Page 85 of The Girl from Devil's Lake
“We have a suspected serial killer in custody in our jail.”
“The guy from the BOLO?”
“Yes,” Joanna said. “So do you have a case that might match up?”
“We do,” Nesbitt said, “but it’s from so long ago that I doubt there’s a connection.”
“Humor me,” Joanna said. “Tell me about it.”
“Happened right here in Ripley back in 1986. A seven-year-old Black kid named Jimmy Gibson disappeared from the Tomato Festival.”
“What time of year?” Joanna asked.
“Summer—July 13, 1986,” he answered. “I don’t know that off the top of my head. I pulled the file and went through it.”
Crimes committed in the summer, Joanna thought.That’s another commonality.
“What happened?” she asked aloud.
“Jimmy’s mother, Gail, was a recently divorced single mom. She came to the festival to perform with a gospel choir. She left Jimmy sitting alone in the audience and told him to stay there, but when the performance was over, he was gone. Days later his body washed up on the banks of Forked Deer Island in the Mississippi. The body was so decomposed it had to be identified by dental records. He’d had his first-ever cavity filled only the week before.
“Gail immediately pointed the finger at her ex-husband, John. The two of them were involved in a fierce custody battle. He was really the only suspect, and he didn’t have an alibi. According to him, he was home alone, watching TV. But there was no physical evidence to tie him to the scene. He was never arrested or charged, but as far as the town was concerned, he did it. When he committed suicide five years ago, that pretty much clinched his guilt as far as public opinion was concerned.”
“What was missing?” Joanna asked.
“Gail was First Baptist all the way, and Jimmy had just attended Daily Vacation Bible School. All the kids who had perfect attendance at that got a cross.”
Joanna’s heart skipped a beat. “A glow-in-the-dark cross by any chance?”
“How the hell did you know that?” Nesbitt demanded.
“Because I’ve got one of those in an evidence bag here at my office right this minute,” Joanna answered. “Jimmy Gibson’s father didn’t kill him.”
“Who did?”
“The guy in my jail,” Joanna told him. “His name is Stephen Roper. Last night he confessed to six murders. This morning I confirmed one more. Jimmy Gibson makes eight.”
“Poor Gail,” Nesbitt said. “She’s remarried, but she still lives here in town. As soon as we get off the phone, I’ll go tell her. She’ll be relieved to finally have some answers, but it’ll be hard on her to have to reopen this can of worms. Can’t help but feel sorry for the poor woman.”
The call ended. Sitting there alone in her office, Joanna felt sorry for Gail Gibson, too, but she felt even sorrier for Jimmy’s dad. After years of being hounded and blamed for something he hadn’t done, the man had eventually committed suicide. But in Joanna’s heart, although Stephen Roper would never be charged in John Gibson’s death, she knew without a doubt that he was responsible.
Chapter 48
Bisbee, Arizona
Saturday, December 9, 2023
When Joanna walked into the conference room atten a.m. sharp, she found a full house. Everyone was already assembled, including Craig Witherspoon. Joanna caught Deb’s eye. “Autopsy done?” she asked.
Deb nodded.
“Okay,” Joanna said. “Good to know.” Then she turned to the group. “Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being here. I have a feeling this is going to be another long day. The county attorney is here today to be updated on the progress of our investigation in preparation for Stephen Roper’s charging hearing on Monday morning.
“First and foremost, I want to thank you all for the hard work you’ve done so far, and it’s paying off. Last night, Mr. Roper changed his mind about lawyering up and summoned me to the jail where he gave me a full confession to six separate homicides. Due to Casey’s hard work on examining items in what we consider to be the killer’s trophy case—we have physical evidence to back up every one of those. As of this morning, I’ve been able to connect two more unsolved homicides to Mr. Roper, again due to contents of his trophy collection combined with the BOLO we sent out two days ago. But based on the number of items in our evidence room, thereare a lot more unidentified victims out there, and it’s our job to find them.
“But first things first,” she added. “Detective Howell, what can you tell us about Marliss Shackleford’s autopsy?”
It turns out that Kendra Baldwin had confirmed Dr. Ybarra’s initial assessment of the situation. When the EMTs had attempted to move Marliss away from the foot of the ladder, pieces of shattered vertebrae had shifted in her upper neck and pierced her medulla oblongata, resulting in an inability to breathe. In addition, Deb reported that she and Garth were in the process of creating search warrant requests to examine Roper’s electronic devices along with his banking records. They were also requesting warrants to examine Marliss Shackleford’s electronic devices.
