“That’s wonderful,” she said, “but what exactly is a ‘wallet’?”
“Well, a wallet is a small personal database that you store on your computer drive, on your smartphone, on your tablet, or somewhere in the cloud. It keeps track of how much monetary value you have accumulated. The beauty of Bitcoins is that transactions can’t be cancelled by a bank; for example, putting a Cancel Payment on funds.”
“Oh, Roger. You are such a dear. I will have to get myself set up with Bitcoins to make sure I can’t be cheated out of my money.”
“You learn fast, my dear. Your prowess on the Dark Web will only be rivaled by your ability to successfully hunt for liaisons.”
“Don’t you know it. Watch out, Roger. I’m going to be a powerful woman, and soon.”
“I should add that at any point in time, you can cash out your bitcoins by withdrawing them directly to your bank account.”
* * *
Wednesday, September 10th
As the Chief of Police of the District of Columbia, Barbara Haywood had many things on her plate. However, today, one very special person of interest caught her attention. No one knew her name, but her picture had shown up at many crimes and acts of malice. The best thing to do, she decided, was to put out an All Points Bulletin, for all law enforcement personnel to be on the lookout for this character. She had somehow managed to escape the victims, as all of them had not remembered a thing about her.
Nevertheless, Barbara determined that she would be caught—most likely unawares—and be put in jail for her crimes. She could not escape her and her forces. Nope. The reputation of the District of Columbia Police Department had been challenged, and Barbara was not going to allow some callous murderer and accessory to many acts of violence escape justice. Not on her watch. “You’re as good as mine, honey. Just you wait…”
The number for Dan Hightower was on speed dial. After touching the button to send the call through, he answered.
“Hightower.”
“Dan. We’ve seen enough pictures of the perp to have a good idea of what she looks like. We’re putting out an All Points Bulletin on her. If anyone sees her, her whereabouts, her outfit all will be noted, including where and at what time. What we’d really like is where she hangs out the most and what her place of residency is, but we’re working on that as well.”
“Thanks, Barb. I appreciate all your help. Keep us up to date on what you have, and of course, we’ll do the same for you. This woman is evil, through and through.”
Dwight Ordman sat in his office, reviewing the surveillance videos from the night club that evening, seeing if there was any footage of this ‘Rob’ person. He came across some footage of Shauna entering the club, being escorted by a rather tall, somewhat handsome man. “Figures; he is not only a predator, but he’s good looking as well. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
The footage showed him going into the club, dancing on the floor with Shauna, who appeared to be getting more under the influence of the GHB as time went on. Finally, this ‘Rob’ carried her off into a side room, where he apparently raped her.
Having enough evidence to nail the guy, he called up Barbara Haywood.
“Barb. Do you or someone you know have access to criminal databases, especially for child molesters and pedophiles?”
“Well, not really; but my friend Dan Hightower at the F.B.I. might have access to that. He’s investigating a case where some woman always shows up at places where someone is hurt, or disappears. She happened to be at the club where Shauna Williams got raped. She was in a conversation with ‘Rob’ and Shauna. Give him a call. I’ll give you his number. Tell him I referred you to him.”
“Okay. Sounds like a step in the right direction.”
Dan pondered all the information he knew. The woman in the videos had shown up in murder cases, rape cases, even the miscarriage of a child. She had to be caught, even if none of the victims who were still alive remembered anything about her. The one case that bothered him most was the recent rape case, where the rapist and the woman were seen together. More frustrating was the fact that she had no criminal record; in fact not much was known about her at all, least of which, her name. He sincerely hoped that Barb Haywood and her police force could help find this woman, and have her brought in for questioning.
The ringing of the phone broke into his contemplation.
“Hightower.”
“Dan Hightower. This is Dwight Ordman from the Law Firm of Ordman, Bartholomew and Pittman. I have just gotten off the phone with Barbara Haywood, and she recommended you to me.”
“How can I help you?”
“Well, I was hired by Shauna Williams’ mother, Rose, to try to catch Shauna’s rapist. I hear that some woman at the scene, who would be an accessory to the crime, is the subject of a manhunt by the police department, and you guys as well.”
“Yes. Do you know anything about this woman…at all?”
“Unfortunately, no; but I do know a bit about Shauna’s rapist. What I need from you is to see if you could use your resources to identify this guy. I hear you have access to databases that keep track of people like him.”
“We do. In fact, I can have my computer forensics department look into it. A friend of mine in that department is really good at what he does. Why don’t you give me any information you have on the predator, and I’ll give it to Stan right away.”
“We know he’s about six feet, two inches, medium build, and goes by the name of ‘Rob’. Unfortunately, that’s all
