Джон Коннолли - The Dirty South

‘Wait: you’re saying this man wants to be caught?’

‘Not to the extent of giving himself up, but he probably accepts that his time is finite, which means he’ll seek to do as much damage as he can before the net closes on him. So far, he’s killed at least two young women, with an increase in sadism between the first and second, but with little return from his perspective in terms of exposure. It means he has to up his game. By his logic, the deaths of young black women may not appear to be of sufficient interest to the police, or even the media. If that’s the case, he’ll have to find a victim that might be.’

‘Why is he doing this?’ said Pappy.

‘That’s a very good question. As I said before, compulsion or enjoyment – or a combination of both, because they’re not the same thing.’

‘What I mean is, why now?’

Once again, Parker thought that Pappy Cade was a very shrewd man.

‘You’re wondering if it might be connected to Kovas,’ said Parker.

‘Aren’t you? You’re the expert talking about finite periods.’

‘It had struck me as a possibility, although an extreme one.’

‘Like the chief here said, whoever did this has a lot of rage,’ said Pappy. ‘Well, there’s a lot of rage in this county, and no small amount of it is directed at our family.’

‘Why?’

‘Because we’re wealthier than most. We have a degree of power.’

‘That typically fuels resentment, not outright hatred.’

‘Which is a very fine distinction, and one on which I would be reluctant to bet a life.’

‘Kovas’s arrival will bring prosperity to this region,’ said Parker. ‘From what I’ve heard, even those with cause to dislike you and your family will start making money.’

‘I’ve met men who’d sacrifice the prospect of wealth if it meant their enemies suffered as a consequence.’

‘Are you that kind of man, Mr Cade?’

Beside him, he heard Griffin draw, and hold, a breath. Pappy nodded, as though Parker’s words had confirmed a suspicion, and this knowledge might have to be acted upon in the future.

‘No, I always valued money more,’ he said. ‘But I’ve done my share of harm to others in the course of my life – harm, and more than harm. That’s all in the past, though. I decided it wasn’t much of a legacy to bequeath.’

‘If you could compile a list of those who haven’t made similar moral and philosophical progress, I’d be interested to see it.’

‘I can give it to you now: Ferdy Bowers, Randall Butcher, and a handful of politicians up in Little Rock, but I don’t see any of them cutting up young girls.’

‘Not even Randall Butcher?’ said Parker.

‘His name isn’t his nature,’ said Pappy. ‘Randall Butcher is a man of low breeding, but he aspires to respectability.’

‘Will he achieve it?’

‘Not in this state. He’ll have to go where people don’t know him, to a place where his lineage is not a source of contempt, even among those born to the shoeless.’

‘He might be worth talking to anyway, regardless of his breeding,’ said Parker.

‘So does this mean we have accepted the necessity of a proper investigation,’ said Griffin, ‘one in which we can rely on the cooperation of the sheriff’s office?’

Jurel Cade had remained silent throughout this exchange. He saw that the dynamic had altered, and was waiting to learn how it might affect him. Now, with his father’s agreement to supply information, the contours of the new landscape had become more apparent.

‘Jurel?’ said his father.

‘We don’t involve the state police,’ Jurel replied. ‘We keep it between the Cargill PD and the sheriff’s office.’

‘The state police have expertise and resources that we don’t,’ said Griffin.

‘But they don’t understand the county like we do,’ said Pappy. ‘And you have your expertise sitting next to you. You told us so.’

Griffin looked at Parker, who shrugged. It wasn’t his call to make. He and Griffin were conducting a negotiation, and their priority was to emerge from it having gained more than they lost.

‘Agreed, reluctantly,’ said Griffin.

‘Anything else?’ said Pappy.

‘Nobody talks to the newspapers or TV,’ said Jurel, ‘beyond what’s required for the dissemination of vital information.’

‘Hard to keep a lid on something like this,’ said Parker.

‘We’ll manage,’ said Jurel. ‘We’ve done it before.’

‘Yes,’ said Parker, without admiration, ‘you have.’

‘Aided by the fact that we own the Burdon County Courant , and five other papers across the state,’ said Pappy. ‘We got a share in one of the TV channels too. As for the others, I can make calls if required. They all have eyes on the Kovas tit.’

‘I have some demands too,’ said Griffin.

‘Go on,’ said Pappy.

‘Complete access to all sheriff’s office records relating to Patricia Hartley and Estella Jackson.’

Parker knew there would be little or nothing relating to Hartley, but the Jackson material might prove important.

‘Agreed,’ said Pappy, before Jurel could answer. He waited. ‘What else?’

‘Cargill PD takes the lead on this, not the sheriff’s office. No decisions are taken, no moves made, without my approval.’

‘Not happening,’ said Jurel.

‘Agreed,’ said Pappy.

‘Wait a minute—’ said Jurel.

‘It’s done, son,’ said Pappy. ‘Learn to live with it. Is that all?’

‘That’s all,’ said Griffin.

‘It’s not much.’

‘It’s more than I had before.’

Pappy Cade stood and extended a hand to each of the visitors. He didn’t bother asking to be kept apprised of progress. His son would take care of that, but Pappy was shrewd enough to realize that if Griffin and Parker were intent upon keeping any details from him, then asking them not to do so at this juncture would be like pissing into the wind. Yet he was convinced that Evan Griffin was an honorable man. It was one of the chief’s weaknesses. As for Parker, Pappy was not yet in a position to speculate.

‘I’m sure you three have a lot to talk about,’ he said, ‘but I’d appreciate a moment alone with the chief investigator before you begin.’

Griffin and Parker moved toward the door, but it opened before they could reach it, and the housekeeper arrived to escort them to an anteroom. Either she’d been listening at the keyhole or Pappy Cade had a silent button on his desk.

Once they were gone, and the door had closed behind them, Pappy leaned back in his chair and let the trembling seize him in earnest. He could control it for a time, usually by pressing down on a hard surface, or holding one hand in the other, but when he finally gave up, the shakes returned in spades.

‘Your feelings wounded?’ he said to his son.

Jurel Cade stared at the floor. Were this any other man, Jurel would have had a grip on his throat by now.

‘Why allow me to be present at all,’ he said, ‘if your intention was to demean me?’

‘Is that what you think was done here?’

‘What else could it be?’

‘Think, Jurel. What have we given up?’

‘My authority in the county, or did I just mishear?’

‘Words. Lip service. You proceed as you always have, and let Griffin believe what he wants. He won’t solve these killings. He doesn’t have the manpower or the skill. If he finds out anything useful, we’ll know soon enough, but you decide what should be shared with him and what needs to be held back.’

‘And Parker?’

‘Find out everything you can about him,’ he said. ‘And hear me, Jurel: I want whoever is slaying these girls to be dead or behind bars within a week.’