Dead at First Sight

78 Wednesday 10 October

‘Deputy Sheriff Sorokin,’ Matt said, answering the phone in his freezing-cold office. ‘How may I help you, ma’am?’

‘I’m real worried,’ the woman at the other end said. ‘I haven’t seen my Jean-Pierre in over four days. This is not like him, I’ve a real bad feeling about this.’

He clicked the keypad to open a file. ‘OK, bear with me one second. May I have your full name, please.’

‘Kathleen Jordan Martis.’

‘And your address?’

He tapped it in as she recited it.

‘And your relationship with Jean-Pierre — can you give me his last name?’

‘He’s a cat,’ she said, indignantly. ‘Don’t have no last name.’

‘Ma’am, with all due respect, you’ve called the homicide investigations number of the Sheriff’s Department of the Hernando County Police. I’ll give you another number to call.’

As he hung up, his phone rang again. It was Johnny Fordwater. ‘Hey, pal, how you doing?’ Sorokin said.

‘Not great, but thanks for asking, Matt. I have some information you may be able to use. I’ve found a private investigator over here who has been specializing in so-called romance fraud. I just had a call from him, giving the possible name of the mastermind behind the scams that caught us both.’

Sorokin sat up straight. ‘OK?’

‘He thinks he’s a British criminal, known to the police here, who is involved in a wide number of internet scam operations and works with a Sakawa group from Ghana. His contacts within the police — don’t ask — have told him that Barrey may have relocated to Jersey, in the Channel Islands. I wondered if your FBI connections might be able to take a look at this character?’

‘Screw the Feds! If this is our man, I want to be the first in the line to bust his nose.’

‘So long as I can be the second.’

‘I like your style, pal. Leave it with me.’