Page 35 of Their Wicked Games

It was an impossible mystery, like the chicken or the egg. How could anyone know? Jenna facepalmed her head and winced. “I’ve just had a thought. We know about the case, right? Who else, the lawyers involved? The cops all along the way. It only takes one of them to let it slip to a friend and then it spreads like a virus. She pulled out her phone. “I’ll ask Google.”

Jenna waited for the results to come up for James Earl Stafford and got the sanitized version, but when she used the name Jimmy Two Cents, there it was, how James Earl Stafford had gotten his name. She passed the phone to Kane and shook her head. “Some secret. It’s all over the internet.” She looked at Carter. “Now what?”

“Oh, my goodness.” Jo barked a laugh. “How would Jimmy Two Cents deflect suspicion away from his involvement in these murders? He’d get someone to leak information. What if he’s been grooming some of his followers to kill for him and then report back?”

Jenna nodded. “That makes sense. It’s just as well we’re going to see him in the morning. Maybe you can pry some information from him?”

“I’ll be sure to wear perfume. It always makes them pliable, plus I have a few prearranged inducements for him.” Jo smiled. “He knows something and I mean to find out what it is.”

THIRTY-TWO

THURSDAY

After breakfast, Jenna climbed into the Beast, and with Jo and Carter following close behind in the cruiser, they headed for the medical examiner’s office. Carter had parked the FBI chopper on the helipad on top of the building. Excitement thrummed through her, mixed with a little nervous tension at the thought of meeting Jimmy Two Cents. During a long discussion the previous evening with Jo, they had all decided after considering the prisoner’s profile that Jenna would be the best person to go into the interview room with Jo. James Earl Stafford, aka Jimmy Two Cents, clammed up when speaking to male cops and Jo believed it would be unproductive for them to be in the room at the same time. Kane had been very quiet on the journey into town and Jenna turned to him. “Are you concerned about me going into the interview?”

“Nah.” Kane shot her a white smile. “I’ll be right outside the door and although Jo believes that an unshackled prisoner is safe, the prison warden thinks otherwise, and one of his conditions was that Jimmy Two Cents remained shackled.” He shrugged. “Trust me he’s not going anywhere.”

Slightly confused, Jenna frowned. “So what’s been on your mind? Something is troubling you I can tell.”

“Rowley and Rio.” Kane glanced her way and then returned his attention to the road. “They’ve been working seven days straight and long hours. Considering we have Jo and Carter to take some of the caseload, we need to give them at least one day off duty this weekend. We don’t know when we’ll need them for backup and mistakes happen when people are exhausted.”

Nodding, Jenna could see his point. “Yeah, they haven’t been trained in endurance like the rest of us. Rowley has the twins at home, which means he doesn’t get to rest when he actually gets there. Talking about twins, I’d say Rio’s life isn’t much easier, with teenagers to watch over. I guess raising his siblings, he doesn’t get much life at all.” She tapped her bottom lip thinking. “I wonder if Emily has ever considered what would happen if she married Rio?”

“How so?” Kane frowned. “Ah you mean, would she become a mother figure to kids not much younger than herself? I doubt it. Cade has settled down over the last twelve months and Piper is very sensible. I don’t figure they need a mother figure and they’ll probably be leaving home before Emily is ready for marriage. She won’t compromise her career just yet.” He barked a laugh. “You worry over the silliest things. Whatever happens, it’s none of our business.”

Sighing, Jenna stared out the window at the mist swirling like dancers with long white dresses across the glossy blacktop. “I guess it’s the mother instinct in me to worry about Emily. We are close, as you know.” She watched a falcon fly high in the air from a cluster of trees and then disappear in a dive, marveling at the way it hunted so efficiently.

“Had any thoughts about giving the guys some time off?” Kane turned onto Main and the smell of freshly baked apple pie wafted through his open window.

Almost tasting the crumbly delight, Jenna inhaled and looked at Kane. “Yeah, we’ll manage and if we can’t, we’ll call them back in. Right now, we’re just chasing our tails. We’ve interviewed the suspects and all we need to do is chase down if there’s a link between them and the victims. We can do that ourselves and we always have Bobby Kalo to lend a hand. I’m just hoping that we can get some information out of Jimmy Two Cents.”

Jenna thought for a beat and then pulled out her phone. She called Rowley. “Hi, Jake, we’ve reached a stalemate in this investigation, so we’re heading for the state pen to interview Jimmy Two Cents. I’ll need you and Rio to handle the office today.”

“Not a problem.”Rowley was as laidback as usual.“I’m here with Maggie. Rio is just parking his truck.”

Flicking a glance at Kane, Jenna smiled. Her deputies always arrived at the office early, both of them could handle any callouts or problems during her absence. “Thanks, I figure we might as well take advantage of the lull in the case, so I’m rostering you off on Friday and Rio on Saturday.”

“Are you sure you won’t need us?”Rowley sounded concerned.

Jenna chuckled. “Trust me, I’ll call you in if we need you. Take tomorrow and get some rest.”

“I might go fishing. The twins will be in playgroup and Sandy is going out to lunch with her mom.”Rowley chuckled.“It will be nice to have some quiet time.”

As Jenna disconnected, Kane swung the Beast into the parking lot behind the ME’s office. Within ten minutes, she boarded the chopper, and they were winging their way toward the state pen. On the way, she studied the notes Jo had given her about the interview. What to expect and how to react along with some questions. Her mind was buzzing with information by the time they landed on the helipad on top of the prison. They’d left the dogs enjoying playtime on the ranch. It had taken Zorro a time to relax without Carter, but he’d found a good friend in Duke, and seeing him run wide ecstatic circles around Duke and acting like a dog for a change, warmed Jenna’s heart.

“Stay close.” Kane looked from her to Jo. “I’ll be one side and Carter the other. You know they’ll spit and catcall. Don’t react.”

Jenna nodded and pulled earplugs from her pocket and pushed them into her ears. It was a trick Jo had taught her to block out most of the inmate noises. The walkway inside to D block went through the exercise yards and although they couldn’t be touched, somehow the inmates knew they were all law enforcement and made it perfectly clear what they intended to do with them. It was an unnerving experience to be surrounded by so much hate. The guard who met them and escorted them to the warden’s office had found the ordeal through the walkway amusing and smiled at the inmates as he paraded them in front of them. It was a relief to reach the warden’s office.

“It’s nice to see you again, Agent Wells.” The warden stood behind his desk, cheeks flushed and with an inquiring expression. “Ah, I see you have the entire team with you today. Sheriff Alton, Agent Carter, and Deputy Kane, welcome to my humble abode.” He grinned. “The rules have changed slightly since the last time you were here. James Earl Stafford has been an exemplary prisoner and has gained the status of inmate trustee, but during the talks with the prison psychologist we’ve uncovered his deep desire to murder women, so he will be shackled during the interview, as I explained previously.”

“I’ll be interviewing him with Sheriff Alton, and Agent Carter and Deputy Kane will be watching through the two-way mirror as before.” Jo lifted her chin. “I’d prefer if the guard remains outside the door. It’s impossible to get a psychopath to talk with a prison guard overhearing every word they say. They have to believe what they say to me is confidential, even though they know it is going to be included in a book. I guess they figure that none of the prisoners here will get to read it.”

“That won’t be a problem.” The warden waved them to the door. “The guard will take you down. Stafford is being taken to the interview room as we speak.”

“Are you ready?” Jo looked at Jenna.

Drawing in a deep breath, Jenna nodded. “Yeah.”

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