‘Drago LaChance,’ Ripley interrupted.‘I think I found him.’
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Eight in the godforsaken AM, and Ella was already at the precinct.
And today, she had a spring in her step.
A deep dive into the digital dumpster, that's what Ella had done.She’d devoured the dark web and surfaced clutching a rancid oyster – excerpts fromHalo of Blood, going under the nameThe Angel Maker.Ella had found the entire first kill scene, posted online six months ago.
And that poster just happened to be namedLACHANCE666.
Now, Ella and Ripley were heading to the tech department, which was apparently a guy named Ryland and nobody else.The door was marked 'Digital Forensics' with a handwritten sign below that read 'Knock or Face Consequences.'She knocked once and entered.
The room looked like a Best Buy had exploded.Servers lined one wall, their lights blinking in patterns that probably meant something to someone.Multiple monitors covered every available desk surface.Energy drink cans formed small pyramids in the corners.
A young analyst looked up from his screens.He had disheveled black hair, thick glasses, and a wrinkled black shirt that suggested he'd been here all night.He couldn't have been older than twenty-five.
‘Agent Dark, FBI,’ Ella said.‘This is Agent Ripley.Blythe told us you’re the man when it comes to anything technical.’
‘Ryland Petty, please to meet you.And yes, I like to think so.I heard about the angel murders.That's your case?’
‘It is.And we've got a digital trail that needs following.’
Ripley stepped forward with the printouts.'Dark web posts.Someone published sections of a manuscript online six months ago.The same manuscript we found at our crime scene yesterday.Posted by username LACHANCE666.'
Ryland’s eyebrows rose as he scanned the pages.His fingers were already moving across his keyboard before he'd finished the first paragraph.‘You found this manually?On the dark web?Without crawlers?’
‘Old-fashioned searching,’ Ripley said.‘Took most of the night.Found it on a transgressive fiction forum called 'Taboo Tales.'‘
‘Impressive.Most people can't navigate the dark web without getting lost or downloading something nasty.’Ryland pulled up multiple browser windows.‘This forum requires registration.Did you-’
‘Anonymous account,’ Ripley said.‘Used Tor browser and a VPN.I'm not an amateur.’
Ryland grinned.‘Clearly not.What do you need me to do?’
‘Can you trace the person who posted this?IP address?’
Ryland’s face fell, and he scratched the back of his neck.‘Ah, well, that's where things get tricky.See, the dark web isn't like the regular internet.Most of it's completely anonymous by design.Most users route their traffic through multiple layers of encryption and proxy servers.It's like trying to find a specific drop of water in the ocean.’’
‘But it's possible?’Ella pressed.
Ryland chewed his lip.‘Maybe.If he made even one mistake, left behind even the tiniest digital fingerprint, I might be able to follow the trail back to a real IP address.From there, we could potentially get a physical location.’
‘How long?’
'Hard to say.It could be a few hours, it could be a few days.Depends on how careful this guy was and how lucky we get.'
Ella nodded.It wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing.‘Alright.Get on it.This is priority one, you hear me?Find out everything you can about whoever posted this.’
‘I’m all over that root directory.’
'Thank you.'Ella didn't know if that was a euphemism, but it sounded like one.She had many questions, the biggest one being how the hell did Ripley get so good with technology?Maybe it was their last case, when they'd apprehended a tech-obsessed psychopath in Indianapolis.
‘Dark, I’m going to stay here, is that alright?’
‘Go ahead.By the way, if you get a minute, I left a book in the office calledHouse of Shadows.If you get a minute, could you track down the author?’
‘Yeah, if I get out of here in time.’
