Despite a desperate need for revenge, Mattie fought to remain professional. “Be still and I’ll tell the dog to let you go.”
Carter continued to fight, which seemed to enrage Robo. With his jaws still clamped around Carter’s arm, he gave it a mighty shake. Mattie clung to the man’s back as he struggled to break free.
Brody strode near, leaned over, and placed his handgun where Carter could see it. “Give it up, Carter. Don’t move,” he shouted.
Carter stared up at him, his eyes full of venom, but he quit struggling.
Mattie decided it was safe to call off her dog. “Out! Robo, out!”
Robo dropped Carter’s arm but stayed close, his neck bristled, his bared fangs gleaming. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he continued to growl. Mattie had never seen him so maddened during a takedown. Usually his tail was waving. Carter gave him one look and then buried his face on the ground.
“Stay still or he’ll attack you again.” Mattie shifted her weight backward off Carter’s chest and cuffed him while Brody stood guard. Together they pulled Carter to his feet, and he stared at her, his gaze dark with malice.
Cole and Stella materialized through the pine trees, leading Violet Carter. Stella was breathing hard from the climb.
“We found this one making her way toward the parking lot.” Stella held aloft a Ladysmith .38 Special with a robin’s egg blue handle. “She was carrying this fancy gun, but she didn’t put up a fight.”
Violet cowered between Stella and Cole. “I’m a victim. He made me help him.”
“We’ll give you a chance to tell us all about it very soon,” Stella said.
Mattie wondered if the woman’s screams during the previous gunplay had been nothing but theatrics, or if she’d actually escaped.
Brody nudged John Carter forward. “Cobb, do you want to arrest this one and read him his rights?”
At that moment, Mattie could think of nothing that would please her more.
THIRTY-FIVE
While Johnson and Brody transported the prisoners, Stella drove Mattie and Cole to the station. During the drive, Mattie told Stella everything that John Carter had said to her in the cave. Even though she’d been under duress, she felt confident that she could remember it word for word. Cole remained silent, and while his left arm stayed firm and still behind her shoulders, his hand clasped her upper arm gently.
“I want to be there when you question them,” Mattie said.
Stella gave her a sideways glance. “I think that would work out well. I’ll take the lead.”
As they pulled into the station parking lot, Stella turned to Cole. “You can take my car if you want to go home.”
“I’m staying with Mattie in case she needs me.” Then to Mattie: “And I’ll call Dr. McGinnis to make sure he can see you when you’re done.”
She knew she couldn’t argue with him this time, so she simply nodded. Robo jumped out of the SUV and trotted to the station door.
Her eyes reddened and teary, Rainbow came from behind her desk in the lobby. Uncharacteristically speechless, she gave Mattie a long hug before releasing her to step back. With one hand, she held onto Mattie’s while with the other, she gently traced a finger near the marks on Mattie’s neck. She shook her head sadly.
Mattie tried to smile but felt it tremble on her lips. “We’ll talk later,” she told her friend. “I want to tell you how the yoga breathing helped me.”
Gesturing for Cole to follow, she took Robo back to his bed in the staff office. “You can stay in here,” she told Cole. “Use the phone if you want.”
He stopped her as she turned to leave. “Wait a second.”
Jittery about what lay ahead in the interrogation room but trying to put a lid on her feelings, she faced him.
“You’ve been through more than anyone should ever have to go through, and still you’re the most kind and courageous person I know. Words can’t say how much I admire you. I’ll always have your back, Mattie, no matter what. Just let me in so I can help you.”
His words made her throat swell and challenged the tight control she’d placed on her emotions. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“I know it. We’ll have time to talk about things soon. I just want you to know before you go in to face him—I might be waiting here in this room, but in spirit, I’m right there beside you.”
Her breath released as she squeezed his hand. Unable to trust her voice, she nodded and turned to leave the room. She met Stella and Sheriff McCoy at the door.
McCoy took her hand in his large palm, pumping her arm while he studied her face. “Are you sure this is what you want to do, Deputy? Are you well enough for this?”
“Absolutely, on both counts.”
“Let’s go to it,” Stella said. “We’ve got them cuffed in two separate rooms. We’ll talk to Violet first.”
Mattie followed her into the cold interrogation room. Violet looked every bit the worse for wear, her blond curls disheveled, her eyes reddened and lined with blotchy mascara as if she’d been crying. She avoided looking at Mattie and eyed Stella with suspicion. They took seats on the side of the table opposite the woman.
Although Stella had already read the Miranda rights, she started off with them again, this time presented from memory and ending with a question. “Do you want to talk this over with us right now so we can get the preliminaries out of the way?”
Violet stared at her for a moment and then nodded.
“For the recording, please say yes instead of nodding,” Stella said.
Violet hesitated before speaking. “Yes, I’ll talk to you, at least for a while. I want to talk about a deal.”
Stella leaned forward. “It’s not up to me to offer deals. The Timber Creek County Prosecutor does that. I’m the one you provide with information to see if you’ve got anything worthy of a deal.”
“I’m a victim. I was coerced.”
“How so?”
“John Carter had complete control over me.”
Stella settled back in her chair and rested her forearms on the table as if she had all the time in the world. “Maybe you’d better tell me what you mean.”
“He’s been orchestrating everything we’ve done.”
“Start at the beginning. How did you find yourself under John Carter’s control?”
Mattie watched Violet’s gaze chase around the room. The wheels were turning, and she had to wonder if the woman was fabricating lies as she spoke or if she was simply putting together her true story.
“I met him when he was in prison out in California. First I was his pen pal, and then I started visiting him. I fell in love with him and he told me he loved me, too. I found out later that he just said that so he would have someone to live with when he got out on parole.”
There were some holes in the story already—Stella had told Mattie that they’d been unable to find a criminal record on a John Carter either in California or Colorado. But evidently the detective decided to let her talk rather than confront her.
“And then?” Stella prompted.
“We were fine at first. But then he left for a few days, and when he came back, he was a completely different person. Full of rage. That’s when the abuse started.” She slid a glance at Mattie and flinched when it connected. “He … he likes to choke people, women especially. Some of the stories he told me about how he tortured people—I didn’t know if they were real or things he made up to scare me. But he threatened to kill me if I didn’t do what he said. He choked me until I passed out. He burned my back with cigarettes. I knew he’d follow through on his threat to kill me if I didn’t cooperate.”