And Never See Her Again (9 page)

The investigators then approached the subject of the black Mercury Cougar that Franks had been driving when apprehended by the Special Crimes Unit. Franks stated he and Judy had bought the car sometime the previous year. He claimed he drove the car occasionally, but Judy most frequently drove the vehicle.

"Ricky, I need to talk to you about your statement. You said you had Opal Jennings in your car on March 26, 1999," McCormick said.

"No," Franks quickly responded, denying that he had made any statements. "I wasn't telling the truth when I made that statement."

McCormick reminded Franks that he was the person who took his statement and read it to him again. His head dropping slightly, Franks finally admitted what he had previously stated wasn't true, that he had been confused. He hadn't let Opal in his car. He even denied being in Saginaw until after he had seen the reports of the kidnapping on the news. Franks then claimed that he and Judy had driven to Saginaw, just to see where Opal lived.

Frustrated but determined to get a clear picture of Franks's knowledge of Opal's disappearance, McCormick again read Franks the statement he had made to Eric Holden.

"What parts are true and what parts are false?" McCormick questioned.

"I don't even know my way around Saginaw," Franks claimed. "I haven't been in Saginaw for years, other than to travel through on my way to Indian Creek, where Rodney lives."

But when pressed by McCormick and Keefer, Franks again admitted to being in Saginaw on March 26, 1999. He claimed to have been looking for a man named Ray, who occasionally employed him for odd jobs. He couldn't recall Ray's last name.

'What job did you do for Ray that day?" Keefer questioned.

Franks couldn't remember if Ray had been home, so he wasn't sure if he did any work or not. He continued to deny seeing Opal, but he did admit that he probably went to North Hampshire Street, but only to visit his brother Danny, who also lived on North Hampshire.

"Ricky, Danny moved off of North Hampshire in December 1998," McCormick stated.

Franks was unresponsive but appeared anxious, lighting another cigarette and tapping his thumb against the table.

McCormick pressed on by asking Franks about the possibility that he had been seen talking to Opal. Squirming in his chair, Franks finally admitted that he had seen Opal and two smaller children playing. He claimed Opal had waved at him and asked him to stop. He acknowledged that he did stop and alleged Opal asked him to take her to the store.

"I knew I would get in trouble because I was on probation. I told Opal that I had to get to my brother's house and that I couldn't take her to the store," Franks stated.

He asserted that while he was talking to Opal, the other kids were yelling for her to go back in the yard and play with them. He said they were playing with some type of ball.

"I told her that she needed to get back to playing with the other kids," Franks stated. "Then she started begging me to take her to the store. I think the car door was open while I was talking to Opal. She shook my hand and gave me a hug. Finally I agreed to take her to the store to get her a Coke."

Franks reported Opal went around to the passenger side of his car and got in.

"What car were you driving?" McCormick asked.

"I was driving Judy's black Cougar," Franks responded.

"What happened next?" McCormick asked, encouraging Franks to go on.

"I drove her to the store beside the motel on Main Street, I can't remember the name of the store because it's had several different names," Franks began. "I told Opal that she had to hurry because I didn't have time to be waiting around while she was in the store. I waited in the car while Opal got out and went in the store and got a Coke. When she got back in the car, I took her back home and let her out in the same place I picked her up. She started playing with the other kids again and I drove off."

McCormick and Keefer exchanged glances. There were a number of discrepancies in Franks's story. He was lying, holding back the truth as to what really had happened to six-year-old Opal.

"Ricky, there are some problems with your story. Opal never made it home," McCormick stated.

Franks looked from McCormick to Keefer. "Opal had seemed upset. I think she might have run away from home," Franks said.

"Did Opal tell you she was going to run away?" McCormick prodded.

"I don't remember," Franks said, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"But I do remember her saying she didn't like school," Franks offered. "I told her she needed to study hard if she wanted to do good in school."

McCormick took a long, deep breath. "Ricky, I have a hard time believing anything you're telling me now, because of all the changes in your story."

Franks's eyes again darted to Keefer, then to the cigarette he held between his fingers. It had become obvious Ricky Franks was intimidated by Agent Keefer. Perhaps because she was with the FBI, perhaps because she was a woman with power-the power to take him down. McCormick nodded slightly toward the door and Agent Keefer left the room. She remained just outside the interview office and listened to the remainder of Franks's discussion with McCormick.

Tears welled in Franks's eyes and began to run down his pimpled face.

"I'm not a bad person," Franks cried.

"What are you talking about, Ricky?" McCormick asked.

"I took Opal to the store, but I left her there because I was afraid I would get in trouble, because I was on probation," Franks sniveled.

McCormick straightened in his chair, frustration beginning to sound in his voice. "Are you telling me now that you didn't take Opal home? That you left her at the store? That someone else took her from the store?"

"I think that's what happened to her," Franks gulped.

"The police have been to all the stores in Saginaw after Opal was abducted," McCormick said, "and she was not at any of them."

Franks again began saying he hadn't been in Saginaw that day, he didn't know Opal, and he hadn't seen any of the kids playing. The convicted sex offender contended that McCormick was putting words in his mouth-words he hadn't said.

McCormick snapped back at Franks, reminding him that the words were Franks's own, that the detective had merely been listening while he spoke.

Agent Keefer reentered the room and spoke directly to Franks, asking him about a girl named Jessica, who lived in Keller, Texas, a child who also had been abducted about the same time Opal was taken. Unknown to Franks, Keefer had concocted the story. It was a test for Franks, a test to see if the simpleminded man knew right from wrong.

Ricky Franks sat up straighter, showing a newfound confidence, a strong voice, and an insistence that he had nothing to do with that crime.

"I'll be blamed for every missing kid because of what happened to Opal! " Franks shouted.

"That's not true," Keefer said. "Those things have to be proven in court."

Franks sat back and appeared to feel assured by Keefer's words. McCormick and Keefer were certain Richard Lee Franks knew right from wrong. They believed he was not easily led and would not confess to crimes he didn't commit.

The two investigators returned to a discussion of Opal and Franks's involvement in her disappear ance. They told him his car had been processed while he was being held at the office of the Special Crimes Unit. Keefer informed him that the stain found in his car was human blood.

"That's probably because I was a mechanic and I was always cutting my hands and arms," Franks explained.

Franks was employed at the time by the Motorcycle Performance Center (MPC), a motorcycle shop in Fort Worth.

"The blood will be checked to see if it matches Opal's blood type," McCormick informed Franks.

Franks said nothing, but looked as if he were seriously contemplating the words McCormick spoke.

"We'll also be testing hairs and fingerprints found in the car," Keefer advised.

Franks stated that Opal had probably left her fingerprints in the car when she reached in to give him a hug, but that prints could also belong to Judy or Kimberly, Judy's daughter.

"That might be right," McCormick stated. "But all fingerprints are different, and if Opal's prints are in the car, we'll find them."

For several moments Franks sat silently, as though thinking about what McCormick had just said. He then addressed McCormick directly: "If Opal's fingerprints are in the car, they got there while she was hugging me or when I took her to the store."

McCormick's voice rose, "We're not going to go back to that story. We all know you never took Opal to the store."

"You're right," Franks acknowledged after a few moments. "I never took her to the store. I took her to the park on Longhorn Street Opal wanted to go to the park and play, so I took her to the park. I left her at the park and drove off. She might have run away from home."

McCormick was growing tired of Franks's changing story. The Special Crimes investigator had been awake for more than twenty-four hours and the interview was seemingly going backward. Franks had made a statement to Eric Holden and had signed it. Now he was changing key elements that McCormick knew were inconsistent with the original statement and not true. McCormick took a deep breath and began flushing out Franks's latest rendition of the events of March 26, 1999.

"What happened on the way to the park?" McCormick asked.

Franks at first stated he and Opal just talked, but when asked what they talked about, Franks said about how the young girl was doing in school.

"Did anything sexual happen?" McCormick questioned.

"Do you mean did we have sex?" Franks asked.

"Did you talk about it or did something more than just talk happen?" McCormick pushed.

As before, Franks claimed that six-year-old Opal wanted him to have sex with her, and again he declared he told her he couldn't have sex with someone younger than he was because he was on probation and would get into trouble.

"Opal kept asking me to fuck her, but I said no," Franks reiterated.

He once more alleged Opal unzipped his pants and took his dick out and acted like she was going to go down on him. Franks stated he made her stop and put his dick back in his pants. He then stated Opal started removing her shorts.

"I told her to stop, she'd get me in trouble," Franks claimed.

"What happened next?" McCormick asked.

"I just drove her to the park. Opal got out and I left," Franks stated.

'Well, if Opal's fingerprints are in the car, that will explain how they got there," McCormick remarked.

Franks said nothing, but a slight smile crossed his weary face.

"If Opal's hairs are found in the car, we need to find out how they got there," McCormick said.

"I never pulled her hair," Franks quickly declared.

McCormick explained that hair can fall out easily and they can blow out and end up in the car.

"That's probably what happened because my car didn't have air-conditioning and the windows were rolled down. Her hair probably blew out in the car." Franks quickly offered that as an explanation.

"That's possible, but there's still a problem if the blood in the car is Opal's," McCormick said.

Franks sat quietly, as if forming an explanation for any of Opal's blood that might be found in his car, just as he had offered a clarification for the possible presence of Opal's hair.

"Did Opal have any cuts or scratches on her that might have caused her to bleed in the car?" McCormick asked, as if offering Franks an easy clarification.

But Franks said he didn't see any cuts or scratches on Opal.

"Think about it for a minute," McCormick offered.

After a few minutes Franks said he thought he might know how Opal's blood got in his car. 'When she ran from the car, she fell in the street," Franks offered.

"Where was she bleeding from?" McCormick continued.

"From her nose."

"I have a problem with your explanation," McCormick said accusingly. "If she fell after running from the car, and you didn't see her again, how did the blood get in your car?"

Franks stared at McCormick, not speaking for several seconds.

"Oh, I remember," Franks began, "she came back to the car, reached in, and gave me a hug for taking her to the park. She said, `Thank you for taking me to the park."'

McCormick watched Franks without speaking. This was no simpleminded man. When faced with possible unexplained facts, even if fictitious, Franks was readily able to devise an explanation.

Franks stated he drove off but returned to the park to check on Opal because it was getting dark and it may have started raining. He claimed the last place he saw the girl was on the other side of the fence, by the creek.

"Where's the quarry?" Keefer injected.

"It's across the street from the park. I've only been to the quarry a couple of times," Franks stated. "I drove back to that area and parked on Longhorn Street. I'm not sure exactly where, it was where some trailers were parked. I walked back down to the creek area and yelled Opal's name, but she never answered, so I drove home."

Franks continued by saying that when he got home, Judy told him about the AMBER alert on television and she wanted him to drive her over there so she could see where Opal lived. He said they drove by the house and saw all the cameras and newspeople at the house.

"Did you tell Judy about taking Opal to the park?" McCormick questioned.

"No. She probably would have been mad because of my probation," Franks answered.

The suspect continued to insist that the last time he saw Opal she was bleeding from her nose, but otherwise was all right.

Attempting to push Franks into more specific de tails concerning the location of where Opal ran from the car, Franks turned and again started saying that he didn't remember Opal at all.

"Ricky, you aren't able to tell the truth. We can't believe you when you say you last saw her alive, then say you don't remember her at all," McCormick said flatly.

And again Franks told the investigators that Opal did get in his car on her own, that he didn't force her, that she was making the moves on him, and that she wanted to have sex with him.