“Okay, what do you want me to say?” Williams lifted his chin to stare at Jenna.
Jenna glanced at Kane. His combat face was set in place. “All we want is the truth, nothing else. Deputy Kane will read you your rights and then I suggest you start with what you told us about Wade Cutter taking you under his wing when you were a kid and telling you about the sins of women and how you need to deal with them. Then I want you to explain in detail exactly your involvement. If it matches what he told us, we will take the recording to the district attorney. You will need to plead guilty and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. The fact that you were groomed since being a child might go in your favor. It all depends how much of the evidence you give can be proven. So if you need some time to think about it before we start recording, don’t take too long. We will not be able to take a confession from you while you are under the influence of drugs and I’m sure the doctor, when he arrives, will give you something for the pain.” Jenna looked at her watch. “I figure you’ve got five minutes.”
“I know what I’m gonna say.” Williams looked at Kane. “Start the recording. I’m ready.”
Jenna started the recording on her phone, and they all moved closer to Williams as Kane read him his rights. Once he was done, Jenna nodded. “State your name and then in your own words your involvement with Wade Cutter, the murders, and disposal of bodies, including the Larkins’ involvement, which you recounted to us previously.”
Williams told the story of how he’d arrived at Lawson’s Ridge when he was fifteen and participated in an internship. Wade Cutter took him under his wing and they became close, as they had so much in common. By the time he’d left high school and Lawson had employed him, he’d already beaten three women to death. He’d moved into Cutter’s house with his wife and, later, son.
“I was scared at first, but Wade kept telling me I was doing good and soon I enjoyed it.” Williams rocked back and forth staring into the distance as if recalling every moment. “I enjoyed hearing them scream and by the time the bruises on my knuckles had healed, I wanted to feel that pain again. It made me feel alive.”
Bile rushed up the back of Jenna’s throat as he recounted in enthusiastic detail many of the brutal murders they’d both been involved in. She cleared her throat to get his attention. “So how did the Larkins become involved. Did that happen from the get-go?”
“Nah, we buried some of them with the dead cattle, but then I caught Lawson snooping around. He’d seen Wade carrying a body and putting it in the back of his truck. He started asking awkward questions and talking to Wade’s missus. He kept asking her about the women who seemed to be going missing all the time. She’d cover them up by saying that they’d signed off and she’d paid them cash. Then he’d ask me about them and I’d say I’d driven them to the bus station. It was all planned well ahead of time but Lawson wouldn’t let it go. I was out in the north paddock when I saw them down by the river. They were discussing Wade, and Lawson was saying how he thought he was responsible for the women going missing. Then a storm blew over and they dashed to the fishing cabin to shelter. I locked the door, let the horses go, and then took a can of gas from the storage shed out back. I poured it all around the front of the cabin and set fire to it. There were bars on the window to stop the wildlife getting inside. Once that door was locked, there was no way out. We all knew where the key was kept. They’re always hanging outside on a hook. I was going to take the key out of the lock, but the cabin caught fire so fast it was an inferno in seconds. Even the stormwater wouldn’t put it out. By the time the gas stored in the lean-to exploded, I was almost back to the ranch.”
“So why did Wade leave?” Kane straightened, resting one hand on the grip of his M18 pistol.
“He found the bodies and figured the cops would be involved.” Williams grimaced. “He didn’t know if Lawson had already spoken to the sheriff and he didn’t know what evidence he had against him, but he knew he had something. So he took off into the forest acting like a madman—as if he’d lost his mind with grief at losing his best friend. The Larkins made up the story about the suicide, and they told Bowman they’d found him and buried him in the forest. His wife knew all about it and when everything quieted down would go and meet him. I figure she’s the only woman he tolerated, but he’d beaten her regular since the day they were married—and Branch too. So I supplied the women we needed and he went to his sister’s husband and asked him to dispose of the bodies. Larkin was cool with this as long as he could watch us. He’d sit there in the corner drooling, but most times Wade would capture everything on video for him. He has all the footage at his home. Sometimes I’d go and get Wade and we’d drop by his place to watch them and relive the best ones. The women never knew there were two of us. We wore coveralls and balaclavas and by the time we both showed they were too far gone to notice.”
“Tell us more about the body disposal.” Kane leaned closer.
“We’d drop the body in the back of Larkin’s truck and that would be the end of it—until Bill stupidly tried to take on one of your deputies.” Williams rolled his eyes. “Then I got the job of burying the bodies again, but the last girl got away. Wade must have been getting careless. I’m sure the one I buried was still breathing and the next one he dumped into the meat locker for me to collect took off like a zombie and I chased her down, but she ran into a cabin and then you guys arrived. I only just escaped. I ran back to the cabin to tell Wade. We needed to move fast and find ourselves another cabin.” He indicated behind him with his chin. “That one—and that’s all I can tell you.” He sighed and looked past Jenna. “I hope that’s the doctor.”
Jenna turned to see Raven, Rio, and Rowley running toward them. Raven went to check Beth but she waved him away, although she’d have two black eyes by morning. Jenna turned off the recorder and nodded to Williams. “Just one more thing. Was anyone else involved? Anyone from the ranch? I’d like to know if your story and what we know about Cutter is the same.”
“No, it was our secret.” Williams smiled. “No one else would understand. They’d laugh at us if they knew we were doing God’s work.”
“We found Wade Cutter dead earlier today.” Kane stood to one side as Raven examined Williams’ hand.
“Wade is dead? You lied to me?” Williams’ eyes widened. “How did he die?” He moaned as Raven dressed his wounds. “Who killed him?”
“A person who seeks revenge against serial killers took him out.” Beth pressed a hand to the bruised lump on her brow and swayed slightly. “You’ll need to watch your back—even in prison. We can’t protect you. This guy is a ghost and never leaves a trace. If they found Cutter, you’re next.”
Epilogue
Black Rock Falls
One week later
Jenna and Kane woke on the Fourth of July to blue skies, sunshine, and a little boy excited to be celebrating his birthday. How time had flown. They’d spent a precious hour with Jackson and Tauri opening gifts before they did their chores. The sight of the toy push-along motorcycle had split Jackson’s face into a grin and he’d run around whooping with excitement before going for a ride. Jenna watched her little boy and smiled. By looking at him, she’d never been involved in his gene pool; he was Kane’s clone, right down to his love of motorcycles. She slid an arm around Tauri and pulled him close. He was her gift, and she treasured him. Her three men filled her heart with joy.
She glanced up as Kane walked into the house wearing an apron. He’d spent days preparing food for today. Carter, Beth, and Styles were still staying with Rhett. After helping break the cases during their week vacation, their director had extended their leave. Beth had been banged up and needed to recover. Nothing broken, but she’d suffered bruised ribs and her faced looked a mess. Styles refused to leave her. Carter had gone back to Snakeskin Gully and collected Jo and Jaime. They had moved into Jenna’s cottage to relax after an exhausting week in Disneyland.
When Jo and Jaime followed Kane into the house, her boys scampered off with Jaime to play. Kane and Jo went to the kitchen to prepare the side dishes. Jenna would offer to help but she usually kept out of the way and concentrated on the cleanup afterward. She stood as the front gate alarm sounded and viewed the screen: Vehicles lined up with Wolfe in the lead. Above, a chopper hovered before dropping into the yard.
The house rang with the sounds of laughter as everyone crammed inside. Rowley’s kids hurried off to find the others and all the women, apart from Beth and Norrell, carried dishes of covered food to the kitchen. Finally, Jenna was alone with her team, plus Rhett. She smiled. “It’s good to see you. Happy Fourth of July.”
“We have a few developments.” Norrell sat on the arm of the sofa beside Wolfe. “It concerns Wade Cutter’s autopsy and Rhett—well, Lawson’s Ridge.”
This was the information Jenna had been waiting for. “Did you find anything to identify the Tarot Killer?”
“Wade Cutter died from sharp force trauma to his brain stem and brain through his ear.” Wolfe kept his voice low. “It’s typical Tarot Killer bloodless injuries, but this time bleach was poured over the victim. I’ve taken an entire week searching for trace evidence but the Tarot Killer knows how to destroy evidence. We are no closer now than we were two years ago.” He looked at Beth. “I’ve handed everything I have over to the FBI as requested. It’s an ongoing investigation. I spoke to the director yesterday, and as the last case was on your watch, it looks like you and Styles are going to be investigating the Tarot Killer.”
“He wants us to hunt down a ghost and it’s not even Halloween.” Styles chuckled. “It’s a waste of time.”
Frowning, Jenna moved her attention to Styles. “Well, do your best. The Tarot Killer must figure I’m incompetent and can’t solve a case. I like to keep the killers alive where possible. We need to learn more about their behavior. Jo has made more headway into understanding a psychopath than anyone I know. We can’t do that research if they’re dead.”
“I can’t understand your compassion toward a killer who tortured countless women to death, Jenna.” Styles shook his head. “You’re lucky Dave took the shot. With you and Beth in mortal danger, I would have aimed center mass.”
