her best, but before she was able to connect the external hard drive to Beth’s computer, someone knocked on the door. When she opened it, a man and a woman—both clearly police officers—stood in the corridor displaying their badges. “Did you find her?” Jenny demanded.

The woman shook her head. “We have not,” she said. “Are you Jennifer Brady?”

Jenny nodded.

“I’m Detective Ava Hunter and this is Detective Hank Weatherby with the Flagstaff Police Department. May we come in?”

Jenny stepped aside and allowed them to enter. “It’s cold and it’s dark out there,” a worried Jenny said. “Where can she be?”

The woman helped herself to a seat while her partner loomed in the doorway. “We have people out searching,” Detective Hunter said. “So far there’s no sign of her. We’re in the process of bringing in a K-9 unit. Would you happen to have a piece of Beth’s clothing available?”

Rather than answer, Jenny retrieved Beth’s pajamas from a hook just inside the closet door and handed them over. Detective Hunter passed them along to her partner, who took them and left the room without another word. Meanwhile Ava Hunter, preparing to take notes, retrieved an iPad from her purse and turned it on.

“We understand you’re the one who located Beth’s phone and reported her missing,” Detective Hunter continued. “Is that true?”

Jenny nodded again. “I used an app on her computer to locate her phone.”

“You have access to her computer?” Ava asked.

Jenny nodded. “I helped Beth set it up. She keeps all her passwords in her desk drawer.” Still wearing her coat, Jenny pulled the crumpled Post-it out of her pocket and handed it over.

“So you and Beth are friends, then?” Detective Hunter asked.

“Roommates more than friends, I suppose,” Jenny said. “Beth doesn’t seem to have many friends. But I saw the pictures on her phone,” Jenny added. “They were utterly vile, and they went out to all kinds of people, including names from her contacts list. I think Beth was too embarrassed to face anybody who might have seen them, and that’s why she ran away.”

“You think she ran away as opposed to being taken?”

“Wouldn’t you?” Jenny asked. “I’m sure I would.”

Detective Hunter made no reply to that. “You’re sure the photos involved are of Beth Rankin?”

“I’m sure,” Jenny said. “I recognize the tattoo.”

“So who do you think took them?” Detective Hunter asked. “Her boyfriend, maybe?”

Jenny shook her head. “I think they’re all selfies, and they were probably taken right here in our bathroom. Her boyfriend lives in D.C. I don’t believe they’ve ever met face-to-face.”

“The boyfriend’s name?”

“Ronald Cameron. Beth calls him Ron.”

“How long have they been . . . involved?” Detective Hunter asked.

“Since right after school started,” Jenny replied. “They met online on one of those dating sites. I don’t think Beth had ever had a boyfriend before.”

“What does Ron do?”

“I’m not sure,” Jenny answered. “I believe it’s something to do with cybersecurity. I don’t know if he works for a government agency or for someone else. He calls her almost every night, usually in the middle of the night when they can talk in private, but there’s something weird about that. While I was waiting for the campus cops, I looked at her phone history. The incoming calls are there, but no outgoing ones, and there’s no name or phone number associated with any of them. Also there’s no number for Ron in Beth’s contacts list. In fact, there’s no listing for him at all.”

“When was the last time you saw Beth?” Detective Hunter asked.