Bring Me Flowers_A gripping serial-killer thriller with a shocking twist
Page 21
After a quick search, he found the cellar door in the laundry room and, ignoring the morbid anticipation rushing into his mind, headed down the steps. The overhead lights flooded the room but he found nothing but a boiler and a few storage boxes. With Rowley working beside him, they went through each carton and found Christmas decorations and old clothes. The light coating of dust on the floor and his and Rowley’s footprints gave him the impression no one had been down there for some time.
“Okay, this is a dead end. Did you check every nook and cranny, any place someone might hide something?”
“Yeah, when you went upstairs I checked the kitchen cupboards, opened all the containers, and found nothing.” Rowley’s Adam’s apple moved up and down. “I did find porn but nothing illegal. No young girls.”
“Okay.” Kane collected all the evidence bags, placed them inside one large bag, sealed it, then headed toward the front door. “I need some air.”
On the porch, he pulled down his mask and frowned at Rowley. “The sort of women who arouse a killer doesn’t mean it’s the kind he prefers to murder. Some types trigger a response—say, for instance, a blonde skinny girl at school made him look stupid in front of his friends then the killer would more likely marry a curvaceous brunette and murder blonde skinny girls. To a psychopath, rape and murder are punishment. Child abuse can trigger a psychopathic response, which remains semi-dormant until something happens, and as kids, they usually take it out on their pets. The cat scratched him, so he killed it because he has power over the cat, the power he didn’t have as a kid.”
“I see, so Rogers could still be our man?”
Kane’s attention moved to the arrival of Wolfe’s SUV. “Yeah, we just need to build a case, and so far, apart from being in the same location at the time of two of the murders, we have zip.” Wondering why Jenna had not contacted him about Mrs. Rogers, he rubbed his chin. “I just hope he didn’t murder his wife.”
Forty
Jenna picked up her cellphone to call Kane then heard his voice in the hallway outside her office. He loomed at the open door, his Stetson low over his brow, elbows out like a huge bat, and an expression of complete exhaustion on his handsome face. She looked at him for some moments then realized the pink cat’s whisker-like markings on his face came from wearing a paper face mask for some hours. “You look exhausted, sit down and take the weight off.”
“Being a bit OCD about cleanliness—having to sift through the filth at the Rogers’ house was disgusting, especially when I found nothing to tie him to the murders.” Kane placed a holder with four cups of coffee on her desk and two takeout cartons. “I have food and coffee. I left Rowley at Aunt Betty’s to have something to eat. He plans on devouring the entire menu then he is going home before he takes the graveyard shift to watch our prisoner.”
“He’ll be fine.” She smiled at him and peered into a carton. “Yum. Bagels and cream cheese. I’ve been stuck in the control room watching Emily, just in case something happened to her while Wolfe was out. She is currently at Aimee Fox’s house and Wolfe is dropping by to pick her up on his way here. He’ll find out if she has any information then drop her home.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. I can’t help noticing Wolfe’s protectiveness. I take it he isn’t convinced Rogers is our man.”
A sliver of worry crawled in goosebumps up her arms. “What do you think?”
“I’d like to go over the timelines again with you because we have nothing to tie Rogers to the murders apart from circumstantial evidence.” Kane removed his hat and dropped it on the chair beside him then ruffled his tangled mass of black hair. “I’m not convinced he is our man but my gut tells me he is hiding something.”
She leaned back in her chair, fingers wrapped around her coffee, and sighed. “Apparently, he will talk to us later this afternoon. His lawyer is trying to get him released but so far our arrest warrant is holding.” Sighing, she sipped her beverage. “The story of the murders will hit the news this evening. All I said in the statement was we found the bodies. I asked for anyone in the locations who had seen the girls or noticed any person or car in the area at the time to contact our office. No other details.”
“Let’s hope we don’t get a heap of crazies calling.” Kane’s brow furrowed. “Any luck finding Mrs. Rogers?”
Pulling the wrapping from a bagel, she shook her head. “No, her sister said she went home to get her things and hasn’t heard from her since. This behavior is apparently quite normal. Mrs. Rogers only calls her sister when she wants something or has an argument with her husband. She said her sister often takes off for days alone.”
“I hope so.” Kane’s blue eyes met hers over the rim of his takeout coffee cup. “I have the awful feeling she’s dead. Most people won’t leave home without their cards and wallet and I doubt if I could find anyone who willingly leaves without their cellphone.” Kane raised one black eyebrow. “Even you.”
She frowned. “For me it’s weapons then cellphone, and I usually stuff some cash into my pocket.” She sipped the coffee, easing the soreness in her throat. “But I admit I do keep essentials here in my office.”
“Exactly.” Kane flashed her a white grin. “So, unless Mrs. Rogers has a hideout somewhere with a stash of cash and clothes, I think we should be concerned about her safety. Especially as we found evidence of blood on the hall floor and the Chinese rug is missing.”
“She is not at her sister’s and I’ve contacted all the friends on the list she gave me. No one has seen her.” She rubbed her temples in slow circles. “If you add the muddy boots and shovel… It’s not looking good, is it?”
“Nope.” Kane’s blue gaze slid over her face. “Wolfe is bringing in cadaver dogs. Stanton Forest covers miles in all directions. We’ll need to set up a search party and spread out in sections from where Rogers parked his car.” He wiped his mouth with a paper towel. “The problem I have is if he isn’t our killer, we are counting down the hours for the next victim to turn up.” He sighed. “If he has escalated, we would expect him to hit over the weekend.”
A cold chill shivered down Jenna’s spine. “My guess would be while everyone is occupied at the dance at the showground on Friday night.”
“That was my thought as well.”
Trying to push past the horror of finding another mutilated victim, Jenna stood and went to the whiteboard. “Okay, while we’re waiting for Wolfe to finish his tests and for the K-9 team to arrive, the best course of action would be to remove Rogers from the suspect list then run through the timeline of each victim and see if any of our suspects match the murders.” She glanced at him. “As we have absolutely zero suspects or information concerning Joanne Blunt, I’m treating her death as a random thrill-kill by the same killer. We have nothing to tie her in with the other victims and we can discount a copycat.”
Taking the black pen, she made two separate sections at the end of the whiteboard and titled them, “Felicity, Kate other suspect options.”
Felicity.
Movements prior to death:
Last seen alive: Monday morning approximately seven fifty
By whom: Parents
Mrs. Rogers at approximately eight
* * *
What was she doing?
Leaving home to visit Aimee Fox
Mrs. Rogers witnessed her walking toward Stanton Forest – opposite direction to Fox home
* * *
Location: Stanton Road
* * *
What was she wearing? Blue shirt with butterfly, blue skirt, pink cowboy boots, earbuds.
* * *
Boyfriend: Derick Smith
* * *
Friends: Aimee Fox, Kate Bright, Chad Johnson, Lucas Summerville
* * *
Recent social interactions: Online gamer, Aunt Betty’s Café, computer store
* * *
Suspects:
A. Lionel Provine: interacted with Felicity and unable to verify whereabouts
B. Derick Smith: Fe
licity’s boyfriend, cannot account for time missing during a car delivery
C, D. Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley: seen in forest at time of death
Kate:
Movements prior to death:
Last seen at home: Wednesday evening at approximately six
By whom: Parents
* * *
What was she doing? In her bedroom playing online games
* * *
Last seen alive: six fifteen by Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley
* * *
What was she doing? Walking toward college
* * *
Location: Stanton Road.
* * *
What was she wearing? White top, blue denim jeans, cowboy boots, dark blue hoodie, earbuds.
* * *
Boyfriend: Chad Johnson
* * *
Friends: Aimee Fox, Lucas Summerville.
* * *
Recent social interactions: Online gamer, Aunt Betty’s Café, computer store
* * *
With: Lionel Provine and Aimee Fox, Lucas Summerville and Chad Johnson in computer store
* * *
Suspects:
Lionel Provine: unable to account for whereabouts
Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley: Seen in town at Aunt Betty’s Café approximately nine on Wednesday night
“What about Derick Smith?” Kane stretched out his long legs. “We haven’t really considered him, have we?”
Jenna chewed on the end of the pen. “Okay, I’ll add him with a question mark until you can speak to him again.” She sighed. “Take out Rogers, and all the others look pretty weak.”
“Nah.” Kane’s long fingers closed around his second cup of coffee. “I think we need to take a closer look at Lionel Provine. You have him as a key player in both cases. Both victims played online games and interacted on a social level with Lionel Provine. He lives alone and can’t prove his whereabouts during either murder.”
“Yes, I agree.” Jenna made some notes on the whiteboard. “The kids regard him as a gift horse. He has gotten close to them by giving them gift cards or whatever they use to obtain bonuses in their games. He could be skulking online and pretending he is a kid.”
“That’s a possibility. Those games rooms are open to everyone who purchases the game.” Kane peered at her with a worried gaze. “Pedophiles use them all the time to get close to kids. The fact they are able to swap bonus cards should be a red flag to any parent. Wolfe has been so busy with the forensic investigations he hasn’t had time to look at the victims’ laptops, and their cellphones are missing. He did a trace and couldn’t find any of them, so I would say they’ve been destroyed.”
“That fact alone makes me wonder if the killer has left a trail to him on their cellphones. Maybe not Joanne but the other victims.” Jenna went back to her seat. “He must be close to the local girls; this is why Rogers fits the profile as well. Computer-savvy, knows the girls, hangs around the computer store with Provine, was in the area both times the murders were committed. You said they must have known their killer to be lured to their deaths, or someone had up-close and personal information about their whereabouts.” She picked up her second coffee and sipped. “Rogers could be in the damn games room acting as if he is one of the kids.”
“So what is your next move?”
Jenna tapped her fingernails on the desk and considered his question. “I’ll wait here for Wolfe to return. I can’t leave at the moment. I sent Walters home as he is doing the six until midnight shift.” She rubbed her brow. “Go and lean on Lionel Provine and drop over to Miller’s Garage and have a chat with Derick Smith about where he was last night. I’ll call you if Wolfe has come up with any startling new evidence.”
“Sure.” Kane stood and towered over her. “What time is the lawyer due to arrive? I would like to be present for the interview if that’s possible, ma’am.”
“Three, so you have an hour.” Jenna looked up at him, way up, and smiled. “Would you like to interview Rogers?” She noticed his eyes flicker as if in surprise. “You are my expert of psychopathic behavior and if he is not the killer of our victims, we need to know. Although, dragging him across the table and beating a confession out of him is out of the question as he’ll have his lawyer in the room.” She bit back a snort of laughter.
When Kane’s dark gaze narrowed, she caught a flicker of the man who killed for his country without one shred of remorse.
“Yeah, I’ll be happy to interview him.” Kane inclined his head and examined her face. “If you order me to do anything else, it will have to be after the lawyer has left.” He turned to leave.
Appalled he had taken her joke seriously, she gaped at him. “Kane, I—”
His large frame pivoted in the doorway and he grinned at her. “Gotcha.”
Forty-One
As Kane walked through the jostling crowd toward Miller’s Garage, he noticed Emily Wolfe strolling beside Aimee Fox ahead of him, the pair stopping occasionally to check out the rows of stalls cluttering the sidewalk. After Jenna had informed him both girls should be spending the afternoon at the Fox residence, he pulled out his cellphone and called Wolfe. “Hey, I’m not sticking my nose in your business, man, but I’m heading toward Miller’s Garage and Emily is ten feet in front of me. Jenna mentioned she was at the Foxes’ house this afternoon.”
“Thanks, I’ll give her a call. Keep your eye on her for a few minutes—for her to break one of my rules, she must be onto something. I’m leaving the lab now, ETA ten minutes.”
“Roger that.” Kane disconnected and ambled along the sidewalk as if he had all the time in the world.
He stared into storefronts, keeping his attention locked on the girls. Aimee, it seemed, had a lot more friends than they had anticipated. The girls wore serious expressions as they stopped to speak to a few different teenagers, but when they strolled into Miller’s Garage, he noticed they went straight into the workshop. Stupid! Of course, they know Derick Smith. He had failed to add him to their list of friends.
He purchased a bag of cookies from a stall then spent so long gazing into the window of the bakery that the proprietor came out to speak to him. Embarrassed by the huge box of donuts pushed into his hand, he came close to missing the girls heading out of the garage. He dropped the carton into the plastic sack with the cookies and slipped it over one arm. Following a discreet distance away, he made a mental note of the girls’ interactions. They checked all the stalls, bought cookies, then met Lucas Summerville outside the computer store.
Kane’s cellphone vibrated in his pocket and he found a fuming Shane Wolfe barking into his ear.
“Yeah, hold on, what’s wrong?”
“Emily isn’t taking my call and I’m stuck in traffic.”
“I’m eyeballing her now. She is with Aimee and Lucas Summerville outside the computer store. They are deep in conversation.” Kane cleared his throat. “I’m heading over there; whatever he is saying to them is upsetting Aimee but Emily is taking it in her stride.”
“My daughter is tough, probably too tough for her own good. She would probably slip into your old occupation without blinking an eye. She thinks outside the box.”
“I’ll hang with the kids and wait for you.”
“Do me a favor. Tell her you need her back at the station. She won’t appreciate me hauling her ass out of there.”
Kane bit back a laugh. As tough as Wolfe was, his daughter had him tied around her little finger. “Roger that.” He disconnected and crossed the road.
As he approached the group, he could hear Lucas telling the girls to be careful of strangers if they planned to go to the rodeo dance. Walking up behind him, he slapped him on the shoulder. “Afternoon.”
“What’s going on, Deputy Kane?” Lucas’s mouth turned down. “It’s all over town you arrested Steve Rogers this morning and searched his house. Is he involved in the deaths of our friends?”
Kane rolled his shoulders and looked down at him. “I’m afr
aid I can’t discuss ongoing investigations with members of the public.” He sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Emily. She is needed back at the sheriff’s office.” He walked out of earshot and she followed him. “What is going on? Your father is frantic.”
“Not now, I think I’m onto something. One thing for sure, the teacher didn’t do it.”
“How could you possibly know that? He is our prime suspect.”
“Because, I know.” She crooked one dainty finger and beckoned him to bend down, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Dad told me the victims were raped, and I overheard Mrs. Fox speaking on the phone about Mrs. Rogers. She was saying she didn’t know why Mrs. Rogers believed her husband was seeing other women because he couldn’t get it up and hadn’t been able to for five years. He’d seen a specialist and tried everything. How could he have raped those girls if he was impotent?”
Swallowing the lump in his throat from Emily’s candidness, he rubbed his chin. “So, I’m guessing you have a suspect of your own?”
Emily gave him an ice-gray stare. “Aimee has been speaking about their online friends, and Lionel Provine is closer to the group than you realize. Apparently, he asks some of the girls to go upstairs to his room to show them ‘stuff.’” She wiggled her blonde eyebrows at him as if to exaggerate the word. “I’m in the inner sanctum now. Give me ten minutes and I’ll see what he is doing. Tell Dad if Lionel invites me upstairs, I’ll hit my security tag so he can listen in.”
Astounded, Kane shook his head. “No way, he’ll go ballistic if you act as bait. It’s a stupid idea. It takes seconds to kill and no one would get to you in time.”