Promises in the Dark

by D. K. Hood

  She made her way along the path, listening to one of her favorite tunes via her earbuds. She noticed a shadow moving ahead and stopped walking. Her heart pounded. Bears often wandered close to town to raid people’s trash cans. She pulled out her earbuds and froze, listening.

  “Oh, thank goodness.” A man stepped out of the bushes. “Can you help me? I think my arm is broken.” He indicated to his arm tucked inside his shirt front.

  Unsettled but not stupid, Pamela stared at the man. “Why do you need my help? It’s not far to town, you can walk there.”

  “It’s not for me.” He indicated into the woods with his chin. “I came here to give my pup a run and someone set a trap. He got caught in it. I opened the trap but it snapped back on my arm. Toby’s hurt and I can’t leave him out here all alone. If you could carry him for me, my car is just at the end of the trail. I only need one hand to drive him to the vet.” He looked at her. “Please. I won’t go near you, just help Toby.”

  “Okay.” Pamela peered into the shadows. “Where is he? I’ll go get him.”

  “Through there.” The man pointed. “See the snowberry bushes? Just past them on the left.”

  Pamela pushed her earbuds and phone into her school bag and propped it beside a tree. She moved into the dark damp woods and stepped carefully along an animal track. “I can’t see him.”

  “Just a bit further, see over there.” The man came up behind her. “Please hurry.”

  Unable to see much at all in the dim light, Pamela hustled deeper into the woods. She heard breathing behind her and then pain shot through her head. White spots danced across her vision and she staggered forward. Panic gripped her and she rubbed her head. “Why did you hit me?”

  The next moment something slid around her neck and tightened. The man pushed her to her knees and before she could scream, he’d covered her mouth with tape. She tried so hard to stop him but he was so strong. Agony tore through overstretched muscles as he wrenched her arms behind her, binding them with tape. With her face pushed down in the damp leaves left from last fall and her arms secured tightly behind her, she couldn’t fight the man tearing at her clothes. He said nothing and by the time he’d finished, tears streamed down her face. Terrified and hurting bad, she rubbed her face in the cool leaves. Maybe he’d go now and leave her alone.

  “Can’t breathe huh?” He used her panties to wipe her nose. “When I’m sure you won’t scream, I’ll remove the tape.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him. Pleading with her eyes and shaking her head. She’d never forget his face and when she told her grandpa what had happened, he’d put him in jail.

  “Don’t worry, Pamela. I’m not going to kill you.” His raspy voice came close to her ear and she could smell cigarettes on his breath. “If you’re a good girl and do what I say, I’ll let you go. I only need you for a little while. If not—” he tugged at the cord around her neck “—this can get a lot tighter.” He dragged her to her feet. “Now walk. We’re going for a little ride.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Friday

  After returning to the office on Thursday evening and updating the files, exhaustion had overcome Jenna and her suggestion of a steak dinner in town and an early night had been welcomed by all members of the team. She’d spent her evening going over the case files while Jo chatted on the phone with her daughter, Jaime. She’d been interested to receive a report from Rowley on the Louan fire written by the fire chief, Matt Thompson. Rowley had scanned all the pages and sent the file to her by email with a little note explaining Thompson’s visit and complaint against her. She’d read the report with interest and found nothing added apart from a positive swab for gasoline as an accelerant in the fire and the assurance the Louan volunteer fire department had searched the bedrooms.

  Friday morning arrived with blue skies and a cool breeze blowing from the mountains. It was such a glorious day that Jenna couldn’t resist taking her toast and coffee on the porch to enjoy a few moments of peace. Jo and Carter had taken her cruiser and headed into town but she had time before she had to leave with Kane for the office. They arrived before seven and made themselves comfortable in the temporary FBI office. She looked over her laptop at the others. “Okay first of all, Kalo has analyzed the video taken by John Cleaves at the scene of the fire. No one is seen leaving the area and he validated the plate numbers of the vehicles. The Ford does belong to Dexter as we believed. If there’s any other information, he’ll contact me again. So, if you’re ready, we’ll go over the main points of the investigation?” She stood, moved around the desk, and plucked the whiteboard pen from its holder. “Okay, we have three people of interest to date. The two most probable are Roger Suffolk and John Cleaves. We’ll start with Suffolk.” She entered his name on the whiteboard and listed his information. “Motive: Lodged a complaint against Isaac Wood. He claimed Wood encouraged his wife to leave him. He became so violent toward Wood that Sheriff Crenshaw threw him in a cell but laid no charges because Crenshaw is a member of his church and likely believed Suffolk had just cause to be angry.”

  “His wife died in a car accident, brake failure.” Jo flipped through her notebook. “We’ll need to look into that as well. He made the comment that it was God’s will to set him free of her.”

  Jenna added that to the notes on the whiteboard. “If Wood was a problem for other church members, maybe it went further than Phelps let on. With the amount of men trying to date Sophie, he would’ve been making waves. Maybe Suffolk decided to remove the problem and take Sophie. We know he has a hankering for underage girls. I believe Dawn Richardson and we have proof she had sexual relations recently but unfortunately, she refuses to return to Louan to give evidence against him in court.” She frowned. “The case won’t stick, even if we pushed it, she’d had boyfriends before and we can’t prove Suffolk touched her.”

  “Don’t forget, Mrs. Wood was raped. We have proof of that at least.” Jo pushed a hand through her hair. “Another violent act. Killing wasn’t good enough, he wanted to humiliate and dominate his victims.”

  “Why didn’t you arrest him?” Carter tipped back his Stetson and narrowed his gaze at her. “Even if you can’t prove he had sex with a minor. He was living with an underage girl and statutory rape is a criminal offense in this state. I’m sure you could talk her around to testifying.”

  Not fazed by Carter’s annoyance, Jenna turned to look at him. “I have three reasons to let this go for now: the first we were invited by Louan county to investigate the bombing, which leaves Dawn’s case under the jurisdiction of Sheriff Crenshaw. Secondly, because most of the town belongs to the same church and have the same beliefs… that is, taking a child and training her to be a wife is okay, so the chances are he won’t spend a second in custody. Thirdly, Dawn has been through enough, dragging her through a court case, when we all know she can’t win, will traumatize her even more. It’s her choice if she decides to go ahead if more women step forward later.” She looked at him. “I called my contact in the FBI Child Protection Agency and as she is over the age of twelve and now safe, they don’t have time to get involved.”

  “I had to pull a lot of favors to have Dawn placed in my custody.” Jo went to the coffee machine and refilled her cup. “By rights, she should’ve been placed into the care of the Louan CFSD, but as Phelps, the director, is a member of the church as well, he’d return Dawn to her folks and they’ll give her back to Suffolk. They probably have an agreement or even a contract.”

  “I don’t agree.” Carter stared at the ceiling for some moments and then lowered his gaze to her. “Because with Dawn’s testimony we have more than circumstantial evidence to charge him with the Woods’ murder.”

  “I don’t think we can risk the case on one young woman’s testimony. The defense will tear her to shreds.” Kane joined Jo at the coffee machine. “I’d like to see more evidence or he’ll slide. He said that on Tuesday evening he was making a delivery at Miller’s Garage here in Black Rock Falls and didn’t get b
ack until late. We could waste a whole lot of time hunting down someone who he spoke to, but if the bomb was set off by remote—”

  “Dang!” Carter sprang from his chair and started pacing. “The family had the table set for dinner. What if our timeline is corrupted? Say Suffolk was at the Woods’ ranch earlier than we suspected. He subdued and restrained the family and set the bomb. He kidnapped Sophie and stashed her somewhere before he drove to Black Rock Falls to set up his alibi. It’s only half an hour’s drive from Louan to Miller’s Garage. He could’ve set off the bomb with a simple phone call while he was there.”

  “Exactly.” Kane glanced over his shoulder at Carter. “He also admitted being in DC around the time of the earlier bombings, which is another strike against him. Here’s where I have a problem, and it suggests reasonable doubt. Suffolk is a big guy and him and his truck would be well known in Louan. How come nobody noticed him or his truck near the Woods’ ranch on the night of the bombing?” He filled his cup and returned to his seat. “We also don’t know if he has any knowledge of explosives.” He sighed. “We’ll need more information on Suffolk before we move on him. The underage dealing must be rife in Louan if it’s thought to be normal practice. I hate to say it but if Suffolk has been raised to believe that behavior is okay, it doesn’t make him a murderer.”

  “I have to agree.” Jo stared at Jenna. “Without a direct link to Suffolk, like for instance, he used his own phone to call the burner to detonate the bomb, and with him establishing an iron-clad alibi, it’s not going to fly.”

  Unconvinced, Jenna chewed on the end of the pen thinking. “What if he didn’t use his truck? Remember, we discussed the possibility of the blue Ford stolen by Harvey Haralson being involved in a crime?” She went back to her desk and scanned the files. “Haralson said he found the vehicle abandoned at the edge of the forest opposite The Triple Z Bar. Suffolk admits to being at the Triple Z bar on Tuesday evening. What if he parked his truck in the parking lot, took the Ford from Dotty Grace’s yard, and drove back to Louan to commit the crime? When he had Sophie holed up somewhere, he left the Ford in the forest and went back to the Triple Z Bar, collected his truck and went home?”

  “Yeah, possible.” Kane scanned his notes. “The rancher, Jo Ranger recalls seeing a blue Ford in the vicinity of the Woods’ ranch before the explosion.”

  “Okay.” Jenna added Jo Ranger to her to do list. “We’ll speak to him.”

  “Has Wolfe done a forensic sweep of the vehicle?” Carter frowned. “I don’t see a report in the files, or a final report on the fire victims.”

  Jenna shook her head and went back to the whiteboard. “Not yet, he’s been snowed under. He’ll give us a final report on the Wood family when we go for Sophie’s autopsy.”

  “What else have we got on Suffolk?” Carter sat down and pulled a toothpick from his top pocket. “He’s on the top of my suspect list.”

  Jenna made notes on the whiteboard. “Kane mentioned Suffolk was heading this way yesterday to make a delivery. It would be interesting to see if he is in the footage Rowley captured of the people hanging around the lake.”

  “Yeah, killers often return to the scene of the crime or want to look at the bodies of the people they murdered.” Jo stirred sugar into her cup. “Some return over and over. We should get IDs on everyone watching.”

  Jenna nodded. “I’ll ask Rowley to look into that for us.”

  “If he doesn’t get hits in a few hours, hand it over to Bobby Kalo, he has face recognition software and way more databases to search.” Jo looked at her. “Some of the people could be tourists.”

  “Sure.” Jenna smiled. “I keep forgetting about Kalo. I’ll send him a copy of the footage to do his magic.” She added it to her list. “Okay what do you have on Cleaves?”

  “Our interview with him was interesting.” Carter placed one cowboy boot on the knee of his other leg. “We found C-4 in his broom closet and he had mud on his shoes. The samples are with Wolfe. He was on scene and took footage of the explosion, was also in DC around the time of the previous bombings.”

  Jenna rested one hip on the corner of the desk. “Motive?”

  “Well, he didn’t like Mrs. Wood. Apparently, she objected to him speaking to Sophie. Now we have a clearer understanding of the way of things in Louan, the Woods being outsiders would have upset many of the members of the same sect or whatever.” Carter snorted. “With C-4 in his possession, an attraction to Sophie, and being on scene, he is a possible as well.”

  “Okay.” Jenna looked at Kane. “What about Simon Dexter out of Prairie View. Your notes mentioned he was the driver of the gray car captured on scene by Cleaves’ dashcam and a known firebug?”

  “He has a motive as well, much the same as Cleaves.” Kane sipped his coffee and regarded her over the rim of the cup. “If fifteen is the age the girls are let’s say ‘trialed’ by potential husbands, we’re dealing with statutory rape. I’m guessing they marry at sixteen. Here that’s legal although we don’t see it happen very often in Black Rock Falls. Sophie would have become a contender in the eyes of many single men from the same congregation. From what we’re hearing, the Woods were getting angry at the local men for pestering them about Sophie. Who knows how many Isaac Wood threatened to shoot? This is a motive and from where I’m sitting, removing Sophie from her family meant she was available.” He sighed. “I figure, she escaped her kidnapper and her death was an accident. From what I’m seeing, there’s a shortage of fifteen-year-old girls in Louan.” He shot a glance at Carter. “I know the FBI can look into this practice. You’ll have to do something.”

  “We’ve one case.” Carter cleared his throat. “No matter how distasteful we believe this practice, we’re going to have one hell of a time proving it. How many girls raised to accept this as normal will be willing to come forward?”

  Jenna pushed a hand through her hair. “I doubt we’ll find one, willing to go against their family and church. It is their first amendment right to practice their beliefs. We’ll do what we can to help Dawn and make noise about anyone else needing assistance to come forward. We have the Her Broken Wings hotline and I’ll make sure the flyers are worded to let anyone in a similar situation aware we can help them. I’ll have them posted in the local schools as well.”

  “I figure we’re getting way off track.” Kane straightened in his chair. “We’re looking at the Woods’ murder as an excuse to kidnap Sophie. Has it slipped your minds this lunatic has the same MO as the one in the DC bombings?” He waved one hand toward the board. “Raping the wife and then kidnapping the girl was the icing on the cake, his reward and an escalation.” He looked at Jo. “I’m right, don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah.” Jo rested her chin in her palm and looked at the whiteboard. “Or he’s smarter than we think and he’s using the girl as a distraction?”

  Jenna snorted. “I don’t call rape a distraction.”

  “No, I didn’t mean that, Jenna.” Jo frowned at her. “It shows a vicious brutality but on top of all the other traits we’re seeing in this killer, now we can add narcissist. He thinks only of himself. He has no empathy for anyone or he wouldn’t have killed the child, or raped the mother and Sophie. Both these are acts of extreme violence. This man is angry and whatever triggered him in DC has set him off again but this time, it’s tenfold.”

  Jenna nodded and scanned the faces of her team. “I have my own conclusions. Yes, he’s been triggered again but this time he’s not killing people by remote. In DC, the bombs were set and he walked away nice and clean. It wasn’t up close and personal. It was more like revenge for something they did to him. He’s nothing like the psychopaths we’ve dealt with in the past. This time, it’s personal, so he needed the connection with his victims. He wanted to see the fear in their eyes and listen to them plead for their lives. He tied them up so they know what is going to happen, he no doubt taunts them before they die and makes it a slow death. The problem is, the explosion and fire just weren’t enough, he needed more
control. He wants to hurt them as much as someone hurt him, so to twist the knife, he rapes the wife in front of her family and kidnaps their daughter. He kept Sophie alive to torment for as long as possible. This is revenge in spades and I don’t believe it’s anywhere near over.” She took a deep breath. “I think he’s just begun and the Woods were only the first on his list.”

  Twenty-Nine

  He’d taken Pamela Stuart to a cabin in Stanton Forest, Black Rock Falls. It was convenient and not too far to walk from a firebreak road. Although it was coming into summer, this part of the forest wasn’t a popular hiking trail and wasn’t in a hunting area. The old man who owned the cabin had lived off the grid until he’d died. The cabin remained just as he’d left it. Canned goods on the shelves and the bed neatly made. No one had claimed it and when he came across it, last fall, he’d found the key to the door under a bucket of kindling on the front porch. He’d spent some time nailing the shutters closed, added a Keep out, trespassers will be shot on sight, sign to the front porch and taken the key. He didn’t intend to leave Pamela in the cabin, he wanted her in the Whispering Caves where he could set up his trail cam again and watch her.

  He’d spent some time with her last night before attaching her ankle to a long chain. He couldn’t allow Pamela to escape, she’d seen his face and could identify him. He’d set up his trail cam and told her he’d be watching her. She’d become passive and pliable. Having a girl cooperate was surprising because he could see the fear in her eyes. He wanted to frighten her, it put him in control and he liked that.

  He walked through the trees and joined a small track that led to the cabin. It was well hidden by the forest and bushes grew right up to the porch. He unlocked the door and stared at her. The room smelled of sweat and the pee in the bucket stunk. She stood up dragging a blanket around her. He glared at her. “Are you trying to make me mad, Pamela?”