Mulder heard what Ressler was saying, but he felt detached from the words, as if they were meaningless. The girl’s body they had recovered wasn’t Samantha’s. That much had registered. But if Earl Roy had been killing kids as far back as 1972, his sister could’ve been one of them.
“What about 1973?” Mulder blurted out. “Do you know where Earl Roy was, or what he was doing? I’m asking because my sister, Samantha, was kidnapped in 1973, on November 27, from our house in Chilmark, Massachusetts. She was in the living room and the power went out. When it came back on, she was gone and the front door was left open, the same way it happened with the other kids.”
“And you were there,” Ressler said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah. But I blacked out and I don’t remember anything.” Mulder looked Agent Ressler in the eyes. “Do you think Earl Roy Propps took my sister?”
Ressler turned off the tape recorder. “Officially? I don’t know. The truth? It’s possible.”
“Were you involved with the investigation?”
“No. But I asked around after I read the write-up about your background.”
“And?” Mulder’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.
“No evidence was recovered, and there were never any suspects or any leads.” Ressler shook his head. “I’m sorry. I really wish I had more to tell you.”
Mulder nodded. The truth felt heavy and cold, like wearing a wet coat outside when it was freezing. He couldn’t handle feeling this way for the rest of his life. Whoever took his sister must have left a trace—one tiny bread crumb for him to follow.
Somewhere.
Agent Ressler turned the tape recorder back on. “Nothing can make up for what you’ve lost, but you saved a girl’s life. And you saved the lives of all the kids Earl Roy would’ve hurt if he was still free.”
Ressler’s acknowledgment didn’t give Mulder any peace. The Eternal Champion was still out there. “I didn’t do enough. Earl Roy didn’t do this alone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I tried to tell the sheriff, but he wouldn’t listen. There’s a second killer. The person who gave Earl Roy the bones.”
Ressler picked up his pen. “Did you see this person?”
“No.”
“Then what makes you think there’s another killer?”
“Earl Roy didn’t just dig up old bones to make those arrows, but I’m guessing you already know that. The bones came from adult murder victims, and removing the bones themselves took some work—chopping-off-hands kind of work.”
“Did Earl Roy tell you about that?” Ressler frowned and shook his head, disgusted.
Mulder wasn’t about to tell Agent Ressler that he got the information by sneaking around the police station and looking at photos the Major’s “source,” Sergio, had stolen from the morgue.
“That doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to tell you is that Earl Roy couldn’t have done any of that. He can’t handle the sight of blood.” Mulder rushed on. “When I was locked up in his basement, I cut my hand. When Earl Roy saw the blood, the guy went ballistic.”
Ressler started writing.
“I’m talking about a full-blown panic attack from a little blood smeared on the floor.”
Mulder held up his hand so Ressler could see his palm. “That’s the cut.”
It was so small that Ressler had to lean over his desk to take a closer look.
“But Earl Roy crawled away from me like I had severed an artery. And he begged me—his prisoner—not to come near him. That’s the reason he poisoned the kids. No blood. How could a guy like that hack up a body?”
“He couldn’t,” Ressler confirmed. “What you’re describing is a called hemophobia. And you deduced there was a second killer based on the connection between the bones and Earl Roy’s hemophobia?”
“Earl Roy also told me there was another killer,” Mulder said. “In a delusional sort of way.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“He’s obsessed with this fantasy series about the Eternal Champion, a character who fights to restore the balance between Chaos and Law. It’s pretty complicated.”
Ressler nodded. “We know about the books and the Eternal Champion. Propps hasn’t stopped talking about them.”
“He wouldn’t shut up about it with me, either. He kept saying he was the Eternal Champion’s protector. But it didn’t click until I saw his reaction to the blood.”
Agent Ressler leaned back in his chair, studying him.
Mulder recognized that look. “You don’t believe me, either.”
“Actually, I do.” Ressler opened a folder and thumbed through the papers inside. “I witnessed Earl Roy’s hemophobia firsthand.”
“How?”
“When I spoke to the sheriff, he told me that you were in shock, and I should wait a few days before I interviewed you. He said you thought there was another killer because Earl Roy was terrified of blood. He didn’t take any of it seriously.”
“But you did?” Mulder asked.
“I can’t take the credit. I mentioned the conversation to Agent Douglas, and he decided to conduct an experiment. He tossed a crime scene photo on the table when we questioned Earl Roy.”
“What happened?” Mulder tried to picture the scenario.