The Third Victim Part 43

Quincy and Rainie exchanged glances. Mann had done everything but the wink, wink, nudge, nudge. So they were back to the computers. Okay.

"Is there one person Danny mentioned a lot?" Quincy tried probing.

"Maybe a new friend he'd made recently?"

"Everyone knows about him smoking with Charlie Kenyon."

"But what about someone on-line? Maybe an adult figure from a chat room or e-mail loop. That sort of thing?"

Mann hesitated again. His gaze went from Rainie to Quincy to Rainie again. What the h.e.l.l. She let her features relax and gave pretty boy a smile.

"It would be helpful, Mr. Mann. Coupled with what you did in the school parking lot on Tuesday, how quickly you helped manage the situation that would make you something of a hero in this whole affair." Hero, apparently, was the right word.

"There was someone," Mann confessed.

"Danny thought it was another kid, a fellow hacker he'd befriended on-line. I read a few of the e-mails, and the language seemed more sophisticated, though. I was betting it was really an adult male pa.s.sing himself off as a teenager."

"And you weren't concerned by this?" Quincy asked.

"Oh, I was concerned," Mann told him vehemently.

"That's why I asked Danny to start bringing me the e-mails. I know the things that can happen on-line child molesters, p.o.r.nographers, terrorists. The Internet isn't any safer than a walk through New York City at night. But what Danny showed me was harmless. They were friendly notes, admiring his accomplishments on the computer, sharing information about other programs to try, Web sites to visit. On the other hand .. ." He paused.

"I've heard rumors that Danny said something right after the shooting.

That he was saying over and over again that he was smart."

Quincy glanced at Rainie. She gave up that information with a nod.

"The notes Danny got, they always ended with this guy telling Danny how smart he was. Stuff like / can't wait to see what the whiz kid does next. You're so smart." Mann shrugged helplessly. For the first time, Rainie thought he looked miserable.

"That strikes me as coming from this guy. So maybe there were other notes, other things that Danny didn't tell me. I don't know ..."

Mann's voice faded. Then he said more quietly, more somberly, "I really wanted to help Danny O'grady. I was concerned about the Internet relationship and concerned about his parents' marital problems, but I thought I could reach him. Even reading the e-mails, I didn't see it coming. I thought ... I thought kids who did this sort of thing were supposed to have a history of violence. Torturing household pets, starting fires, playing violent video games. Danny didn't do any of those things. To me, he seemed to be a decent boy going through a hard time. I honestly had no idea. I swear, I had no idea .. ."

Richard Mann's shoulders slumped. He simply sat there, shaking his head.

Quincy leaned forward.

"Mr. Mann, do you happen to have a copy of any of the emails?"

"Danny wouldn't let me keep them. He worried he was already violating the person's trust by even showing them to me."

"Do you remember anything about them? A name, a chat room, an e-mail address?"

"I don't wait a minute. The e-mail address. I remember trying to understand what the guy meant. Something about no fires. Volcanoes.

Lava. That was it: No Lava. Isn't that odd for a signature?"

"No Lava. No Lava what? Do you remember the carrier, the Internet provider?"

"One of the major ones, I think. AOL maybe, or CompuServe. Something like that."

Rainie scribbled it down. She looked at Quincy. "We have some federal agents who specialize in undercover Internet operations," he said.

"We could send someone on, pretending to be a teenage boy, see if No Lava takes an interest."

Richard Mann sat back. He ran a hand through his short hair and expelled a pent-up breath.

"I really am trying to make things right. Sally and Alice were sweet girls. And this ... it just shouldn't have happened here."

"We'll see."

Rainie rose. She handed Mann her card and gave him the usual spiel to call the sheriff's office if he thought of anything else, though she seriously doubted he'd be in the mood to talk to her anytime soon. As she opened the door of the office, however, he spoke up again.

"Officer Conner." Rainie halted, and the counselor motioned to the s.p.a.ce behind her, which housed a large desk for the school's secretary.

"As you can see, my office is directly off the main administrative s.p.a.ce. While I might have been eating lunch alone at the time of the shooting, there is no way I could have left without someone noticing.

Ask our secretary, Marge. I'm sure she can confirm that I took one roast beef sandwich into my office at the start of the period, and I hadn't gone anywhere by the time the first shot was fired. Just so you know."

Rainie nodded. She knew when she was being put in her place. Then her gaze fell to the old files strewn across the floor and she read the two names on top. Sally Walker. Alice Bensen. Of course. They wouldn't need permanent records anymore.

Richard Mann had followed her line of sight. His expression had become equally subdued.

"I should take those," Rainie murmured after a moment.

"For the victimology reports."

Mann gazed at her curiously. Was he startled by how she could think that way? Or was he wondering, as she was, when she had learned to be so cold?

He picked up the two files. He handed them over to her.

After that, there was nothing left to say. Thursday, May 17, 3:12 p.m.

By the time Rainie and Quincy grabbed lunch at Dairy Queen and headed back to the task-force center, Abe Sanders was waiting for them. The state detective was sporting a sharply pressed gray suit and shiny black shoes, making Rainie suspicious that the man who traveled with salad also packed an iron and a shoe-polishing kit. Just what did he do for fun in his spare time?

He had made himself at home behind Rainie's desk and was reading a fax.

Rainie s.n.a.t.c.hed the paper out of his hands without preamble.

"I doubt that's for your eyes."

"You mean we're not all part of one big happy family?" he drawled innocently.

Rainie skewered him with a glance, then scanned the fax. It was from the law offices of Johnson, Johnson, and Jones. Those office Christmas parties must be a hoot. The fax informed her that she and her deputies were not to contact Shep, Sandy, or Becky O'grady without legal counsel being present. If any member of the task force insisted on violating this order, a hara.s.sment suit would be filed against the Bakersville sheriff's department. Sincerely, Avery Johnson.

"Wonderful," Rainie muttered. That conversation between Shep and Sandy had obviously gone well. Or had Shep mentioned her interest in interviewing Becky to Avery Johnson as part of his desire to do everything absolutely right for Danny? You would think an experienced sheriff would know better. "Looks like we won't be interviewing Becky O'grady anytime soon,"

Sanders commented.

"We'll see," Rainie said. She handed the fax to Quincy, who appeared unconcerned.

"Routine," he said.