by D. K. Hood
“No one would give out that information.” Rio sighed.
“Then it could’ve been anyone staying on this floor.” Julie shuddered. “When we came back out of Rio’s room, there were people standing at doors staring at us like we were freaks.”
Jenna stood. “Okay, we all need to get some sleep. Head back to your room, Zac. Emily, lock the door behind us and always keep it locked when you’re in here. We’ll talk some more in the morning.” She checked her watch. “Well… make that later today. Sleep late and order room service for breakfast. I’m going to bed.”
Jenna waited with Kane until they heard the lock click on the girls’ door and headed for their room. When Kane slid his card into the lock, they heard Duke growl. She flicked a glance at Kane and pulled her weapon. Flattening her back to the wall, she waited for Kane to push open the door. He went in low, darting to the left, Glock drawn, and she hit the light covering him with a sweep of her weapon. Duke let out a yelp of joy and did his doggy dance. Jenna followed Kane as they swept both bedrooms. The suite was empty.
“Someone has been here.” Kane held out a hand to stop her. “Someone’s been in our room.”
Thirty-One
The rattling of a breakfast cart woke Jenna. She could have slept all day if not for the urgency of the case. The door opened and Kane, fresh from the shower, hair damp like a wet seal, pushed the cart to the bedside. She sat up, pushed the hair from her eyes, and smiled at him. “Oh, how lovely. Breakfast in bed. You do the kindest things. I think I’ll keep you.”
“Maybe I couldn’t wait any longer for you to wake up.” Kane gave her a teasing smile. “My stomach is making so much noise it sent Duke under the bed. He thought a storm was coming.” He chuckled.
Jenna frowned. “Is Duke okay? He didn’t eat any of the cookies the intruder left behind, did he?”
“Nah, I’ve trained Duke not to take food from anyone he doesn’t know. It took some doing, but after talking to Ty Carter, he figured it might save Duke’s life someday.”
Jenna nodded. “It was just as well. They could’ve been poisoned.” She took the cup of coffee from him. “Thank you. I’m famished.” She sipped the coffee and leaned back as he settled a loaded tray of food on her lap. “I’ll never understand how you can function on four hours or less sleep.”
“It was part of my training.” He settled down in a chair beside the bed and rested a tray across his knees. “We went through a little more intense training than you did to make sure we’d endure torture and be able to function under all types of stress.”
Jenna peeked under the plate cover and sighed with delight. A stack of buttered pancakes floating in syrup and a pile of crispy bacon. It was Kane’s favorite, but she’d forget about the calories over winter and indulge herself. Lost for a few moments in the syrupy delight, she nibbled on a strip of bacon and noticed him staring at her. “What?”
“I like being with you but it scares the hell out of me.” He cleared his throat. “I have a confession to make before we head out and tackle this case. I went to DC to visit Annie’s grave before the first snow.” He looked down at his plate and ate slowly without looking at her. “I went to say goodbye. It was something I needed to do.” He lifted his gaze to her. “My life is here now—but that in itself is a problem.”
What’s up now? Overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze, Jenna pushed her concern away and smiled at him. “I would have gone with you, if you’d asked me.”
“It was something I needed to do alone, and taking you there would have confirmed my identity if anyone had seen us. Your picture has been all over the media lately, and although I’ve had plastic surgery, we don’t know who may be watching and people will do anything for money.” Kane leaned back and looked at her. “I needed closure so I could move forward with my life, Jenna.”
“I’m glad you told me. That must have been very hard for you.” She leaned over and gave him a sticky kiss, almost toppling her tray. She sighed. “I know I can’t take Annie’s place in your heart—”
“Jenna.” Kane cupped her chin. “It’s not that—I’m just so darn worried about losing you too.” He dropped his hand, looking stricken. “We take down serial killers. Our life isn’t by any means normal. You’d have a better chance of survival fighting beside me in Syria than in Black Rock Falls.”
A rush of emotion hit Jenna and she bit her bottom lip. “Life is uncertain for everyone, and we all walk the tightrope of fate, Dave. Worrying about what might happen is so not you. What was your motto when Wolfe was your handler? Ah yes, ‘One day at a time,’ right?”
“Yeah, but that was different.” Kane shook his head. “I only had to worry about myself most times. At the time, I never thought about dying. Since Annie died, I can see the fragility of life. I put you in danger every day I’m here in Black Rock Falls.”
It was all too true, and concern flowed over Jenna. He’d risked everything to see his wife’s grave. He might have had plastic surgery, but his body shape was distinct and it was common knowledge Wolfe had been in the service. It would only take someone to put two and two together and they’d track Kane down. After all, his fingerprints hadn’t changed. She’d known he’d taken a day and headed off somewhere with Wolfe. She’d encouraged him to spend time with the guys, as most times he never left her side, but she had to admit he’d been very subdued for days afterward. Although curious, she’d not asked what was troubling him. She valued her space and private thoughts, and Kane would be the same.
Shaking her head, Jenna examined his face. “Normally I’d say, ‘Don’t worry. We can face any problems together.’ But this is different, isn’t it? What’s this really about, Dave? You’ve been distant since you moved into my ranch house. Is this about us? You’ve been extra quiet since we held Rowley’s twins.”
“Yes and no.” Kane placed his tray on the cart. “My head’s not in the game right now.”
Jenna leaned back and sighed. “You know, Dave, I’m starting to wonder if I’m wasting my time waiting for you to get your head straight.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kane took a long sip of his coffee. “I’ve never lied to you or made any promises.” He shrugged. “That’s not my style. You knew I was damaged goods when you took me in.”
“Maybe, but every time we get close, you find an excuse to pull back.” Jenna pushed the tray aside and flung back the blankets. “We chose this life and understood the risks. I can protect myself against serial killers but I could get sick or die in a car wreck. That’s life and we have no control on when our time is up. I’ve given you three years of intimate friendship and asked for nothing in return, but you know darn well I want a family. From now on, with or without you, I’m going to enjoy every single day. Now get out of my room. I have murders to solve and right now they are my top priority.”
“Jenna—” Kane grabbed her arm.
“Don’t act like I’ve hurt your feelings. You don’t have any feelings, do you, iceman?” Jenna glared at him. “Drop into the zone or whatever you do because I’m over listening to the same sob story. Now, get out of my room.” Fuming, she dragged her arm out of his grasp and headed for the shower.
When she returned a long time later, Kane was missing. She found him in the interview room working on his laptop beside Rio. Both men looked subdued and didn’t lift their eyes from their screens when she arrived. “Find out anything useful?”
“Unusual, worrying, but nothing we can use.” Kane frowned at the screen but didn’t look at her. “I had Mr. Brightway give me access to the CCTV data. Someone disabled the camera on this floor and the one on Kitty Pandora’s using a laser pointer. It wiped out transmission for about two hours.” He shrugged. “So, we have nothing. I also asked him about passkeys and there’s a box of them down at the employees’ entrance. The house rules are when the housekeeping staff finish their shift, they drop the passkeys into the box and collect one when they come back on. He said this is because the staff works on shifts and he only has
about twenty or so keys, apart from his own master, which he keeps on him at all times.” He leaned back in the chair and looked at her. “The interior staff area can only be entered using a passkey. The outside entrance is via the kitchen and anyone entering that way would be noticed. The back door has a keypad and they change the code about every two weeks.”
Jenna sat down beside him. “Anything from Kalo?”
“Yeah, he sent a few files. I’m looking at them next.” Kane was wearing his combat face and she couldn’t read his feelings at all. “Rio is chasing down where all our suspects were last night and who has alibis. Wolfe messaged me. He has the autopsy reports and will be doing a video call in half an hour.”
It never ceased to amaze her how her team sprang into action. She stood. “We’ll do a breakdown of each case after we speak to Wolfe. I’ll go and grab Emily.”
She could have called her but wanted a little girl-to-girl chat. When she reached her floor, she ran into Mr. Brightway. The manager was looking a little annoyed. She paused before knocking on Emily’s door and waited for him. “Is there a problem?”
“No.” Mr. Brightway stood to one side to allow two male members of his staff to walk by. “We managed to squeeze another bed into Deputy Rio’s room as requested. Is there anything else you require?”
Confused Jenna stared at him. “Another bed?”
“Yes, Deputy Kane made the request.” Mr. Brightway gave her a long look. “Please inform him. We’ve moved his things as requested.”
Swallowing hard, Jenna nodded. “Great, thank you.”
So, it was over. Jenna shook her head. Just like that after all they’d been through. She’d stood her ground and he’d walked away without a fight. She banged hard on Emily’s door.
“Heavens above. What’s happened now?” Emily looked pale and tired. “Another murder?”
Jenna shook her head. “Nope. I had a disagreement with Dave is all.”
“Really?” Emily looked amused. “Uncle Dave doesn’t argue—not ever. He’s more an action man. Did you see him last night with Zac? Oh my, he is so like my dad. Overprotective is an understatement.” She stood back to allow Jenna inside. “First fight, huh? Tell me all about it. Julie’s not here. Zac took her down to the conference earlier and she’s with friends. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”
Jenna explained but left out everything about Kane’s past. “He leads me on, like he wants a relationship, and then backs off and makes excuses. I’m over it. I told him to get out of my room.”
“And he followed your orders. No wonder he had a face carved in stone when he came to check on us before. He’s in love with you.” Emily chuckled. “Everyone knows it and you do too. I figure after so long being single he has a commitment issue. He’s probably worried if you get married, he’ll become overprotective and you won’t be able to work together. He won’t find another occupation because he doesn’t trust anyone else watching your back. It’s catch-22. He’s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t.”
Jenna sighed. “Maybe, but I don’t want to end up growing old all alone. I want marriage and maybe the chance to have a baby, just one before it’s too late. That’s not too much to ask and if it’s not going to be Dave, then I’ll have to start husband-hunting. There are a ton of eligible guys in town.” She shrugged. “Grab your things. Your dad is calling soon and he’ll want you there.”
“Okay, but you’re making way too much out of this argument. Don’t rush into decisions you’ll regret.” Emily collected her things. “They say the making up is the best bit, so look forward to that.”
Jenna pulled open the door. “All I’m interested in right now is solving this case. Dave Kane is the least of my problems.” She headed for the elevator.
Thirty-Two
It was the first time Kane had experienced Jenna’s anger toward him. It hadn’t been a simple disagreement. She was fuming. He’d upset her by telling her the truth and couldn’t understand why she’d got so mad at him. She’d made it plain she wanted him out of her life and nothing he could have said would have helped matters. He’d do the only thing he understood in this situation, and that was to retreat and regroup. As she’d made it very clear the case was her priority, he’d work his butt off until they caught the killer. The other stuff would have to wait until she’d cooled down.
He glanced at his watch and using his satellite phone walked into one of the bedrooms of the suite they were using as interview rooms and dialed Special Agent Jo Wells. As she was a behavioral analyst, he’d like her take on the current homicides. She picked up after a couple of rings. “Hi, Jo. It’s Dave Kane. How are things in Snakeskin Gully?”
“Cold. I hope you don’t need us. We can’t use the chopper to get to you. I hear there’s been a line of blizzards across your part of the state all week, although I’ve heard no news of any crime. If it’s urgent, we could maybe fly to the closest town and drive if the roads are passable.”
Kane shook his head. “No, don’t risk traveling in this weather. We can discuss cases over the phone. Good news first, Jake and Sandy’s twins arrived safely. One of each, born last night at the morgue, would you believe? Thank goodness, Shane was there to step in and deliver them. The road to the hospital was blocked.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news. Give Sandy and Jake our congratulations. But I’m sure that’s not why you called.”
“No, it’s not. We’ve had three homicides at the ski lodge. At the moment, we’re isolated here at a crime writers’ convention. I can get to town by a service road if it’s urgent, but it’s dangerous. We went close to sliding off the road last night.” Kane went on to explain everything in detail. “We’re still waiting for Wolfe to confirm ID and notify next of kin before we give it to the press.”
“Three different MOs, how interesting.” Jo paused as if thinking. “What’s your take on the crime scenes?”
Having given the subject a lot of thought, he just needed Jo to validate his conclusions. “The killer is an organized psychopath and he’s using the ski lodge as his comfort zone. He’s been here before, knows the layout, and is aware of all the security features. I believe he has a passkey and was in Julie’s room and mine last night. I say ‘he,’ but I’m not discounting this could be a woman.”
“Yes, the evidence suggests the killer knows the victims, although something changed with Julie. A peeping Tom is far removed from attempted murder. It sounds like vengeance kills and, as they are all so different, something specific links the cause of death to the killer or victim.”
Thinking over the crime scenes, Kane scratched his cheek. “Hmm, well the last one was electrocuted and her last novel was titled Frizzled. The character died by electrocution. The previous one died the same way as in his novel too. So, we have a link with two of the murders.”
“There you go. Check out the correlation between the victims’ books and mode of death. Are they all authors?”
“No.” Kane leaned back against the wall, allowing the crime scenes to filter through his mind. “The first one, in the pond, was an agent but I’ll see what I can find. Perhaps, she made another book deal recently and the story was about a peeping Tom? But why target Julie? All the victims have been associated with the publishing industry.”
“Check out the agent’s webpage. If you find any similar coincidences this could be the same person that entered Julie’s room. If so, I believe she is a distraction from the vengeance kills.” Jo hummed as if thinking over what next to say. “I don’t want to alarm you, but it seems strange for an organized psychopath, who has obviously planned these homicides, to veer off into another path, unless Julie is a trigger for a previous series of murders.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “In what way?”
“Well, from the cold, calculated murder of his victims, he’s killed before and likely often. As you know, a first kill is usually hurried and messy. At first, they lose control, but as they commit more murders, they take their t
ime and enjoy it.” Jo paused a beat. “As vengeance kills, these people have wronged him in some way, so there must be a connection. I’d say he’s kept control for a time, maybe years, until someone pushed his buttons and the need to commit murder rose again. The moment he started killing once more it unleashed the beast. When they feel the power over life and death again, it causes a domino effect. The original incident that made him a psychopath in the first place is highlighted in his mind and it doesn’t take much to trigger an episode. Perhaps Julie resembles the first girl he killed, for instance, or the person who abused him as a child.”
Concerned for Julie’s safety, Kane sucked in a breath. “So, Julie could be next on his list?”
“That depends.” Jo sounded serious. “He didn’t strike when he had the chance, so maybe he was testing his reaction to her, or the next kill is more important to him or he just gets off on looking at sleeping teenagers. Whatever, I’d watch her closely, or better still, send her home to Shane. She’s obviously not safe at the ski resort.”
Kane cleared his throat. Insisting Julie went home wouldn’t be easy and, as the blizzard had hit again with full force, neither would negotiating the back road down the mountain. “Okay, thanks, Jo. I appreciate your help.”
“Anytime. Send me the files when you can. I need something interesting to read.”
Kane chuckled. “Sure thing.” He disconnected and strolled back into the main room just as Jenna and Emily arrived.
“Okay, before Wolfe calls, I’d like an update on everything you have to date.” Jenna pulled out a chair and placed her laptop on the table. “Rio?”
“I figure we can remove September March and Ike Turnage from our suspects list. I have March on the CCTV footage leaving the lodge for her cabin at eight last night and she didn’t return until this morning. Ike Turnage was in his cabin on the phone talking to the manager during Dakota Storm’s murder and he headed for his cabin last night at nine. He called room service at ten to discuss his breakfast order. So both have alibis.” Rio leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his fingers. “August Bradford, Murphy Finnian, Bexley Grayson, and Parker Rain were all in the lodge last night. All claim to be in their rooms or in the lobby when the power went out, but none of them can offer the name of a witness, which is suspicious.”
