Page 27 of Their Wicked Games

Jenna waved them away. “Yeah.” She glanced at her watch. “Head back to the office. We’ll need to discuss the interviews and bring the suspects list up to date.”

“We should drop by Aunt Betty’s too and speak to Susie. It’s likely she or Wendy was working this morning when Alicia stopped by. I’d be interested to see if she met anyone.” Kane removed his examination gloves before tossing them into the garbage bag that Wolfe was holding. “Maybe while we’re looking at the CCTV footage, she can fill a few to-go cups with coffee for us. I’m sure everyone would appreciate a drink when they get back to the office.”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah, right now I need a gallon.”

TWENTY-FOUR

As usual, Susie Hartwig was more than happy to assist. Jenna crammed into the small office in Aunt Betty’s Café to view the morning’s CCTV footage. “Were you working this morning?”

“No, Wendy wasn’t either. Luckily, I have a few very reliable people I can leave in charge.” Susie scrolled through the morning’s footage, slowing it when the time stamp came up to around eleven-thirty. “She must have come in around this time if she left around noon.”

She moved the video forward slowly as each person came up to the counter. Not everyone who ate in the diner came up to the counter. Most went to sit down and waited for a server to bring coffee and take their order. Other customers liked to peruse the specials board or peer inside the glass case at the delicacies on offer. Alicia Palmer was one of these and stood for some moments deciding what to buy. She then walked away but the table she chose was out of view of the camera.

“When we installed the new CCTV cameras, we decided to concentrate on the front counter, rather than the entire room. I think people like their privacy when they’re eating. It seemed so intrusive filming their every move. Although it doesn’t really help you if you’re looking for a killer in town, does it?”

“We have a time at least, and it looks like she came in alone.” Kane rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I doubt if she came in with a date, he’d go and sit down without her. Does she usually come in for a meal after a shift?”

“Yeah, she comes by all the time.” Susie stared into the distance thinking. “I don’t recall her ever coming in with anyone. I don’t think that girl had many friends. Every time I spoke to her all she could talk about was hunting with her crossbow. She’d get this real strange look in her eyes, like she really enjoyed blood sport.” She closed the screen and stood. “I never encouraged the conversation because people at the tables next to us don’t really need to know how she gutted her last kill.”

Considering what Carter had told Jenna about the Jessie Davis interview, it seemed that his impression of her was the same. “No, I imagine they wouldn’t, especially as half of them are tourists. Thanks, Susie, this has been very helpful. We needed to verify the time that she was in town.”

“Your coffee should be ready by now. I’ll get it packed up. We baked a ton of cherry turnovers today and cinnamon sticky buns. I have three dozen each left. Can I add them to your order… on the house? Father Derry usually comes by and collects all our leftover pastries for the shelter, but they had their cake and cookie bake drive today, so he’ll have more than enough.”

When Kane’s stomach rumbled, Jenna nodded. “The team has been out all day, so they’d really appreciate it.” She looked at Kane. “Don’t forget we’re dining at Antlers at seven-thirty.”

“That’s not something I’d forget in a hurry, Jenna.” Kane grinned and looked at Susie. “You are an angel, thanks, but I’ll happily pay for them.”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Susie grinned at him. “You’re the only man I’ve met who turns down a free meal.” She headed back to the counter.

“Well, I tried.” Kane shrugged.

A short time later they arrived back at the office with coffee and pastries. Jenna peered into the second bag Susie had given her and found two juicy bones. She handed one to Carter. “Is Zorro allowed to have a bone?”

“Yeah, but he won’t take it from you.” Carter took the bone, unwrapped it, and sniffed it before handing it to Zorro. “There you go. Look what Jenna got for you.”

Jenna was sure she could see the dog’s lips curl into a smile. She could actually see his front teeth. He took the bone delicately from Carter’s hand and went to sit in the corner of the conference room. She didn’t need to call Duke. He was sitting at her feet, staring at her with adulation. His big brown eyes watching her every move and his tail thumping on the floor. “Here you go, Duke. You did real good today.” She headed to the sink to wash her hands and then sat at the table and opened her files. “Okay, give me a rundown on the suspects interviews. Rowley and Rio, what have you got for me?”

After discussing the interviews, they concluded that all five of the remaining six suspects should remain as possible suspects. Jenna looked over the file notes and then at Carter and Jo. “You sure this college kid, ah… Bill Ripley is capable of murder? He sounds like a recluse.”

“Sometimes it’s the quiet ones who are the most dangerous.” Jo leaned back in her chair, fiddling with her pen. “He could be the psychopath who’s leading the team. I want you to think outside the box with these murders. We are only assuming that the hiker murders and Alicia Palmer’s murder were committed by the same person or group of people. Although we have no proof whatsoever that Alicia’s murder was committed by more than one person. If Wolfe proves to me that she was attacked from different angles, using different width blades, then I will be open to suggestions, but right now, from the evidence there was only one perpetrator in that murder.”

Jenna nodded. “Agreed.” She blew out a breath. Tiredness was dragging at her. The last couple of days had been very stressful. “Problem is, any one of these five men could have a team and just decided to kill Alicia for the thrill of it. We selected the suspects because they were marksmen in their sport. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any other marksmen in the county. I would assume that Rowley is a marksman, especially as his friend Jesse Davis suggested he joined their team, but that doesn’t make Rowley a killer, does it?”

“So you’re taking the ringleader approach?” Rio nodded slowly. He looked at Jo. “In your experience, could a ringleader of a group like this be influenced by someone like Jimmy Two Cents, because to me that sounds more like a follower or hero worship.”

“Research tells us that certain things trigger certain behavior, not just in psychopaths.” Jo smiled. “We’ve all heard the term ‘followed like sheep.’ I’ve actually seen where the leader of a flock of sheep jumps over a shadow and all the ones following it jump over nothing as well. So the first sheep triggered all the others to do the same action. It’s possible, even using peer pressure or authority, to influence people’s responses.”

Scratching her head, Jenna stared at her. “Can you explain?”

“Okay, say you seat a variety of people in an auditorium. On the stage is a person they consider a person of authority, a doctor, cop, or a firefighter. If the person in authority tells them to stand up, the majority—the sheep—will follow his orders and stand. These people are easily manipulated because they comply without thought.” Jo smiled. “The others who remain seated will never be controlled. They are the leaders in society. It’s a fact of human behavior. We have leaders and followers. In a crisis, someone always steps up to take charge. This is why cults are successful. The unscrupulous wolves lead the sheep to their demise.”

“Wow!” Rowley blinked. “That really happens. I’ve seen that.”

“Nevertheless, I’m still convinced that Jimmy Two Cents has something to do with these murders.” Jo moved her attention back to Jenna. “I took the opportunity to call the prison and speak to the warden. He confirmed that as an inmate trustee he was allowed certain privileges. We discussed pen pals, visits, and limited use of the internet, and he certainly does have all these privileges. This gives him access to many people, maybe hundreds of people. Psychopathic serial killers like him get thousands of fans, most of them wanting intimate details of the murders. This rarely happens because most of the psychopathic serial killers insist they’re innocent. If they did happen to write it in a letter to one of their pen pals, it will be classed as a confession and legal action would proceed.”

“Then why don’t we arrange a visit to see him?” Kane leaned on the table, a to-go cup of coffee dwarfed in his large hands. “You mentioned they like to brag. He might want to brag about his pen pals or the people who visit him. We could also get a look at the visitors book and be able to discover who’s been stopping by recently.”

Mind reeling with possibilities, Jenna nodded. “Okay, Jo, see what you can arrange.” She turned back and looked at Carter. “Did you find anything of interest at Alicia Palmer’s house?”

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