by D. K. Hood
Kane folded his hands on the desk. “How did you get home?”
“I called a cab.” She giggled. “He didn’t tell you I stayed the night, did he? That boy is prone to exaggeration. Although he spends far too much time online watching porn. I guess he wears himself out, if you know what I mean?” She gave him a knowing wink. “Josh fell asleep in front of the TV. I called a cab at about ten thirty.”
A cab would be easy to check. “Did you happen to see him on Saturday morning or Monday morning?”
“Yeah, he came into the café real early Monday morning, met up with Dan, ah… Dan Beal and had coffee. They left around eight.” She tapped her chin and stared into space. “Saturday, I’m pretty sure they came in about the same time as you. The day we first met.”
Kane blinked away an eye-roll. He jotted down a summary of dates and times on a statement form and pushed it across the desk to her. “Okay, thank you for your assistance. If you will read my notes and sign them as your statement, you can go.” He turned to his deputy. “When Miss Hartwig is finished, witness the statement and show her out.”
He noticed Magnolia trying to get his attention and pushed to his feet then headed toward the front desk. “Problem?”
“No, everything is just fine. The forensic reports have just arrived. I’ve put them in the files.” Maggie beamed at him. “I knew you’d want to know straight away.”
“Thanks, Maggie.” Kane glanced out the glass door to see Alton marching toward the station with an expression of doom plastered on her face. He strode to the door and opened it for her then stood back.
“Hold the fort for me.” Alton moved through the office like a tornado and headed for her door. “Daniels. My office now.”
Kane stared after her then strolled toward Rockford. “Mr. Rockford, thank you for coming in. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“This is James Stone, my lawyer.” Josh indicated to a man in his forties, fit and wearing an expensive cologne to go with his superbly tailored suit.
Kane offered his hand and the man’s strong grip surprised him. “Sheriff Deputy Kane.” He waved them into his booth and sat behind the desk.
“I would like you to make a note that my client has come here of his own free will and will only answer questions I deem suitable. Are we clear?”
“They are only routine questions. I want to eliminate suspects for a number of cases that may or may not be related.” Kane leaned back in his chair. “Mr. Rockford, can you account for your whereabouts on Friday night during the hours of eleven and one.”
Rockford glanced at his lawyer, who nodded.
“I spent Friday evening with Susie Hartwig. I’m sure she told you already?”
Kane jotted down notes. “She said she left your apartment between ten thirty and eleven. We can corroborate her story from the cab records. So I’m afraid you have no alibi for the time in question.”
“I woke up in front of the TV about three and she’d left.” Josh Rockford shrugged. “I didn’t leave the house.”
“Okay.” Kane met his gaze. “Your father owns a dark blue Ford pickup. When was the last time you drove the vehicle?”
“Why the hell would I drive that old wreck?” Josh Rockford snorted in disgust. “It’s used by our ranch hands, has been for about ten years.” He glared at Kane. “I don’t know if it ever leaves the property. You’ll have to ask my father.”
“Sure, that’s easy enough to check.” Kane rubbed his chin and gazed at his notes. “Where did you go after leaving Aunt Betty’s Café on Monday morning?”
“Do I have to answer that question?” Josh shot an agonized look at his lawyer.
“No.” Stone shrugged. “Unless this question is relevant to a murder enquiry and you wish to exclude my client.”
Interesting. “Okay.” Kane leaned back in his seat and twirled his pen. “How well do you know Sarah Woodward?”
“The cute blonde?” Josh grinned. “I’d like to know her but when I asked her to join me for a drink, she practically ran into the bathroom. That was outside the Cattleman’s Hotel restaurant on Saturday night after the game.”
Kane took in Josh’s demeanor. He was cocky and sure of himself. He had not murdered Sarah but did have something to hide. “Did you return to the Cattleman’s Hotel after I escorted you to a cab?”
“I’m taking the Fifth.” Rockford glanced at his lawyer. “Maybe I had a hot date. I don’t have to tell him, do I?”
“No, you don’t have to answer any of his questions.” Stone’s hard gaze bored into Kane.
“I’ll move on then.” Kane cleared his throat. “Would you agree to give me a DNA sample? Miss Woodward was involved in an incident and I am eliminating suspects.”
“I’d like to give her a DNA sample.” Josh wiggled his eyebrows.
“You don’t have to comply.” Stone leaned toward Josh. “Not unless they obtain a court order.”
“I didn’t touch the girl.” Josh shrugged dismissively. “I’ll do the test.”
Kane completed the test and, keeping his expression neutral, turned back to Josh Rockford. He needed forensics to go over his vehicle and his father’s old pickup. “That’s all I have for you for now unless you’d agree to a forensics team searching your car? We’ll need to take a look at your father’s old pickup as well.”
“In relation to what?” Stone eyed him suspiciously.
“We are investigating two incidents and a blue pickup involved in a hit-and-run.” Kane sighed “We are in the process of questioning people in the vicinity at the time, and Mr. Rockford is on our list.”
“Yes, you can check out my SUV. I didn’t do anything or cause an accident. You’ll have to speak to my father about the pickup.” Josh got to his feet. “Can I go now?”
Kane stood and offered his hand. “Thank you for your cooperation. Don’t clean the car, will you? If you do, I’m sure Mr. Stone will explain the ramifications.”
“I’ll make sure he understands, and I’ll contact you about Mayor Rockford’s pickup within the hour. I’m sure he’ll want his name cleared as soon as possible.” Stone looked down his nose at him as if he had broken wind. “When do you expect the forensics team to arrive?”
Kane pushed to his feet. “In the next twenty-four hours, and I’d like to take a look at the old pickup today.”
“Very well.” Stone gave him a dismissive stare and turned to usher Josh toward the door.
Kane moved to his side. “May I have a word in private?”
“Wait for me at the desk.” Stone waved Josh away as if he was an annoying fly. “What can I do for you, Deputy Kane?”
Kane sized up the athletic, good-looking man before him. “I have a few questions. Take a seat; this won’t take long unless you need to call a lawyer too?”
“Really? Ask away.” Stone gave a sarcastic laugh. “Do you need my movements as well? If so, I was attending a conference in LA. I left here a week ago on Saturday and came back on Monday at around ten, I believe. No sooner had I put my bags inside my house, the mayor called and informed me you were harassing the members of the Larks Team.”
Pushing the notepad toward him, Kane met his gaze. “I’ll need details, if you don’t mind.”
“Not a problem.” Stone scratched away at the pad then signed the bottom with a flourish. “Would you like a DNA test from me as well?”
“Not at this time.” He leveled his gaze at Stone. “There is another subject we need to speak about—Jenna.”
“Ah, I see.” Stone gave him a look to freeze an ocean. “I had a feeling you two knew each other.” He held both hands up and gave him a thin smile. “That’s what happens when I encourage women below my class.”
Kane gave him his death glare. “I didn’t see your name listed in Forbes—didn’t make it again this year, huh?”
“Don’t worry, she is all yours.” Stone shot to his feet and strode toward Rockford.
Kane stared after him, shaking his head. One asshole down. He turned his attention
back to the interview with Rockford. He had dealt with super-cool psychopaths before and it was not beyond reason to assume Josh Rockford had the ability to hide the fact he had killed Sarah. Yet something did not gel. His demeanor was wrong, especially the quip about the DNA sample. If he had been acting the part of an innocent man, he would be up for an Oscar.
However, he refused to remove him as a suspect for the attempts on Jenna’s life; Josh had been in the area and could not account for his whereabouts during the time of both incidents. His father owned the same model vehicle, and he had motive. He would have to examine the pickup for damage and inspect John Davis’s vehicle as well. Kane stared down at the list of suspects. He found it hard to believe the real estate broker was responsible and the list was getting shorter. Take Billy Watts and Josh Rockford out of the equation, and all I have is Dan Beal and Stan Clough.
Forty-Seven
Jenna removed her coat and gloves then dropped into her chair. “Shut the door.”
“This isn’t about finding Sarah Woodward’s purse, is it?” Daniels frowned down at her. “I dropped it down the evidence chute. Kane said you’d want to log it in personally.”
“Where did you find the purse?” Jenna leaned on her desk, clasping her hands. “I hope you followed procedure.”
“I wore gloves and sealed it inside an evidence bag.” Daniels looked at his hands then over one shoulder at the closed door before dropping his voice. “I wasn’t going to bother to look inside your bin but you did say to check every trash can from the crime scene to town. I found it inside your recycling bin.”
Jenna gaped at him in astonishment. “In my bin?” She had not brought the recycling bin inside since the collection on Friday and it should have been empty.
“Yeah.” Daniels pulled out his cellphone. “I have pictures.” He handed her the phone.
After scrolling through the images, she handed him back the cellphone. “Did you make an inventory of the contents?”
“No, I looked inside looking for confirmation of ownership. I found her ID, noticed a set of vehicle keys but I’m pretty sure the motel key was missing.” He gave her a suspicious look and cleared his throat. “How come it’s in your bin?”
“The Old Mitcham Ranch is on the same street as my ranch. Maybe my trash can was the only one left out or maybe leaving it in my bin was a way to taunt me, who the hell knows?” She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t for a second think that Kane is involved. I can account for his movements on Monday. He was with me.”
“Sure, it must be a coincidence, but yours wasn’t the only can left out. I searched four other bins along that road.” Daniels raised a brow. “So they picked yours on purpose. Must be a local to know where you live.”
Jenna lifted her chin. “Talking of locals, why didn’t you tell me your brothers live next door to Stan Clough? I had to find out from John Davis.”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
She glared at him. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Well, I guess.” He squirmed “We own the Old Mitcham Ranch. I asked Mr. Davis to sell it. My brothers had nothing to do with it.”
“What?”
“I thought you knew Sheriff Mitcham was our grandpa and left us a bunch of land. It’s common knowledge in these parts.”
“Obviously not.” Anger straightened her spine. “You should have told me. I’m not a local and all this happened before I arrived.” She cleared her throat. “Sit down. I want to know everything. When did you decide to sell the property?”
“Oh, about three months ago.” Daniels lowered into a chair and stretched his long slim legs before him, looking far too at ease for Jenna’s comfort. “I’m the youngest and the only one of us with a proper job. When my parents died, they left debts and we had to sell personal items to pay the bills. We are often short of cash over winter so I put the old place on the market. I didn’t tell my brothers, I thought it would be a nice surprise.” He grimaced. “When I rang Dean and told him about the murder, he went ballistic and said I was trying to sell part of our family’s heritage. He called John Davis and had the property removed from the listing.” He gave her a chagrined look. “Gave me a tongue lashing last night on the phone as well. That’s the last time I try to do something to help.”
Jenna drummed her fingers on the table. “I see.”
“I didn’t know Sarah’s grandmother was planning on visiting the place either until I saw it on the list Davis dropped here.”
The image of Sarah Woodward’s glassy death stare flashed across her mind and she blinked hard to push the horrific vision away. “If Mrs. Woodward had put an offer on the place, they would have mentioned it to you, especially as they didn’t know you’d put it on the market.” She unclasped her hands. “Exactly how well do you know Stan Clough?”
“Huh?” Daniels stared at her blankly.
“You know Stan Clough, who is a person of interest. Why didn’t you admit to knowing the man, let alone where he lived? Are you hiding something?”
“I know of him, everyone knows what he did. I didn’t know where he lived when I spoke to you this morning.” Daniels shrugged nonchalantly. “I rarely go to the ranch during winter. There is nothing to do and my brothers are quite capable of handling the stock. They don’t need me; in fact, most times I get in the way.” He gave her a petulant stare. “At the moment, Dean is real pissed with me—oh, sorry, ma’am—angry with me about trying to sell the Old Mitcham Ranch, but when I called him on the satellite phone he mentioned Stan Clough. He told me Clough was living on Rocky Mile Road with a bunch of stinking pigs. He told me not to tell you because Stan doesn’t want anyone, especially you, knowing where he lives.”
“Oh, really?”
“I guess he wants a quiet life, ma’am.” Daniels winced. “I sure do.”
Sarah’s homicide is looking more like an opportunistic thrill kill. She gave Daniels a long look. He was not law-enforcement material. “Have you thought about a different career away from Black Rock Falls?”
“Oh yeah.” Daniels gave her a crooked smile. “I’ve always wanted to join the rodeo circuit. Those boys play hard and fast. I haven’t really left Black Rock Falls and I’m hankerin’ for some fun in my life. This job with the murders and all is depressing.”
“Okay, you’d better grab Walters and go to lunch.”
She stood and followed him out the door. Noticing Kane was typing up a report, she decided to go through Sarah’s purse with Rowley and log the contents but required Kane’s key to the evidence room. Marching up to his desk, she tapped Deputy Rowley on the shoulder. Miffed to see him on Facebook, she snapped at him. “With me. Bring a notepad.”
“Is everything okay?” Kane glanced up from his computer screen.
“Yeah. I need your key to the evidence room. I’m taking Rowley with me to make a list of the contents of Sarah’s purse.” She moved closer and dropped her voice. “Why didn’t you inform me Daniels found the damn thing and in my recycling bin? Plus he had Clough’s damn address? He has a piggery on Rocky Mile Road. What’s going on?”
“In our trash?” Both dark eyebrows rose to the hairline. “He did mention he’d found out where Clough lived but refused to tell me and insisted where he found the purse was for your ears only. What a jerk. Do you think he believes I had something to do with Sarah’s murder?” He tossed her a bunch of keys.
“I have no idea.” She rubbed the back of her neck then waited for his reaction to her next bombshell. “Did you know the Daniels brothers own the Old Mitcham Ranch?”
“Nope, Rowley gave me a rundown of the history but didn’t mention the current owners. I assumed it was part of a deceased estate.” Kane took his notepad from his jacket pocket and flipped through the pages. “Yeah, I was going to ask John Davis for the lawyer handling the estate to inform him about the murder. Has anyone told him?”
“Not about the murder.” Jenna wet her suddenly dry lips and eyed the coffee takeaway cup on Kane’s desk with longing
. “I don’t want gossip going around until Sarah’s family has officially identified the body. Obviously, we don’t need to speak to the Daniels brothers as Pete has already informed them. Apparently, Dean contacted John Davis and removed the place from sale.”
“So we’ve found our leak?”
Jenna sighed. “Looks that way. I think Pete needs to find a new occupation. By the way, when is Sarah’s uncle coming to identify her body?”
“He should be arriving in the morning. The forensics are back and Maggie has put them in the files.” Kane moved his wide shoulders and stretched his legs. “Do you want me to go over Rockford’s interview with you now?”
“I’ll check the purse first.”
* * *
Jenna unlocked the cage, snapped on gloves, and slid Sarah Woodward’s purse out of the evidence bag and onto the aluminum tray on the table. She turned to Rowley. “Take pictures. Every step.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley took a camera from the shelf and played around with the settings. “I’m ready.” He snapped a few shots.
“Driver’s license in the name of Sarah Woodward, car keys with a tag for Miller’s Garage.” Jenna tipped the bag upside down. A few coins tumbled onto the tray, a pink scrunchie, a pen from the Black Rock Falls Motel, and a packet of gum. She searched inside, found a zipper, and opened a compartment. “Cash.” When she unfolded the notes, she found a phone number written on a scrap of notepaper from the motel. “Sixty-five dollars.” She stepped away from the table to allow Rowley to take photographs.
“No clues to the murderer here.” Rowley displayed the shots on the camera screen. “Do you want me to dust everything for prints?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at him. “Nice job. I’ll chase up the phone number but I’m guessing it’s one of the owners of the properties her grandmother visited, or should I say planned to visit.” She pulled out her notepad and jotted down the number. “I’ll look over the list she received from John Davis before I bother anyone.”
