Free And Never See Her Again by Patricia Springer

nothing like that. I was afraid she was going to make a pass at me or get me to take her somewhere. She was wanting me to take her to the store, she went around the front of the car to get in the passenger side. I was afraid she wanted me to take her to have sex with her or something. I took her to the store, she got in the passenger side, the other two kids were outside playing. I told her I was going to bring her back so she could finish playing with the other two kids. I took her to the convenience store a block from the house, I sat in the car, and she got something to drink.

    She bought a Coke, then she came back to the car, she said, "Thank you for bringing me up here," but I said, "I won't do it again." Opal tried to move over toward me, I didn't know what she tried to do. She tried to grab me between the legs, she grabbed my dick. She wanted me to fuck her, I told her no. She said, "Fuck me." She tried to take her pants off, I told her, "No." She asked me why and I said, "Because I don't do that." She asked me why and I said, "Because you're too young and I could get in trouble for it." She unzipped my pants, took my dick out, she had it in her hand, she went down like she was going to go down on it. I pushed her back, I put my dick back in my pants. She was sitting beside me, when she went to bend over I pushed her back. I said, "I'm not going to have sex with someone younger than I am." I told her that she needed to get out of the car, this happened on the way back from the store. I took her to her house, and left her off the same place where I talked to her at. I don't know if she went in the house or not. I just wanted to get away from her. When I dropped her off, she gave me a hug, and I left, the other two kids were in the field playing.
    Everything in this statement is true and correct and I said it in my own words. I stopped the interview at my request, when Igot tired. I was treated good tonight, and everything I said is in my own words.
    The document was signed "Richard Franks," dated 08-18-99, at 8:00 A.M., and witnessed by Danny McCormick.
    Ricky Franks made one correction to the document. He changed his brother's first name, incorrectly typed as "Donny," to "Danny." He initialed each paragraph "R.L.F."

    McCormick stared at Richard Franks, hiding the disdain he felt for the suspected kidnapper. No six-yearold child would make sexual advances to an adult male. It was the typical response of a depraved pedophile. They frequently blamed their victims for their own sick sexual desires, but McCormick was a professional. He made no comment to Franks, he showed no personal feelings.
    In addition to the written statement, Franks had also submitted to a polygraph exam. Four questions were asked Franks-all connected to the disappearance of Opal Jennings and the location of her whereabouts. Franks's answers all showed deception. As suspected, Franks had first-hand knowledge of Opal Jennings's kidnapping.
    At 11:30 A.M., after Franks had signed his statement and after Eric Holden had returned to his Dallas residence, Danny McCormick and Special Agent Lori Keefer, with the Fort Worth FBI office, conducted an interview with Richard Lee Franks. Keefer and McCormick were about as opposite in status as any two persons could be. McCormick was tall, muscular, and an imposing figure; Keefer was petite, with soft brown hair and delicate features. But the two law enforcement professionals had one thing in common: they wanted to find out what had happened to Opal Jennings.
    For the third time in some seventeen hours, Franks was read his Miranda rights. And for the third time in as many hours, he signed them, acknowledging that he understood and waived his right to legal counsel.
    McCormick and Keefer had Ricky Franks begin by talking about his family. He had been married to Judy for five years, and although they had no children, Judy had a fifteen-year-old daughter named Kimberly. Ricky's voice softened as he spoke of his