Page 146 of Devoted in Death

She heard truth for the first time. He didn’t even know their names. “The two people you had tied down so you could torture them. So you and Ella-Loo could cut them and burn them and beat them because torturing and killing gets you off, you miserable fuck.”

He stretched his legs out under the table, sucked air through his teeth. “You don’t know nothing. We met up with the two of them, and they said they were into that sort of thing, that lots were here in the big city. We were all just fooling around, is all. They say different, they’re liars and you can’t prove otherwise.”

Eve opened the file, dumped photos of the tortured dead on the table. “All these people, Darryl. Were all these people into it?”

“I don’t know those people.” But he looked at them avidly, with hints of excitement and pride in his eyes.

Eve started to push up, increase the pressure. But in a quiet voice, Banner said, “Melvin Little.”

“Say what?”

“Melvin Little. Right here.” Banner nudged the photo closer.

“Where you from?”

“Silby’s Pond, Arkansas, same as him. He was a friend of mine.”

“I’m right sorry about your friend, but me and my Ella-Loo ain’t never been to Silby’s Pond.”

“You want to protect Ella-Loo, don’t you, Darryl?”

“I’d do anything for her.”

With his finger he traced a heart over his chest.

“I’m not going to let anybody hurt her. I’d die for her.”

“I can see that.” A hint of admiration eked into Banner’s tone. “I can see the two of you are meant, just like you said. So you need to understand, we can prove what you did to my friend, and to all these others. We can prove you were in Silby’s Pond, and how you and Ella-Loo met in the Rope ’N Ride back in Oklahoma.”

“‘No sooner looked but they loved.’ That’s Shakespeare, friend.”

“All right. We can prove you and Ella-Loo loved your way across country, how when you got out of prison, the two of you started east in the truck you’d stolen about four years before from Barlow Hanks.”

“Hell.” The cocky smirk came back. “I gave Barlow cash money for that truck, and if he says different, he’s a liar.”

“You crossed into Arkansas,” Banner continued in that same easy, conversational tone, “and you killed Robert Jansen with a tire iron, took his car, and you drove on to Silby’s Pond, and broke into that cabin. Then Little Mel came along.”

“Don’t know those people,” Darryl said with the same stubborn stupidity. “You saying so don’t make it true.”

“We can prove all that, prove all these people died at your hands. You need to understand, Darryl, we’re just giving you a chance to help yourself now and protect Ella-Loo. You don’t tell us what you did, it’s likely you won’t see her again. It’s likely they’re going to put her someplace where somebody’s going to hurt her ’cause you’re not there to look out for her.”

Darryl leaned forward, fists clenched. “I won’t let you do that.”

Eve pushed up, out of the chair, changed the focus. “We’ll do what we want. Buy a clue, asshole. Think about it, think about Ella-Loo being in that cage where you can’t get to her, can’t touch her, can’t help her. Think about it,” she repeated, tapping the table, the photos. “And see if you remember any of these people when we come back. Dallas and Banner exited interview, record off.”

She stepped out. “Not bad,” she said to Banner, “not bad at all.”

“I wanted to reach over, take him by the throat, ram his face into the table until it was nothing but blood. I never felt that kind of violence in me before.”

“Killers can bring it out.” He’d gone a little pale, Eve noted, as he leaned back against the wall. “Why don’t you take a break?”

“I think I will. I’ll come into the observation place, but I’m going to take a break first.”

She watched him go, then went back to her office, generated another set of photos before tagging Peabody on her comm. “Heading for Parsens now.”

“I’m on the door.”

Different strategy, Eve decided, and said the same to Peabody. “We hit her hard. No good cop.”