Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
As Carter negotiated the deep puddles on the road from Jenna’s ranch, his mind centered not on the Larkins but on the case Jenna still needed to solve before someone else was murdered.
He glanced at Jo. “I figure it’s gonna be a long time before we get to the bottom of what the Larkins have been doing.
Once he can get a search warrant, Wolfe is going to call in a forensics team to dig out the pigpen.
It will be some job getting all the mud cleaned.
I’d say they’d use some type of washing system to get the dirt from the undigested bones or teeth. ”
“I don’t believe you’ll have to worry too much about them.
” Jo wrinkled her nose. “They’ll be in prison for a long time for what they did to Raven.
Discovering what makes them tick will be interesting.
I’d say as Wolfe is married to a forensic anthropologist, he’ll be using Norrell’s team to do the dig.
His other option is to call in a team from Helena and that’s counterproductive when Norrell is on site. ”
Carter nodded. “My feelings exactly.” He cleared his throat.
“I hope Jenna will be back on deck soon. Having both of them missing is slowing down the investigation into the three murders we’ve had this week.
I’m saying three murders because we know the vehicle Roxanne Dunn drove was tampered with.
I took a good look at the road leading to the bridge where she allegedly drove off the road.
None of the fence leading up to the bridge has been broken, which means that her vehicle left the road earlier.
When we arrived, the water in that area wasn’t deep enough to cause her to aquaplane.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to see any tire tracks or anything as movement of the water had churned up the dirt all along that side of the road. ”
“What about the person who called in the accident?” Jo turned in her seat to look at him. “What did they say?”
Carter shrugged. “I gather they came along after the event and just saw the car floating along in the river.”
“We should talk to Rio.” Jo turned back in her seat. “I figure his time will be taken up with the Larkins this afternoon. The interview shouldn’t last more than an hour. Maybe we can take up the slack and go and interview a couple of the suspects?”
Carter smiled at her. “That sounds like a plan.” He sighed. “Once we’re done, we’ll drop by the hospital to see Raven. He’s a smart guy. How the heck did he fall into a trap?”
“Smart, yes, but he doesn’t have your experience.” Jo smiled. “He’s really just a rookie. All this police work is new to him. He can read procedure in books, but it takes on-the-job instincts to survive out here alone.”
Carter pulled up outside the sheriff’s office. “You can say that again.” He opened the back door for Zorro to jump out and then followed Jo inside.
To say that Rio looked a little frazzled was an understatement.
As chief deputy it was his job to stand in whenever Jenna was absent, but at the moment it seemed that too many things were vying for his attention.
Carter walked up to his desk. “Jenna thought you might be snowed under and suggested that we interview the Larkins. Or we can split them. It’s your call. I’m just a visitor here.”
“Go right ahead.” Rio heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair, making it creak.
“I’ve been trying to find a place to send the Larkins.
The local flooding is causing problems with roads and I’ve been waiting for a weather report before I contact County and get someone to come out and collect them.
I’ve already spoken to the DA, and once he has the statements from everyone who was on scene when we discovered Raven, they’ll be charged.
I figure they’ll be held in custody until their hearings.
” He looked at them bleary-eyed. “Then I need to write up a request for a warrant to search the pigpen, seize the animals, and have them destroyed.”
“It sounds to me like the work is just mounting up.” Jo gave him a compassionate stare. “Once we are done here, we can go and speak to the other suspects in the current homicide cases. We figured we would have time this afternoon and it might ease some of the burden from your shoulders.”
“I’d appreciate it.” Rio looked at them.
“Sam Cross is in the break room grabbing a cup of coffee. He said he is ready to go with the interview. I was just letting them stew for a while, but now you’re here you might as well get it over and done with.
” He rubbed under his nose. “They stink of pigs, so I’ve plugged in air fresheners.
It might help. Here.” He pulled face masks from a box on his desk and handed them to Carter. “You might need these.”
Carter nodded. “Thanks. Jenna will be watching via Jo’s laptop. I’m interested to hear what they say about themselves.” He removed a toothpick from the corner of his mouth and dropped it into the garbage bin under Rio’s desk. He looked at Jo and smiled. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Deciding to speak to Mrs. Larkin first, Carter made his way to interview room two.
Once everyone was settled, Jo set up the video link with Jenna, and he started recording the interview.
The date and all names in the room were given and Carter turned to Mrs. Larkin.
“Can you tell me exactly what happened? I’d like to advise you at this point that it is an offense to lie to a federal officer. ”
“A man came to our door saying he’s come by from the sheriff’s department and wanted to speak to Bill.
” She glanced at Sam Cross, who gave her a nod to continue.
“We don’t like no law enforcement officers poking their nose into our business.
Lawmen are nothing but trouble. I didn’t want any trouble. ”
“So what did you do?” Jo leaned forward in her seat with an interested expression.
“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. ”