‘Because his brother has been trying to either abduct me or kill me for the last four days,’ Mercy answered before Rafe could. ‘He’s left a trail of bodies from New Orleans to Santa Rosa, with victims in Reno and Sacramento as well. Surely you’ve read about them?’
The woman’s smile was faint, but respectful. ‘Yes, I have. I wondered if you were planning to lie to me, so points to you. What does Aubrey Franklin’s incarceration in the eighties have to do with his brother’s murder spree now?’
‘We think Harry Franklin’s had help,’ Rafe said, squeezing Mercy’s hand out of camera view. ‘We were wondering if you could tell us about anyone Aubrey associated with while he was a guest at Terminal Island.’
Shipley frowned. ‘Help? From whom? You mean from other inmates currently incarcerated?’
‘No,’ Rafe said quickly. ‘From former inmates who were released after serving their time.’
Shipley visibly relaxed. ‘Oh good. Current inmate involvement would be a nightmare of paperwork. I can tell you what I remember and I also have notes from my old boss, who’s since passed away. He was the contact of record when the FBI investigated thirty years ago, after Aubrey Franklin robbed his second bank. My boss was old-school thorough and kept copies of everything he said or sent to the FBI. I’ll send his notes when we’re finished here.’
And when I’m satisfied that you’re not lying to me went unsaid.
‘Aubrey served fifteen years. He was barely eighteen when he was convicted of the first robbery in the early seventies. I remember his kid brother and his mother. They’d visit like clockwork, twice a month. The mother never believed her son had committed any crime, and the kid brother looked at Aubrey like he was Superman.’
‘And his conduct as he served his sentence?’ Rafe asked.
‘At first he was a belligerent ass,’ Shipley said candidly. ‘I was young and female and . . . well, I suppose you can imagine the comments I got from the prisoners. It toughened me up fast. By the time Aubrey was incarcerated I’d been working on my cell block for more than six months, and I just let his comments roll off my back. Besides, I never believed he was serious. He wasn’t into women my age.’
Mercy felt the edge of anger licking at her control, because Gideon’s face flashed in her mind. Edward McPhearson, aka Aubrey Franklin, would have raped her brother if Gideon hadn’t fought back. ‘No, Aubrey was more into young men.’
Shipley nodded. ‘I got that impression. Did he hurt someone when he got out?’
‘Yes,’ Mercy said. ‘But that’s not my story to share.’
Shipley was quiet for a few seconds, studying Mercy. ‘I understand,’ she finally said. ‘Aubrey got the reputation of a fighter. He worked out and bulked up. Anyone who laid a finger on him got their fingers broken. He broke one inmate’s neck, but he didn’t take credit for it and another inmate took his punishment – thirty days in solitary.’
‘Who took his punishment?’ Mercy asked.
‘Guy by the name of Waylon Belmont.’
Mercy tried hard to contain her excitement, but inside she was jumping up and down. Yes.
‘Did he have prison tats?’ Rafe asked. ‘Maybe a teardrop for that broken neck?’
Shipley nodded. ‘He did.’
‘Did Waylon get extra time for the murder?’ Mercy asked.
‘No,’ Shipley said. ‘Waylon was never formally charged.’
‘Because your lives were safer with the asshole dead so it got covered up,’ Rafe said flatly.
Shipley shrugged and said nothing.
Mercy approached from a different angle. ‘Do you know why Waylon took credit for a murder he didn’t do?’
‘Now, that’s an actual question,’ Shipley said. ‘Waylon was a troublemaker. He spent a lot of time in solitary. Aubrey’s “alleged” murder of the other inmate happened when Waylon was in the hole. It was his final day for that infraction. He came out of the hole, found out what happened, said he did it, and went back in.’
‘So the staff knew he hadn’t done it because he was in solitary at the time.’
Another shrug from Shipley. ‘Likely. I wasn’t in a supervisory position at that time.’
Rafe drew a breath and Mercy could feel his impatience. She gave his hand a squeeze this time. ‘Warden Shipley,’ she said, acting on a sudden hunch, ‘did Aubrey break the inmate’s neck to protect someone else?’
‘The inmate’s neck was broken, yes. I know this because I saw it. It was the first time I’d seen a murder on the job and it’s stuck with me all these years. I’ve always believed that Aubrey did it, but you won’t find any documentation on either of those things.’
Rafe glanced at Mercy, appreciation in his eyes. ‘Who was the inmate trying to attack at the time that Aubrey “probably” broke his neck?’ he asked, turning back to the computer.
Shipley took a full minute to check her notes. ‘Okay, here it is. The subject of the attack was Benton Travis.’
Mercy fought off her disappointment. Not Herbert Hampton. ‘What did he look like?’
‘Not tall, not short. Average guy. Brown hair. Wore glasses. Spent a lot of time in the prison library.’
Pastor, Mercy thought, both relieved and energized. ‘Did he start a church there, by chance?’
Shipley looked impressed. ‘He did. His nickname was Pastor.’
Yes, yes, yes. Mercy had to fight to keep the grin from her face. Benton Travis. Now they had a real name.
‘What was Travis in for?’ Rafe asked.
‘Embezzlement, bank fraud, mail fraud, and forgery,’ Shipley answered, then narrowed her eyes. ‘Why?’
‘Do you have a photo?’ Mercy asked, ignoring the question.
Shipley’s eyes narrowed further. ‘Quid pro quo, Miss Callahan. Why?’
‘Because he changed his name, then went on to form another church when he got out,’ Rafe answered. ‘From whom he embezzled. Then he disappeared. That was thirty years ago.’
‘Do you have a photo?’ Mercy asked again.
Shipley nodded. ‘It’s in the packet of information I’ll send to Detective Sokolov’s email. It was a shot taken for propaganda purposes, basically. Benton Travis led services in the mess hall on Sunday mornings. We had a chaplain, of course, but the inmates liked “Pastor” better.’ She used air quotes. ‘We got a photo of them in prayer. We thought he was using those services to coordinate criminal enterprise within the prison walls, but we could never catch him doing anything illegal.’