An Evil Mind--A Suspense Novel (21 page)

1

They celebrated at the French Room, a fancy expensive restaurant in the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. On Thursday, December 14, Jeff and Sam went to the Cayman Islands and opened an account at Alliance Bank, which was across the street from Cayman Commercial Bank. They withdrew two million one hundred fifty thousand dollars from Cayman Commercial Bank and then deposited two million one hundred thousand in their account at Alliance Bank; they took the remaining fifty thousand with them. The next day Jeff signed a lease for a new office (they couldn’t use the old one because it had been compromised), and Sam met with Andrew Broder at Prism Capital’s headquarters and told him about the consciousness transfer procedure.

On Saturday Emily told Jeff that she had visited their son in prison on December 9.

“Why?” Jeff asked. “I asked you not do it, didn’t I?”

“He called and told me he wanted to see me.”

Although she disobeyed him, Jeff wasn’t mad at his wife. He was in a magnanimous mood, thanks to the money they’d gotten from Eric Pruitt.

“When did he call you?”

“About two weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

Suddenly she looked sad. Very sad. Her eyes misted.

“What did you talk about?”

He was going to get a new, young body in a few months. Should he tell Emily about the body switch or should he move on and find another woman?

He loved Emily, she was his soulmate, but she didn’t satisfy him sexually. 

Sex was a very important part of his life, so it would be best if he found someone else. Someone young.

“He told me about his life in prison. About his appeal. He said he’s innocent.”

After he got a new body, they would kill his old one. It was going to break Emily’s heart.

Poor Emily. First her son had been sentenced to death, then her husband died.

“There’s nothing we can do, honey,” Jeff said. “You need to accept it.”

Emily wiped her eyes and sighed. “We have to help him.”

“We can’t help him.”

“Let’s get him a good appeals lawyer.”

“It’s going to cost a fortune.”

“I don’t care how much it costs.”

Emily’s face twisted, and tears began to seep from the corners of her eyes. Jeff felt a little twinge of guilt.

“How can you be so heartless?” Emily sniffled.

“I’m not heartless. Look, honey, appeals are incredibly difficult to win.”

“We have to get Ed a lawyer.”

“Let me think about it.”

Jeff put his arms around his wife and kissed her lips.

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Jeff said.

He went to the front door and opened it. Standing on the porch was Detective Aguero and four cops.

“I have a warrant to search your house and cars.” Aguero handed the warrant to Jeff.

2

“How are you doing, Detective Aguero?” Phillips said.

It was Friday, December 15.

Aguero pushed the Record button on the voice recorder, picked up his pen, and said, “I’m fine. How are you, Edward?”

“I’ve been better.”

“I’m going to record this conversation.”

Phillips nodded.

“I was told you wanted to talk to me.”

“I decided to tell you who killed Laura Sumner.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“It was my father, Jeff Phillips, who killed Laura Sumner.”

“How do you know that?”

“Laura was killed the same way as Helen Hinton. My dad murdered Helen Hinton. I’m sure he killed Laura, too.”

“Did you participate in killing Helen Hinton?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“How do you know that your father killed Helen?”

“I saw him do it. He killed her right in front of me. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Aguero thought for a moment and then said, “Why did he kill Helen in front of you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he explain why he killed the girl?”

“No. I think he murdered those girls because he’s crazy.”

“How did Jeff lure Helen into the house where she was killed?”

“Here’s what happened. My dad came to my place and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. I said yes. He drove to that house, parked the car, and told me to go inside. I went inside, and a few minutes later he came in, carrying Helen. I think she was in the trunk of his car.”

“While you were in Jeff’s car, did you hear any noise coming from the trunk?”

“No.”

Helen had chlorpromazine, a powerful sedative, in her system, and the police believed that it had been injected into her by the killer. Jeff must have given Helen a shot of chlorpromazine before putting her in the trunk.

“What time did Jeff come to your place?”

“Around nine.”

“And you went straight to that house?”

“Yes.”

“What time did you get there?”

“Probably around nine-twenty. It took us about twenty minutes to get there.”

“Did he sexually molest Helen?”

“No. He just pulled out a knife and kill her.”

“What happened after Jeff killed Helen?”

“We got in the car, and my dad took me back to my place.”

“Was Helen his first victim?”

“I don’t know. I asked him how long he’d been doing this, and he said he didn’t want to talk about it.” Phillips paused. “I don’t think she was his first victim.”

“Why didn’t you tell the police it was your father who murdered Helen?”

“He’s my father. I felt I had to protect him.”

“Why did you decide to tell me this?”

“I’m afraid he’ll kill again, and I don’t want that to happen.”

“And you don’t feel you have to protect your dad anymore?”

“No, I don’t. He needs to be locked up.”

Phillips’s story was wacky, but there was nothing in it that was impossible.

Why had Jeff brought his son to that house?

Maybe he had wanted to make Edward his partner.

His theory turned out to be correct. Now the question was, how was he going to prove that Jeff had murdered Helen and Laura?

Aguero looked at Edward for a long moment and then said, “You’re not just trying to save your ass, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“And you didn’t make this up just to get back at your father?”

“No. I’m telling you the truth, Detective.”

“Does anyone else know that your father killed Helen and Laura?”

“No.”

“Are you willing to testify in court?”

“Yes.”

Aguero pressed the Stop button on the voice recorder and said, “Thank you for your help, Edward. Please don’t tell anyone that you gave me this information.”

“When are you going to interrogate my dad?”

“Soon.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“After you interrogate my dad, please tell my mom that my dad’s a killer and ask her to be careful.”

When Aguero came out of the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, he called Mark Hinton.

“I just talked to Edward Phillips,” he said. “He told me his father killed your daughter. He was there when it happened.”

“Are you going to arrest Jeff?” Mark asked.

“I’ll arrest him when I have evidence supporting Phillips’s story.”

“Let me know when you arrest him.”

“Sure. Phillips said he had no part in Helen’s murder. He said he tried to stop Jeff.”

“Do you believe that?”

“I think it could be true.”

“Are you going to search Jeff’s house?”

“Yes.”

“Search his car, too. There could be Helen’s prints in it.”

3

After preparing a warrant to search Jeff Phillips’s residence, cars, and office at the University of Texas, Aguero called the Senior Warden of the Polunsky Unit and requested that Edward Phillips’s conversations with his father be recorded.

1

His brow furrowed with puzzlement, Jeff Phillips scanned the warrant, then gave it back to Aguero, and said, “Please come in.”

The cops entered the house.

“Good afternoon, Detective,” Emily said to Aguero when he went into the living room.

“Good afternoon.”

“They want to search the house,” Jeff said.

“Why?” Emile looked at Aguero with surprise.

“I’ll explain later.” Aguero turned to Jeff. “Mister Phillips, would you mind coming with me to the station?”

“All right.”

Jeff grabbed his jacket and followed the detective outside, to his car, which was double-parked in front of the Phillipses’ house. Aguero took Jeff to Carrollton Police Department headquarters, where he advised him of his Miranda rights.

“Would you like to have a lawyer present?” Aguero asked.

“No.”

“This interview is being recorded. I’m Detective Carlos Aguero with the Austin Police Department.” Aguero opened his notepad. “I talked to your son yesterday. He told me that he saw you murder Helen Hinton. He said you killed her right in front of him.”

“What?” Jeff said with a shocked look on his face. “That’s impossible. Ed would never have said that.”

“Well, he did. He tried to stop you, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“What exactly did he tell you?”

Aguero recounted Edward Phillips’s story, and Jeff said, “He’s lying.”

“Why would he lie? You’re his father.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t have an alibi for the time of the murder.”

“Am I under arrest?” 

“No.” Aguero shook his head. “Mister Phillips, did you kill Helen Hinton?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Aguero pulled Helen Hinton’s picture from the folder, put it in front of Jeff, and said, “Did you kill this girl?”

“No.”

“I’m giving you a chance to tell your side of the story, Jeff.”

“I didn’t kill this girl.”

“Did you help Edward kill Helen Hinton?”

“No, I did not.”

Aguero took out Laura Sumner’s photo and laid it on the table. “Did you kill Laura Sumner?”

“No. I’ve never killed anyone in my life.” Jeff placed his arms on the table and clasped his hands together.

“Were you with your son when Helen Hinton was murdered?”

“No.”

“Did you let Edward use your car the night Helen Hinton was murdered?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Would you mind taking a lie detector test?”

“Let me think about it.” Jeff looked at his watch. “I want to go home. Can you take me home?”

“If we find Helen Hinton’s or Laura Sumner’s DNA or prints in your car, you’ll be in big trouble, Mister Phillips.”

“I’ve never killed anyone in my life. That’s all I have to say. Can you take me home?”

“Sure.”

2

After dropping Jeff off, Aguero called Emily Phillips and told her about Edward’s accusations against his father.

“Edward asked me to tell you to be careful,” Aguero said. “Be careful with Jeff, Emily. He may be a serial killer.”

1

It was time to kill Sam Curtis. There was no point in delaying.

Murder was a crime and it was his job to uphold the law, but this was a special case. This was the most special case of them all.

On Sunday, December 10, Mark went to Curtis’s house, intending to take Curtis to his parents’ house at Lake Ray Hubbard, interrogate him there, and then kill him. He was carrying an unregistered SIG Sauer P250 pistol he had purchased from a black market dealer three days earlier. To his disappointment, Curtis didn’t come home that night.

On Wednesday night, Sam Curtis was home. When he opened the door, Mark said, “Excuse me, can I talk to John?”

He put his finger on the trigger of his SIG Sauer in his coat pocket.

“I think you got the wrong house,” Curtis replied. He didn’t seem to recognize Mark.

A young blond woman in tight jeans and a scant top walked up to Curtis, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and said, “Who is it?”

“He got the wrong house.” Curtis placed his hand on her thigh.

“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “I must have the wrong address. Goodnight.”

He waited two hours for the woman to leave, and then went home.

Mark was going to try to kidnap Curtis on Friday, but his plans changed when he learned that Edward Phillips had told Detective Aguero his father had killed Helen: he decided to break into Jeff Phillips’s house and plant the knife used to murder Helen. He was unable to figure out how to get into the house without tripping the security system, so he abandoned the plan.

Mark made another attempt to capture Sam Curtis on Sunday, December 17. When he got out of the car, a cab pulled up in front of Curtis’s house. Mark slipped back behind the wheel, and about fifteen seconds later Curtis came out and got in the cab. Mark followed Curtis to his destination, an elegant Mediterranean mansion on Beverly Drive in Highland Park (later he would find out that the mansion belonged to a man named Andrew Broder).

Curtis spent forty-five minutes in Broder’s house and left in a cab. Mark lost the taxi he was in on the Dallas North Tollway.

On December 19, Aguero called to give Mark an update.

The police had searched Jeff Phillips’s house for over five hours and found no blood-stained objects and nothing that belonged to Helen Hinton or Laura Sumner.

No traces of blood were found in the Phillipses’ cars, and none of the fingerprints in the vehicles matched those of Helen or Laura. The hairs collected from the cars could not be tested for DNA because none of them had a follicle. Jeff’s clothes did not have any blood on them.

The examination of the images on the Phillipses’ laptops and Jeff’s cellphone and university computer revealed no pictures of Helen or Laura. There were no search terms in Jeff’s online search history indicating that he had looked for information on how to kill someone or how to destroy evidence of murder (they were able to recover all Jeff’s and his wife’s Internet history deleted in the last year and a half). The only time Jeff had searched for something that could be considered suspicious was on November 17 of last year when he looked for information on sedatives and sleeping pills.

Aguero said that Jeff Phillips had hidden surveillance cameras in his house, and Mark thanked God that he hadn’t broken into Jeff’s place last Friday.