The Deception (21 page)

"Because I immediately deleted them," she interjected. "Look, you two need to understand something. I'd been in a ten-year relationship that had just ended rather unexpectedly. Then Scott came along. I had no idea he was married, and I wasn't thinking clearly at the time I got involved with him."

"They know that, Carrie," said Alex, "and they understand Scott took advantage of you. You don't need to explain yourself. Please continue, Jonathan."

"There was one email in particular that Carrie initiated, and in it she does refer to the intimate nature of their relationship. To her credit though, she wrote it in a very tactful, discreet way. If it should end up being read a courtroom, I doubt the jury would hold it against her."

"Great," said Carrie, sarcastically. "That was supposed to be a private email. Will it be presented in court?"

"Not if I can help it," said Alex.

"It appears that for the most part Scott used this email account to arrange dates with Carrie, most of which he ended up cancelling," continued Jonathan. "And I also see that she ceased contact with him shortly after their second date. In fact, her last contact was the email that I just mentioned."

"So, what would have happened had Maggie Andrews accessed this email account?" asked Alex.

"She would have been able the piece together all the details of her husband's affair with Ms. Daniels. She would have learned how and where they first met, and that they'd gone out twice. And you know, Alex, that's what I found to be a little odd. This account had been inactive for several weeks, yet that morning someone opened each and every email, both in the inbox, and in the sent folder. What we don't know, of course, is who was on the computer at the time."

"What time would that have been?"

"The first email was opened just before ten o'clock that morning, the last around ten forty-five. The details are all in my report."

"Thank you, Jonathan." Alex looked at George. "You've told me that Scott Andrews can prove that he was in his office that morning."

"That's what the Kansas City
FBI
report says. I know Maggie Andrews is the one who did this. I'd stake my reputation on it. I just don't have a smoking gun right now. You'd think the
FBI
agents here would have the evidence they need to bring her in for questioning. I know they've got their own computer forensics guys working on this too. Meantime, Jonathan has more."

Jonathan went on to explain that after the last email was read the computer was directed to the Carrie Daniels Photography website.

"Someone was definitely taking an interest in you, Carrie. After that there was no on-line activity on that computer for the next few hours. It resumed later that afternoon, shortly after two o'clock, when someone created a brand new Yahoo account and immediately sent you an email. The sender claimed to be a fifth-grader named Kendra Clarke, who wanted to know about you being the Mercer's Market
s
girl."

"Wait a minute, that rings a bell. As I recall, she also wanted me to email her an autographed photo."

"So, did you?" asked George.

"Yes."

"And I have a copy of the photo," added Jonathan as he took it out of the folder and handed it to Alex, who in turn showed it to George.

"Aw jeez," said George, rolling his eyes. "Well, at least we now know how Maggie got ahold of your signature so she could copy it. So, Jonathan, do we know who created the Yahoo email account?"

"Unfortunately, I can't determine if it was Scott or Maggie. I can only identify the computer. The name used to create the fake Yahoo profile was, of course, Kendra Clarke. But what I can tell you is I've identified Carrie's computer responding to the email."

"That would have been my office computer," said Carrie. "My office is in southwest Phoenix, and no one besides me has access to it."

"And her office is many miles away from the Andrews' home," added Alex, "which means she has an alibi. So how long between the time she sent the reply, and when the photos were uploaded to
Gentry Magazine
?"

"I'm getting to that," replied Jonathan. "Right after the email was sent to Carrie, someone did a Google search for
Gentry Magazine
, and that's when the release form, and the instructions for the photo contest, were downloaded from their website."

"Good to know," said Alex, "but again, how long was it from the time Scott's computer received Carrie's email, with the signed photo attached, to the time the files were uploaded to the magazine?"

"Exactly twenty-three minutes, and Kendra Clarke's email account was also used to send the files. Carrie wouldn't have had enough time to leave her office and get to Scott's computer in Mesa in twenty-three minutes. I think that we can now safely debunk Mrs. Dickenson's claim that Carrie tried to disguise her own signature on the release form. Her signature was most definitely forged."

"That would also explain why I didn't recognize the email address
Gentry Magazine
had on file for me," said Carrie. "So tell me, does this prove that Maggie Andrews is the person who did this to me?"

"Unfortunately, no," said George. "Scott Andrews has no alibi for the time when the photos were uploaded. According to the Kansas City
FBI
report, Scott left his office around one fifteen that afternoon, claiming he had a dental appointment. He now admits he lied to his supervisor, and that he went to purchase some luggage instead. He said he was getting ready to leave town and he didn't want anyone knowing of his plans. Problem is, he claims he paid cash for the luggage, so there's no credit card record. He also says he no longer has his receipt. We're trying to find some store security camera footage to back up his story, but so far we haven't been able to locate any. It's been several months since Scott left town, and they typically don't keep the footage that long. What this means is that as of right now we can't prove whether it was Scott or Maggie who uploaded the photos. All we know is the sender was someone in the Andrews home."

As George was talking, Allison entered the room. Steve motioned for her to take a seat.

"We have some additional information," he said, "which is why I've asked my
fiancée
, Allison Santiago, to join us. She and Carrie are old friends, and something unusual happened this past Saturday, while they were at the mall."

"What's this about, Allie?" asked Carrie

"I didn't say anything at the time, because I didn't want to frighten you, but while we were shopping for your bridesmaid's dress we were being followed."

"What! By whom?"

"It was a woman," explained Allison. "I started noticing her shortly after we arrived. At first I thought she was just another shopper, but then, when we went into the next store, I noticed that she was there too. The same thing happened when we went into the third store. That's when I knew something was up, so I started watching her more closely."

"What did she look like?" asked George.

"Middle-aged, Caucasian, average height and weight, with short blonde hair."

"That matches Maggie Andrews' description."

"Oh my God," exclaimed Carrie.

"So, where was this?" asked George.

"Desert Caliente Mall."

"Which is within a mile of the Andrews' home. Please continue, Ms. Santiago."

"While Carrie was in the fitting room, I decided to approach the woman and--"

"You did what?" exclaimed Steve.

"You shouldn't have done that," said George, firmly. "She could have had a weapon on her."

"Which means you could have gotten Carrie, and yourself, killed," said Steve.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, I didn't even think of that. All I was trying to do was to find out what she wanted, but as soon as I took a few steps toward her she took off. I noticed that she had a really guilty look on her face too."

"You were lucky," said George. "So what happened after that?"

"Carrie came out and I told her it was time to go to lunch."

"So that's why you were so anxious to rush out of there. Allie, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to frighten you. You've been through a lot, and your mother just passed away."

"Really?" said Jonathan. "I'm sorry to hear of your loss."

"Thank you, Jonathan." Carrie turned back to her friend. "I'm not angry with you Allie, but if anything like that should ever happen again, please let me know, okay?"

"Okay, and I'm sorry, Carrie."

"Did you see the woman again?" asked George.

"Yes. As Carrie and I were leaving the mall I noticed her watching us again, so I wove our way through the crowd toward the exit. Thankfully, I didn't see her once we reached the parking lot."

"At the risk of butting in," said Jonathan, "I have to ask if any of you are doing anything to protect her. I have some experience dealing with cyber-stalkers in my line of work, and stalkers of any kind can be very dangerous. This woman's gone to a lot of trouble to set Carrie up, and she knows where she works. That has me concerned."

"Me too," said Alex. "And I'll be discussing the matter with my client, in private, once were done here."

"I have to agree with Jonathan," added George. "I was a homicide detective in Pittsburg for over twenty years. I worked a hell of a lot of cases that started out just like this one. Maggie Andrews found out about you, Carrie, and as soon as she did she put in a lot of time and effort setting you up. Then, two days later, her husband ditches her for yet another woman in Kansas City. We all know the old adage about Hell having no fury like a woman scorned, and believe me, Maggie Andrews is a woman scorned. The woman Scott left her for is halfway across the country and Maggie probably doesn't know that much about her, but she knows all about you. She knows who you are, what you look like, and where you work. So guess which of the other women she's going to vent her anger on? First, she was hiding behind a computer screen, but now she's starting to get bolder. I know how you ladies are about going to sales at the mall, so it may be a coincidence that she was there, but my point is that once she recognized you, she didn't hesitate for a second to start scoping you out, which means she may not be finished with you yet."

"But as I've already told you, I didn't know that Scott was married. Believe me, had I known I would have never gotten involved with him. The reason why I stopped communicating with him was because I was beginning to suspect he had another girlfriend. I never meant to cause her any harm and I deeply regret whatever pain I may have caused her. Isn't there some way I could make her understand?"

"Probably not" said George, "and just so you know, Jonathan and I aren't judging you. But what's done is done, kiddo, and I doubt Maggie would care if you knew he was married or not. As far as she's concerned, you're the other woman and now you're going to pay."

"My God, does this never end? Do I have to keep paying for this for the rest of my life?"

Allison reached over and tried to calm Carrie down. "This is my fault, Carrie. I'm the one who told you Scott was single."

"No," said Jonathan, shaking his head. "This is Scott Andrews' fault. I've read all the emails. The son of a bitch lied to her."

The meeting concluded. Jonathan handed Carrie one of his business cards, saying he'd call her soon to make an appointment to inspect her office computer.

"My office, now," said Alex to Carrie after she hugged Allison goodbye. She quickly followed him into his office.

"Close the door."

She quickly closed the door behind her. "Are you all right, Alex?"

"No, I'm not. In fact, I'm about to have a total meltdown."

"What's wrong? Are you mad at me or something?"

"No." He took a deep breath. "I'm not angry with you. I'm just scared out of my wits right now for you. George is right, Carrie. This is the kind of thing that gets people killed. That woman is out for blood--your blood."

"I know that, Alex. How do you think I feel?"

"Look Carrie-Anne, until Maggie Andrews is safely behind bars we're going to have to make some changes, and we're going to have to make them fast."

"Like what?"

"For starters, I don't want you staying in your apartment anymore."

"But Alex, I've never published my home address anywhere."

"Didn't you tell me that Scott Andrews picked you up at your apartment the two times you went out with him?"

"Yes, he did," replied Carrie.

"Then Maggie may already have your home address. Even if she doesn't, she could get that information fairly easily."

"Oh my God."

"I think that for the time being you're better off in my guestroom, and don't argue with me. As soon as we're done, I'm going with you to your apartment to help you pack."

"All right, Alex."

"Okay, one problem solved, and now for the next. Your office."

"Alex, I have to get back to work," explained Carrie. "My business has suffered enough already. If I don't get things back on track soon, I'll be out of business and back to being poor."