Memory Man

Hours later Bogart walked out of the 7-Eleven and over to Decker, who was standing in the parking lot sipping 7-Eleven coffee while the snow slowly swirled around him.

Bogart said, “We got one usable print, seven points on a mop bucket in the storage room. We ran it but got no hits back yet. It may be Wyatt’s or whoever else handled that bucket. And she might not be on any database. Or I guess she’s a he now. This Billy guy.”

“But she was gang-raped in Utah, according to Dr. Marshall. They must have a police file on her.”

“You would think. But we checked with the police department where she grew up. They have no record of any rape of Belinda Wyatt.”

Decker looked stunned. “But that can’t be. She was raped and beaten and left for dead. It changed her brain. It’s why she was sent to the institute. You heard Dr. Marshall. And he said he’d talked to the doctor from Utah. She had been raped and beaten and left for dead.”

“Well, maybe she was. But maybe she didn’t file a police report, Decker. That’s a possibility.”

“But why wouldn’t she?”

“Consider her personal situation. It being a small town where everybody knows everybody else’s business? She might have made the decision not to report.”

“Or her parents made that decision for her,” retorted Decker.

“That’s actually far more likely,” conceded the FBI agent.

Decker finished his coffee and threw the cup into a trash can. “Belinda was very tall for a woman, about five-eleven, and skinny. Billy was that height and lean too, but he was wiry. Maybe a hundred and fifty pounds.”

“And definitely a guy?”

“I think so, but he looked androgynous too. Belinda looked the same at the institute. I’ve already given your sketch artist a description. They’re working on a finished drawing now.”

“We can get that all over the place once it’s done.”

“I would just get it out to law enforcement for now. Don’t go public. They may go underground if they discover we’ve gotten that far.”

Bogart didn’t look convinced but said, “Okay, we’ll play it that way. For now.” He put his hands in his pockets and studied the pavement. “We heard back from the pool service company the Wyatts used in Colorado. They came and winterized the pool two months ago, but didn’t see anyone. Their fees are on an automatic pay system. In fact, all their bills were on autopay. They didn’t have to interact with anyone. Dead end. No pun intended.”

“And Leopold?”

Bogart let out an extended breath. “Leopold, yes. I was getting to him. We finally got a hit.”

“His real name?”

“Surprisingly enough, Sebastian Leopold. You were right. He’s Austrian.”

“And his story?”

“Still coming in. But the gist is his wife and daughter were murdered and the killer was never brought to justice.”

“When did he come over here?”

“Hard to pin that down. The murder was eight years ago. So anytime after that, I guess. I doubt he’s here legally. But then again, I don’t think we’re as picky with Europeans as we are with other folks.”

“If he’s only been here a few years he’s worn his accent away relatively fast. He only had the one slip when I was talking with him. Can I see anything you have on him?”

“I’ll arrange it. Where will you be?”

“Back at the library at Mansfield.”

“You want a ride over there?”

“I need to make one stop first.”

“Where?”

“To pick up my partner.”

“Your partner? You don’t mean Lancaster? After what almost happened to her family I don’t think she’s up to it.”

“Mary is up to it.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know Lancaster. She’s tougher than you and me combined.”

Chapter 56

Lancaster and Jamison were sitting across from Decker in the school library. They were awaiting Leopold’s files. Decker had filled Lancaster in on everything they had learned.

He said, “Bogart thinks that Belinda might not have filed a police report. He believes her parents might have discouraged her from doing so.”

“Talk about scum,” replied Lancaster fiercely.

“The thing is, her trauma left her with perfect recall. She would have remembered her attackers.”

“If she knew them in the first place,” said Jamison.

Decker replied, “Small-town Utah. Everybody probably knew everybody.”

“At the institute did she ever talk?” asked Lancaster.

“Almost never. In the group sessions she never talked about what had happened to her. I didn’t know until Dr. Marshall told me. And she was probably attacked because her assailants knew of her intersex condition,” added Decker.

Lancaster shook her head. “I never heard the term until you told me. I can’t imagine what that must have been like. You said Marshall told you she had one testis and one ovary?”

“Yes.”

“The absolute shit she must have taken in school. In gym class, one of the other girls spots her private parts? Word spreads. It really must have been horrible.”

Decker was staring down at the document in front of him. He had just seen one fact that did not align with another.

Lancaster was well used to this look. “What?”