By Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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That is apparently what happened in Ocilla.

It started on Day One of the investigation. According to several sources, it began when Harper first showed up at police headquarters to talk with investigators. Anita Gattis met him outside and in front of other police officers, in what Harper took to be a direct accusation, she reportedly said, "What did you do to my sister?"

Realizing that Gattis and others viewed him as a suspect, even though authorities had not identified him as such, Harper hired an attorney, Thomas Pajadas, a local lawyer for whom Harper's father works as a paralegal.

Gattis was not the only one who suspected Harper. A Web site, established to aid in the search, offered a forum for all kinds of speculation about what had happened to Tara. Much of the discussion focused on Harper, though authorities had never publicly named him.

And as the national media attention grew, so too did the suspicion. It reached a crescendo when Greta Van Sustern of Fox News arrived on the scene. In the hours before she went on the air, a promotional spot announced that she would explore a report that Harper and Tara had been seen arguing in the days before her disappearance.

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Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net

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