Her Mother’s Grave

Chapter Fifty

“His name is Keith Gibbs,” Noah said. “He’s forty-four, a resident of Denton. Single, no kids. Works at the potato-chip factory. He says he found your ad a few days ago, that the two of you exchanged emails and set up the scenario. That was all I could get out of him before he asked for an attorney.”

Josie followed Noah into the closed-circuit viewing room, smoothing down the T-shirt and jeans she had changed into in her office. Unfortunately, these extra clothes had been stuffed inside one of her desk drawers for so long, they were plagued with wrinkles. But they would have to do. “Did you get the emails?” Josie asked.

“He sent them to Gretchen from his phone. She’s printing them now.”

They watched the large television screen that provided them with a view into their interrogation room, where Keith Gibbs paced.

“Did you find the ad?” Josie asked.

She glanced at him just long enough to notice the flush creeping from his throat to the roots of his hair. He handed her a sheet of paper. On it, the subject line of the ad read:

Fulfill My Fantasy… Looking for a Forced Connection.

Beneath that, the text went on,

Thirty-something hot female cop looking for a big, strong stud to fulfill rape fantasy. Don’t reply unless you’re willing to come at me hard and you like a good fight. If you want something fun and taboo, hit me up.

Nausea stirred the dinner Josie had eaten an hour earlier in the conference room. “My God,” she said.

Noah took the page from her hand and placed it facedown on the table. “I read the emails. There are only four of them. Basically, whoever is posing as you gives your name and address, says you’re the chief of police. Lays out this scenario where he follows you for a day or two and approaches you in a public place and rapes you. You will fight back, but he is not to stop, and you promise not to arrest him.”

“The email address?” Josie asked.

“It’s a free email address anyone can open with a dummy name. It’s registered in your name, obviously. I drew up a warrant—for the email provider and craigslist—but I doubt we’ll turn up much. Whoever is doing this is tech-savvy enough to remain anonymous. I mean, maybe if we were a bigger department or the FBI, but we don’t have a lot of resources for this kind of thing. I can pass this along to the state police or ask someone at the college to consult, if you want.”

Josie shook her head. She had someone else in mind. “I’ll handle it. Just get me what you can, okay?”

“You know someone?”

“I know someone who knows people,” she answered. She took out her phone and fired off a text to Trinity Payne.

Hey, are you still coming to town? Still interested in that Lloyd Todd story? I’ll give you an exclusive, but I need your help with something. ASAP.

To Noah, she said, “I want to talk to Lloyd Todd.”

“Boss.”

“I don’t care what you have to do, get me a meeting with him. I’ll drive over to the county jail and talk to him. He can have seven lawyers if he wants. This ends now.”

Her cell phone rang. It was Trinity. “I’m coming into town this evening,” she said when Josie answered. “I’ll be staying at the Eudora, and yes, I’m still interested in the Lloyd Todd story. I’m more interested in doing a story on you.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Josie said.

Trinity laughed. “Never say never, my dear. I know you well enough by now to know that you don’t call me unless you need something. What am I trading for the Todd story?”

“I need your help with some… computer crimes. You have connections, right?”

“Oh, honey, I know some of the best hackers you’ll never meet. But I’m not sure the Todd story is big enough to warrant me calling in those favors.”

Josie groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“You’ve been involved in some of the most intriguing cases in the entire country just in the last two years. The network thinks a story on you would bring in huge ratings.”

“I really don’t have time for this, Trinity. Not to mention that I have absolutely zero interest in having my face splashed all over the national news again.”

“I knew you would say that. Just hear me out. We’ll talk about it in person. Alone. No producers, no cameramen. Just me. Just come over tomorrow, okay? I’ll help you with your computer crimes case.”

Josie felt Noah’s eyes on her. She really didn’t have the time or inclination to hear Trinity out about this particular matter. She hated doing press, and the last thing she needed was to be under a microscope on national television. But she knew that Trinity’s contacts would locate whoever was placing the craigslist ads in a matter of hours, where it could take weeks through official channels. After the last few days, she was desperate for this assault on her life to stop, even if that meant humoring Trinity’s pitch for a few hours.

With a heavy sigh, Josie said, “Fine. Text me your room number when you get here.”

The squeal of delight Trinity gave could be heard all the way across the room where Noah stood. It startled him.

She knew it was futile, but Josie pushed the phone closer to her mouth to remind Trinity, “I didn’t say I’d do it. I only said I would hear you out.” But Josie could picture Trinity’s predatory grin. She always got what she wanted.

“Whatever,” she told Josie, hanging up just as Gretchen came in with a sheaf of papers in her hand. Josie took the pages from her but didn’t read them.

Gretchen said, “Your would-be rapist, Keith Gibbs, has no known association with Lloyd Todd. He was just a twisted guy answering an ad.”

“I figured that,” Josie said. “We’ll find out who’s behind the ads and go after them.”

Gretchen looked at the CCTV screen, where Gibbs had finally taken a seat, then back to Josie. “Boss,” she said, “we can’t hold him.”

Josie stepped toward Gretchen. “What?”

“You know this,” Noah said. “He thought he was answering an ad for a consensual sexual encounter. Technically, he did nothing wrong. At least, that’s what his attorney will argue.”

“I don’t give a shit about his attorney,” Josie snapped. “He assaulted me. He stuck his grimy hands on me. He did not take no for an answer.”

“Because he thought that was the arrangement,” Gretchen said. “Look, I agree, the guy’s a shithead, and he assaulted you, yes, but he thought this was an arrangement the two of you had agreed on. He had no reason to believe that you were not the person behind the ad or emails. He’s got no priors. Not even traffic tickets. Clean as a whistle.”

“I want to press charges,” Josie said.

“The DA will toss them out,” Noah told her. “I know you know this, Boss.”

Anger flared in Josie’s chest, burning up her skin. “I don’t give a shit. I’ll talk to the DA myself if I have to. He is not leaving here tonight. Charge him.”

Gretchen and Noah looked at one another and seemed to come to some kind of agreement. “Okay,” Gretchen said. “I’ll do the paperwork.”