Boner gave me the side eye. "I think I just became scared of you. Or aroused. I can't tell, they're kinda the same thing." He shifted in his chair, but was holding back a smile.
"If Archer is the Heart-Renderer, Harlow could be the Cock-Boner," Cass said.
"Oi, I'm the only Boner around here," Boner protested. "I'd have to be the one to collect them. Cock-Boner has a ring to it." He looked thoughtful.
"It sounds like you're repeating yourself," Archer said. "Cock boner."
"Yeah, Hardluck is right," Boner said reluctantly. "Let's just stick with Boner."
"Hardwick," Archer said. "Now, we were going to make a phone call?" He looked over at Cass.
"Right." Cass leaned over and picked up the laptop that was leaning against the leg of his chair. He placed it on the table and pulled Fairfield's phone out of his back pocket to place beside it.
"Before we do any of this…” I began reluctantly. I quickly told them about Erin's shoes. "I know it's probably a coincidence, but I figured I should mention it."
They were silent for a moment before Cass turned on Fairfield's phone and clicked on the last photo. He slid the device over to me.
"Can you tell if they're the same size?" His long fingers lingered on the sides of the device.
I leaned forward for a better look, but shook my head. "I don't know. She has small feet and the angle makes it hard to be sure. It could be, but I could be wrong."
I wanted to be wrong.
"You said you could tell what kind of phone those photos were taken on," Boner said. "We should find that out first before we make any phone calls."
Cass nodded and sat back, opening his laptop and tapping on the keyboard. "As I said the other day, photos have metadata. It's just a matter of…"
He frowned and kept tapping, eyes on the screen. Every so often he'd take a sip of milkshake and sigh softly at the taste.
I didn't think he was aware of doing it, but it was adorable.
I exchanged glances with Boner, who clearly noticed the same thing and also found it endearing. Maybe even arousing.
"Okay, here we go," Cass said finally. "They were all taken on the same day. The first two about thirty seconds apart. The last one a minute later. The phone was one of those cheap ones you get at Walmart."
"Not Fairfield's phone then," I said. His was an older model, but still an expensive phone.
"Definitely not," Cass agreed. "The photos were only taken a week ago."
"So someoneissending unsolicited shoe pics," Boner said. "Diabolical."
"I have another explanation," Cass said. "Whoever's phone these photos were taken on had their data hacked. It's possible they were hoping for something more…"
"Salacious?" Boner offered.
"Yeah, that," Cass said. He swallowed visibly and took a big gulp of milkshake.
"Is there any way of telling where they originated?" Archer asked. "He might have saved them from someone's social media account. We don't need research to know people sometimes do weird things."
I snorted softly. "That's for sure. If that's the case, then I guess that means there was no trap set for us. I'd like to say I'm relieved, but if they're hacking phones in the hope of finding personal photos, then they're violating the privacy of who knows how many children and young people?"
"Just when we think they couldn't get any more evil, they get more evil," Boner said darkly. "Folks should be comfortable taking dick pics, and pussy pics, without being scared they'll be shared all over the fucking place."
"Right," I said softly.
"What kind of phone does Erin have?" Archer asked.
I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. Tapped on the screen in front of me and said, "A cheap Tracfone , like the kind those photos were taken on."
