“Sure.”
“Zack took hundreds of photographs of me and kept them on his cell phone. He was obsessed with me, and looking at those photographs fueled his obsession. That’s the opinion of a psychiatrist at the hospital where I work. If Zack hadn’t had those photographs to look at, he wouldn’t have gotten so crazy on me.”
“Was that the psychiatrist’s opinion?”
“Yes. She said that Zack was a sexual deviant, and that deviants fantasize over images and become slaves to them. When I told Zack about the tattoo, he saw the image of me changing, and his twisted psyche couldn’t handle it.”
“What’s your advice?”
“Don’t let him photograph your client.”
Her words gave him pause. The thread that connected the Hispanic in the pickup and the Canadian tourist on Los Olas and Zack Kenny was that each man had alternated looking at his cell phone and staring at Nicki. Were there images of Nicki on their phones that were fueling their obsession? And if so, where had they come from?
“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much.”
Chapter 15
Once Upon a Mattress
Interstate 95 was rush-hour madness, so Lancaster took State Road A1A back to Fort Lauderdale. What was normally a forty-minute drive took an hour twenty, and it was dinnertime when he pulled into the Pearls’ driveway and parked. Instead of getting out, he remained in his car and silently counted to himself. One one thousand, two one thousand. Before he reached three one thousand, a physical specimen named Carlo emerged from the bushes and approached his car. He lowered his window and said, “How’s it going?”
“Everything’s quiet. Mike is watching the backyard, Karl’s on the roof.”
He looked up to see Karl next to the chimney holding a pair of binoculars and watching the Intracoastal for trouble. He hadn’t seen Karl when he’d pulled in, but that was no surprise. Karl, Mike, and Carlo were ex-SEALs and were adept at blending in to whatever environment they inhabited. Their main business was protecting celebrities and politicians who came to town. Lancaster had served with them and now had an arrangement where they’d help him out if they had downtime, and vice versa.
He got out of the car. “I’m not going to be long. Are you guys still good with staying the night and watching the place?”
“Absolutely. Our calendar’s wide open right now,” Carlo said. “Can I ask you something? The wife invited us in earlier and served us iced tea. The husband and kid were there. The family seems totally normal and down to earth. Who’s after them?”
“Someone’s after the kid. A whole bunch of people, actually.”
“What did she do?”
“I don’t know. And neither do her parents.”
“She’s innocent?”
That was a good question. Deep down in his heart he wanted to believe that Nicki was as pure as a freshly fallen snow, only there was a nagging feeling in his gut that wouldn’t go away. Her stalkers were obsessed with images on their cell phones, which he’d come to realize were of her. It was the only logical answer to what was going on. But what did the images show, and where had they come from? Carlo’s cell phone vibrated, saving him from replying.
Carlo had a brief conversation and put his phone away. “Mike just spotted a suspicious-looking boat trolling past the house. I need to go have a look.”
“Talk to you later,” Lancaster said. As Carlo disappeared into the hedge, Lancaster walked up to the front door to ring the chime. The door opened, and Nolan Pearl ushered him in with an expectant air.
“Hello, Jon. How did your trip to Delray go?” Pearl asked.
“It was a home run,” he said. “I talked to the ex-girlfriend of our stalker from the Cheesecake Factory. She gave me the link that ties Nicki’s stalkers together.”
“That’s good news. Can you tell me what the link is?”
“Nicki’s stalkers are sexual deviants who fantasize about young girls. Part of their fantasy is looking at images of girls on their cell phones. I need to ask Nicki some questions. I’d like you and your wife to be in the room when I do.”
Pearl blinked. The words sunk in, and he took a moment to compose himself. “Do you think there are images of Nicki on these men’s phones?”
“I’m afraid the answer is yes.”
“But where did they come from?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“You don’t think Nicki is posting photographs online, do you?”
“I don’t know who’s behind it. It could be one of her friends or a classmate at school. Or it could be a stranger who’s fixated on her. I only know one thing for sure: there are photographs of Nicki that are being circulated on the web, and her stalkers are fantasizing over them when they’re pursuing her. That’s the link.”
“Oh my God,” Pearl said.
Nicki was at her father’s desk on her laptop when they entered the study. Melanie sat on the couch, engrossed in her cell phone. The German shepherd sprang to life from the floor, and in atonement for past mistakes, curled its upper lip.
“Jon needs to speak with us,” Pearl said.
Nicki closed her laptop, came around the desk, and quieted the dog. “You made a breakthrough, didn’t you? I can see it in your face.”
Nicki was a smart kid, there was no question about that. But was she as innocent as she acted? Or was she hiding a dark secret from her parents? He didn’t know her well enough to know the right answer. He sat on the free end of the couch so he faced her.
Pearl pulled up a chair while Nicki remained standing.
“I did make a breakthrough this afternoon,” he said. “I’m going to tell you and your parents what I learned. In return for my doing that, you need to answer some questions for me, and be totally honest with your answers. Do we have a deal?”
“Sure,” the teenager said.
“Good. Here’s what I learned. Your stalkers share one thing in common. Each is holding a cell phone when they’re following you. That’s because the stalker is fantasizing over photographs of you that are stored on his phone. I want to know where those photographs came from and who posted them on the internet. Do you know?”
Nicki’s mouth dropped open but no words came out.
“Honey?” her mother said.
Still nothing. A long, excruciating moment passed.
“Nicki, answer Jon’s question,” her father said.
“It must have been Tyler Steeves,” the teenager said quietly.
The parents exchanged worried looks. The name was new to them. Lancaster put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. “Is Tyler your boyfriend?”
“Not really. We haven’t gone on a date or anything.”
“Do you like him?”
“I guess. He’s pretty cute.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Tyler goes to Pine Crest, he’s a grade ahead of me. We met during the school musical. It was called Once Upon a Mattress. I played Princess Winnifred.”
“Was Tyler also in the play?”
“Tyler was a cameraman with the AV crew. Our school’s drama coach, Mr. Rossi, filmed our rehearsals so he could critique us.”
Tyler had a video camera, and Nicki appeared to have a crush on him. That was a recipe for disaster. He thought he knew what had happened, but needed to hear it in Nicki’s own words.
“Did Tyler film you in private?” he asked.
“Just once,” she said.
Her parents turned to stone. This was bad. He lowered his voice and pretended they weren’t in the room. “Was this Tyler’s idea?”
“Yeah. He thought it would be fun.”
“Tell me what he filmed.”
“There’s a scene in the play where I sing a song while lying on a bunch of mattresses in my pajamas. One night after everyone else had left, Tyler talked me into singing the song wearing a bra and my underwear so he could video it. We watched it later and both giggled. He promised to erase it, but he didn’t.”