Cat's Claw (A Pecan Springs Mystery)

him as he got ready to take photographs of the walls. She heard her voice trembling, and there was a sharp, sour taste in her mouth. She wished she could turn away and run from the photographs, wash the images out of her mind. But she couldn’t. This was part of the job. Even more, thesechildren deserved her closest attention, her passionate attention to every detail of the activity that was on display in front of her. They demanded that she do her job with as much determination and skill as necessary. She was their advocate now—she and the people who worked with her.
    She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “This is the section we’re after,” she added, “but let’s photograph the entire room, including those shelves of photographic equipment. Don’t try to capture the details of every image. What we want is a preliminary survey record of everything here, just as it is, so that we have the full context. I don’t want there to be any questions after we’ve taken some of them down for more processing.”
    “Gotcha,” Bartlett said, beginning to take photographs.
    China came over to stand beside Sheila in front of the display of children’s photographs. “So what do you think?” she asked bleakly. “Selling photos on the Internet?”
    “Maybe,” Sheila said. But even if there was no distribution involved, the children’s photographs could have brought multiple counts of second-degree felony under Section 43 of the Texas Penal Code, as well as under Title 18 of the United States Code. Because of the federal sentencing guidelines, conviction under the federal law usually resulted in an even harsher sentence. And then there were the child-abuse charges, on top of that. Timms was immune from prosecution now, but not the other men involved. Who were they? What else was going on here?
    “I’m guessing that it’s not so much an Internet ring as a private club,” she added. “Maybe a small group of like-minded guys who took turns with their cameras. This could be just the tip of the iceberg.” She shook her head, feeling her stomach turn. “Displaying the photos—that’s got to be some kind of special fetish.”
    “And now he’s dead.” China turned away with the same expressionshe had worn when she turned away from Timms’ mutilated body. “Is this connected to anything you’re finding on Timms’ computer? Or to Kirk’s death?”
    “It’s possible,” Sheila said. She’d have liked to be able to share the whole story with China, but that would have to wait until the case was wrapped. China would understand.
    She took a deep breath and spoke over her shoulder to Bartlett. “We’re going to treat this as a separate crime scene, Jack. Timms is dead, yes—but it looks like other people may be involved. There are the men in the photographs. And in addition to those who are obviously children, some of the young women in the other photographs may be underage—or underage at the time their pictures were taken.”
    “We’re going to seal the house?” Bartlett asked.
    “Yes. The sheriff’s office and Parks and Wildlife can handle the scene by the creek, but I’ll ask Sheriff Chambers to turn this place over to us. It’s his territory, but our case, since it’s related to our other ongoing investigation. I’d prefer that our people process it, if we can.” There was no murder victim and no obvious violence. The forensics ought to be manageable.
    “Good deal,” Bartlett said from behind his camera. “I’ll get Matheson, Blount, and Bedford out here.”
    “Right. But let’s not do it now,” Sheila said. “Our plates are pretty full at the moment, with both Kirk’s homicide and the blackmail. I’d like to see us make more forward progress with both of those cases—especially the homicide—before we start processing this scene. And in the meantime, let’s tape both front and back entrances to this house and post a patrol officer out front, as well. There’s going to be a lot of traffic related to Timms’ death and Parks and Wildlife’s hunt for that cat.” She gestured toward the wall. “And once the news hits the wires, some of the peoplewho were involved with Timms may attempt to retrieve their photographs.” Which might be a good thing, she thought grimly. She’d tell the officer to bring in for questioning anyone who showed up out here—anyone who wasn’t connected with the investigation.
    “Understand,” Bartlett said, going back to his