Alice looked over at the picture and nodded. “That’s him.”
“Who is he talking to? Do you know?”
“No,” she said, “no idea.”
Kate put that picture off to the side and went through several more photos. Another one of Ken, standing alone. She put it off to the side as well.
Alice was going through her pile much more slowly. Then she picked up one and said, “Here. This is one of them.” In the photo, Ken was walking on the street, holding the hand of a little boy.
Kate stared at the picture and shook her head. “I don’t recognize the little boy.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Alice said. “I keep hoping that maybe it’s a neighbor’s child he was looking after for a little bit.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Do you mind if I take this photo?”
“Please take all of them,” she said. “I don’t want any of him left around.” She found one more, and, in that one, he was pushing a little buggy.
“Was a baby in there?”
“It was a toddler, but I don’t know how old.”
Kate took that photo too. “Also I’d like any photos showing people coming and going at Ken’s house,” she said. “Not that you would have been watching or anything.”
“Oh, I watch,” Alice said somewhat derisively. “I was looking for anything to keep myself busy.” She grabbed a few of the remaining photos and went through them. “That one, that one, and that one,” she said. “They were all of Ken’s place, and, indeed, people are standing there, talking to him.”
Armed with a new collection of photographs, Kate stood and thanked Alice for her time and for the photos. “Should you come across any more, Alice, just give me a shout.” Kate placed her card on the coffee table. “If you remember anything about times that you’ve met him or things he might have said, I’ll like to hear from you.”
“What is it you’re trying to find?” Alice asked.
“Friends and associates and, of course, any children he may have come into contact with,” Kate said bluntly. “We are looking for other victims and potentially other people like him.”
“Now that just doesn’t bear thinking about,” Alice said.
“I know, which is exactly why we have to do this,” she said, and, with that, she took her leave.
Back in the office, she showed Rodney. “This is what we came up with.” He stared at the photos in surprise.
“Wow,” he said, “that’s one nosy neighbor.”
“Maybe so, but what I want to know is who this guy is,” she said, pointing to one of the pictures.
“What about the other ones?” he asked, tapping the three at the end.
“They look more like they were just passing by,” she said. “Looks like they walked down the sidewalk, and he was there, talking to them. Could have been friends, but might only have been strangers stopping to talk for a few moments.”
“So get on that one,” Rodney said.
“How though? These photos aren’t even that good,” she murmured, frowning at the photo in her hand.
“Some of the tech guys are really good with that stuff,” he said. “Show it to them.”
She turned to head back to her corner. She was not a computer whiz, but she was decent at some of it. She scanned a photo in and sent it to the tech guys.
When Kaplan contacted her, he asked, “Where did you get that photo from?”
“From one of the neighbors,” she said. “Why?”
“I was hoping for the original, like a digital file. And poor quality.”