Fear No Evil by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online

isn’t holding her for ransom,” Peterson said.
    “But we need resources to find him, don’t we? You’re basically saying that you don’t have the time, money, or manpower to track him down before Lucy’s time is up.”
    Peterson opened his mouth, then closed it, then said, “To be perfectly honest, by the time we found out about the women after our agent was murdered, the countdown was too tight. We tried and failed to isolate the feed. And by the time the girls were dead, he had closed shop. He sends out false leads that we follow, wasting time. But we can’t not follow up. We found one of the victims the day after, but by that time he’d cleared out completely and the rape and murder were already available for download. We have more time now—more time than we’ve ever had. That’s in our favor. This is the number one priority of our e-crimes unit.”
    “What about tracking the money?” Patrick spoke up. “The credit cards, the bank accounts? No one can funnel millions of dollars around the world without drawing the attention of the IRS and FBI.”
    “True. Remember how Capone went down. Money. We’re working that angle with the Treasury Department. But this guy is good. Off-shore accounts, lots of cash, lots of movement. Every time we think we’re close—and we have seized several of his accounts—he changes tactics.”
    “Like a chameleon,” Dillon said. “Constantly changing to blend in with the environment.”
    “For all we know, he could be the CEO of a major corporation, or a self-employed accountant.”
    “He would have to be financially savvy,” Dillon agreed. “Someone with expert knowledge of banking, investments, money exchange, tax laws. He knows too much about the system to be an amateur.”
    “Absolutely,” Peterson said.
    “Which would suggest he went to school, has a degree, possibly worked in, still works in, the finance arena.”
    Peterson nodded. “Our top profiler indicated the same thing.”
    Dillon opened the file in front of him as Carina asked, “You said you found out about the feeds of the other victims too late to stop him. But we have time with Lucy. How did you find it so quickly?”
    Peterson said nothing and Dillon looked up at him, read his expression. “An informant?” he asked.
    Peterson dipped his head. “Of sorts.”
    “Can this person help us isolate the feed? Someone willing to help?”
    “She’s more than willing to help, but not us.”
    “Why not?” Carina demanded. “Doesn’t she know a life is at stake?”
    “More than anyone,” Peterson said, “but I don’t know where she is. She feeds me information and I forward it to the appropriate people.”
    “She can’t be hard to find,” Patrick said.
    “She doesn’t want to be found,” Peterson said. “I tried to bring her back with this case, but she’s not buying it. If she learns anything, she’ll let me know.”
    “That’s not good enough!” Connor exclaimed.
    Dillon listened to what Quinn Peterson said—and what he didn’t say. “Who is she?”
    “A former FBI agent.”
    “And?”
    Joseph Garcia spoke up. “Kate Donovan is notorious in the department. You either love her or you hate her. Agent Paige Henshaw was Donovan’s partner. They set up the sting after Trask was suspected of killing a teenage girl online. But—and no one is exactly sure what happened because Donovan disappeared—apparently she and Henshaw set up a sting without any authority. They walked into a trap. Henshaw was kidnapped, raped, and stabbed to death. Donovan missed saving her by minutes.”
    “Or getting herself killed as well,” Peterson mumbled.
    “Why is she a former agent?” Dillon asked. “Did she quit?”
    Garcia raised his eyebrows, glanced at Peterson. “That was before my time. I only know the rumors.”
    Peterson sighed. “When Agent Henshaw went missing, Kate was told to step back. The Office of Professional Responsibility wanted to talk to her about why they set up the sting