The Crucifix Killer - Chris Carter [108]
‘Correct. The killer is smart but he also knows we’re not stupid. We wouldn’t just fall for the first person he decided to frame. It had to be the right person. Someone believable. Someone that we’d buy. Mike Farloe was the perfect choice.’
Garcia ran both of his hands through his hair pulling it back and making a small ponytail. ‘Did Mike have a criminal record?’
‘Fuck yeah. In and out of Juvi halls . . . Three county convictions for public nudity. He loved exposing himself to schoolkids.’
‘Pedophile?’ Garcia asked with a twist of his mouth.
‘With a capital P. He did twenty-eight months for fondling a twelve-year-old boy in a lavatory downtown.’
Garcia shook his head.
‘And where do you find a person like Mike Farloe?’ Hunter proceeded.
‘Maybe the killer knew him from before,’ Garcia offered.
‘Possible, but I doubt it. Mike was a loner, lived alone, no wife, no girlfriend, no kids. He worked as a garbage collector and spent most of his free time locked inside his little dirty apartment reading the Bible. The guy didn’t have much of a life.’
‘How about a medical record? Our killer could have access to medical records. One thing we do know is that he has medical knowledge, even Doctor Winston said he wouldn’t be surprised if the killer turned out to be a surgeon.’
Hunter nodded. ‘I was thinking exactly that.’
‘Religious cults, churches? If Mike attended any, the killer could’ve singled him out there.’
‘We’ll check that out too.’
‘What else do we know about Mike Farloe?’ Garcia asked.
‘Not much. There was no reason to investigate him any further, he confessed remember.’
‘Yes I do, and that brings me to my first why. Why the hell did he confess? Why would he confess to such heinous crimes if he didn’t commit them and he knew he’d get death?’
‘To end his life with something,’ Hunter said decisively.
‘Excuse me?’
‘You’ve heard about people that don’t have the guts to commit suicide, so instead they buy a gun and walk down the street waving it about. The police arrive, tell the person to put the gun down, the person waves it about a little more and the police shoot him dead.’
‘Yes, I’ve heard of suicide by cop.’
‘Correct. This follows the same theory. As I’ve said Mike was a loner, no friends, not much of a life and no prospect of getting a better one either. He obviously knew about the Crucifix Killer.’
‘Everyone knew about the Crucifix Killer, the press made sure of it.’
‘Right, so you won’t be surprised to know that there were some religiously fanatical people out there that actually thought the Crucifix Killer was doing the right thing. Killing sinners.’
‘And Mike was one of them,’ Garcia completed Hunter’s sentence.
‘He probably ran the fan club.’
Garcia laughed.
‘Anyway, to these people the Crucifix Killer was a hero, someone doing God’s work, and suddenly Mike was handed the opportunity to become his hero.’
‘You mean take the rap for his hero?’
‘It makes no difference. To the rest of the world Mike Farloe’s name would become synonymous with the Crucifix Killer. He’d leave his life of obscurity behind. His name would be mentioned in books and studied in criminology classes. He would in death have the fame he never had when living.’
‘But you said Mike knew certain things about the victims that probably only the killer would know . . . like the reasons for killing them. He’d mentioned things like one of the victims fucking her way to the top of her company. How would he know that?’
‘Because the killer told him,’ Hunter concluded.
‘What?’
‘Just think about it. You’re the killer right, and you want to frame someone for what you’ve done. You finally find the right person. You befriend him.’
‘Something that wouldn’t be very hard to do since Mike had no friends.’
‘That’s right. Most of your conversations would revolve around the Crucifix Killings. How great a job the killer is doing in ridding the world of sinners or what have you. Now you start filling Mike’s head