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FORTY-SIX
FRIDAY, WEEK TWO
The next few days had revealed the extent of Tom Parsons’ evil mission. Spread across two states and involving over forty women, Jenna found it difficult to comprehend how he murdered so many women and yet his wife had never suspected a thing. She’d spoken to her at length and received a blank, shocked expression. In fact, Mrs. Parsons had been so traumatized by the revelations, she’d been hospitalized.
They’d discovered four other women in the cells and all of them wanted to tell their stories. The women had been held for as long as three years and all of them would require extensive psychiatric treatment. Their stories had been the same. They’d met Parsons at a truck stop or a bar and started talking to him with the intention of getting a ride to the next town. He told them about his wife and kids and how he enjoyed getting on the road to get a break from them. During the truck ride, he told them he enjoyed their company and offered them a place to stay if he could visit them from time to time. The women were all drifters. They moved from town to town looking for work just to survive. His offer sounded too good to be true, but they’d been desperate enough to accept.
They’d taken Poppy and Susie straight to the ER along with the other women, and although Susie was shaken, she’d given a concise statement detailing her kidnapping. After Jenna had peeled Poppy from Kane, she’d found her to be clearheaded and able to relay precise information. The revelation that Parsons had changed his MO with Susie and Poppy offered the team a new insight into the devious ways a psychopath would use to lure a woman into his trap.
The evidence they discovered in the caves sealed Parsons’ fate. He’d documented every murder and saved them on numerous drives. The team had taken turns viewing the footage because of the graphic nature of the content, and even Wolfe had walked out of the communications room ashen and speechless for a time. They’d handed all the evidence over to the DA and everyone was anxious to interview the killer, but Parsons had remained silent, speaking only to his lawyer, Samuel J. Cross. The team had used the time to hunt down the missing Bright cousins. The assumption that they’d vanished because of their involvement had bothered Jenna, but to her surprise, the men had arrived home with a mess of fish after camping at one of the lakes.
She’d been sitting in her office bringing her files up to date when Sam Cross knocked on her office door. Not a slick dresser, Cross was the epitome of a cowboy, with his faded blue jeans, battered Stetson, and snakeskin boots—but he just happened to be the best defense lawyer she’d ever met. “What can I do for you, Sam?”
“My client is willing to be interviewed but he’ll only speak to agent Jo Wells and you.” Cross rolled his eyes. “I informed him he’d need to speak with the DA if he wanted a deal, but he’s hedging his bets. I figure he wants to wring the last bit of horror from his story by telling you and watching your reaction.”
Grimacing, Jenna dropped a pen into her chipped mug. “After watching those tapes, nothing will ever shock me again.”
“We’re coming to the end of the time you can legally hold him without charges. When will you be formally charging him?” Cross tipped back his Stetson and sighed. “I should inform you that due to the mounting evidence against my client, my advice to him to avoid the death penalty will be to plead guilty of all charges. I’ll advise him to give you and the Colorado law enforcement as much detail as possible so they can pursue the identities of the women on the video files.”
Jenna leaned back in her chair. “That would be good. We’d like to hear his side of the story. Once the interview is over, we’ll be arresting him. I’ll supply you with a copy of the warrant. Not knowing the identity of the victims made it difficult, but Wolfe has now identified the three victims by their dental records. As their murders occurred in Black Rock Falls, and we have proof Parsons killed them, the DA will be bringing three counts of murder against him. He’ll also be charged with kidnapping, deprivation of liberty, rape, and assault of the women we discovered inside the caves. By the end of the day, we’ll be shipping him off to County.”
“That’s what I expected. I assumed the paperwork would be finalized today.” Cross sucked in a deep breath and glanced behind him as Jo walked past the door. “I see Agent Wells is still in town.”
“Yes. When we discovered the murders covered at least two states and the number of women involved, we brought them in to assist.” Jenna cleared her throat. “Do you wish to speak with Agents Wells and Carter?”
“Not at this time.” Cross rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s been a long few days. Now Mr. Parsons is willing to talk, when can you arrange an interview with my client?”
Jenna smiled at him. “I’ll speak to Jo. She can’t wait to hear his story and has a remarkable way with dealing with psychopaths. For some reason they seem to feel safe with her and give her information. It’s as if they feel proud telling her what they’ve done.” She noticed the usually calm and connected Sam Cross was a little jittery. She wasn’t surprised if he’d been subjected to Parsons’ harrowing story for the last two days. “Why don’t you go into the office downstairs and grab a cup of coffee and something to eat? I’ll set up the interview so that you can get back to your office. It will be when the DA can make it. He wants to be involved.”
“Thanks. After this case, I’m going fishing… for a week.” Cross pushed his hat back on his head and headed out the door.
* * *
“Absolutely not.” Kane shook his head. “You can’t possibly allow a prisoner to dictate terms.”
“Kane’s correct.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips. “We should be in the interview with you. I can’t imagine why you’d even consider that SOB’s demands.” He moved his attention away from Jenna and stared at Jo. “I know you want to gather information for your book but in my opinion—if it’s of any value to you—is that allowing him to take the upper hand is a big mistake.”
Annoyed, Jenna moved her attention from one to the other. “It was part of the deal I made with Sam Cross. It wasn’t my idea or Jo’s.” She looked at Kane’s unyielding expression and shrugged. “Fine. We’ll all go in together, but if he clams up, I’ll be ordering both of you to wait outside—is that perfectly clear?”
“That works for me.” Kane smiled at her. “For a time there, I figured we were having our first fight as a married couple.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, Jenna looked at him and burst out laughing. “Trust me, if we were having a fight, you’d know about it, but this isn’t about us, Dave, is it? It’s not personal. This is about work. I welcome a lively discussion about a case, but I don’t appreciate anyone questioning my orders.” She turned her gaze to Carter. “Even though the two of you tried to pressure me, this time I see your point. You should know, Carter, once I’ve made up my mind it’s pretty hard to change it.”
“Oh, I know, but it won’t stop me trying.” Carter’s mouth curled up at the corners. “Ma’am.”
Jenna headed for the interview room. “Okay, the DA and Wolfe have requested to watch the interview, plus a few of the DA’s staff. They’re all waiting for us, so let’s get this show on the road.”
She led the way through the office and stopped when she arrived at Kane’s desk to find Poppy perched on top, peering into a compact mirror. After caving in and giving Poppy back her job, the realization that she’d have to endure the woman’s constant attention to Kane annoyed her. She’d figured after Poppy had proved she could cope in a crisis she owed her a chance on the team. Jenna shot a glance at Kane and caught his eyeroll and smiled. “You know, Dave. As deputy sheriff, I figure you deserve a desk in my office. As Poppy has an obvious attraction to your desk, she can have it. You can share mine for now and I’ll have a new one delivered by Monday.”
“I’d like that.” Kane chuckled. “Thanks. Do I get a pay raise as well?”
Jenna laughed. “Don’t push your luck.”
Sobering as they entered the hallway outside the interview room, Jenna nodded to Wolfe and the DA and his associates. They would be able to hear and see everything once she set up the recording device. The video feed was also available to Rowley and Rio in the communications room. She stepped inside, Jo followed close behind, and they sat down. Kane and Carter came in behind them and stood each side of the door, like sentries. Parsons, chained securely by feet and hands, sat relaxed beside Sam Cross, as if waiting to be served coffee in Aunt Betty’s Café. With the video set up, the time, date, and who was present added, Jenna rested her hands on the desk each side of her iPad. She had notes but had questions set in her mind to ask Parsons. She wanted Jo to ease into the questioning in an effort to collect as much information as possible. Before she could open her mouth Parsons leaned forward, clanking his chains.
“My wife and kids.” Parsons’ expression changed and his eyes flashed with concern. “Are they okay? Did you tell her?”
Empathy wasn’t what Jenna expected and met his gaze. This vicious murderer didn’t deserve her compassion, but right now she’d do just about anything to make him talk. “Yes, your wife knows. Your wife is under care at the hospital and the children are staying with her relatives. I’m sure you’d imagine this has been quite a shock to her.”
“Everything I did was to protect her and the children.” Parsons dropped his head into his hands. “Everything I do is for them.”
Astounded to see him showing any emotion, Jenna turned to look at Jo. This reaction was so out of character for a person with his lust for murder, she needed an expert to handle him. She gave her a slight wave of her hand to indicate she should take over from the get-go.
“Mr. Parsons my name is Agent Jo Wells. I’m a behavioral analyst with the FBI and currently writing a book to enable law enforcement to better understand why people murder. I’m here to listen to you and not condemn you for what you’ve done. Can you tell me in your own words what provoked you to murder the first victim?” She leaned back in the chair and the room fell silent for some moments. “Did something happen to your mom to make you want to prevent it happening to your wife?”
When Parsons just stared at his hands, Jenna exchanged a meaningful look with Sam Cross in the hope he’d be able to make his client talk, but he just shrugged. Beside her, Jo nudged her elbow and indicated for her to wait. Jenna nodded and leaned back in her chair. It was so quite in the room that she could have heard a pin drop.
“Okay, so how about we start with the skewers. They must be an easy part of the explanation.” Jo leaned forward slightly. “What exactly do they mean to you?”
“Yeah, everything I do means something to me.” Parsons lifted his head slowly and stared at Jo. “Why?”
