Chapter 2: The pervert

It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon and the shift was changing. I got a call that a little girl had not returned from school and the momma was afraid something had happened to her. I told TJ to come with me and we drove over to the house.

The mother was upset as she should be. She told me how good a kid her daughter was and how she is never late. She showed us pictures of the child. Cute kid, 13 years old, dark brown hair, skinny like most kids her age with dark eyes. TJ took a recent photo and hugged the mother.

“We’ll do our best to find her. I promise.”

One of the deputies I had canvassing the neighborhood had received a tip. There had been an old truck seen in the neighborhood the last couple of days. It had been in a wreck and while the truck was red it had a white tailgate. He did not get a plate number. He did not have to, I know the truck.

It belongs to a man who was let out of prison a couple of months ago. He is in the sex offender’s registry and is still on parole. I know where he lives.

TJ and I leave a crying mother and head down into the southern part of the county. It is a remote area where the National Forest is located. All the roads are sand and there are very few houses.

His is a rundown place that somebody in his family owns and lets him live there. Probably to keep him away from the family.

I park in his front yard and walk up on a dilapidated porch. He comes to the door wearing only a pair of cargo shorts. No shirt or shoes. When he opens it I barge in.

“You can’t just come into my house...”

“You’re on parole and in the Registry. I don’t need a warrant to search your house. Now shut up and get against the wall.”

I am patting him down as TJ is in his bedroom going thru everything he owns. She comes out screaming, “You bastard. Where is she?”

I turn to see her holding a neckless. She shows me the picture of the girl that the mother had given her. The kid is wearing the same neckless that TJ is holding.

He is still against the wall but he grins and looks over his shoulder, “I found that neckless and I ain’t saying another word until I talk to an attorney. You people have no right to ... YEEEE!”

TJ hit him in the kidney with her nightstick and he fell to the floor. He was moaning in pain when I commented, “I’m betting you’ll be pissing blood for a week. Now answer her question!”

He just curls up in a ball and starts to cry. I put the cuffs on him and stand him up.

“He probably has her close by let’s look out back.”

When we walk out the back door the first thing we see is a giant ant bed. It is almost 6 feet across.

“Those are fire ants TJ give them a wide berth.”

We walk over to a small shed that has a padlock on it. I find a piece of re-bar and bust the hinge. When the door opens there is the child. She is nude and it is oblivious she has been raped a number of times. Her body is bruised and her face is almost un-recognizable. TJ finds a piece of tarp and covers the body as this pervert starts.