by D. K. Hood
“Sure.” Rowley indicated toward the whiteboard with his thumb. “Do you want me to hide the board if you’d rather Daniels doesn’t know the details about the current investigation?”
Exhausted and drained, Jenna dropped into her chair. “Good idea.”
“Can I get you another cup of coffee?” Rowley pushed the board up into the wall recess.
“Thank you, I think I need a gallon.”
Forty-Nine
Chagrined, Kane dropped into the chair in his booth and stared at Jenna’s office door. What part of discussing a case didn’t she understand? He followed his gut and right now his gut told him there was a connection between the attempts on her life and the murders.
He desperately wanted to pay Stan Clough a visit, and speaking to him was a priority, but a search warrant would be an asset if he noticed anything suspicious. The idea the man owned a piggery worried him to some extent and knowing the voracious appetites of pigs, it would not be beyond reason to believe a psychopath could feed his victims to his swine. A pig will devour a carcass, bones and all, and DNA-testing their shit often proves useless.
He rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. Did Clough have a family or close friend? If two men were involved in such brutal killings and lived in Black Rock Falls, they would have committed more murders in or around the area. Both Sarah’s and Helms’s deaths told him the killer had escalated his need to murder. If he assumed the missing persons from two years ago had been victims, he had reason to believe the killer’s pattern had been disturbed—and Clough had been in jail for six months.
He would need to contact other counties for a list of missing persons. Psychopaths often moved around collecting victims. Relatives may have reported people missing, but how many people without family and friends disappear without a trace? This maniac could have been doing this for years.
He glanced at Jenna’s door and decided to get back to work. Pulling out his notebook, he scanned the witnesses Billy Watts had named. The coach would be the best witness and he would ask the manager of the Larks gym. He called both numbers and wrote down the time the witnesses remembered seeing Watts and Beal arrive and depart. As the times coincided within a fifteen-minute span, he crossed both suspects off his list. He stared at Josh Rockford’s name and rubbed his chin; he needed to check his father’s old Ford pickup.
He brought up the DMV files on his computer screen and jotted down the locations of the Ford pickups he wanted to inspect. Still new to the area, he would have to rely on his GPS to guide him. He reached for his cellphone and punched in John Davis’s number. “Ah, Mr. Davis. I’m on my way to inspect your pickup. Do you need to let your wife know? I don’t want to worry her by showing up unannounced.”
“I’m finished for the day. My ranch is set back off the road and might be difficult to locate. If you stop here on the way, you can follow me.”
Kane frowned. “Yeah, thanks. I’ll be there in five minutes.” He removed his sidearm from the holster and checked the clip.
“Problem?” Deputy Rowley stopped, coffee cup in hand.
“Nah.” Kane smiled at him. “I’m just being careful.”
“Don’t worry about the sheriff.” Rowley gave him an apologetic shrug. “Her bark is worse than her bite, as they say.”
“I’m not worried.”
Rowley’s face pinked and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Of course not. Oh, by the way, none of the dates for the cash withdrawals coincides with Watts’ or Rockford’s movements, according to the cellphones or GPS. When he’s not with the Larks, Rockford seems to move around town at odd hours, as in overnight, and he spends a lot of time online.”
“Okay.” Kane holstered his weapon and pocketed his notebook. “I’m heading out to look at the pickups then I’m heading home. I’ll see you in the morning.” He glanced at Jenna’s office door. “See she gets home safely.”
* * *
He met John Davis outside the real estate office and followed his car out of town and into the hills. The light had started to fade by the time he drew up beside the blue pickup. He pulled up the hood of his jacket and slipped from the seat. Grabbing his cellphone, he moved around the vehicle, snapping shots. Convinced this pickup was not the one he had seen the night of Jenna’s accident, he gave John Davis a wave. “All done. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Not a problem.” Davis moved to his side with a bunch of excited dogs circling him. “I have to ask, has something happened at the Old Mitcham Ranch?”
Kane weighed up his reply. “We have reason to believe a crime was committed in the area.” Holding up a hand to prevent Davis from questioning him, he smiled. “I’m sorry, as it’s an ongoing investigation, I can’t give you any more information.” He glanced up at the sky and winced at the sight of gray clouds heavy with snow. “I’d better be going. I have to inspect Mayor Rockford’s vehicle before I call it a day.”
“Okay. If you drive through that gate,” Davis pointed to a dirt road recently cleared of snow, “it takes you directly to the back of Rockford’s barn. He keeps the vehicle inside. I’m in a deal with Rockford on feed so we keep the road clear for deliveries. It will cut your traveling time in half. I’ll leave the gates open, if you sound your horn on the way back, I’ll come down and close them.”
Kane nodded and followed him back to his SUV. “Thanks.”
* * *
The trip to Mayor Rockford’s ranch had been a waste of time. The old pickup had evident rust in the tailgate and no sign of a sticker. Kane headed home with the sound of Alton’s harsh words ringing in his ears. There could be no doubt the pickup used in her accident belonged to Mrs. Woodward. His conclusion about the case had not changed.
When he arrived home, lights blazed in Jenna’s house but no floodlights illuminated the driveway. She had not taken the time to set up her security system. A cruiser, one of the older ones, belonging to Pete Daniels, was in her driveway. She had likely borrowed the vehicle but if he had given her a ride, she could have invited him to stay for coffee, maybe with the intention of finding out what information he had been leaking. Somehow, the idea of Jenna entertaining another man disturbed him, not in a jealous way but more as if a close friend had dumped him.
Kane stomped into the house. He needed more information, more insight into the happenings in Black Rock Falls. Josh Rockford had something hidden behind his outgoing persona, and who was Stan Clough? Who would be better to fill him in than the town gossip? Reaching for his cellphone, he flipped it open and dialed the number. “Hi, Mary-Jo, this is David Kane. I was wondering if you’d be free for dinner tonight.”
When she gushingly agreed, he secured a table at the Cattleman’s Hotel restaurant for eight. He had not been on a date for five years but had played the part of a doting companion on assignment many times. It’s only business. After shrugging away the nagging voice in the back of his head and ignoring the instant grip of betrayal in his gut for his dead wife, he whistled a tune and headed for the shower.
Fifty
It was pitch-black outside when Jenna noticed the headlights of Kane’s SUV heading out the gate. A wave of panic hit her along with the sinking recollection she had not reinstalled the floodlights to her security system. With Kane close by to keep her safe, she had not made the job a priority. Never mind, he would likely be back after eating dinner, and in the meantime she would keep busy.
She glanced at the clock and, seeing it was after eleven, strolled to the front door and peered in the direction of Kane’s cottage. The porch light illuminated the doors to his garage. They stood wide open and the inside was a gaping black maw. “Out on the tiles, are you, Kane? Hmm, and after you told me you had suffered a bad breakup. Men!”
Walking back to her bedroom, she flicked off the lights on the way and lay down on her bed. She tried to sleep but the argument with Kane kept coming to the front of her mind. After midnight, her phone disturbed her and it took some moments to realize the beep was the border alarm. “So, you decid
ed to come home, did you?”
She waited for the sound of Kane’s SUV and the flash of headlights. After nothing happened, she lifted onto one elbow and peered through her open bedroom door to the windows at the front of the house. The green light on the house alarm glowed but no vehicle’s lights bobbed up her driveway. Perhaps an elk had wandered on her property, or some other creature looking for a warm place for the night. She turned over in bed and dozed.
Sometime later, a sound had her jerking awake. Not moving a muscle, she flicked her gaze around the room. The air was hot rather than cool, and she had kicked off the blankets during her fitful sleep. The noise came again, soft footfalls on the stoop and a slight rattle as if someone was moving from window to window looking for a way inside.
Three flashes lit up the room.
Frozen with terror she slid her gaze toward the window. A figure loomed in the darkness. Holy shit, someone was taking photographs of her in bed. Her sleep-drugged mind fought past the paralyzing fear and she forced her body to relax. As the man crept away, she heard the familiar creaking of the floorboards and sucked in a deep breath, readying her limbs into action. Heart threatening to burst through her ribs, she slid her gaze down the hallway and made out the shadowy figure of a tall man with broad shoulders. Someone is at my front door.
She slid one hand to her ear. One press on her earring would summon Kane; her fingers slid over empty lobes. Damn! She had left them on the bathroom vanity. At least she had honed her hand-to-hand combat skills with Kane and could use them as a backup. Grabbing her weapon from the nightstand, she dove for the floor. The handle of the front door turned with a whine.
Oh my God, he is trying to get inside the house.
Had she locked the door? Lying flat on the floor, she aimed around the bed, waiting for the intruder to enter the house. The door held, but the house alarm failed to send out a piercing scream. Like a car alarm, any tampering with her front door should have triggered the system. Holy shit! The footsteps came again as the shadowy form moved along the porch. Pulse running like a freight train, she rolled across the floor and closed the door then slid the heavy bolt into place. The carpenter had laughed at the reinforcing on her bedroom door the day he came to the house to install similar locks on all the internal rooms. She needed safe rooms, and the heavy doors would give her a few moments’ valuable time to deal with an intruder. As the floorboards creaked under the man’s steps, she forced her mind into combat calm. She would never be surprised again, and if this lunatic thought he had the jump on her this time, he would learn the hard way.
Oh my God! He is coming back. Keeping one eye on the bedroom window, she scrambled for her cellphone and hit Kane’s number. His message to call back later made her chest tighten in panic. You pick now to stay out all damn night when I only have Walters to help me?
She punched in Walters’ number and he replied with a yawn.
“Anything wrong, Sheriff?”
Jenna whispered into the mouthpiece. “Yeah, I have an intruder and Kane has turned off his cellphone. Can you come at once? No lights or sirens, I want to catch this creep.”
“I’m on my way.”
When the footsteps paused outside her window, she rolled onto her knees, grabbed the Glock in two hands and aimed at the shadowy figure. Walters would take about ten minutes if he left at once and drove fast. Long enough to murder me. If the intruder made one more move to get inside her home, she would shoot and damn the consequences. A tremble went through her and she tightened her grip on the weapon, not moving her gaze from the dark figure outside. The outline of a hand wearing black gloves appeared in the glass, then the outline of a face.
Pushing down fear, Jenna rested both elbows on the bed and her finger slid to the trigger. She raised her voice as loud as possible. “This is the sheriff. Put your hands on top of your head—now!”
A flash of light dazzled her. The man was taking more photographs. Jenna aimed and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang and the window shattered, flinging shards of glass in all directions. Moments later, the man fell with a thump on the porch and made a low moan. Ice-cold wind blasted into the room but she jumped to her feet. With one hand on the pistol and aiming at the window, she reached for the bedside lamp and flooded the room with light. Picking her way around the shattered glass, she moved toward the window.
Outside, Josh Rockford rolled in a ball of pain, clutching his left shoulder. He gave her a puppy-dog stare.
“You shot me.”
“I might have guessed it was you. Don’t move a muscle, you piece of shit. I should have blown off your damn head.”
“I need the paramedics.” Rockford rolled into a sitting position and leaned against the porch railing. “Or are you gonna let me bleed to death?”
The adrenalin pumping through her started to ebb and her teeth chattered. Keeping the Glock aimed at him, she reached one hand toward the chest of drawers and picked up the handcuffs she kept there. She tossed them at him. “Handcuff your injured arm to the railing, unless you want me to place a bullet in your kneecap.”
“Jesus Christ, woman. I’m hurting here.” Rockford gave her a baleful look. “I thought you liked me and now you’ve shot me. Get me a doctor.”
“Do as you are told or bleed to death. I don’t give a rat’s ass either way.”
When he complied, moaning like a wounded animal, she made her way around the room to her cupboard and dragged out some clothes. Shivering, she dressed swiftly, then called Daniels and asked him to take a cab to meet Walters at the hospital. Anger raged through her but she followed procedure and collected latex gloves and an evidence bag then went outside to toss a blanket over Rockford. She could see a bullet had lodged in the wood behind him. The wound was a straight through and not bleeding excessively. There would be no way on earth she would risk going near the pervert, and kept her distance. “Slide your cellphone toward me, and the moment Walters arrives, I’ll attend to your wound, but for now you’ll just have to wait.”
“Can you call my daddy?”
“Nope. I will call Mr. Stone if you like. You are sure going to need a lawyer. There is no way you are getting away with stalking me. Did you think I didn’t know it was you behind the Cattleman’s Hotel?” She picked up his cellphone and dropped it into an evidence bag.
“The what?” Rockford dropped his head. “I haven’t been stalking you. I had a bet with the guys. Which of us was game enough to get some compromising shots of you to put on the net.” He gave her a half-hearted grin. “I don’t need to stalk women, they flock to me.” His dark gaze drifted over her. “I was being nice before; you’re too old for my taste.”
She took the insult by giving him her best sarcastic smile. “I can see the headlines now: ‘Old lady takes down Josh Rockford,’ or perhaps, ‘Josh Rockford the pervert banned for life from the Larks.’ I think the second one rings true.”
“Go to hell.”
* * *
Walters arrived with an overcoat covering pajamas and a deerstalker hat. He gaped at Josh Rockford then looked at her. “What happened here?”
Jenna handed him a pair of latex gloves and the evidence bag. “The cellphone is evidence. This creep was taking photographs of me in bed. I’m charging him with trespassing on private property and invasion of privacy.” She turned to Rockford and read him his rights. “I’ll get a med kit and patch him up and you can take him to the hospital. Daniels will have to guard him overnight. He is meeting you at the hospital. Take him in and keep the cuffs on him. Make sure he is secured to the hospital bed.”
Jenna headed inside the house and took a wad of cotton out of the med kit. She pulled on gloves then went outside to see Rockford on his feet speaking quietly to Walters. Handing the dressing to the deputy, she retrieved the cellphone and flicked through the images. Anger rushed over her in a wave of violence. She wanted to punch him square in the face. Bile rushed into her mouth. Apart from the images of her sprawled in bed, Rockford had compromising images of very young gi
rls. She lifted her chin, trembling with rage. “Josh Rockford, I’m also charging you with possession of child pornography. Get him out of my sight.”
She stood on the porch, arms wrapped around her, and watched Walters’ cruiser disappear into the distance before taking out her anger by nailing the shutters closed.
Fifty-One
The following morning, Jenna’s attention moved to the empty garage at Kane’s house. Where has he been all night? The show of male bravado in her office the day before and being incommunicado when she needed his help had grated on her nerves all night. She went back inside and dialed Rowley’s number. “Hey, is Kane in yet?” She filled a takeaway cup with coffee.
“Nope.” Rowley cleared his throat.
She could hear the hesitation in his voice and shook her head. She knew he was covering for him. “Okay, spill the beans. Where is he?”
“I’m not sure.”
“If you know, tell me. That’s an order, Deputy.” She added sugar and cream to her coffee. “He didn’t come home last night and I couldn’t reach him. Where did you last see him?”
“He was off-duty, ma’am.”
Jenna sealed the lid then placed the cellphone on speaker and laid it on the table. She shrugged into her coat. “I don’t care. Josh Rockford tried to break into my house last night and I shot him; he is in the hospital. I think he might be involved in something serious.” She sighed. “I’ve already spoken to the DA. The evidence we have is enough to keep him in remand until they set a date for his trial. The judge is rushing through his hearing at nine this morning. The prosecutor won’t need me until the trial.”
“What? Are you okay?”
“I would be better if I could get in touch with my deputy. Where the hell is Kane?”
