“So you’d know your way around a variety of weapons. Do you hunt?” Jenna raised an eyebrow. “Or do you prefer the range?”
“Yeah, I hunt. Elk or deer and I own a number of weapons.” Packer gave her a stubborn stare. “Like most of the men who live here. I often go to the practice range. It’s the responsible thing to do.”
“Sure is.” Jenna slid the photographs of Christine Pullman and Joy Coran out of the folder. “Do you know these women?”
“Are they dead?” Packer lifted his expressionless gaze to her. “Nope, can’t say that I do.”
Jenna pushed a little harder. “Do you have any child pornography at home?”
“No!” Packer reeled back in his chair. “Why would you ask me that?”
“So you’d have no objection to handing over your computer or media devices for inspection and allowing a search of your home and vehicle?” Jenna kept her gaze fixed on his face. “Well, Mr. Packer? Or do we need a search warrant?”
“I guess not. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Packer glared at her with contempt. “I can’t believe you’d figure I was involved in hurting those girls.” He pointed at her. “You’re a sly one, make like we’re going to have a chat and you come on like a police prosecutor.”
“You’re within your rights to have an attorney present at any time.” Jenna waited a couple of beats. “No?” She took a statement book out of the file and gave it to Packer with a pen. “Please write a statement to say we have permission to search your premises and vehicle, and then sign it.” She shrugged. “It’s up to you, Mr. Packer. Think about it – if you come up clean, you’ll be able to leave with your head held high. Nobody is aware of why you’re here.”
“Just how long is this going to take?” Packer picked up the pen, wrote a statement and sighed.
“You’ll have to remain here until we search your premises.” Jenna collected her files. “If all is as you say, we’ll have no reason to detain you for more than twenty-four hours.”
“I’m allowed to make a phone call.” Packer glared at her. “I need to tell my wife.”
“You haven’t been charged, Mr. Packer.” Jenna got to her feet. “You’re being held for questioning. I’ll have Maggie contact Aileen and tell her you’re here.”
Outside in the hallway, Jenna leaned against the wall and looked up at Kane. “There’s something creepy about him. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“He ticks the boxes.” Kane stared at the door. “He’s been in the army, so is capable of breaking a person’s neck quietly in a few seconds, and has admitted to some expertise with a rifle. He’s made friends with the kids in the families where he worked, so the girls would trust him, and he knows how to use explosives. As a handyman, he’ll have skills we’re not aware of – but on the downside, he does have an alibi for both nights and no apparent motive.”
“Wives lie and he could easily have a motive.” Jenna glanced down at her notes. “What if he suffered abuse by a woman authority figure as a child in foster care? It’s something we’ll need to check. Maybe his wife would know?” She glanced at Packer through the one-way glass. “We’ll ask Wolfe to come with us when we search his home. Lock him up for tonight. We’ll deal with him in the morning.”
Forty-Six
“Sheriff Alton.”
Jenna pushed away from the wall as the lawyer Sam Cross brushed past Rowley on his way out of interview room three, with George Miller on his heels. “Are
you looking for me, Mr. Cross?”
“Yes, I am.” Cross glanced both ways, and then lowered his voice. “May we speak privately?”
“I’ve four interview rooms and currently they’re all occupied.” Jenna glanced at George Miller, who refused to meet her gaze. “Unless you want to come to my office?”
“We can speak in front of my client.” Cross and Miller stood to one side to allow Jenna to pass. She nodded at Rowley standing at the door. “I can take it from here, Rowley. We’re going to have visitors in the cells tonight. Call the Blackwater sheriff’s department and see if they can spare a few deputies to take over from Walters at six.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley turned and headed back to the main office.
They crowded into the interview room and Jenna sat down. “What do you want to discuss?”
“I’m aware you’ve a witness who places my client in the vicinity of Amanda Braxton’s disappearance?”
Jenna nodded. “Yes, we do.”
“Then we want to cut a deal.” Cross sat down beside Matt Miller and placed one cowboy boot on his opposite knee, then leaned back in his seat. “Full immunity for Matt and the witnesses necessary to clear my client.”
“Full immunity from what?” Jenna shook her head. “If this is a trick to get your client off a murder charge, you’re crazy.”
“A minor offense is all.” Cross waved a hand in the air as if he was swatting a fly. “Problem is I’ll have trouble getting them to step up to the plate if they figure they’ll be incriminating themselves.” He shrugged. “If you’ll agree not to charge my client with a minor offense, we’ll give you the reason why Matt was in the location of the missing girls, but if you want proof, we’ll need to cut a deal with the DA.”