The Crucifix Killer - Chris Carter [109]
‘Preparing him for when he got caught,’ Garcia cut in.
Hunter bit his bottom lip and nodded.
‘But why not tell him about the real Crucifix Killer’s carvings to the back of the neck.’
‘Because no one knew about it except the real killer and a handful of people that were working the case. Telling Mike Farloe about the real symbol would’ve made him instantly suspicious. Mike was fucked up, not stupid.’
‘Meaning he would’ve thought the person telling him about it was the real killer?’
‘Possible but not probable. Mike would’ve thought the guy was full of shit.’
‘Why?’
‘How do you think Mike got to know about the Crucifix Killer in the first place?’
‘Through the papers and the press.’
‘Exactly. Mike probably read and watched everything about the Crucifix Killer the media threw at him. And he believed every word of it. People are very impressionable. Telling Mike that what he read and believed was a load of crap would’ve pushed him away, not gain his confidence. Who do you think your normal street man would believe, the papers and TV or a complete stranger?’
Garcia thought about it for a moment. ‘You’ve got a point.’
Hunter nodded. ‘The killer knew what he needed to do to gain Mike’s confidence.’
‘Do you think the killer was counting on Mike confessing?’
‘Maybe, I’m not sure.’
‘He had nothing to lose,’ Garcia concluded, but still looked bothered by something. ‘But why?’
Hunter threw him an alarmed look. ‘Have you been listening to what I’ve said? I’ve just explained to you why.’
‘No, why frame Mike?’
Hunter paused and stared at his cup of coffee. ‘That was about to be my next question. What are the reasons for framing somebody?’
‘Revenge?’
‘Not in real life.’
‘Huh?’
‘Framing someone for revenge only happens in Hollywood movies. In real life people skip through all the bullshit, go directly to the source and pop them a head hole. Why go through all the trouble of planning a frame? Plus Mike died by lethal injection, not a lot of suffering. If our killer wanted him to suffer, he would’ve taken care of Mike himself.’
Garcia nodded in agreement. ‘That’s true.’
‘So why else would you frame someone?’
‘Maybe he wanted the police investigation to end.’
‘Possible.’
‘Perhaps his initial intention was to commit only seven murders.’ Garcia turned to pour himself a glass of water. ‘After the killer achieved what he set out to achieve, why keep the investigation open and risk some cop bumping into some evidence that could lead to him a few years down the line? Frame somebody, the case gets closed and he’s scot-free.’
‘So now the killer changed his mind and is back to commit another seven?’
Garcia cocked an eyebrow. ‘He could be.’
‘I don’t buy that. This killer had an agenda set from the word go and I’m sure he’s sticking to it. Whenever he’s finished doing what he’s set out to do, if we haven’t caught up with him by then, he’ll disappear and we’ll never hear from him again.’ Hunter’s voice sounded somber.
‘When Mike was arrested, did you have another suspect, someone you were investigating?’ Garcia said, breaking the silence.
Hunter shook his head.
‘You weren’t getting closer to anyone or anything?’
‘I’ve told you this before, we had nothing, no suspects, no leads – but I know what you’re getting at. If we were getting closer to someone, especially if we were getting closer to the right someone, framing Mike would’ve thrown us off course.’
‘Uh-huh! It would’ve put a stop to the investigation. Why carry on investigating when you have a suspect with such overwhelming incriminating evidence?’
‘Well, we didn’t have any suspects.’
‘But the killer didn’t know that. Unless he had some inside information from the police.’
‘Very few people had that information and they’re all trustworthy.’
‘OK, so maybe you did dig into something that hit pretty close to home with the killer.’
A muscle flexed on Hunter