Page 30 of Good Girls Don't Cry

“Jenna.” Kane’s arm came around her shoulder. “I figure we need to look closer into the men convicted of the crimes this guy is copycatting. There may be a connection. Did any of our suspects come into contact with the convicted killers during their time in prison?”

Jenna removed her jacket and pulled on scrubs and PPE gear from the alcove outside the examination rooms. “I’m sure Rio asked Kalo to hunt that down for us.” She sighed. “I’ll need to ask him. It might point us at least in the right direction.” She looked at him. “Although, I’m not visiting any serial killers in prison. Not when I’m this close to giving birth. Can you imagine being stuck there and telling our kid when they grow up that they were born in a prison?” She shook her head. “No way.”

“Oh, there y’all are.” The door to the examination room whooshed open and Wolfe beckoned them inside. “I’ve completed the preliminary examination. We know which girls are missing from the limo. Norrell was able to obtain dental records and mitochondrial DNA samples from the mothers. Although I do have a positive ID from the parents of the victim found in Stanton Forest. The one with the copper pennies on her eyes? There is no doubt she is Samantha Haimes.” He frowned over the top of his face mask. “All the victims that we found in the limo have been identified. I’ll give you a complete rundown of the autopsies that Norrell completed in my absence. As we assumed, four died from asphyxiation due to drowning and one to a gunshot wound to the heart. I have released the bodies of the male victims to the parents for burial.”

Jenna leaned against the counter and folded her arms across her chest as Wolfe removed the sheet from the victim found on the bench outside the old library on Stanton. She had no desire to remain while he cracked the victim’s chest and checked the organs. Her main concern was the cause of death, when it occurred, and if he’d discovered any trace evidence they could use against the killer. “There is one thing that seems to link these victims together that wasn’t in the original crimes. This killer sexually assaults his victims. I figure there’s a reason for this and we’ll be talking to Jo later, in the hope that she can shed some light on why he is doing this.”

“The two victims that I’ve examined have both been raped.” Wolfe’s eyes showed deep concern. “The killer didn’t take any chances, using not only spermicides but also condoms during the attack. They’ve showered and washed their hair prior to death, which leaves very little evidence to go on. However, the last victim has traces of vegetation under her nails. I’ve examined these very closely under a high-powered microscope. I believe the samples could be of moss. The exact species and where it can be located is unknown but I’ve sent the samples and all the information I have available to a colleague of mine who specializes in species of flora from Montana. I’m hoping we’ll be able to narrow down an area where it came from. It might tell us where the killer is keeping the girls.”

“Do we have an ID on this last victim?” Kane moved closer to the body and examined the face.

“No, not a positive ID at this time but I am assuming this is Isabella Coleman, going by the photographs supplied by the parents. I’m arranging for them to come by for a formal ID at four this afternoon.” Wolfe raised an eyebrow. “Why? Is there something I’ve missed?”

“No, I just find it strange that the faces of the victims haven’t been touched.” Kane glanced at Jenna. “It’s obvious he used his fists on this victim’s torso. He made her suffer and then walk to her death.” He shook his head, his eyes flashing with anger. “This reminds me of the men who beat their wives but don’t touch their faces to hide it from the neighbors.” His gaze returned to Wolfe. “We assume he didn’t know these girls, so this violence toward them must be part of his fantasy.”

“It’s a violent crime and very personal.” Wolfe nodded. “I agree. Usually a man will attack a woman’s face during the assault. They know deep down that a woman values her looks, so messing them up makes them feel good. In the back of their minds, it’s not about sex; it’s about punishing them. They’ll often strangle them or put a hand across their mouth. All these aspects are missing in these cases, which makes me believe that raping them meant something completely different to this guy.” He pointed at the pattern of bruising. “Look at that. It’s almost methodical, as if he did this to get a reaction from his victim. A frenzied attack where the victim is fighting back would appear different.”

Shivers ran up and down Jenna’s spine. She couldn’t believe what they were saying. “You’re saying she didn’t fight back when he was beating her? That’s hard to believe unless she was unconscious at the time.”

“She wasn’t unconscious. The killer wouldn’t have gotten pleasure from punching an unconscious woman. I figure she refused to give him what he wanted. As in screaming and fighting back. She might have encountered brutality in her life previously and these women turn off and just take the beating.”

Horrified, Jenna nodded. As an undercover agent, she’d faced abuse and taken it to survive. “Is there any other proof of this?”

“If y’all look here, see, there are no defensive wounds.” Wolfe lifted the victim’s arms. “During a beating like this, I would normally see bruising to the forearms. She might have had them up to protect her face.” He indicated toward the refrigerated wall where he kept the bodies. “Samantha Haimes’ case is different. She fought back but not with her arms; she has bruising on her knees and legs. In my opinion, he restrained her hands above her head during the assault. There are ligature marks on both wrists.”

Swallowing hard, Jenna considered the evidence and then shot a glance at Kane. “I need to know if any of the victims have studied serial killers or had an interest in them. Look at what we’re seeing here. This is exactly what I would do. Screaming and pleading is what they love, right? They tend to lose interest if the victim is passive. If the victims knew not to try and reason with a psychopath and not to feed his fantasy, they might be spoiling his kills. The beating is to get a reaction—he needs the fear to make it perfect.”

“That makes sense on what I’m seeing here.” Wolfe leaned against the counter. “He’s not angry. This is controlled violence.”

“If it wasn’t anger, maybe it’s some type of twisted sexual gratification?” Kane nodded slowly. “Doing this is significant to this killer. It separates his victims from the originals. I’d just like to know his reason. There must be a reason.”

“One other thing.” Wolfe went to the screen on the wall and scrolled through his notes. “The stomach contents of Samantha Haimes indicated that she’d been living on Army rations. If you recall the case where the killer kept his victims in an old mineshaft, he fed them on Army rations.”

It was as if a light came on in Jenna’s head. “Yeah, vividly. So if we can discover an area where that moss is growing and if it is found deep underground, we’ll know he is keeping the girls in caves or an old mine.”

“The problem with that is there are thousands of them all over Stanton Forest.” Kane blew out a sigh. “We’d never get to them before this killer proves his point.”

Thirty-Five

Armed with Thermoses of fresh coffee from Wolfe’s machine, Jenna and Dave headed toward Blackwater. It hadn’t taken Jenna more than a few minutes to discover the location of the Silver Buckle Ranch, a cattle and horse ranch set out on the lowlands between Black Rock Falls and Blackwater. As Kane accelerated along the highway, Jenna called Rio to bring him up to date with the autopsy findings. “The parents of Isabella Coleman are attending a viewing at the medical examiner’s office this afternoon at four. I need you to be there. Due to some inconsistencies in the attacks on the victims, we are considering the victims might have some knowledge of psychopathic behavior. I’m not sure if this is something that they would study in high school, but one of the girls might have a special interest in it. Maybe they’ve read Jo’s books or perhaps they enjoy watching crime programs on TV.” She took a breath. “Would you please ask the parents and the previous victims’ parents as well?”

“Yeah, I’ll have time to go and speak to Samantha Haimes’ parents before the viewing.” Rio’s chair scraped as he stood and his boots could be heard clattering over the tiled floor. “I’m on my way now. I’ll call you when I’ve spoken to them.” He disconnected.

“What information do we have on Silas Thorne?” Kane lifted his to-go cup of coffee from the center console and took a sip. “I’ve read his rap sheet and he did time for sexual abuse of a child. The rape charge against him was dropped due to the victim refusing to testify at the last minute. Seems he gets his kicks out of following young girls and touching them in a crowd. He was caught on CCTV in a line outside a bakery in Louan with his hand up a girl’s dress.”

Pulling her tablet out of her backpack, Jenna scrolled through her files. “Born and raised in Louan, he spent a year at Black Rock Falls High School. That was apparently due to some repairs being made on the one in Louan. So he would be familiar with the local area.” She cast her gaze through the information that Rio had uploaded to the files. “The ranch hand job was organized by the social worker at the prison. Apparently, the Silver Buckle often takes criminals straight out of jail for their summer season. They normally have bunkhouse accommodation available, but after a recent fire, they are short on beds at the moment. From Rio’s notes, Thorne is staying at the shelter in town.” She looked at Kane. “Father Derry always believes in giving people a second chance, but we should give him a heads-up if we believe this man is capable of killing people.”

“I figure you should call him now.” Kane frowned at her. “He might be able to give you a rundown on the character of the guy. You know Father Derry is very astute when it comes to assessing a person’s character.”

Jenna made the call and listened with interest as Father Derry explained the situation around Silas Thorne. After disconnecting she turned to look at Kane. “He said he hasn’t seen very much of him since he arrived. He leaves for work early in the morning and doesn’t come back until late at night. His first impression was that he was quite charismatic. He also mentioned that Thorne had no family support. His parents died when he was in prison, leaving debts that resulted in losing the family home. All the family’s belongings, including any keepsakes he might have had as a child, were all given to Goodwill or destroyed when the home was sold.”

“So if Thorne is a serial killer, we can assume that any trophies he gathered during his last killing spree were hidden at the house somewhere.” Kane tipped back his Stetson. “I wonder how someone like that would deal with losing something so precious.”

Jenna thought for a beat. “Then to discover that someone else had been taking credit for your kills—that would be enough to push him over the edge, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe we could discover his feelings about losing the house?” Kane accelerated and pulled out to pass two eighteen-wheelers. “And his parents dying and leaving him alone wouldn’t have been nice, although most serial killers have no empathy for anyone, not even their parents.”

The information Jo Wells had given her was never far from Jenna’s mind every time they faced a possible serial killer. “Perhaps his parents were psychopaths as well, or at least one of them. There’s always a reason for triggering a violent episode and it’s usually a close family member.”

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