“Bill told me to send him out back so they could talk.” Mrs. Larkin narrowed her gaze at Jo. “That man could hurt my Bill, so when he went down the steps I hit him with my skillet.”
“I informed you not to divulge that piece of information.” Cross glared at his client.
“He asked me what happened and told me I would be in trouble if I lied to a federal officer, so I told him the truth.” Mrs. Larkin appeared slightly bewildered. “Shouldn’t I mention about wanting to feed him to the pigs?”
Carter exchanged a meaningful look with Sam Cross and shook his head. “I figure that’s all we need to know for now.”
“Just one moment.” Jo cleared her throat. “Just how many people have you fed to the pigs?”
“My client is not obligated to answer that question.” Cross closed his notebook and stood. “This interview is at an end.”
Outside in the hallway, Carter turned to Sam Cross. “I figure that’s a slam dunk. We need to follow procedure and have a word with Mr. Larkin.”
They went inside interview room one and set up the equipment as before. Carter turned the laptop around to face him. He smiled at Jenna. “Is there anything you would like me to ask the prisoner?”
“I figure you’re doing just fine on your own.” Jenna returned his smile.
Carter ran his gaze over the man sitting before him. He sat leaning back in his chair relaxed. His dirty hands had soil beneath the fingernails. The smell of pigs was worse in this room. “Mr. Larkin, your wife has informed us that she struck Deputy Raven across the back of the head with a heavy skillet and then you planned to feed him to the pigs. Is there anything you would like to add to this statement?”
“I would have made it if I’d had a longer rope.” His dark eyes bore into Carter. “Then you’d never have known he’d even been there.”
“Whose idea was it to feed him to the pigs?” Jo crossed her legs and rested a legal pad on her knees. “Is it something you do regularly to visitors to your property?”
“You don’t have to answer that question.” Sam Cross narrowed his gaze at them and tapped his pen on the table.
“You’ll never know, will you?” Mr. Larkin chuckled softly.
Carter allowed a small smile to crease his lips. “How long have you had pigs for, Mr. Larkin?”
“Oh, ten years or so.” Larkin smirked at them. “That’s about when we found that place in the forest. Perfect for pigs. No neighbors to cause problems.”
Nodding, Carter met his unhinged gaze. “So, I guess you know about pigs. Did you know they can’t digest teeth? There are other things they can’t digest either. This includes watches, jewelry, and fillings. We are sending a forensics team out to your place. All your pigs will be slaughtered and their stomach contents checked and the dirt in your pigpen will be sifted and cleaned to discover what secrets lie below the dirt. If we discover anything of interest, especially teeth, we will have them DNA-tested against missing persons. If we get any positive results, you’ll see us again.” He turned to Sam Cross. “I have no more questions for Mr. Larkin.”
He stood. Jo collected her laptop from the desk and her notes and they left the room, leaving Cross to explain what would happen next to his client. Carter turned to Jo and smiled. “Did we just interview two serial killers who are working together? That must be a new type, isn’t it?”
“It’s unusual but usually there’s a leader and a follower.” Jo shrugged. “It will take a little more investigation to determine which one is the leader. You would naturally believe it’s Mr. Larkin but his wife is off the scale as well. Once we get more information on the contents of the pigpen, I’ll look into this further. I think our mission is to assist Jenna in any way we can to stop the next murder in Black Rock Falls.”
Thirty-Six
Carter gave the GPS the address for Rodney Wallace and turned to look at Jo, who was scrolling through files on her tablet. “What can you tell me about Wallace?”
“He was charged with assault on his now ex-wife, who has a permanent order of protection against him.” Jo frowned. “No jail time. He got a fine.”
Frowning, Carter followed the instructions of the GPS. “Is the wife still living in town?”
“I don’t have that information.” Jo glanced up at him. “I can search for her if you want.”
Carter shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Nothing I like better than interviewing men who beat on women.” He shot her a long look. “There’s always a chance they’ll run or, better still, draw down on me.”
“Unlikely—most of them are cowards.” Jo leaned back in her seat. “They tend to run in families much like psychopaths. It’s a monkey-see, monkey-do attitude. Dad beat on Mom, so he figures he can too. They have no respect for women. Most times the only reason they marry them is for sex. They are real nice until they get a wedding band on the poor woman’s finger and then everything changes. He sees her as a burden, and when the kids come along, a bigger burden. They’re never happy, most times unfaithful—as being a man they’re entitled—and they fast become a demanding dominant partner. It’s classic coercive behavior with violence. Women in these relationships are isolated from their families and have no means to escape. Most wouldn’t risk being beaten to death to call for help.”
Horrified, Carter shook his head. “Is this why Jenna fights for the rights of the abused? Did something happen to her at one time?”
“I expect so, but she never talks about it. Maybe that’s why it took so long for her to accept Dave into her life? My husband was an ass, but he never dared hit me. He preferred to parade his lovers in front of me—but that’s another story.” She sighed. “In my humble opinion, I believe the law is way too lenient on spousal abuse in this state. If the woman wasn’t their wife, they’d be facing up to twenty years behind bars.”
Carter pulled up outside a neat log cabin. A large white truck sat outside with the sign rodney wallace—locksmith in bold black letters painted on the side. “I agree, Jo. I can’t abide a man who hits or degrades women.” He indicated with his chin toward the van. “Looks like he’s home.”
Wallace lived in a log cabin, on an acre plot alongside many houses on Cottonwood. The road ran parallel to Main from one side of town to the other and wrapped around to alongside the river running behind Jenna’s ranch. Groundwater covered the back half of Wallace’s land along with many others in the area. Another day of rain and his property would have been underwater. The cabin was set well back from the road with only a gravel pathway leading to it. There was no front fence, just a mailbox hanging at a jaunty angle out front. The house itself looked neat and tidy. The front porch and gutters had been recently painted. On the roof, Carter made out a number of solar panels and a satellite dish. He climbed from the truck and waited for Jo. Behind him Zorro whined. He hadn’t planned on taking the dog with him but opened the back door and allowed him to jump down.
