by D. K. Hood
“So, the office was unattended during the camera blackouts at around nine, nine thirty on both nights the fatalities occurred?” Kane lifted his gaze.
“Yeah, seems so, we didn’t see anything wrong.” Voss frowned.
“Run through what you do before you lock up the gym and pool.” The nerve in Kane’s cheek twitched. “What precautions do you take to ensure nobody is locked inside?”
“I usually go in, check the pool, walk through the locker rooms and the gym areas, then lock up.” Voss frowned. “I’m not irresponsible.”
“So, what happened the night Pete Devon died?” Kane leaned back in his chair and gave him a stare that could freeze an ocean. “Seems to me you should’ve found Devon in the pool, maybe in need of resuscitation. Instead, we have a dead body floating in the water all damn night.”
“I wanted to get back to the office to catch a TV show.” Voss dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“Go tell that to his parents.” Kane looked at Jenna. “Is there anything else, ma’am?”
Jenna stood. “No, get his statement then cut him loose.” She used her card to open the door and headed back to her office.
It was a little before five by the time Jenna had gotten all the necessary search warrants and permission from Alex Jacob’s parents to search his vehicle and possessions at the house. Their probable cause had been flimsy for Pete Devon’s drowning but Jenna had offered the judge two alternatives. The first, as a member of the football team living in Lyons’ house, Devon had become a person of interest in the rape of Chrissie Lowe, and secondly his suspicious death had sent up a red flag. As his cellphone records and personal possessions could hold crucial evidence in both cases, the judge had agreed to allow them to search the entire house on the off-chance Wolfe picked up some trace evidence. Warrant in hand, she waited for confirmation that Rowley had the contents of Devon’s locker secured in the evidence room, and then she left with Kane for Lyons’ house.
“I figure it’s going to be difficult, finding the last person to have seen Devon alive. I mean, with the number of students milling around campus at night.” Kane maneuvered his truck through town and out onto Stanton Road. “It would’ve saved the grunt work if we’d asked the dean to put an announcement over the loudspeaker at the college.”
Jenna turned in her seat to look at him. “Yeah, it would’ve saved time, but it could also bog down our investigation with hearsay. We don’t have the manpower to interview everyone who was on campus both nights.” She watched the darkening forest flash by and tried to keep the cases separate in her mind. “I sure need to get the three cases laid out on the whiteboard. With the number of clues piling up, it will be easy to overlook crucial evidence.” She sighed. “It’s never this difficult; we usually have random murders and a list of suspects but these cases are all intertwined. It’s hard to keep them all straight in my head, as in who was where with whom at what time, because it seems to be the same group of people.”
“It certainly revolves around the football team.” Kane glanced at her then returned his attention to the road.
“I figure we investigate Chrissie’s rape separately for now.” Jenna leaned back in her seat. “Finding out where it happened and who raped her is crucial. Let’s hope we find something we can use tonight.”
“I remember the layout of the room. It was Lyons’ bedroom in the image for sure.” Kane grimaced. “Problem is, believing the rape is the motive for killing two players may be a mistake.”
“How so?”
“It’s too easy.” Kane frowned. “Chrissie was a freshman; who on campus would care enough to kill for her apart from Stein?”
“No one.” Jenna shrugged. “Phillip Stein is our only suspect. I still think we need to look at the cousin.”
“Yeah, he’s a maybe if it’s a revenge killing but we can’t overlook Jones and anyone else who might have a beef with the players.” Kane turned onto Pine Road.
Jenna frowned. “Or the coach.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “Hmm, we have two pivotal players removed from the team right before the start of the season. It might be payback.”
“And successful teams do get a ton load of enemies.” Kane turned onto the driveway leading to the house and continued along the forest-lined driveway. “It looks like we’d better include the coach in our inquiries but he isn’t liked so we’ll have a list a mile long.”
Jenna pointed ahead at the small parking lot. “Ah good, Wolfe is here. He’s bringing a piece of Chrissie’s clothing so Duke can have a sniff around.” She turned to look at Duke, who was sitting up in the back seat in his harness. “I’m starting to love that dog.”
“That’s good, he kinda likes you too.” Kane pulled up beside Wolfe’s van and slid out. “I’ll grab Duke.”
Jenna climbed down from the cab and met Wolfe. “I figure we take as many images as possible. If we can locate the rape room, it will at least be a start on the Chrissie Lowe case.”
“Sure. I’ll be looking for evidence in the Devon case too, so we’ll need media devices, anything he would have social interaction with, online gaming for example. We’ll need to look at both the football players’ deaths from every angle. If I discover it’s homicide, who had it in for them?” Wolfe dragged his kit out of the van. “I figure these could be hate crimes, and if they are, who hated the shiny boys on campus enough to kill them?”
Jenna nodded. “That’s a good point. We discussed the cases in the truck but as everything is happening so fast, we’ll need a meeting to brainstorm these cases and get everyone on the same page. Even if you’re not convinced the last two deaths are accidents, the killer is trying to make us believe they are, which brings us back to the question: did Chrissie commit suicide or was she murdered?”
“I’m leaning toward suicide right now and I haven’t made a determination on the other cases yet, Jenna; they may be tragic accidents.” Wolfe looked perplexed. “Okay, what did you come up with?”
“If we’re looking at homicide, we have a direct link to the football team.” Jenna looked up as Kane joined them with Duke at his side. “Maybe the killer’s motive is to destroy the team. First, Chrissie dies after a brutal rape, and she was supposedly heading for Lyons’ house on the night it occurred. It wasn’t exactly a secret she was going to the party with Seth Lyons; at least two people knew: Livi and Stein.” She narrowed her gaze. “So, someone could’ve intervened. I think Lyons is a creep but he could be telling the truth and she didn’t arrive at the party. If so then someone is trying to shift our focus onto the players. We didn’t arrest anyone, so the perp moves it up a notch and takes out two key players. This tells me someone has a beef with the entire team or the coach.”
“I like the way you think out of the box but three murders means we have a serial killer loose in town again. I know we’ve had our fair share of psychopaths of late, but we can’t assume every death is a murder.” Wolfe rubbed his chin. “If this is the work of a serial killer, we’d see similarities in the cause of death. So far they’re miles apart—if they’re homicides.”
“If they are, I’m seeing cold and calculating.” Kane rubbed his chin. “A sociopath tends to be more hot-headed and does things on the spur of the moment without thinking of the consequences, yet in both cases the CCTV cameras were disabled. The killer walked in and walked out and nobody noticed him. To me that says planned, not out of control, heart racing, and sweating.” He stared at Wolfe. “I guess you’ll know more after Devon’s autopsy?”
“Yeah, I’ll do the post first thing in the morning. I’ve already extracted a sample of bone marrow for diatom testing.” Wolfe met his gaze. “I’ll be able to give you the results later and explain the tests involved in a suspected drowning.” He sighed. “I realize the CCTV camera going offline at the same time each night seems suspicious but we can’t rule out a malfunction, or someone turned it off for a short period of time—maybe a security guard to cover something else. You’d have to go back over the last s
ix months and see if it’s happened before around the same time.”
“That’s impossible—the drives are overwritten every week.” Kane rubbed his chin. “It’s an old system; a malfunction is possible.”
Jenna lifted both arms into the air and then dropped them at her sides. “Darn it, every time we find evidence, something wipes it out.”
“Hello, what’s this?” Kane turned a full circle then looked at Jenna. “See the devices hidden in the trees?” He pointed in two directions. “That’s a Wi-Fi silent alarm. They’ve installed an early warning system for unwanted visitors and we’ve already tripped it.” He shook his head. “When we came via the tree line last time, we didn’t set it off—no wonder Lyons was surprised to see us.”
Jenna frowned. “They know we’re here now, so let’s get it over with.” She turned back to Wolfe. “How do you determine if someone murdered Devon or he just slipped and drowned?”
“Drowning is more difficult to prove than murder, believe it or not.” Wolfe headed down the pathway and walked toward the house, his boots sounding on the cement pathway. He turned to them and raised a pale eyebrow. “Although, from my initial examination, if someone murdered Pete Devon, they covered their tracks like a pro.”
Twenty-Six
They made their way along the tree-lined pathway to the house then paused at the foot of the steps. Jenna looked at the vehicles parked close by. “The road with the no-entry sign must lead right here. I figure they send their visitors the other way, so they have a warning of any unexpected arrivals. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Wolfe. During a search for trace evidence, the ME took seniority. “How do you want to play this?”
“One of them might have been the last person to see Pete Devon alive, and if we had a timeframe for his movements it would help. My TOD is an educated guess right now.” Wolfe scratched his chin as if considering his next words. “With the Chrissie Lowe case, as we have no DNA evidence, we’ll need to prove she was inside the house. All the men you interviewed insisted she didn’t arrive at the party. If we can prove the opposite, with the samples I have of her stomach contents and the evidence from the vehicle, we can build a case. We have proof Jacobs was involved as his hair was a match to one found in the vehicle; now if I can match the other hair to one of these guys, we can at least implicate them in her rape. If you can pin them down and question them, we’ll handle the search.” He glanced back at the door. “I’ll be collecting samples of everything that might be relevant to the case. If she was here, we’ll find trace evidence.” Wolfe handed Kane a plastic bag. “This belonged to Chrissie Lowe; see if Duke can pick up her scent.”
“My gut tells me Lyons is lying.” Kane took the bag. “If she was here, Duke will know.”
“Don’t forget to look for her shoes.” Jenna led the way up the steps and banged on the door. A young man she recognized from their visit, Josh Stevens, gaped at them open-mouthed. Jenna held out the search warrant. “We have a warrant to search these premises.”
“For what reason?” Seth Lyons appeared at the door and stood beside his friend, barring the entrance.
Jenna pressed the warrant to his chest. “The reason is listed, now stand aside.” She pushed past them, walked into the family room, and surveyed the group all sitting around watching TV. The smell was the same: marijuana and beer with a hint of stale sweat. “Is anyone else in the house?”
“No.” Lyons was looking over the paperwork. “You won’t find anything here. I told you before, Chrissie was a no-show.” He glared at Jenna. “I’m getting tired of you leaning on me, Sheriff. Maybe it’s time I called my dad.”
Annoyance at his veiled threat prickled Jenna’s neck. “You can call Santa Claus for all I care, now stand aside. I want everyone in the dining room. Go sit at the table until we’ve completed our search.” She stared at Lyons. “Non-compliance and I’ll handcuff you to the chairs. Understand?”
When they shuffled to the table, giving each other worried looks, she nodded at Kane. “Give Duke the scent.”
“Okay, Duke.” Kane opened the evidence bag and held it out for Duke. “Seek.”
The dog pushed his head into the bag then moved around the room, nose to the ground, tail wagging. Jenna watched him systematically move from the front door across the carpet then head for the sofa. She kept a close eye on the men sitting at the table, and several were moving around as if they had ants in their pants. Of course, they had no idea what Duke was looking for, so she wondered if any of them had a stash of drugs.
A bark broke her thoughts and she turned her attention back to Duke. The dog was sitting on the floor at one end of the sofa. She glanced at Wolfe. “That’s a positive response.”
“Don’t call him.” Wolfe glanced at Kane. “I’ll need to take a few shots for the record as we go.”
“Sure.” When he’d finished, Kane called Duke to his side, but the dog walked in circles and barked again. “He hasn’t finished yet, he still has the scent.” He rubbed the dog’s ears. “Good boy.” He reinforced the scent then gave the command again. “Seek.”
As Duke continued his search, Wolfe came to Jenna’s side.
“I’ll take a look.” Wolfe carried his forensics kit to the sofa, examined it in detail, and then took out a portable vacuum cleaner and went all over the chair. Next, he removed the seat cushion and collected all the detritus from below. He waved the seat cushion at the men around the table. “I’m confiscating this for evidence.” He pulled a huge evidence bag from his kit and dropped the cushion inside. “I’ll need to analyze the stains on the fabric.”
Duke’s barks came twice more, once in the hallway and again on the staircase, not on the step treads but halfway up the stairs on the handrail side. Jenna looked up as Wolfe examined the area closely. “What have we got?”
“Blood, as if someone spat it out.” Wolfe took photographs then collected samples. His expression was ice-cold when he met Jenna’s gaze. “Okay, I’m done down here. Now we move to the bedrooms.” He turned to the group of men. “Which one is Pete Devon’s bedroom?”
“First on the right, top of the stairs.” Lyons snapped to attention when Wolfe looked at him. “He shares with Dylan Court.”
After Duke’s three positive reactions, Jenna’s stomach tightened. She nodded at Wolfe. “You go ahead. I’m going to keep an eye on Mr. Lyons and his friends.” She rested one hand on her weapon and noticed the somber reaction from the men at the table. The need to question them and drag out the information about Chrissie’s last hours welled up inside her and she pushed it down. She wanted to split them up, question them about Chrissie, and have every word from their mouths recorded on tape.
Moving her attention from one man to the next, she made a mental note of those who refused to meet her gaze. Her skin crawled. Two or more of the men sitting a few feet from her could be serial rapists but she’d need a whole lot more evidence to prove it. For now, she’d concentrate on asking them questions about the Devon and Jacobs cases.
As Kane and Wolfe headed up the stairs to search the bedrooms, she pulled out her notebook and took down the names of everyone at the table. She had two possible homicide cases to solve and most of the people of interest were sitting in front of her. “Okay, I’m going to be asking you questions in relation to the deaths of your housemates.” She looked at Josh Stevens. “When did you last see Pete Devon?”
“About an hour after dinner yesterday, he went to do his laps in the pool. He did the same thing every night since his injury.” Josh shrugged. “Why?”
Jenna made a note. “It’s just routine inquiries; we are trying to establish the time of death.” She lifted her chin. “Which one of you would be his closest friend?”
“That would be me.” Dylan Court gave her a discontented look.
The hostility toward her around the table was palpable, and she cleared her throat. “Didn’t you think it was a bit strange when he didn’t come home last night?”
“Nope.” Court chuck
led. “We come and go as we please. I don’t give a f— fig if any of us stay out all night. I figured he’d got lucky.”
The young men around the table chuckled in agreement. Jenna made a few notes. “Did he or Alex Jacobs have any enemies? Did he have a disagreement with anyone lately?”
“You do know we’re on the football team, right?” Lyons gave her a condescending glare. “Of course they had enemies. Any member of the teams we beat last season could have a beef against one of us. If you’re talking about enemies from college, sure. Some of the guys get angry when we steal their girls, but hey, we always give them back after.”
Jenna wanted to wipe the smirk right off his arrogant face. “After what exactly, Mr. Lyons?”
“What do you figure, Sheriff?” Lyons looked her up and down. “I’m sure a fine lady like yourself has had her fair share of one-night stands.” He shrugged. “None of us are planning to settle down; we’re here to play football and have fun.”
Jenna ignored Lyons’ rudeness. “Anything else?”
“We don’t walk away from fights on campus.” Court gave her a long, steady look. “If some guy wants to cause trouble, we deal with it.”
“Like the fight with Owen Jones?”
“Exactly.” Court shrugged.
“That’s why the dean asked you to leave the student hall, I believe?” Jenna stared back at him. “How about stepping up and giving me some names of these people with grievances against you?”
“Nope.” Lyons frowned. “We don’t throw people under the bus.”
At that moment, Kane came down the stairs with Wolfe close behind. They had a number of evidence bags between them. Jenna turned to Kane and raised her eyebrows in question. “Are we done here?”
“Yeah.” Kane held up an evidence bag stuffed with women’s panties. “I found these in Seth Lyons’ room. In a nightstand containing his belongings.”
