Page 6 of Their Wicked Games

“Not that I’m aware.” Jo opened her laptop and scrolled through the files. “I’ll send everyone a copy of the case files. I requested them before Christmas. I had planned to interview James Earl Stafford sometime this year for my next book.” She glanced up from the screen. “There you go. That’s all the information I have on him.”

Incoming email signals chimed around the room as the files dropped into inboxes. Jenna opened the file and scanned it. “Although he favored a knife, it seems he used a variety of different weapons and killed victims of all ages. All were Caucasian but there is one thing that stands out.”

“Yeah, they’re messy.” Kane looked up from his laptop. “Jimmy was a slasher and our murders are clean. He enjoyed his kills and each was overkill. What I witnessed today was as close to an execution as you could get. Minimal hits with deadly precision. If I didn’t know better, I would have considered it was professionally organized.” He cleared his throat. “I know kids get into a ton of trouble these days, but I can’t imagine something they did or witnessed was on such a high scale it attracted this type of a reaction.”

“Yeah.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips. “I agree. There are far easier ways of dealing with kids of this age.” He looked at Jenna. “I figure we’re gonna have to look outside the box on this one, Jenna. We’ve received no intel that any known hit teams have moved into Black Rock Falls and, trust me, after this town became Serial Killer Central, our IT whiz kid, Bobby Kalo, installed facial recognition software at the airport arrivals. Anyone who gets off a flight is scanned, and if a known criminal arrives, an alert is sent to our office. This type of hit would take a professional team from out of town.”

“Sorry, folks, but I don’t agree.” Rowley walked back into the office carrying a pile of yearbooks. He dumped them on the desk and stood hands on hips looking at Carter. “There are archery and crossbow clubs all over, and many of them compete in teams. Many of them are teenagers.” He looked at Jo. “I’ve been reading your books too, and from what I understand, it doesn’t take a group of psychopaths to become a lethal team.”

“It would only take one charismatic leader who had influence over the others.” Jo pushed her laptop to one side and met his gaze. “In groups there are always leaders and followers. If the leader of one group is particularly influential over the others, it wouldn’t be too difficult to convince them that it would be exciting to go out on a people hunt. This could be a psychopathic killer’s first hit. Of course, he’d blame the others for making him do it, but once the dynamite’s fuse is lit…”

“How could he possibly encourage normal kids to kill each other?” Rio looked unconvinced. “I have trouble getting the twins to take out the trash.”

“Remember just how smart these people are.” Jo smiled at him. “He would arrange something suitably annoying against his group to encourage them to get revenge. He would add incidents as he went along until he had his group agreeing with him. It’s another form of grooming, like the ones pedophiles use.”

Clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention, Jenna leaned forward in her seat. “Okay, once we’ve identified the victims, we have a starting place to look for suspects. We’ll assume they moved in the same circles as their killers. As Rowley said there are groups of teenagers in archery clubs in town. We start there. Grab a book and start looking.”

SIX

Unable to discover the victims in the yearbook he’d been given, Kane moved his attention to viewing Jimmy Two Cents crime scene images and looking for any parallel to the current case. There was no distinguishing pattern whatsoever. All the murders appeared to be random thrill kills. One thing for darn sure, Jimmy Two Cents wasn’t an organized serial killer. This alone convinced him that James Earl Stafford wasn’t the instigator of these crimes. He understood how prisoners had far-reaching contacts on the outside, many who would do anything they asked.Hybristophiliacame to mind, the psychological term used for women who were romantically attracted to criminals, but unfortunately hero worship wasn’t restricted to women. He looked up from his laptop and caught Jo’s attention. “Do you have any idea if Stafford has access to the outside world?”

“He has pen pals, restricted access to the internet, and visitors.” Jo raised one eyebrow. “Where is this going, Dave?”

Shrugging, Kane smiled. “Gut feeling. The facts tell me he isn’t involved but my gut is trying to convince me otherwise.” He drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking for a beat. “How could he exert his influence over a bunch of kids?”

“Hmm, well unless they’re family members, I doubt he would be able to correspond with anyone under the age of twenty-one. I’m sure the system wouldn’t risk any of the prisoners having contact with young people or kids. I know there’s a death row pen pal webpage, where prisoners can post. You do realize that murderers usually receive more mail than anyone else, even in this day and age. Prisoners still write letters. I guess they have plenty of time to waste.” She stared into space and then returned her gaze to him. “Right now, we only know that the victims are teenagers. The killers could be any age. We’re only surmising that they’re part of an archery team and around the same age. Your idea could work but I figure you’re limiting the possibilities. Murderers are admired by a wide range of people. It would be difficult to estimate Stafford’s capabilities. I haven’t met the man, and he might be as charismatic as Ted Bundy.”

Kane reflected on the apparently stable and well-liked serial killer who brutally murdered at least twenty-eight women between 1974 and ’78 across five states. “Yeah, I believe that he was the one who destroyed the myth that a killer was a dirty old man.”

“He certainly changed how we look at psychopathic serial killers.” Jo stood and went to the counter to refill the coffee machines. “You wouldn’t believe how many really nice guys and women I’ve met during my research and interviews for my books. Some of them are scary at times. I’ve seen them change in a split second, from a friendly old grandpa figure to a mass murderer. Sometimes when I question them, it triggers a memory, and in that instant the cold-blooded killer is exposed. I’m now aware it lies just under the surface of all of them but is very carefully disguised by a false persona.” She leaned against the counter. “You must realize that these people have carried the dark side with them since childhood and are very proficient at hiding it behind a mask of nice.”

“Found them.” Rio stood and carried the yearbook to Jenna. “Leo Kelly, Zoe Ward, and Ash Rogers, in the order we found them on the trail.”

“Okay, we’ll take Leo Kelly; Jo and Carter, Zoe Ward; and Rio and Rowley, Ash Rogers.” Jenna stood and added names to the whiteboard. “Hunt down everything you can find on these kids. Obviously, their details, any friends, and if they were involved in an archery or crossbow club. Once you’ve established their details, I’m afraid it will be your responsibility to notify the parents and make arrangements with Wolfe for them to view the body. We’ll need a positive ID ASAP.” She looked at Carter. “Take Rio’s cruiser. He’ll be with Rowley.” She took a breath. “Ask the parents for their media devices. We already have their phones. Once Wolfe has processed them, you’ll need Kalo to unlock them for you, and then follow up with any contacts. We need to know if these kids had enemies or any recent disagreements or problems with anyone. Kids talk, so their friends would know the answers to these questions.” She sighed. “I doubt you’ll get information from the parents after they’ve received such a shock, so work on the friends.” She swung her attention to Rowley. “If you can make up a list of all the archery or crossbow clubs that you know about around town, I’d appreciate it. We’ve received cooperation in the past with archery clubs. They usually can supply the list of their best members, especially those who compete.”

“Sure.” Rowley nodded. “There are two that specialize in crossbows. I figure we start there because to obtain the shots that these killers achieved took skill. We examined the trees around the murder scene and didn’t find any recent bolt holes. Those kids were taken down by clean shots. That takes some doing at that range. We are looking at proficient marksmen and they shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“Okay, get at it.” Jenna looked at the team. “Let’s get these crazies before they hurt anyone else.”

Kane’s head was still filled with Jo’s take on the Ted Bundy case. Her valuable insight into serial killers had revolutionized how law enforcement hunted them down. As if on autopilot he added Leo Kelly’s name into the DMV database and waited for a hit. He looked up at Jenna. “Okay, I have an address. He lives out at Lilac Way.” He checked the map app on his phone. “It’s out by the college. He’d be a freshman. They all graduated from high school the same year.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Jenna stood and grabbed her jacket. “I’ll call Wolfe on the way and bring him up to date.”

Kane whistled to Duke and the dog bounded out of Jenna’s office, ears flapping, tail windmilling. He grinned at him. “I guess this means you’d like to come with us?”

“He loved walking in the forest this morning. You should take him with you next time you go fishing.” Jenna smiled at him. “Look at him, doing his happy dance. After being left behind on Sunday, he isn’t planning on missing out again.”

Shrugging into his jacket, Kane nodded. “Well, he always came with me before we were married, but now he likes to stay home with you. He really does what he pleases. Maybe he figures you need protecting while I’m away.” He followed Jenna downstairs and waited while she explained to Maggie where they were all heading.

He’d had the unfortunate task of notifying relatives of the death of a loved one many a time and it never got easier. As he headed for the Beast, he slid one arm around Jenna’s shoulder. “I never know what to say to the parents.” He took a deep breath of clean mountain air and let it out slowly. “‘I’m sorry for your loss’ doesn’t come close, does it?”

“Nope.” Jenna pushed on her hat and leaned into him. “At least they didn’t see the murder scene. Not that it takes away the pain, but at least Wolfe will make sure they look as if they’re asleep… well, Emily will.” She was referring to Wolfe’s daughter and ME in training.

Kane removed his arm to allow Jenna to walk around the hood and opened the back door for Duke. As he bent inside to attach Duke’s harness, a roar of a powerful engine and squeal of brakes broke the silence. He lifted his head as a truck mounted the sidewalk. In a split second, the back door opened and someone dragged Jenna kicking and squealing inside. “What the…?”

The vehicle took off at high speed, shedding rubber across the blacktop and fishtailing toward the forest. They sped away, driving up the wrong side of the road to avoid traffic. Moving on remote control, Kane slid behind the wheel, backed out of the parking slot, and followed. He flicked on lights and sirens before calling it in. “I’m in pursuit of a silver GMC heading toward Stanton. They’ve kidnapped Jenna.”

“Oh, my God.”Maggie’s voice crackled through the radio.“I’ll tell the others.”

---