Chapter 17

Privacy Issues

A n hour later, Winter and I sat in a small conference nook on the second floor that someone had called the Kent Room. Detective Campbell and another policeman occupied seats across from us at an elegant walnut table shielded by a glass topper. The space had been designed for much more formal meetings or dining, with the brocade carpet, white wainscoting, ornamental wallpaper, and bygone-era paintings.

Upon the emergency team's arrival, the EMT made us sit with oxygen masks for a half hour while she slathered our blisters with salve and pressed cold packs to the palms and backs of my hands. My knuckles were bruised from punching the glass but nothing that wouldn't heal. The ambulance took Elaine to the hospital, but the paramedic said it was mostly as a precaution because of her asthma attack. He wanted a doctor to check her out and make sure she was breathing easy and hadn't suffered complications from smoke inhalation.

Tammy had dashed up to her room and returned with shirts for Winter and me to put on, and we were grateful, no matter how much too big they were. Her forest green button-up fit me better than the tent-sized Dallas Cowboys jersey that swallowed Winter. However, Tammy had thrown a fit when she found out what had happened. No sooner than she'd wrapped us in hugs of joy, the scolding had begun.

"What the hell were you thinking to respond to a note from that psycho?" she bellowed. "And if you insisted on being stupid, you should have at least waited for me to come with you." She had fumed and paced and muttered about the million ways she wanted to torture the woman who'd laid the trap. I wasn't sure if I felt more comforted or disturbed by her violent musings. She and Beth wanted to join the meeting and give the detective a piece of their minds for being so slow, but Catherine wrangled her back from getting herself in trouble.

"Here are your cell phone and laptop, Ms. Wolfe," Detective Campbell said as he laid my phone in front of me, and the other fellow pushed over my laptop sealed in a plastic bag. I instantly took possession of them, relieved to have my devices back.

"Thank you," I replied. "Did you find anything useful?"

Scratching his head, he leaned back and studied me, as if deliberating on how forthcoming he should be. He pursed his lips, then sighed. "The texts came from a burner phone and can't be traced to an owner or account. As for the online harassment—which is illegal—we didn't get as far as I'd hoped." Detective Campbell glanced at the other plainclothes officer whose slender physique, lax haircut, and general manner suggested he was the tech guy.

"I tried to discover SapphicLover69's identity, to determine who the username belongs to," he explained, "but ran into some privacy issues. The social media platform has the legal right to protect the personal information of its users, but we've drawn up a warrant to compel the data. It's the weekend, and we won't be able to get a judge to sign it until Monday."

"We might can push the timeframe now felony arson has been added to this individual's list of crimes," Campbell assured me. "And I'll have this note," he said, lifting the lure in the same plastic baggie Elaine had secured it in, "to the lab tonight. They'll check for prints, DNA, and perform a handwriting analysis."

"So, we might know by Monday and can arrest someone," I surmised optimistically.

Then Winter noted with concern, "The conference is officially over tomorrow night, though. Everyone will be going home on Sunday night or Monday morning. And after failing to kill Aspen, she might take off sooner."

"We have a list of all the conference attendees, and Ms. Beech is meticulously scrutinizing who is where and if anyone checks out early or seems to disappear from the group," he stated.

"But there is an added problem you must be aware of," the tech specialist cautioned. He took a deep breath as if bracing himself to share bad news. "Even if we get all the information the platform company has for SapphicLover69, it may not be viable. If the fraudulent account used VPNs, fake email addresses, and other anonymity tools, we could be at a dead end with that line of inquiry."

My heart sank. They had nothing and may not get any more. Why was it so easy for people to create fake accounts, commit any online crime, and get away with it? All the scammers and the pirates, not to mention more menacing felonies like child pornography, cyber spying, and blackmail. And they just get away with it!

Detective Campbell must have read the despair in my expression because he quickly continued. "However, we did lift a couple of useful fingerprints from your room that don't match any of the exemplars. They aren't in the system, so that narrows down our suspect pool to people who have no prior arrests, didn't serve in the military or other jobs that require fingerprinting."

I doubted many if any of the women at the conference had a criminal record, although a few may have served in the military at some point. I nodded and glanced at Winter. She reached under the table and took my hand, giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Now, let's talk about tonight," Detective Campbell directed. "Walk me through it again."

I recounted the story, not omitting a detail, while he nodded and took notes. "You said Elaine mentioned an odor just before the fire started? Did she say what it smelled like?"

"No," I answered. "Just something off, not right."

I finished the story, and he asked Winter if she had anything to add.

"It was like Aspen said," she confirmed, speaking in a reserved manner and diverting her eyes from the detective. I figured it was the behavior of a shy person, yet she never acted so standoffish and deferential within our group. Bashful and a little nervous but not so skittish.

She was almost just burnt to a crisp, I reminded myself. Anyone would be anxious.

Campbell folded his hands and smiled at us. "You two were quite resourceful. I saw the jerry-rigged screwdriver you made. Clever indeed."

Pride shot through me, and I smiled at Winter, peeling back one layer of trepidation in her tense expression. Her lips responded in a minuscule curve and her gaze softened on mine.

"It was Winter's idea," I said aloud.

"Aspen kept her cool and held us all together," Winter said. "And she pried off the hinge pins."

"A successful team effort," the tech guy praised.

A guy in a crime scene investigator's uniform marched into the room with a kit in one hand and a sealed plastic bag in the other. "Detective Campbell, we found something you'll want to see."

The detective took the bag and examined it. "Cigarette and a matchbox."

"Two of them," the CSI clarified. "One by the burnt curtains and one under the bench seat. There was also an accelerant used. We collected carpet samples to take back to the lab. The sprinkler had been tampered with. We dusted it for prints, along with everything else."

"Good." Campbell passed the evidence bag back to the CSI and returned his attention to me. "The perpetrator secured the outside door with a portable traveler's security lock when he or she set up the scene. She—you believe the culprit is female—must have been loitering nearby, waiting for you to enter the service room, since that door was open when you arrived. Probably while you were testing the back door, trying to exit onto the patio, she attached another to the door you entered from. It was risky, as you could have seen who it was if you'd turned around at the precise moment, but the perpetrator presumed you'd die in the fire. We collected the locks, and the lab will test them as well as research where they might have been purchased and if a credit card was used. We've also asked the hotel for security cam video footage. We're working your case, Ms. Wolfe, and, as we mentioned with the added arson and attempted murder, it's now at the top of our stack."

"Thank you," I said, suddenly feeling drained. I'd hardly slept the night before, and, after the rush of adrenaline tonight, I could feel my body and brain crashing. "Do you need us for anything else?"

"I've got all the information we need for tonight," he confirmed. "You'll still be here tomorrow, correct?"

"We're both staying through tomorrow night," I answered. "I drove from Florida and can stay as needed, but Winter has a flight to Milwaukee early Monday morning."

"At this time, I see no reason she couldn't make her flight." Detective Campbell stood and his tech guy followed suit. That was our cue. Releasing Winter's hand, I rose, slid my phone into my pocket, and picked up my laptop. Beth had collected mine and Elaine's purses from the lounge, and Winter hadn't brought one. She rose without her usual energy, and I presumed she was as exhausted as I was.

"Thanks," Winter replied without meeting his gaze. The detective escorted us out, and we took the elevator to the fourteenth floor in weary silence.

When the doors opened, I turned to her with a question in my eyes. Granting me a subtle nod, she followed me out of the elevator and down the hall. Although it was after midnight, I opened the door to find Tammy waiting for us, dozing in a chair in the sitting area.

At the click of the latch, she shook her head, blinked her eyes, and yawned.

"You didn't have to stay up waiting," I said, feeling bad about everything.

"Yes, I did." Tammy completed her yawn and stretched up from the comfy chair. "I sent Beth to bed, though. The latest from Elaine is that everything looks fine, but they're keeping her overnight for observation. I can pick her up at nine unless I hear otherwise."

"I could go get her," I offered. Plopping onto the loveseat, I patted the cushion for Winter to join me. "It's my fault she had to go to the hospital."

"No, it isn't," Tammy barked, narrowing her eyes at me in displeasure. "You need to sleep. We'll all see you at the brunch if Elaine is feeling up to it. I brought your purse." She motioned to the dresser where she'd put it.

"I know you're miffed at us, and I'm sorry we didn't wait for you, but if you'd been trapped too, and if Beth had come?" I shook my head. "No. It's far better you weren't in that fire."

"You look like you have a bad sunburn," Tammy observed in a gentler tone. "Both of you. Winter, I just don't know what to say. I talked you into coming and—"

"I'm glad you did," she piped up with conviction. "Sure, there's been this whole stalker trying to hurt Aspen fiasco, but I've learned so much and met wonderful people. No one was seriously hurt tonight—just had a bad scare. We'll be more vigilant tomorrow."

Tammy raked a hand through her tousled gray ruff of hair and nodded. "See that you are. You know, people these days have gone nuts. What really ticks me off is that this stalker—this arsonist, attempted murderer, felonious bitch—is one of our own. I mean, we have enough enemies to fight without having to worry that a sister is going to get a wild hair and go homicidal because of …" Tammy waved a frustrated hand in the air. "Whatever. I guess when you boil it all down, lesbian, gay, bi, trans, straight, or whatever else, we're all still human. And humans, well, as a species, pretty much suck."

"Yeah," I agreed, void of emotion. I was too numb to be angry anymore. "But a few of you are pretty awesome too."

My response coaxed a chuckle out of Tammy. She pointed at Winter and me, giving us a humorous evil eye. "You two behave yourselves tonight. I'm off to bed."

"Thanks for everything," I said. "I mean it."

Tammy winked and showed herself out.

Alone in the quiet, I gingerly reached an arm around the back of the loveseat to welcome Winter to my shoulder. She nestled in and slid a hand around my waist. "What was with you and the cops? You shut down in there—or was it just the shock over almost getting barbequed?"

"I associate the police with bad news," she murmured. "Being in that interview brought back memories, is all."

Concern for Winter, her memories, and her feelings snaked through me, and I brushed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She hugged me tighter. "Just being with you like this is all the comfort I need."

I realized her words reflected exactly how I felt. Letting out a deep breath, I rested my head on hers and closed my eyes.