Kate hoped DeMarco would quiet down but could tell that she was only getting ramped up. She was quickly learning that issues of child endangerment were a hot button for DeMarco. She was speaking to Lee in a condescending tone, as if trying to goad him.

Apparently, it worked.

When he stepped forward and raised his hand to punch DeMarco, it took them both by surprise. Kate, standing to the right, acted on pure instinct. While DeMarco saw the punch coming and went into a defensive posture, Kate caught Lees arm, twisted it down and back at the same time, and then swept his legs out from under him.

He hit the ground with a thump, all of the air rocketing out of him.

That was unnecessary, Kate said as she brought out her handcuffs. The remark was directed at Lee but she hoped DeMarco had caught her gist as well.

You cant do this, Lee hissed. Ive done nothing wrong!
Had you not taken a swing at an FBI agent, youd be right, Kate said. Wed ask a few more questions and then be on our way. She slapped the cuffs on him and then, with DeMarcos help, got him to his feet. But now youll be spending some time at the Deton PD, answering even more questions.

Lee struggled against them for a moment but then seemed to think better of it. As Kate led him back to the car, she looked back behind them. She saw the sheds behind the barn, all rather old and in bad shape.

Any of them would be the perfect place to hide someone…or a body, she thought.

Her eyes remained on the sheds even as she and DeMarco escorted Edgar Lee into the back of their car.

***

Within ten minutes of making the call, both Barnes and Foster showed up at Lee Farm. While the local police stood guard over Edgar Lee and asked him questions, Kate and DeMarco investigated Lees property.

The barn was obviously the epicenter of the day-to-day farm operations. The only questionable things found inside the barn were a few porno magazines hidden in the bottom of a toolbox and an old laptop. The laptop, while clearly quite old, was of particular interest because even though it seemed to have been discarded under a few receipts and empty nail boxes on a workbench, it still had a charge of about thirty percentindicating that it had been used recently. When Kate turned it on, it came to a password screen, making it impossible for her to see what was on it.