Chapter 43
Forty-Three
After placing Daphne into an interrogation room, Jenna turned on the video to record the arrest. “You’ve been read your rights. Do you understand them?”
“Yeah, I watch plenty of cop shows.” Daphne pulled at the cuffs attached to a ring in the table and eyed Jenna with contempt. “Get on with it.”
Jenna remained standing, with Kane on her left. “You’ve been charged with attempting to run down a federal officer and the attempted murder of Maya Trent. Do you wish me to call a lawyer to represent you? As we mentioned in the Miranda rights, if you can’t afford a lawyer, we will get one for you.”
“I don’t need a lawyer.” Daphne gave a nonchalant shrug. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re a mother, aren’t you? What would you do to protect your child?”
Refusing to answer the question, Jenna looked into the camera. “The interview is paused at ten after eight while we wait for Special Agent Jo Wells to arrive to assist.” She pressed the button on the recorder and headed for the door.
She wanted to tie up a few loose ends before she questioned the prisoner.
As she walked beside Kane to her office, she glanced at him.
“There is one piece of evidence that we need to proceed with this case. If it proves to be what I imagine, I figure it will tie up everything in a nice neat little bundle for the DA.” She smiled.
“I just need to call Kalo. He’ll get the job done real fast.”
Jenna walked into her office, smiled at Carter, who was staring at his tablet, and made the call.
“Hi, Bobby. Sorry to drag you into work on a Sunday evening, but this is urgent. I’m sending you photographs of two women involved in a case that we’re investigating at the moment.
I would like you to collect the CCTV footage from Aunt Betty’s Café on these dates.
” She read out the list. “I need to know if these women were in a group of other women at those times and dates.”
“Not a problem.” Kalo’s chair squeaked as he moved it up and down in front of his desk.
“I’ll run a facial recognition program through the CCTV footage in town over those dates as well, just in case I can pick them up in other areas.
I’ll give you a call as soon as I get something.
I should be able to have results from Aunt Betty’s Café within a few minutes as the parameters are very small. ”
Jenna smiled. “Thanks, Bobby.” She disconnected and looked at Kane. “Now we need to know why she murdered those poor young women. It makes no sense at all.”
“I figured we had a motive—jealousy—and Jo agreed, but that was when we were considering the women in the self-defense group were responsible for the murders. Daphne Hurst wasn’t one of the women in the group.
” Kane removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
“When she was there with her daughter, she sat in the corner watching and didn’t interact with any of the instructors at all.
So where does the jealousy motive come in? ”
Jenna dropped into her chair. “It would be a twisted kind of jealousy. You admitted to me that Jolene made it clear that she was interested in you, even though she knew you were married, right?”
“Yeah, but she was making a bigger play for Raven—but why would that make her mom jealous? It makes no sense to me.” Kane went to the counter and poured two cups of coffee.
He nodded to Carter, sitting in one of the chairs opposite Jenna’s desk.
“Thanks for making the coffee. I figure it’s gonna be a long night. ”
“Not if I can help it.” Jo walked in the door and indicated toward Kane. “Ah, coffee, can I have a cup?”
“Sure.” Kane pulled another cup down from the shelf. “We were just talking about motive. I can’t see that Daphne Hurst is jealous. She has nothing to be jealous about. She didn’t try and hit on any of the instructors.”
“This outcome has turned everything upside down.” Jo sat in a chair that Carter had taken from in front of Kane’s desk. “I’ll be interested in interviewing her. Taking in all the information we have, I believe we’re looking at a puppet master.”
“A what?” Carter stared at her in disbelief. “What type of deranged person does that title come under?”
“Narcissistic.” Jo sipped her coffee and sighed.
“It refers to a person who wants to control others for their own benefit. It usually stems from something lacking in the puppet master’s life.
In this case, from what we know about Jolene, she was raised by a single mother.
So it makes sense that her mother would be seeking a good match for her daughter.
That’s what most moms would want but not to the extent to kill for it.
” She flicked her gaze back to Jenna. “The problem is a narcissistic puppet master couldn’t just sit back and allow a relationship to grow.
She’d want to direct it—be in charge every step of the way. ”
Always confounded by the twisted mind of a psychopathic killer, Jenna frowned. “Do you believe that Jolene knew her mother was killing her friends?”
“No, I don’t.” Jo tapped her bottom lip with her finger as if thinking through what she was going to say next.
“I’m trying to think of a way to explain what I mean.
Let me see. Daphne doesn’t see her daughter as a person with her own wants and desires; she believes that her daughter is totally dependent on her—in other words, Jolene needed her mom to make sure that she got herself a decent husband.
Jolene’s feelings mean nothing to her mother.
She is just a piece on a chessboard to be moved around until she gets the desired outcome.
To Daphne, winning is everything. When you look at Raven as the target in this case, you have a man with a successful business.
He is also in law enforcement, and the cream on top of the cake is that he is a medical doctor.
So, for Daphne, having her daughter married to Raven would improve her social standing. ”
“So why kill the women?” Carter looked bemused. “What was her angle?”
Jenna nodded, understanding completely. “Daphne considered the other women in the group as rivals for Raven’s attention. For her daughter to win, they must be taken out of the game.”
“It goes a little deeper than that.” Jo picked up her cup again and sipped.
“The main problem, which probably triggered her, was that Raven initially rejected Jolene, by suggesting that he would offer the other women his dogs first. That would have upset Daphne because the other women would gain his attention while he was training with them and thereby giving them more of a chance to win his heart. So she’s not exactly jealous of the other women; she would more likely see them as a threat.
Once she removed the threat, it would leave her daughter in line for Raven’s attention.
” She looked at Jenna. “Could we call Raven? I would like to ask him a few questions.”
Jenna made the call and explained the situation. “You’re on speaker.”
“Hi, Raven. This is Jo.” Jo paused for a beat. “Do you recall Jolene’s mom, Daphne, having any conversations with you?”
“Yeah, I figured she must read Jolene’s texts, mainly because she mentioned one I’d sent her regarding a dog.
When I mentioned it was on a most needed basis and nothing personal, she spent the next few times at the classes watching Jolene like a hawk.
I got cornered by her and she said stuff about the other women in the group.
She was very nice about it, as in, ‘I think you should be aware of so and so.’ One other time, she mentioned Maya was a poor soul who took her grandpa’s pain meds.
” Raven snorted. “It was all lies. I just shrugged it off. She is a very weird woman.”
“That’s confirmed my suspicions.” Jo nodded to Jenna.
“She’s a combination of psychopath and narcissist. It’s a common mixture of psychosis.
As you are aware, the trigger to kill can lie dormant many years or forever.
In her mind, her daughter was losing the battle to get herself an eligible husband, one that would elevate Jolene’s position in life.
It would have been caused by something happening to prevent her from finding a husband.
It might have been a tragic episode that left her damaged.
It’s something we might never know. Often when psychopaths are created the reason is hidden. ”
“I guess Jolene will be lost without her mom.” Raven sounded concerned. “She seemed to do everything for her.”
“There lies the problem.” Jo placed her cup on the desk. “The controlling puppet master at work.”
When Kane’s phone chimed, Jenna thanked Raven and disconnected. “Who is it?”
“Kalo.” Kane held up one finger. “Okay, that’s great. I’ll let her know.” He looked at Jenna. “Jolene and Daphne were at Aunt Betty’s Café with all the victims before they died. That’s how Daphne discovered their movements.”
Jenna stood and looked at Jo. “That’s the frosting on the cake. Ready to interview Daphne Hurst?”
“I sure am.” Jo smiled at her. “This is going to be interesting.”