Virtual Justice by MA Comley Page B

possible?”
    “Nope. If you have the member’s account details, we can view things from there. You know, see who they’ve made a connection with.”
    “Okay, we need to locate the victim first and go from there. Thanks.”
    Once the computer had booted up, Ms. Fortenham put in the password to access the files. They painstakingly trawled through the files of hundreds of women. Some were pretty, but some were so horrendous looking that they would scare the life out of most men.
    Tony spotted Karen’s picture first. “There. Isn’t that her?”
    Lorne tilted her head from one side to the other. “I think you might be right.” She stared at the picture and then read the woman’s details on the screen. “Sally Short. So she did go under an assumed name.” Lorne turned to the secretary. “Can you get into this member’s account for us?”
    The secretary dipped into the manager’s office and came out again to give them the all-clear. She put in another password, and a different page opened on the screen. On that page was a record of the connections she’d made with other members. All the members were male, obviously, and the messages consisted of general chit-chat. Lorne saw nothing significant in the file that would lead them to suspect she’d met any of the members face-to-face. She slammed her fist on the table. “Damn! Nothing.”
    The secretary shrugged and went back to her own desk. “I’m sorry.”
    “Come on, hon. We mustn’t give up now. This was our first call.” Tony nudged her with his elbow and stood up.
    Lorne thanked the secretary, and she left the building feeling despondent.
    Tony sat in the passenger’s seat and looked down the list for their next visit. “Suitable Partners. Where the heck do these people get these names from? I think this one will be closest.”
    “Suitable Partners it is then.” Lorne squeezed the top of his thigh. “Good job I found mine. Christ, looking at some of those members back there is enough to put you off dating for life.”
    “You’re right. Mind you, I don’t think Ms. Fortenham runs a very good ship. She was nice enough, but there was something about her I didn’t much care for. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said she was in it just for the money.”
    “I guess we’re going to come across that a lot today. By the looks of things, this dating lark is big business. I couldn’t mindlessly sift through that lot every night. Could you?”
    “Nope. It’s a good job we’re settled. A word of warning though, if you keep giving me hassle about seeing the doctor, I might ditch you and go after one of those beauties.” Tony winked at her.
    She punched him playfully on the arm. “Some of those girls would eat you alive, matey.”
    They both laughed as the car pulled away. Twenty minutes later, they went through the same rigmarole at the next agency. This time, the owner was a male. To begin with, Don Brown put up a barrier saying that all his members’ private details were confidential. Because the guy appeared to be talking more to Tony than Lorne, she left it up to Tony to make him aware of the situation and their need to find Karen’s killer.
    Don Brown seemed shocked to learn the reason behind their visit, and he did everything he could to help them after that. Unfortunately, they ended up wasting a couple of hours and left after finding out that Karen hadn’t registered with the company either in her own name or under a pseudonym.
    Lorne decided they could do with a break, so they stopped at a bakery and bought a ham and cheese baguette, which they ate in the car and washed down with the worst cup of coffee she’d ever had the misfortune of swallowing.
    “I must admit, I’m not really enjoying this. Why are there so many sad people out there?”
    “Pressures of work. They don’t have time to go out socialising, so they resort to sitting in front of the computer, surfing these sites for a suitable partner.”
    “Then what?