Promises in the Dark

by D. K. Hood

  “You’d draw down on an unarmed man?” Dexter held up his hands, shoulder high, and walked toward them.

  Jenna didn’t raise her weapon but stared at him, trying to judge his intentions. “I don’t know if you’re armed, Mr. Dexter. Just keep those hands where I can see them. All I want to do is to ask you a few questions. I’m confused by your attitude.”

  “There should be a law against women carrying guns.” Dexter stopped a couple of yards from them his eyes blazing with suppressed anger.

  “Why is that, Mr. Dexter?” Jo stepped closer to the open door. “Women have equal rights in this country and by law, you’re required to obey the direction of a law enforcement officer.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?” He glared at Jenna. “Ask your questions and then get the hell off my property.”

  Jenna holstered her weapon. “Where were you tonight?”

  “I was in Blackwater. I went to see the fire.” Dexter shrugged. “Or is there a law about that now?”

  After taking out her notepad and pen, Jenna glanced past him and took in the unkempt house. She turned her attention back to him. “What time was this?”

  “Maybe ten or later, I’m not sure.” Dexter shuffled his feet. “It was a housefire. It lit up the sky like a wildfire. I came home just before.”

  “How did you know about the fire?” Jo stiffened beside her. “You can’t see it from here.”

  “I have a scanner.” Dexter rubbed his chin. “I like watching fires. The flames are like evil spirits leaping out of hell. Chasing firetrucks is a hobby. It’s exciting.”

  Recalling Kane’s notes on the last interview with him, she frowned. “You find people dying in fires and the destruction of property exciting?”

  “It so happens I do.” He paused a beat as if regretting his words. “Well, not the people dying, I guess.”

  “I see.” Jenna examined his demeanor closely. “You didn’t help the Wood family escape the fire here in town, did you? Were you aware that Sophie had fled the house?”

  “No.” He frowned. “I liked her. She was pretty.”

  “And is Sheriff Stuart’s granddaughter, Pamela, pretty?” Jo twirled the earbud of her com, in her fingers as if bored. “Have you made an offer for her too?”

  “No, I haven’t made an offer for her.” He looked annoyed. “Why? Has her family complained about me as well?”

  Ignoring his question, Jenna raised her eyes from her notepad. “You mentioned you have a scanner, so you’d know that Pamela is missing. Have you seen her or know her whereabouts?”

  “No and no.” Dexter leaned against the wall. “Can I put my hands down now?”

  Jenna shook her head. “Did you see anyone you recognize at the fire?”

  “Yeah, it happens I did.” He smiled triumphantly sending a waft of fried onions in her direction. “I saw the blacksmith, Roger Suffolk, and John Cleaves. John is a fire chaser like me.”

  “Do you own a drone, or have you ever owned a drone?” Jo raised her gaze.

  “A drone?” Dexter barked a laugh. “I’d love to own a drone so I could get some footage of the fires from above but right now, I don’t have one.”

  “Okay, that’s all for now.” Jenna folded her notebook and pushed it into her pocket. “Thank you for your time.”

  The man’s eyes seemed to burn into her back as she headed down the pathway. When the porch light went out and plunged them into darkness, she pulled out her flashlight and turned to Jo. “Did you get anything from him?”

  “He has no respect for women and by looking at the state of him and his house, he doesn’t care about himself either.” Jo sucked in a breath and let it out in a yawn. “Is he the bomber? I doubt he has the brains but we’ll keep him on the list of possible suspects.”

  They walked back to the truck and climbed inside. Carter was missing and Jenna noticed him coming around the back of the house with Zorro. “What is he doing? I hope that’s not an illegal search.”

  “Nah, just giving Zorro a run.” Kane pushed both hands through his hair and massaged his scalp. “He took off in that direction so I guess Carter followed.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Sure he did.”

  “Nothing.” Carter secured Zorro in the back seat and slid in beside him. “The place is clean.”

  “Cleaves next?” Kane examined her face. “Or do you want to speak to him in the morning?”

  Determined to keep going, Jenna shook her head. “I know where Cleaves was tonight. Dexter just informed us that he was in Blackwater. They’re both fire chasers and use a police scanner for information.” She sighed. “I’d like to see if he knows anything about Pamela. We asked Dexter and he claims to not know she went missing and for an avid follower of a police scanner, and the media coverage, he should have known. This alone makes him suspicious.”

  “Then Cleaves would be using the same device.” Kane pulled a woolen cap over his ears against the early morning chill. “One thing is for sure, either way he’s not going to admit knowing her, is he? I think we’d be wasting our time.” He looked at Jenna. “Unless you believe he might have Pamela holed up in his house?”

  “I’m so tired I don’t know what to think.” Jenna pressed her knuckles against her sore eyes. “I don’t have probable cause to break down Cleaves’ door and search for her. We have no connection between them at all.”

  “Then why?” Carter yawned explosively.

  Jenna leaned back in the seat and sighed. “I’m worried Dexter and Cleaves could be working together and figured showing up on their doorsteps tonight might slow them down some.”

  “I doubt it’s two men and we don’t know if Pamela going missing is a coincidence.” Kane looked at her. “We’ll need to search for a possible link between our suspects and Sheriff Stuart. Without that we have nothing.”

  “We’ll also need evidence to connect the Blackwater bombing to the one at Louan.” Carter popped a toothpick between his lips. “Right now, all the evidence from the drone is in evidence bags inside Wolfe’s van and we haven’t examined the crime scene yet.”

  Jenna nodded. “I know it’s too early to make conclusions but I’m worried about Pamela. What if he has killed her already?”

  “It’s a possibility.” Jo chewed on her fingers. “From the reports, the Blackwater deputies have the search for her well organized. They are on top of it, Jenna. We need to concentrate on the bombings.”

  Head fuzzy from lack of sleep, Jenna looked at Kane. “My gut tells me it’s the same person.”

  “Yeah, I agree. Bombing is an unusual way to kill, and too much of a coincidence to be different people.” Kane started the engine. “One thing for sure is that this murdering SOB is following an escalation pattern. He’s getting worse.”

  “I have to agree.” Jo clasped her hands together. “And we haven’t seen his best work yet.”

  Forty-Six

  Jenna stared at the clock beside her bed in disbelief, she’d slept through until ten. Why hadn’t anyone called her? She checked her phone, no missed calls, no messages. She climbed out of bed and the consequences of the explosion hit her like a ton of bricks. Her knee ached, her hip was stiff and the cut on her neck stung. She gave her black cat Pumpkin a stroke and watched her stretch and then curl up in a ball, before limping into the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and gasped. Apart from washing her hands and face and cleaning her teeth, she’d fallen into bed and dropped asleep in seconds. Her hair was a tangled mess and she had bruises all over. Sighing she turned on the shower and stepped inside. It was the continuation of a very long day and all she wanted to do was crawl into a ball like the cat and sleep until Christmas.

  Sometime later, she found Carter at her kitchen table and Kane cooking breakfast. “Is Jo awake?”

  “Yeah, she’s outside on the stoop talking to Jaime.” Carter looked up at her from his laptop. “We all overslept but it was time well spent. Updates have only just started to filter in.”

  “Okay.�
�� Jenna poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter sipping the rich brew. She looked at Kane, hair wet from the shower, and in a world of his own stirring eggs. “Did you get any sleep?”

  “Yeah.” He gave her an appraising look. “Before you ask, my head is fine. How are you?”

  Jenna pulled a face. “You really don’t want to know.” She turned and pushed bread into the toaster. “Thanks for cooking breakfast.” She inhaled the delicious smell of sizzling bacon and sighed. “I thought we were all out of bacon.”

  “Apparently, Jo ordered a ton of supplies and they arrived just as we’d finished tending the horses.” He shrugged. “We have enough food here for a month. The overflow is in my freezer.”

  “It’s all part of our assignment budget.” Carter stood and took the heated plates out of the microwave. “You’ll get a paycheck as well.”

  “That’s right.” Jo came into the kitchen and smiled at her. “My move to Snakeskin Gully came with a ton of provisos. Trust me, I intend to use up every cent of my budget each year. I’m planning on making our field office a force to be reckoned with.” She collected cups and placed them on the table with the fixings.

  Breakfast had become a well-oiled ritual, everyone pitching in to help. Jenna took out the silverware and laid the table and before long they were all sitting down eating. She looked at Jo. “How’s Jaime?”

  “She’s good.” Jo sipped her coffee. “She misses me of course but it’s a way of life for us and she copes well. The puppy helps as well. She loves Snakeskin Gully, the small school, and friendly people. She told me she never wants to leave.”

  “I always wanted a permanent home when I was a kid too.” Kane looked up with a forkful of eggs raised to his mouth. “I was an army brat, moving from place to place, country to country.”

  “Yeah? Was your pa in the service?” Carter liberally spread butter on his toast.

  Jenna shot Kane a meaningful look across the table. He never discussed his past life, not ever. Carter could have checked him out and would likely know his file verbatim.

  “Two-star.” Kane continued to eat.

  Jenna didn’t recall any mention of a two-star general in Kane’s resume, when he applied for the job as deputy. She needed to change the topic of conversation fast and cleared her throat. “Time’s getting on. We’ll need to head out to Blackwater as soon as we’ve finished here. I’ll find out when Wolfe plans to be there. You mentioned updates?”

  “Yeah. First up, I already called Wolfe and the fire chief. They’re heading out to the crime scene at noon.” Carter pushed his empty plate away and looked at her. “There’s been no sightings of the girl. Nothing. It’s as if she placed her bag against the tree and walked away. They checked the fingerprints on her backpack, they’re the same as they found at her home.” He sipped his coffee. “Ah, let me see. Kalo’s been hunting down connections between our suspects and social services, and both Wood and Sheriff Stuart. He’s had a few hits. Wood used to live in Blackwater before he inherited the ranch out of Louan from his father.”

  Jenna sighed. “Yeah we knew that, it’s in my report.” She leaned back in her chair. “Anything else?”

  “Let me finish.” Carter mirrored her pose and raised one eyebrow. “Wood worked in Blackwater, that’s where he met his wife. There the sheriff and Wood both had dealings with John Cleaves. Apparently, he’d been stalking an old girlfriend in DC. He was arrested in DC and received a slap on the wrist with the proviso he took counseling. He refused and fired his lawyer, saying he’d lose his job if he remained in DC for the required time. The magistrate gave him three months’ jailtime.”

  “So, we have a tie in to the DC magistrate and lawyer.” Kane was expressionless. “But not to Sheriff Stuart or Wood.”

  “Well, the story didn’t end there.” Carter stood and refilled his coffee cup and took the pot back to the table. “He verbally abused his DC lawyer, said he’d get even, and the judge added an anger management course to his sentence. It was the same lawyer who died in DC.” He spooned sugar into his cup and then added cream before sitting down. “When the girlfriend moved to Blackwater, Cleaves started to follow her around and the situation replayed apart from the time in jail. This time, he took the counseling with Wood but wasn’t cooperative and threatened to get even with Sheriff Stuart for arresting him.”

  Considering the new evidence, Jenna looked around the table. “Do we have the threat to the sheriff in a statement?”

  “Nope.” Carter met her gaze, his green eyes flashed with something like amusement. “Kalo hacked into the sheriff’s files and found Cleaves made a one-on-one threat, so I’m afraid it’s hearsay.” He held up a finger. “Wait there’s more.”

  “You sure like to drag things out, Carter.” Jo refilled her cup.

  “He found Dexter had no significant connection to anyone, but this is where the story gets interesting.” Carter paused a beat to sip his coffee. “Roger Suffolk’s best buddy was a guy named Graham Lindley. They were both raised in Blackwater. They parted ways when Lindley reported him to the sheriff for messing with underage girls. Suffolk was thrown out of school and they had a very public brawl in town. Sheriff Stuart hauled them in for fighting, charged Suffolk with property damage and assault but allowed Lindley to walk free.”

  “How so?” Interested, Jenna leaned forward.

  “I think I know but I’ll come to that in a second.” Carter looked pleased with himself. “The very next day, Stuart hauled Suffolk downtown again and held him for forty-eight hours, I assume to hunt down any proof of the underage girl accusations. He was released without charge, so I figure they couldn’t prove he’d committed an offense.” He sighed. “Soon after, Suffolk and his family moved to Louan to be more involved with their church.”

  Jenna pushed her hair behind one ear. “Graham Lindley is the name of the Blackwater magistrate, but he’s in his late sixties so can’t be the same person. How does this tie in with the bombings in DC?”

  “The magistrate in DC is his son. The friend Suffolk had a fight with way back. It was his secretary involved in the car bombing, which makes it too much of a coincidence.” Carter rested his cup on the table. “They had the same name. Suffolk had a motive: his career in law was over and so was his place on the college football team.”

  Jenna frowned. “How old was Suffolk when this happened?”

  “Eighteen.” Carter shook his head. “Seems he still has a hankering for underage girls.”

  “If Suffolk was blamed for something his folks probably raised him to believe was okay, it would be very confusing for a teenager.” Jo frowned. “But it wouldn’t be enough to trigger murder.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Kane looked up from his plate. “My question would be, how involved was Lindley? What if he was initially involved with underage girls as well and then rolled over on Suffolk for immunity? That would sure trigger a fight between friends. It’s not beyond reason to believe that a magistrate might be tempted to cover up crimes to save his son’s reputation— not everyone’s squeaky clean.” He leaned back and stretched his arms high above his head. “If Lindley was involved but then walked, it gives Suffolk motive. His best friend ruined his life.” He dropped his arms, groaned, and then rubbed one shoulder.

  Unsure, Jenna looked from Kane to Carter and back. “I’ve always thought Sheriff Stuart was lawful, but they’re close friends.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “Hmm, I’d say seeing his ex-friend successful in DC, while Suffolk was doing manual work, might have given him a motive.” She shot a look at Kane. “But it doesn’t tie him in with the lawyer. What motive did he have for killing him and why the secretary?”

  “I don’t know about the lawyer, it’s something we need to look into more closely.” Kane raked his fingers through his hair. “The car bombing, if Lindley’s secretary refused to allow Suffolk to see him, she could have become a target. We’re not talking about a logical mind here, Jenna. This guy is sick.”

  “Both of our
main suspects fit the profile, both are confident and carrying on professions.” Jo fiddled with her earring. “The getting even is an excuse they find perfectly normal. An eye for an eye mentality. This is what makes people like this so dangerous: they fit right in and act normally.”

  Forty-Seven

  Married life for deputy Jake Rowley had become like driving down the mountain highway without brakes. The past six months had flashed by so fast it had been like a dream. The only negative was the time it took driving into the sheriff’s office from his new ranch. Not that it was far away but living in town had its advantages. He had always been there to open the office for Sheriff Alton. Now with his chores, tending the horses, and the general running of things, his life had become a little chaotic. With the sheriff, working with the FBI and only having old Deputy Walters as backup, his days seemed to be getting longer. On weekends, the team often took turns in the office and monitoring the 911 calls but he couldn’t expect the semi-retired Walters to carry the extra burden. It was just as well Maggie was there to lend a hand. Living close by, she’d taken to arriving early and opening the office and by the time he arrived at eight, she had a pot of fresh coffee brewing.

  He’d spent the morning chasing down complaints, and then sat at Jenna’s desk to sift through the pile of messages. People called the sheriff’s department for the most ridiculous things. Dogs barking made the top of the list, dogs digging up people’s yards a close second. He had three calls about a person complaining that their neighbor looked at them strangely. The phone on the desk rang and he picked up the receiver. “Deputy Rowley.”

  “This is Jan Cotterill. I called you about my missing car?”

  Rowley pushed a hand through his hair. “It’s in the system, Mrs. Cotterill. No one has found it yet I’m afraid.”

  “That’s because it’s here. Right back in the barn where I left it. It looks fine, no damage but it has mud on the tires and it smells real bad.” Mrs. Cotterill sounded worried. “I’m not so young anymore, and I’m scared to open the trunk. Can you send someone around to take a look?”