Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(73)

Agent Norris nodded. “It’s more than that, Beth. He doesn’t just want to humiliate you. He wants to destroy you.”

“But why?” Beth asked.

“Because you stopped playing by his rules,” Agent Norris explained. “Once that happens, it turns into all-out warfare. That’s why he distributed your contact information and why there are those hundreds of messages stacked up on your electronic devices—but take heart, Beth. There’s a good chance one or more of those senders has left behind enough cyber bread crumbs to lead us back to Mr. Cameron and to his other victims as well.”

“You think there are others?”

Agent Norris nodded. “I’m sure of it,” she said. “In fact, you can take that to the bank. And once we finally do find him, I’m hoping you and some of the others will be willing to come forward and testify against him.”

“In court?” Beth asked. “In public?”

Agent Norris nodded.

“Will the photos be there?” Beth asked. “Will they have to be entered into evidence?”

“It’s more than likely they’ll be an integral part of the prosecution’s case.”

There was a pause. “All right, then,” Beth said finally. “If that’s what it takes to destroy him, that’s what I’ll do. But you said earlier that this would turn into all-out warfare. What does that mean, and what am I supposed to do?”

“For one thing you go on with your life to the best of your ability,” Agent Norris said. “If he reaches out to you in any way, don’t respond. For the moment I’d advise you to avoid using electronic devices of any kind. That means no cell phone, no texting, no e-mails to anyone. You need to avoid posting anything online that might reveal where you are and what you’re doing.”

“Why?”

Agent Norris sighed. “Here’s how this type of interaction usually proceeds. To begin with, there’s the isolating relationship that devolves into sexting. When the inevitable breakup occurs, revenge porn rears its ugly head. We’ve already checked all those boxes. Unfortunately, things often don’t stop there. If Ron is somehow able to gain access to your new account addresses or phone numbers, you’re likely to be buried in masses of spam texts and calls. And after that . . .” Agent Norris paused.

“What?”

“Unfortunately,” Agent Norris replied, “there are far too many cases where things have escalated into actual physical harm.”

“You’re thinking he might come after me?”

“I wish I could tell you that won’t be the case, but I can’t. People like Mr. Cameron have more than a couple of screws loose. Until we have him in custody, your safety is paramount. Don’t wander around on campus alone. That goes for you and for Jenny here as well. If he’s targeting you, he might also be targeting your friend. Follow a buddy system. If you’re out and about, you both need to have someone with you at all times.”

“But Ron lives on the other side of the country,” Beth objected.

“That may be what he told you,” Agent Norris corrected, “but that doesn’t mean it’s true.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Agent Flores stepped into the room. He was carrying a file folder in one hand and Jenny’s phone in the other. He passed the phone to Jenny and the folder to Agent Norris.

“I ran it through our facial rec,” he said. “This is what came back.”

Agent Norris opened the folder and sifted through several documents inside before passing one of them along to Beth.

“Does this look familiar?” Agent Norris asked.

A surprised Beth glanced up from the photo and stared at Agent Norris. “That’s the same photo that was on his profile,” she said. “Does that mean you’ve found him?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Agent Norris said. “The photo in your hand is lifted from the obituary of a young man named Michael Darrell Johnson, who died two years ago in a one-car rollover accident on Highway 79 south of Florence, Arizona.”

Beth seemed mystified. “What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means that your stalker, aka Ron Cameron, used someone else’s photo to create his dating profile. My guess is he probably has any number of aliases and any number of photos.”

“So he can do this to other unsuspecting people?”

“Yes,” Agent Norris agreed.

“Then we have to stop him, don’t we?”

“Yes to that, too, but this photo raises another worrisome issue. Michael Johnson’s death was big news in Tucson because it happened along almost the same stretch of highway where a movie star named Tom Mix died decades ago. So the story attracted a lot of attention here in Arizona, but I doubt it was big news anywhere else.”

“Are you saying my stalker may have an Arizona connection—that he might even live here?”

“He might,” Agent Norris said. “Remember what I said earlier about watching your back because the situation might escalate?”

Beth nodded.

“That goes double now,” Agent Norris said, “and again, that means for both of you.”

The interview ended a short time later, and Beth and Jenny headed back to the dorm. “Are you scared?” Jenny asked as she pulled into traffic.