An Evil Mind--A Suspense Novel (7 page)

Chapter 11

1

His conversation with Mark Hinton gave Detective Carlos Aguero a lot of food for thought. He saw two possibilities. Possibility number one: Edward Phillips had a partner, who had participated in killing Helen Hinton, and it was that partner who had murdered Laura Sumner. Possibility number two: there was no direct link between the two murders.

It was not uncommon for serial killers to work in teams. The Los Angeles Hillside Strangler, who had raped and killed ten women in the late 1970s, was actually two people, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono. The infamous Henry Lee Lucas, who had been convicted of eleven murders, had had a partner by the name of Otis Toole. Between 1984 and 1999 nineteen people had been murdered by a serial killer duo nicknamed Speed Freak Killers, which consisted of Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine (they had gotten their moniker because they were methamphetamine junkies).

On October 13, Aguero went to Livingston to have a chat with Edward Phillips. He had no expectations for this meeting: that was the easiest way to avoid disappointment.

The way things stood, the likelihood of Laura Sumner’s murder being solved was low. They had no witnesses, no murder weapon, no fingerprints, no hairs, no skin under the victim’s fingernails, nothing. There had been no activity on the case for over a month, and it felt great to finally do some work on it.

Aguero’s plan was simple. He was going to offer Edward Phillips a deal: if Phillips helped them catch Laura Sumner’s killer, they would get the governor to commute his death sentence to life in prison. His only concern was that Phillips would make something up and send them on a wild-goose chase.

2

The room was as ascetic as the other prison interview rooms Aguero had been in: bare walls, a metal table bolted to the floor, and four chairs, also bolted to the floor.

“Good morning.” Aguero shook hands with the guard and sat across from Edward Phillips, whose eyes had been fixed on him from the moment he entered. The chair was cold, as was the table.

Aguero nodded to the guard, and he left the room.

“I’m Detective Carlos Aguero. I’m with the Austin Police Department.” Aguero opened his briefcase and took out a file folder and a digital voice recorder. 

“What can I do for you?”

Phillips’s hands were cuffed and chained to his waist belt, and his legs were shackled to the table. He looked serene, but Aguero was willing to bet it was just a façade.

Aguero pressed the Record button on the recorder and said, “I’d like to inform you that this conversation is being recorded.”

“Okay.”

“Please state your name.”

“Edward Phillips.”

“Can you tell me why you’re in this prison?”

“I was convicted of murder.”

“You were sentenced to death, weren’t you?”

Phillips nodded. “Yes.”

“Would you like your death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole?”

“That would be nice, I guess.”

“We could help you with that.”

“What do I have to do?”

Aguero opened the file folder, found a photo of Helen Hinton’s body, and put it on the table. “Do you recognize her?”

The picture, which had been taken at the crime scene, showed Helen lying on her back with her T-shirt pulled up to her neck, and you could see all the wounds inflicted by the killer. Phillips looked at the photo for a long moment and said, “Is it Helen Hinton?”

“Yes, that’s Helen Hinton. You stabbed her twice in the chest and cut open her stomach.”

Phillips shook his head. “I didn’t kill Helen Hinton. I’m innocent.”

“All right. I understand. I didn’t come here to get you to confess.” Aguero pulled a crime scene photo of Laura Sumner’s body from the folder and placed it beside Helen’s picture. “This is Laura Sumner. She was murdered in Austin last August. As you can see, there are two stab wounds in her chest, and her abdomen was cut open.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

“Her wounds are similar to those on Helen Hinton’s body.”

“Yes, they are.”

“Do you know why?”

“No.”

“Do you have any information about the murder of Laura Sumner?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you have any idea who might have killed her?”

“No.”

Aguero leaned forward and said, “Edward, if you help us catch Laura Sumner’s killer, we’ll get the governor to commute your death sentence.”

“Can you get him to pardon me?”

Phillips was bargaining. That was a good sign.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to discuss that with my boss. Do we have a deal?”

“I wish I could help you, but I have no idea who might have killed this woman.”

Phillips moved his legs, and the chain connecting his ankle shackles jingled softly.

“I think I know what your concern is,” Aguero said. “You’re afraid Laura’s killer will tell us something that you want to keep secret.”

“What are you talking about?”

“For example, he might say that you and he killed a bunch of people together.”

“I’ve never killed anyone.”

“If you help us catch this guy, nothing he says will be used against you. You’ll be granted immunity for all crimes exposed by him. It’s a great deal, Edward. This is the best chance you’ll ever have to save your life. You don’t seriously think your appeal will succeed, do you?”

“I’d be lying if I said I did. It’s a good deal, I agree. But the thing is, I don’t know who killed Laura Sumner. I’m sorry, Detective.” Phillips smiled apologetically.

“You know what? I think you
are
innocent. I believe the person who killed Helen Hinton also killed Laura Sumner. That’s why the wounds on their bodies match. And I think you know who that person is. You were with him when he murdered Helen. You did not participate, you just watched. Am I right?”

“I don’t know who killed these girls.”

“I’m trying to help you, Edward. You’ll never have an opportunity like this again. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, I do. If I knew who killed Helen Hinton, I would have told you.”

“How did Helen’s blood get on your clothes? How did your fingerprint end up on her belt buckle?”

“I was framed.”

“You were there when Helen was murdered.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

Aguero pressed the Stop button on the voice recorder, took out his business card, and said, “All right. If you change your mind, call me.” He got up from the table and put his card in Phillips’s hand.

Aguero’s intuition told him Edward Phillips was lying. He could think of only one plausible reason why Phillips would withhold information: Laura Sumner had been killed by someone Phillips cared about, someone whose life he valued more than his own. It could be a close relative or a lover.

Thinking that Edward Phillips might want to warn his partner, Aguero asked the assistant warden to keep him informed of every phone call made by Edward Phillips and every letter written by him.

On Monday, October 16, Aguero called Leonard Barlow and told him about the deal he had offered to Edward Phillips. The lawyer promised to talk to Phillips about the deal as soon as he could. Four hours after their conversation Barlow was murdered.

On October 18, Aguero sent all police and sheriff’s departments in Texas letters asking them to contact him if they had unsolved cases similar to Laura Sumner’s. Then he searched through all cases investigated by the Austin PD Homicide Unit in the last two years, and found none similar to Laura’s.

1

On Thursday, October 19, Mark received the report on Edward Phillips’s polygraph exam. Phillips had taken the test on January 26. The following relevant questions had been asked:

“Do you know who killed Helen Hinton?” (Phillips answered, “No.” The examiner concluded it was a lie.)

“Did you kill Helen Hinton?” (Phillips answered, “No.” The examiner concluded it was a truthful response.)

“Were you present when Helen Hinton was murdered?” (Phillips answered, “No.” The examiner concluded it was a truthful response.)

The polygraph test results supported Phillips’s claim that he knew who had murdered Helen. 

After reading the report, Mark called the Allan B. Polunsky Unit and scheduled a visit with Edward Phillips.

2

At half past five on Friday, as Mark drove to Dallas PD headquarters from Greenland Hills, where he had interviewed the victims of a home invasion that had taken place last night, his phone rang. It was Detective Aguero. Mark answered the phone and put it on speaker.

“Hi, Mark. This is Detective Aguero,” Aguero said.

“How are you doing, Detective?”

“Not bad. I visited Edward Phillips in prison a week ago. I assume you know who he is.”

“What did you talk about?”

“We talked about Laura Sumner. I asked if he knew who might have killed her, and he said that he didn’t. I can send you a recording of our conversation, if you want.”

“Thank you, Carlos. Yes, please send it to me.”

“I’ll do it today.”

“Did you mention that it was me who told you about Laura?”

“No.”

“Did you offer him anything for information?”

“I offered him a very good deal. I promised that we’d get his death sentence commuted if he helped us catch Laura’s killer.”

Should he tell Aguero about Sam Curtis? The police had the resources to monitor Curtis twenty-four/seven. He could warn Aguero that Curtis would disappear if he found out that the cops were onto him.

The Austin Police Department might screw up and scare Curtis off. Besides, it could be several months before Curtis killed again, and Mark doubted that Aguero would be allowed to keep him under surveillance for that long.

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Mark said.

“I believe he’s hiding something.”

“Are you going to try to get him to talk?”

“No. I’m going to talk to his parents. They might know something useful.”

“I believe Phillips’s father might be involved in Laura’s murder.”

“This thought crossed my mind, too. I have a theory. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

“I think Phillips had a partner, who helped him kill your daughter. And this partner killed Laura Sumner. Maybe Helen wasn’t their first victim.”

“When do you plan to talk to Phillips’s parents?”

“Next week.”

“Thanks for the call, Carlos. Please keep me posted.”

“Sure.”

After terminating the call, Mark realized he had never checked to see if Jeff Phillips had used any of his credit cards in Austin on August 23 or 24. When he got to police headquarters, he requested a search warrant for information on all of Jeff Phillips’s credit card and bank card transactions that had taken place last August. While Mark was preparing the warrant application, he received the audio file of Detective Aguero’s conversation with Edward Phillips. He copied the file to a flash drive to listen to it later at home.

3

Mark came home at a quarter to eight. Joan had cooked a shepherd’s pie for dinner, which was one of his favorite dishes. While Mark was eating, the landline phone rang. Joan muted the TV and picked up the receiver.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hello, can I talk to Joan Hinton?” said a man’s voice. The voice sounded artificial, robotic.

“This is Joan.”

He’s using a voice changer, she thought.

Honest people didn’t need a voice changer. A vague uneasiness crept into Joan’s mind.

“My name is Chuck. I have something important to tell you.”

“I’m listening.”

She looked at the caller ID. The area code was 214. It was a Dallas number.

“It’s about your daughter, Helen. She was murdered last year, wasn’t she?”

A dull pain gripped Joan’s heart when she heard Helen’s name.

“Yes, she was,” she said.

“I found the knife.”

“What knife?”

“The knife Helen was killed with. I think it’s that knife. I want you to have it.”

“Where did you find it?”

“Not far from the place where your daughter was murdered. I found it before the police got there.”

“Why didn’t you give the knife to the police?”

“I was afraid they’d think I was involved.”

“Why do you want me to have it?”

“I’m giving it to you so you’ll turn it over to the police. I think the killer might have left his fingerprints on it.” He paused, then added, “I didn’t clean the knife. It’s in the same condition as when I found it. Please put on gloves before you touch it.”

“When do you want to meet?”

“I’ll mail it to you.”

Why had he waited over ten months to come forward?

“Do you know my address?”

“Yes, I do.”

He told Joan her address and asked if that was the correct address.

“Yes,” Joan replied. “All right, mail it.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow morning. I’m very sorry about your daughter, Joan.”

“Where did you get my number?”

“I found it online. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Your voice sounds odd.”

“I changed it because I want to stay anonymous. Do you have any more questions?”

“No.”

“Goodbye, then.”

“Goodbye.” Joan hung up.

She stood by the phone for a few moments, then went to the dining room.

“Did someone call?” asked Mark, who was finishing his meal.

“Yes. Some guy named Chuck. He said he has the knife Helen was killed with. He said he’s going to send it to me.” Joan sat across the table from her husband.

Mark set down his fork. “Did he tell you his last name?”

“No.”

“Where did he get that knife?”

“He found it near the place where Helen was killed. He said he didn’t clean it. He wants me to give it to the police.”

“Did he witness the murder?”

“I didn’t ask him about it.” Joan pushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “He used a voice changer.”

“What else did he say?”

“Nothing. Do you think he’s some kind of lunatic?”

“You think he’s a lunatic?”

“Why did he keep the knife? Normal people don’t do that.”

“Sometimes normal people do strange things.”

That was true.

Chuck could be one of those murder memorabilia collectors she had read about on the Internet.

4

Before listening to the recording of Detective Aguero’s conversation with Edward Phillips, Mark did a reverse lookup of the number Chuck had called from on the Internet and found that it belonged to a pay phone.

This could be a hoax, Mark thought as he opened the audio file sent by Aguero.

Fortunately, it would be very easy to determine if it was a hoax: the real murder weapon should have traces of Helen’s blood on it.

He would test the blood from the knife at a private DNA lab. And he would dust the knife for fingerprints himself so there could be no tampering.

Would the police reopen Helen’s case if the fingerprints on the knife didn’t belong to Edward Phillips?

They would certainly interview the person who had left the prints (if they managed to find him). If the guy confessed to Helen’s murder, he would go to prison, but if he said that he had found the knife in the street, picked it up and then dropped it (or told another story that didn’t involve murder), the police would have to let him go unless they proved that the fingerprints belonged to the killer.

How do you prove that the fingerprints got on the knife during the murder?

I’ll think about it when I receive the knife.

What was he going to do if the person who had left the prints escaped conviction only because there was no proof that the prints belonged to the killer? He would kill the guy. Yes, he would take the law into his own hands.  

I’ll make him confess to Helen’s murder before I kill him.

Would Chuck wipe away his fingerprints before mailing the knife? Mark was sure that he would. Anyone with half a brain would have done that. Hopefully, he wouldn’t wipe away all of the killer’s prints along with his.

If there was no match in the system for the prints on the knife, they might never find out the identity of Helen’s killer and that bastard would go unpunished.

The thought of Helen’s murderer roaming free and having fun made Mark’s stomach turn over.

What if the fingerprints turned out to belong to Edward Phillips?

He would be pissed at Phillips for wasting his time, and he would do his best to make sure that Phillips was executed.

When the recording of Aguero’s conversation with Phillips ended, Mark went to the living room and said to Joan, “When you receive the knife, don’t touch it. I don’t want you to mess up the fingerprints.”

“Okay.” Joan took his hand. “If they find Phillips’s fingerprints on the knife, his appeal will fail for sure, right?”

“I think so, yes.” Mark nodded.

“If the fingerprints belong to someone else, will they reopen the case?”

“I’ll make sure that they reopen it.”