by D. K. Hood
“The way they are fussing over me, that will be sometime in the fall.”
Kane squeezed her hand. “In the meantime, do you want to know the motives your hardworking team of deputies have confirmed beyond doubt for the murders?”
“Oh, doh!” Jenna pulled a face then winced in pain. “Go on then, give it to me. So far I only know what Dirk told me.”
Kane gave her the conclusions he had relayed to Deputy Rowley concerning Sarah’s death and the attempts on Jenna’s life on the way to the Daniels’ ranch. “The abuse the Daniels brothers suffered as kids often triggers psychopathic behavior, especially when mental health issues are in the family history. It is possible the father murdered their mother and maybe Pete survived because he left the environment as a baby.” He sighed. “The mutilation of the cattle might have preempted the murder spree but it could also have been a way to control Clough. It’s likely that being so isolated, they acted out their fantasies on animals since childhood.”
“That’s all very well but after you found Stan Clough with Pete’s body, what made you keep looking? He was our prime suspect.”
“The forensics found two pairs of boot marks at Sarah’s crime scene and Clough kept on insisting they did it and he was afraid of them. I didn’t believe him but secured him then searched the house looking for trophies or evidence.” He sighed. “When I found Mrs. Woodward’s body and she had written the Daniels’ names as her killers in blood, all the pieces fell into place.” He let out a long sigh.
“How did you find me? The bunker is well hidden.”
“If Rowley hadn’t told me about the survival shelter on the Daniels’ ranch, we wouldn’t have found you in time. By the way, I must commend you on Rowley’s training; he didn’t falter once. Shocked and horrified but as solid as a rock.”
“Yeah, he is a good, dependable deputy.” Jenna rubbed her temples, and her forehead wrinkled into a frown. “I can’t believe the Daniels brothers had the brains to use Mrs. Woodward’s pickup to cause my accident. I guess the BOLO we put out on the vehicle hasn’t panned out yet?” She fingered the dressing on her neck, and her blue eyes reflected her pain.
“Yeah, it did. Walters found the pickup parked in plain sight in the Cattleman’s Hotel parking lot.” Kane smiled. “Rowley is taking paint samples from the damaged front panel as we speak.”
“That’s good. I gather they had time to dump Pete’s cruiser to make sure they weren’t implicated in my kidnapping?”
Kane shrugged. “It looks more like they planned to put the blame on me.”
“You?” Jenna stared at him wide-eyed. “Why you?”
“New kid in town and their biggest threat, I guess.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “They dumped Sarah’s purse in our trash bin and I found a lock of her hair and the missing underwear in my garage. They didn’t have time to dump the vehicle. We found it under a tarpaulin in the Daniels’ barn and it’s with forensics, so we are two patrol cars down at the moment.” He met her annoyed gaze with a grin. “Don’t worry, I spoke to the mayor; he has a rush order on two brand spanking new SUVs to replace them. We’ll have them soon.”
“That’s wonderful. How many of his arms did you have to break?” She giggled and the sound filled him with relief.
“Not one.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I used my charm.”
“Well, you have that in spades.” Jenna sighed. “It is hard to believe they murdered John Helms or poor old Mrs. Woodward for money. Dirk told me they had a heap of debts after they murdered their father. He said they befriended lonely people and tortured them for their PIN as if it was like getting a new job to pay their bills. The way he validated murder was chilling.” She shuddered and rubbed her arms as if cold. “Both Dean and Dirk admitted to raping and murdering Sarah, but from what Dirk said, they have killed quite a few victims. Problem is that it’s hearsay. If forensics don’t find a stash of trophies, we’ll have nothing to go on.” She grimaced. “Although you have to admit, feeding the victims to Stan Clough’s pigs was a stroke of genius.”
Kane rubbed his chin. “Maybe Clough can explain why they stopped killing for two years, then started again. The behavior doesn’t follow the usual psychopathic murderer pattern.”
“As you said before, they would need a fix, and we have no idea how many bodies are rotting away in barrels, do we?” Jenna leaned back in the pillows and yawned. “We should consider every missing persons’ case in surrounding counties from the time they killed their father.” She let out a long sigh. “Won’t that be fun?”
“Don’t worry.” Kane patted her hand. “The state forensics team is out at the ranch. If the Daniels brothers kept trophies, they will be matched against any missing persons throughout the state.”
“I feel like an incompetent fool. We still don’t know how Helms met the Daniels brothers in the first place.”
Kane stood and filled a glass with orange juice then handed it to her. “Yeah, we do. I finally managed to speak to his wife. Her story was pretty close to Father Maguire’s account. The couple had marital problems and Helms needed a break. He decided to hit the road to follow his favorite hockey team and attend all their games. His car broke down in Blackwater and he had it towed to a garage. He told his wife he ran into two men from Black Rock Falls at the garage. They offered him accommodation plus a lift back to town to collect his car for a few days’ work on their ranch. As his vehicle was going to take a week to repair, he agreed. He must have been out of earshot when he used his cellphone; the Daniels brothers obviously didn’t know he’d called her.”
“So, you’re sure it was the Daniels brothers he met?”
Kane smiled. “Proof positive. They made the mistake of speaking to Helms at the garage in front of the owner. They ordered spare parts for Dean’s pickup and left their contact number. The proprietor remembers them leaving with Helms.”
“Why didn’t his wife tell all this to the priest?”
“I asked her the same question. She didn’t speak to the priest until he asked her about the dentist; apparently he didn’t mention anything about lodging a missing persons’ report on her husband.” Kane shook his head. “When I questioned the priest, he told me the wife wasn’t mentally stable and he didn’t want to worry her.”
“That doesn’t account for not being able to contact her for ages.” Jenna met his gaze with a frown. “Did you ask her where she’d been hiding?”
“I did. When Helms told her he was excited about meeting new friends and was looking forward to an adventure, she packed her bags and went to her mother’s house. She was angry at Helms and turned off her cellphone; didn’t turn it back on again, hence the reason we couldn’t locate her. When the priest visited her and asked about the dentist, he told her the cellphone was out of order.” He sighed. “She did seem very vague at times and couldn’t understand why her husband had picked driving around in freezing temperatures over working out their problems.” He snorted. “She had a point. Why anyone would travel alone to Black Rock Falls in the middle of winter to stay with strangers, with or without the hockey game, defies explanation.”
“You came here.” Jenna pushed a lock of dark hair from her forehead and her lips quivered into a small smile.
He grinned at her. “Yeah, I did. But after four homicides, four attempts on your life, and discovering the star hockey player in town is a potential predator before I’ve received my first paycheck… I’m not so sure if Black Rock Falls is the quiet town I imagined.” He gave her a long look, noting the apprehension in her eyes. “Yeah, the DA did question me about why I left a lucrative position and came here. I explained, but now they want me to take the psych evaluation along with you.”
“At least I’ll have company.” She frowned and pleated the edge of the white sheet with her small fingers. “How did the Rockford hearing go?”
“He is currently in the county jail awaiting trial on a number of charges.” Kane cleared his throat. “Even his daddy won’t get him out of this and I dou
bt the mayor will be elected for another term either; the townsfolk are not impressed.” He sighed. “You’ll be up to your neck in court cases for the rest of the year. Man, those Daniels brothers were a class on their own.”
“Have you ever come across this type of psychopathic killer before? I thought most of them worked alone?” Jenna raised both dark brows. “They had different types of victims, and that’s unusual, isn’t it?”
“Not necessarily. We are talking about two different men here. Say Dirk took most of the abuse from his father. He would likely have the need to torture men and make them pay for what happened to him as a boy.” Kane pushed a hand through his hair, worried this kind of discussion might upset her after her experience. He would keep it simple. “Then Dean might have believed his mother allowed his father to hurt them and his focus was on hurting women. Rape and torture isn’t sexual; it’s punishment.” He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her reactions carefully. “I believe the initial motive was money, as you said, and the Daniels boys used their brains. They only wanted cash—tortured their victims for their PINs then cleaned out their bank accounts. My guess is they started slow, and inflicting pain triggered the psychopathic behavior. The prolonged torture and rape of their victims came later. Psychopaths escalate, and each kill is more extreme to feed the thrill.”
“But Mrs. Woodward was seen banking cash. They didn’t kill her straight away, did they?” Jenna sipped her drink. “I wonder why?”
He shrugged. “As far as we can tell we believe they discovered she had a variety of bank accounts and a fortune hidden away. My guess is she called them about purchasing the Old Mitcham Ranch. She likely wanted to get a feel for the area and I’m betting they suggested she stay with them. I found her purse in a drawer in a bedroom in their house. She likely offered to work around the place as a housekeeper for practically nothing and at first they paid her in cash.”
“So why kill her?”
“Ah, well, I gather she would have told them she had the money available to buy the property outright. We know she obtained a nice fat cashier’s check as a deposit. She was the golden goose and they wanted to clean out all her accounts. Once they did that, she was useless to them.”
“Okay, you have proof to connect them to Samantha and Sarah Woodward’s murders, and Pete, of course.” Jenna looked at him expectantly. “Have you found anything else to link them to Helms’s murder?”
“We found an earring matching the one missing from Helms’s body with the earlobe still attached in the Daniels’ barn. I’m guessing they took him home and didn’t waste any time torturing him for his PIN.” He sighed. “Their cellphone records and the GPS in Dirk’s pickup match every withdrawal date and time for both Helms and Woodward. We think Helms went in the barrel because Clough hadn’t set up his piggery in time.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Yeah.” Kane rubbed his chin. “As of one hour ago, the investigation is out of our hands and being handled by the big boys. Homeland Security has taken over our missing persons’ cases and will be checking files from other states just in case this involves mass murder.”
Jenna’s face drained of color and she placed the glass on the table then lifted her chin.
“I have a confession to make. I did miss something the day I went to the Daniels’ ranch.” She cleared her throat and a pink flush spread over her cheeks. “I heard a whining noise like something… somebody in pain. When I asked Dean, he said his mare was giving birth.” She met his gaze. “He had blood spots on his boots and stank of sweat. I should have checked or at least remembered. Helms and Sarah are dead because of me.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “I used to be a good judge of character and I actually liked Dean and Dirk. Seems my profiler training was a complete waste of time.”
He considered her confession for a few seconds then shook his head. “You are not to blame; you accepted the explanation of two men you trusted, and if you’d discovered them torturing John Helms, they would have killed you and Pete. They had a good thing going, and being psychopaths, they wouldn’t have thought twice about killing the pair of you.” He sighed. “Charm is a gift psychopaths have in spades. Trust me, they could fool the best of us. Think how many people Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy deceived?”
“You know,” Jenna opened her eyes and looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, “underneath that tough, no-nonsense image lies a man of great worth. You are a kind and generous man and it has been an honor working with you.”
Kane smiled and squeezed her hand, so small in his palm. “Thank you. I like working with you too. I just have to keep reminding myself who is the boss.” He chuckled. “Which I have to admit has been a big adjustment for me, but I’m a quick learner.”
“And I need to respect your experience and work with you.” Jenna sighed. “I’m used to having to tell deputies when to wipe their asses.” Her lips quivered into a smile. “It’s been amazing having someone to trust. Do you think we’ll ever get a replacement for Pete?”
Kane chuckled and moved his thumb in small circles over the back of her hand. He had contacted HQ to find a suitable replacement—someone he could trust.
“Do you really think Black Rock Falls is interesting?” She gave him a blank stare.
“I sure do. I’m wondering what will happen next.”
“Oh, I thought with the new deputy arriving, you would ask for a transfer—and I wouldn’t blame you.” Her blue eyes misted over and she swallowed hard.
“Do you really think I’d leave my cozy cottage, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, and seeing my boss in pink slippers?”
“So will you stay and help me fight the bad guys?” She chewed on her dainty fingernails and her soft gaze drifted over his face.
What? Leave her alone in this backwoods town? Never. He smiled down at her. “Yes, ma’am.”
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A Letter from D.K. Hood
Dear Reader,
I am delighted you chose my novel and joined me in the exciting world of Kane and Alton in Don’t Tell a Soul.
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Writing this story has been a thrilling adventure for me. Delving into the lives of ex- secret agents and serial killers was a dream come true. I love forensic science and enjoyed researching every aspect of the crime scenes.
If you enjoyed my story, I would be very grateful if you could leave a review and recommend my book to your friends and family. I really enjoy hearing from readers because when I write, it’s as if you are here with me, following the characters’ stories.
Writing a novel is a very isolating business and I would love to hear from you—so please get in touch on my Facebook page or Twitter or through my website.
Thank you so much for your support.
D.K. Hood
www.dkhood.com/
Acknowledgements
To Dan Brown for the brainstorming sessions and inspiration.
To Dave Kentner, Dana Frye, Judith Leger, and all the great people at the ERA and Asylum Group for your support and advice.
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
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www.bookouture.com
Copyright © D. K. Hood 2017
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D. K. Hood has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photoc
opying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-273-5
