Page 33 of Good Girls Don't Cry

“You need to see things from her side.” Carter leaned against the bench. “She feels responsible for everyone under her care. There’s a threat out there and she intends to stop it. I know you’re concerned. All you can do is support her the best you can and we’ll all try to keep her out of harm’s way.” He blew out a long sigh. “That’s all we can do. For all the years I’ve known her, she makes her own decisions. She’s strong and I figure she’ll know when it’s time to stop working.”

Not convinced, Kane rubbed his chin. “I sure hope you’re right.”

They arrived at the office a little before eight, and Kane found Rio and Raven waiting for Jenna to give them instructions for the day. As they headed for Jenna’s office, his phone buzzed. It was Kalo. “Hi, Bobby, what have you got for me?”

“I found the location of Ben Holloway. He’s living out at Blackwater but is working at the meat processing plant in Black Rock Falls. I’ve uploaded the details to the server. I’ve also searched through prison records going back five years and found no connection whatsoever between any of the suspects and the original murderers.”

Kane nodded and followed Jenna into her office. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” He disconnected.

“So I’m being kept out of the loop again, am I?” Jenna gave him an eye roll as she sat down at her desk. “Can you bring me up to speed, please?”

Kane smiled at her. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. I was just taking some of the weight, is all.”

After giving her the details of Kalo’s call, he placed his tablet on her desk and sat down. Carter sat beside him, and Raven and Rio stood with their backs against the wall waiting for instructions.

“I called Rowley before and he’s doing fine.” Jenna looked at Rio. “I’m guessing his head hurts more than he’s saying, so I’ve told him to come back after he’s had the stitches removed.”

Kane smiled. “Did he argue?”

“Nope.” Jenna frowned. “Why?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kane looked at her. “He won’t admit he’s hurting but he must be if he didn’t insist on returning to work. I’m glad you made him stay home. Head injuries have a habit of sneaking up on you.”

“I’m aware. Okay.” Jenna made a few notes on a piece of paper and then handed it to Rio. “This is where you’ll find Ben Holloway. Head out and interview him about his whereabouts over the last few days and ask him why he hasn’t reported to the office as he is a sex offender. That’s your reason for speaking to him today. Use it as an excuse to find out what he’s been doing since at least Friday. Ask his employer if he arrives on time and if he’s had any days off work.” She lifted her head and stared at him. “You know the cases. Ask the questions.”

“Got it.” Rio stared at the note.

“Another thing.” Jenna turned her attention to Raven. “Maggie received a call this morning to say that your vehicle is ready to be collected at the dealership. It’s unmarked at the moment but we are in the process of getting the decals printed. You can collect it on the way back from the interview. Everything is ready. You can just drive away. They’re expecting you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Raven pushed his hat on his head and grinned. “That was fast.”

“Just lucky, is all.” Jenna smiled. “They had one on the floor.” She waved them away. “Get at it. We need to find this killer.”

Kane waited for them to close the door. He stood to adjust the screen on Jenna’s computer. “Let’s see what Jo has to say about our killer.”

The screen opened and in moments Jo was smiling at them with Bobby Kalo sitting beside her. “Morning, Jo. Have you had time to look over the files on our killer?”

“Yeah.” Her forehead puckered into a frown. “Each action he takes gives me more of an insight into his disturbed mind. I figure we should take it one case at a time and see where it leads us.”

“That works for me.” Jenna leaned back in her chair. “I’d love to know how he managed to get into the limo in the first place. He must have hijacked the driver the moment he left home. Nobody saw him in the vehicle and the parents all agreed that everything went like clockwork.” She sighed. “I wonder why the driver didn’t alert the parents.”

“You know the killer was carrying a weapon.” Jo peered at them through the screen. “We don’t know what hold he had over the driver. Maybe he threatened to kill his wife and kids. More likely he held the gun on him or gave him some story about it being a prank on the kids in the limo. Whatever, we’ll likely never know the answer, but it shows just how cunning this killer is and how he can manipulate people.”

Wanting Jo to move to the profiling, Kane leaned forward, his forearms resting on the desk. “It was well planned and executed. I figure the killer knew about the kids’ plans to hire a limo. It was all over their social media and mentioned in the local newspaper.”

“Yes, so I see.” Jo cleared her throat. “We must consider the drownings. It was a very callous act and shows no empathy toward the victims whatsoever. To him, they were just disposable. He didn’t need them and the quickest way of handling two problems at the same time would be to drown them inside the vehicle.” She looked at her notes. “The young man he shot in the chest proves there was a certain amount of rebellion. All of the males were hogtied prior to drowning. The killer couldn’t possibly achieve this alone and hold a weapon on ten teenagers, so it’s obvious he ordered them to tie up each other. When one of them complained, he shot him to prove a point. The others would then have complied, not knowing what was in store for them.”

“Do you really believe that the girls just stood around and allowed him to drive that vehicle into the river?” Jenna shook her head. “I really can’t see that happening.”

“From Wolfe’s notes, all the victims have ligature marks on their wrists.” Jo glanced at the screen. “I would imagine he tied the girl’s hands behind their backs and moved them to a secure place, perhaps a vehicle of some type, before going back and disposing of the males. He could easily have locked the girls inside a vehicle, a bus or maybe a van. I would imagine he went back to the limo, started the engine, and just let it roll into the lake.”

Having come to the same conclusion, Kane nodded. “Yeah, I agree, and the girls would have been terrified by this stage. They would be expecting him to kill them. If he was holding a gun on them, they would more than likely comply believing that they may be able to escape later.”

“Okay, moving on to the first victim.” Jo added the images that Emily had taken to the screen. “The actual method of murder is irrelevant across all the victims because we know he is copying past murders. The message on the bodies is relevant because it tells us he is angry that someone else has taken the kudos for killing these women. Like I told Wolfe, serial killers believe their kills are like possessions. They take pride in each one. They don’t care about the victims, but the fact they’ve murdered them is important to them, even though they might not remember their names.”

“Do you believe he is saying he’s better than the other killers, or what?” Jenna raised both eyebrows.

“No, I don’t believe so.” Jo pushed a lock of hair behind one ear and leaned back in the chair. “I figure he could have murdered a girl and left a note saying the others with the same MO were his from the get-go, but that wouldn’t be any fun for him, would it? The thrill of the kill, and avoiding being caught, is something that feeds their ego. You—and I’m including everyone on the team—are included in the game he’s playing. He’s leaving you clues and at the moment, because he believes he’s outsmarting you, he would be enjoying it immensely.” She stared into the camera. “Think on his level for a minute. He has planned this out to the last second and didn’t want to risk being seen pulling victims off the street. Instead, he kidnapped a whole bunch of them to use to prove his point.”

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