Lead the Way - Chapter 010 - Broken Things
I've been sitting here ten minutes trying to figure out something clever to say before handing over today's chapter. Didn't come up with anything, so I guess we'll skip the introduction.
Lead the Way - 010 - Broken Things
In other cases the victims were already dead or the team was able to rescue them in time. Coming in years after the crime, being faced with the long term effects of such a traumatic event had been a new and dreadful experience for all of them.
Beverly Patterson had given an account similar to Barbara’s. She had been less professional though; a lot of anger still hovering beneath the surface. After the abduction she had dropped out of medical school and founded her own self-defense class. She taught only women and she taught them not to show any mercy with their attackers.
Tina Jacobs, abducted in 1995, was barely audible when she spoke. She wore clothes ten times as big as they should be, hiding as best she could. She hadn’t left the house in years and only let in female visitors. Reid had to wait in the car.
Last on their list was Shirley Stowers, victim number twenty-one, abducted 1996 in Tyler. She was the one to come into the department early enough for the blood work to show trace amounts of the drugs she had been given. She was the one who helped them break the case twelve years ago. The person Cooper had abducted had been her two year old daughter, Monica.
As soon as Reid knocked on the door, a very chipper blonde opened the door.
“Oh hi. Come on in. I’m Shirley by the way. Would you like something to drink? I make really good iced tea.”
“Actually…”
Saunders was interrupted by Emily. “We’d love some.”
They followed her into the kitchen. It was meticulously clean, but not only the kitchen, the entire house was spotless. What was more, it looked as though a toddler was still living here. Toys neatly packed away yet in immediate reach, a child’s paintings on the refrigerator, and chocolate cake on the counter. Shirley caught JJ staring at it and said:
“Baked it this morning. It’s Monica’s favorite. But she won’t mind if you had a slice. Do you want some? It’s delicious. I guarantee it.” Unsure how to respond, JJ stayed quiet and watched as the fake blonde prepared a plate for her.
“Miss Stowers…” Reid began.
“Miss Stowers is my mother, call me Shirley. I like to be called Shirley. I like the name. I know I shouldn’t say it, because it’s my own, but I still like it, don’t you?”
“It’s a lovely name.”
“Shirley we need to talk about 1996.” Shirley looked at Barbara with big eyes. It was the look of a child, innocent and naive.
“What about it?”
“Do you remember the day Gerald Cooper abducted you?”
“You know, somebody called about that, a week ago. I think her name was Jennifer. Or was it last month? I don’t know, I get a little mixed up with time you know. Anyway I told her what I’ll tell you: I don’t know Gerald Cooper and I don’t believe I’ve ever met him. She still wanted to come and visit. I wonder if she’ll show up.” Baffled the agents stared at each other. How were they to proceed?
Saunders snapped. This was the only survivor to have escaped from the farm, she had been strong enough to run away and back into town while under the influence of three different drugs. Surely she could muster remembering some detail that might be useful for the FBI. After everything she had been through herself today, her patience had run out.
“You were abducted June 30th 1996 by one Gerald Cooper. Minutes after he had snatched your daughter Monica from her room. He made you watch as he raped, tortured and killed her. Are you telling us that you don’t remember your daughter?” Shirley had started to hyperventilate almost as soon as Barbara had started to speak. She was very pale and stuttered:
“You…you…you…don’t know… you don’t know what you are talking about. Monica, Monica is fine, she is just fine, that’s right and she’ll be here, she’ll be here any minute… any minute now. Then we’ll have dinner, chocolate cake, that’s her favorite and she’ll tell me all about her day. Just like she always does.”
“No she won’t, Shirley. Your daughter has been dead for twelve years. She was cremated by the police when you didn’t claim the body. I signed the form myself.”
“Monica is fine. Monica is fine. Monica is fine. Monica is fine.” Shirley repeated over and over again while rocking in her chair. Her eyes were fixed on a spot on the table only she could see.
“I think we broke her.” JJ whispered.
“She was broken before we came.” Emily stated dryly.
After dropping Shirley off at the psych ward of Tyler Memorial Hospital - where Emily felt she should have been for the past twelve years - the four of them drove out to Cooper’s farm. It was ordinary except for the graves in the backyard.
The facilities had decayed over the years but the main structures were still safe to visit. They found the torture chamber, the house he lived in, and the cellar where he kept his research on all of his victims.
As it turned out, Cooper took about one month after each kill before choosing his next victim. He would then stalk her for about five months and abduct them either late June or early December. This information was in the files, but it was something else entirely to see that he had kept this timeline on purpose.
The torture chamber looked as though it had never been cleaned. Old blood stains on the wall and the floor, scratch marks on the chair he bound the returnees to. The only clean thing was the tool shelf to the right side of the rack. Every blade was sparkling clean; every whip cleaned from the blood with chalk dust, every hinge was oiled.
The smell was unbearable and they left pretty quickly. Only Emily stayed a minute longer. When she came out she looked normal and calm, but her fists shook with anger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After their visit to the farm, every one seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Saunders dropped them off at a Chinese restaurant and made up some excuse before heading home. The agents tried hard not to talk about the case and Reid was a great help to that end.
He told them about death penalty cases in Texas, draughts and the political history of Governor Rick Perry. Apparently he was responsible for squashing an investigation into an old arson case. Cameron Willingham had been convicted of and executed for setting the fire that killed his three daughters. Fire experts claimed that the scientific methods used to provide evidence for the court were flawed and that there was nothing to suggest arson.
Although it wasn’t a happy subject, it kept their minds off Gerald Cooper for a couple of hours.
Back in the hotel room JJ noticed that Emily was still avoiding looking at her. She seemed agitated and angry. Unsure whether this was normal behavior for her once she got home or related to the current case, JJ decided not to call her on it.
She knew that tomorrow would be the very first custodial interview Emily had to do with a serial killer. It couldn’t possibly help that she fitted his victimology down to her birthday.
Lead the Way - 010 - Broken Things
In other cases the victims were already dead or the team was able to rescue them in time. Coming in years after the crime, being faced with the long term effects of such a traumatic event had been a new and dreadful experience for all of them.
Beverly Patterson had given an account similar to Barbara’s. She had been less professional though; a lot of anger still hovering beneath the surface. After the abduction she had dropped out of medical school and founded her own self-defense class. She taught only women and she taught them not to show any mercy with their attackers.
Tina Jacobs, abducted in 1995, was barely audible when she spoke. She wore clothes ten times as big as they should be, hiding as best she could. She hadn’t left the house in years and only let in female visitors. Reid had to wait in the car.
Last on their list was Shirley Stowers, victim number twenty-one, abducted 1996 in Tyler. She was the one to come into the department early enough for the blood work to show trace amounts of the drugs she had been given. She was the one who helped them break the case twelve years ago. The person Cooper had abducted had been her two year old daughter, Monica.
As soon as Reid knocked on the door, a very chipper blonde opened the door.
“Oh hi. Come on in. I’m Shirley by the way. Would you like something to drink? I make really good iced tea.”
“Actually…”
Saunders was interrupted by Emily. “We’d love some.”
They followed her into the kitchen. It was meticulously clean, but not only the kitchen, the entire house was spotless. What was more, it looked as though a toddler was still living here. Toys neatly packed away yet in immediate reach, a child’s paintings on the refrigerator, and chocolate cake on the counter. Shirley caught JJ staring at it and said:
“Baked it this morning. It’s Monica’s favorite. But she won’t mind if you had a slice. Do you want some? It’s delicious. I guarantee it.” Unsure how to respond, JJ stayed quiet and watched as the fake blonde prepared a plate for her.
“Miss Stowers…” Reid began.
“Miss Stowers is my mother, call me Shirley. I like to be called Shirley. I like the name. I know I shouldn’t say it, because it’s my own, but I still like it, don’t you?”
“It’s a lovely name.”
“Shirley we need to talk about 1996.” Shirley looked at Barbara with big eyes. It was the look of a child, innocent and naive.
“What about it?”
“Do you remember the day Gerald Cooper abducted you?”
“You know, somebody called about that, a week ago. I think her name was Jennifer. Or was it last month? I don’t know, I get a little mixed up with time you know. Anyway I told her what I’ll tell you: I don’t know Gerald Cooper and I don’t believe I’ve ever met him. She still wanted to come and visit. I wonder if she’ll show up.” Baffled the agents stared at each other. How were they to proceed?
Saunders snapped. This was the only survivor to have escaped from the farm, she had been strong enough to run away and back into town while under the influence of three different drugs. Surely she could muster remembering some detail that might be useful for the FBI. After everything she had been through herself today, her patience had run out.
“You were abducted June 30th 1996 by one Gerald Cooper. Minutes after he had snatched your daughter Monica from her room. He made you watch as he raped, tortured and killed her. Are you telling us that you don’t remember your daughter?” Shirley had started to hyperventilate almost as soon as Barbara had started to speak. She was very pale and stuttered:
“You…you…you…don’t know… you don’t know what you are talking about. Monica, Monica is fine, she is just fine, that’s right and she’ll be here, she’ll be here any minute… any minute now. Then we’ll have dinner, chocolate cake, that’s her favorite and she’ll tell me all about her day. Just like she always does.”
“No she won’t, Shirley. Your daughter has been dead for twelve years. She was cremated by the police when you didn’t claim the body. I signed the form myself.”
“Monica is fine. Monica is fine. Monica is fine. Monica is fine.” Shirley repeated over and over again while rocking in her chair. Her eyes were fixed on a spot on the table only she could see.
“I think we broke her.” JJ whispered.
“She was broken before we came.” Emily stated dryly.
After dropping Shirley off at the psych ward of Tyler Memorial Hospital - where Emily felt she should have been for the past twelve years - the four of them drove out to Cooper’s farm. It was ordinary except for the graves in the backyard.
The facilities had decayed over the years but the main structures were still safe to visit. They found the torture chamber, the house he lived in, and the cellar where he kept his research on all of his victims.
As it turned out, Cooper took about one month after each kill before choosing his next victim. He would then stalk her for about five months and abduct them either late June or early December. This information was in the files, but it was something else entirely to see that he had kept this timeline on purpose.
The torture chamber looked as though it had never been cleaned. Old blood stains on the wall and the floor, scratch marks on the chair he bound the returnees to. The only clean thing was the tool shelf to the right side of the rack. Every blade was sparkling clean; every whip cleaned from the blood with chalk dust, every hinge was oiled.
The smell was unbearable and they left pretty quickly. Only Emily stayed a minute longer. When she came out she looked normal and calm, but her fists shook with anger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After their visit to the farm, every one seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Saunders dropped them off at a Chinese restaurant and made up some excuse before heading home. The agents tried hard not to talk about the case and Reid was a great help to that end.
He told them about death penalty cases in Texas, draughts and the political history of Governor Rick Perry. Apparently he was responsible for squashing an investigation into an old arson case. Cameron Willingham had been convicted of and executed for setting the fire that killed his three daughters. Fire experts claimed that the scientific methods used to provide evidence for the court were flawed and that there was nothing to suggest arson.
Although it wasn’t a happy subject, it kept their minds off Gerald Cooper for a couple of hours.
Back in the hotel room JJ noticed that Emily was still avoiding looking at her. She seemed agitated and angry. Unsure whether this was normal behavior for her once she got home or related to the current case, JJ decided not to call her on it.
She knew that tomorrow would be the very first custodial interview Emily had to do with a serial killer. It couldn’t possibly help that she fitted his victimology down to her birthday.