Free An Evil Mind--A Suspense Novel by Tim Kizer Page A

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