by D. K. Hood
“What about fingerprints? Who else was in the house?”
“We found Amos Price’s fingerprints on the front door, the bottom of the handrail to the stairs, and on the kitchen counter. Miss Saunders’ fingerprints were on the front door and on the kitchen doorframe. The others all corresponded to the cleaners and a tradesman. The two cleaners who visited the place two days prior have a GPS in their van. It is a mother and daughter team, Rosemarie and Lizzy Harper. We can place them in the immediate area over the two-day period.”
“The tradesman is a carpenter.” Kane scanned her face. “Adam Stickler moved into town two months ago. He lived in Blackwater and eight years ago his sister Jane went missing on her way home from school. She vanished without a trace, so kidnapping is a possible motive. The Blackwater sheriff conducted a full investigation; again, the FBI was involved but after a few false leads from people who saw her on the day she went missing, the trail ran dry. He has a motive and was in the area.”
“What motive? You’ll need more than that to convince me, Kane.”
“I have a motive.” Kane took a document out of a file and pushed it across the table. “It came to nothing but his mother put in a complaint against Price for inappropriately touching kids at a birthday party. Jane Stickler was at a party the weekend before she went missing. When Jane disappeared, Price was the FBI’s prime suspect.” Kane placed a photocopy of a newspaper on the desk. “His name is mentioned as a person of interest in the Blackwater News.”
Jenna sighed. “If Jane was at a party, then everyone there would have been investigated. Was Price even at the party?”
“Yeah, and he was questioned and came up clean. The sheriff searched his place and found nothing but we have vital information the investigation didn’t have at the time: More than one man is involved. He could have stashed Jane somewhere else.”
“Okay, we’ll need to talk to Stickler. He would have been about fourteen at the time and could have waited until he was older to strike.” Jenna stared at her notes. “I’ve been looking into Lizzy Harper, one of the cleaners. She has a key to the house and has a motive too. She served a three-year sentence in juvie for stabbing her abusive father to death, almost six years ago. She has a seven-year-old son fathered by him. At the time, the newspaper reports believed others were involved. The court sealed her case files so all we have to go on is the casebook from the initial investigation and reports in the local newspapers. If her father was part of the pedophile ring, she might want to take revenge on predators. Both Harper and Stickler would know the property was vacant.” She lifted her gaze. “The thing is, how did they lure him to the house?”
“If he was actively looking for a kid, say online, they might have played him at his own game.” Kane cleared his throat. “The FBI has been active in chat rooms for years to catch pedophiles. It’s on TV and it wouldn’t take a genius to act as a kid to lure him there.”
“Yes, you have a point.” Jenna raised one eyebrow. “But it would be difficult to act as a young teenager; they have their own language.” She sighed. “They don’t get all of their kids online though, do they? I’ve read about cases involving family members or close friends.”
“You have to remember, predators are cunning.” Kane gripped the arm of the chair with one large hand. “They often work or become involved in pastimes that involve children. Price worked as a clown to access kids. Pedophiles gain parents’ trust then move in to groom the kids. One of the most prevalent is the man who befriends a widow or single mom—he pretends to care for the mom and behind her back, abuses the kids. He becomes the dad they never had and the kids trust him. Most victims keep quiet because they don’t want to be without a dad again or he threatens to kill their mom. The problem is pedophiles act both alone and in groups, which makes them difficult to catch.”
“I am aware of that, Kane.” She tapped her pen on the table. “All this leads to the question: Why attack Price now? It’s been years. What would make Lizzy Harper suddenly be out for Price’s blood?”
“Harper works as a housekeeper, so I gather she does the cleanup after kids’ parties as well.” Wolfe’s gaze hardened. “Maybe being molested as a kid then seeing a man acting inappropriately with kids at a birthday party might get her angry enough to kill him. She did kill her father. This would be extreme; usually people don’t want to get involved, or think they are being a little too sensitive, or are ashamed to report this type of behavior.”
She swallowed the rising bile. “I can’t believe people could act so irresponsibly.” She glanced back at her notes. “Was he the only clown around town?” Jenna swept her gaze over the men.
“No, I checked.” Rowley’s brown eyes met her own and narrowed. “There are usually two clowns who put up the bounce house when we have a festival, which is at least once a month. The kids flock there.”
More damn clowns. “Who owns the bounce house?”
“The town council.”
“Contact them and find out the names of the clowns.” Jenna pushed both hands through her hair. She hated this case. Acting in a cold and professional manner when dealing with child violation was proving difficult. Especially when Kane and Wolfe seethed with anger every time they discussed the case. Knowing Kane would kill on her command, if warranted, without question was not a responsibility she enjoyed.
“Didn’t you say Zoe mentioned other men?” Rowley’s pen hovered over his notebook. “Do we have any leads on who they might be?”
Jenna smiled at him. “Good question.” Her attention moved to Wolfe. “Did you collect any evidence at the cabin we can use?”
“No. From what I can ascertain, only Price and the girl lived at the cabin.” Wolfe’s pale lashes dropped over his eyes as he flicked through his notes. “All the fingerprints are either his or Zoe’s. If anyone else went there they were very careful and wore gloves. I can’t understand how the cellar was so spotless. I know it was disgusting in the cage where he kept the child but it appeared he cleaned the rest of the room recently. The bed in the cellar had freshly laundered sheets and I could smell bleach on a plastic under-sheet. Considering the rest of the house is a pigsty, why would he clean the cellar yet leave her cage filthy?”
“Only one person would know.” Kane leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long legs. “You’ll have to speak to Zoe again, ma’am.”
“I will as soon as I have permission from her parents and clearance from the doctor, but she isn’t going to recognize anyone if they wore masks.” Jenna tapped her bottom lip with the top of her pen. “Perhaps he, I mean Price, didn’t clean the room. If he had friends over at the weekends like Zoe told us, perhaps they had concerns about leaving trace evidence.”
“Yeah.” Kane’s eyes flashed. “They wouldn’t risk leaving DNA behind, would they?”
“Yet, Amos hadn’t allowed her to take a shower since his friends left.” Jenna made a few notes. “Wouldn’t you think if he was worried about DNA, he would have made her wash?”
“We’ll have to wait for the results from the rape kit samples.” Wolfe’s mouth turned down. “The verbal report I received from the doctor at the hospital said Price had abused her over a long period. We know she had been missing for six months and that would be consistent.” He sighed. “The only way you’ll find out what happened to her is to ask her and see if she’ll talk.”
“I find it impossible to believe that Price would only be interested in her on the weekends when his friends were there.” Jenna’s cheeks grew hot. “Really, he had his disgusting fetish there for the taking. We know he only gave her a shower before the others arrived. If they cleaned up the place as you suggested, they would have made sure she was clean too. My guess is, the rape kit will implicate Amos Price alone and I bet his bed will carry the signs as well.”
“I did find seminal fluid in his bed. It will take some time before the DNA tests come back, though.” Wolfe’s gray eyes met Jenna’s. “I’ll let you know the moment they arrive.”
&n
bsp; She pushed to her feet and stared down at him then moved her attention slowly to Kane. “When we find these animals, I expect you to both act in a professional manner. Bring them in so we can interrogate them and see how far this pedophile ring has spread. I don’t want to find out they broke their necks resisting arrest. Do you understand?”
“Sure do.” Kane’s lips formed a thin line. “How do you want to proceed?”
“Hit the streets. Someone must recognize a man with a tattoo resembling a black widow spider on his hand. Look at people who run summer camps, scout leaders, preachers, anything that involves kids.”
“Are we looking into the homicide of Amos Price as well?” Rowley gave her a concerned look. “Or concentrating on the pedophile ring?”
“We’ll be running with both cases.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “I want to know everything about Lizzy Harper and her mother but go easy. Kane, contact her mother by phone first and find out what you can. As Wolfe mentioned, poison is often a woman’s preferred method of killing. We need to know if Lizzy and her mother are involved.”
“And follow up with an interview?” Kane was making copious notes in his book.
“Yes, as soon as possible.” Jenna sat back down in her chair. “I’m going to see if I can obtain details of Lizzy Harper’s case but it will take a court order and right now we have nothing on her. I want every piece of information regarding her you can discover. I want to know if anyone else was involved in her abuse apart from her father.”
She turned her attention to Rowley. “Get me a list of tradesmen that the real estate agents used for that house and go and see Mr. Stickler. Ask him to come in for questioning and watch his reaction; if he looks like he has something to hide, contact Kane for backup.”
“Have you assigned anything for Walters to do to pass time at the hospital? He has a laptop with him.” Kane met her gaze with raised eyebrows. “Rather than playing solitaire all day.”
Jenna thought for a moment then nodded. “Yeah, give him a call, would you? I would like him to check the Montana database for any similar cases over the last ten years.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When the deputies left, Maggie the receptionist knocked on her door and her huge brown eyes held concern.
“Can I get you anything, Sheriff? You look plum worn out.”
Jenna forced her lips into a smile. “I’m fine, thank you, just overworked. Was there anything else?”
“The new deputies are all settled. They’ll drop by later this afternoon.”
And I thought the day could not get any worse. Jenna slumped into her chair and rubbed her temples. “Thanks.”
10
Kane strolled out of Jenna’s office and grimaced at Wolfe. “If the guy with the tattoo is a local, then he would come into town for supplies, or at least eat at Aunt Betty’s Café. I think we should start with the stores in town.”
“Yeah and we’ll work faster if we split up.” Wolfe scratched his blond stubble. “Although if you plan to drive out to the Triple Z asking questions, I think I should tag along.”
The Triple Z was a biker roadhouse some miles out of town toward the mountains and not a place to walk into without backup. He grinned at Wolfe. “Yeah, maybe we should try there first. Nothing brightens my day more than seeing grown men run for cover at the sight of a badge.”
“You saying we intimidate people?” Wolfe’s suntanned face creased into a grin. “Sometimes looking mean gets results, and over at the Triple Z we are an unknown quantity.”
Kane snorted with laughter and headed for the door. “We’ll take my car. I’ll drop you here on the way back. If you take north of town, I’ll take south. We’ll be able to cover most of the stores and meet at Aunt Betty’s for lunch at noon.” He reached for his cellphone. “I’ll call Walters and give him something to do then we can be on our way.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Wolfe peered at his cellphone. “During the drive, I’ll see what I can find on Lizzy Harper and her mother.”
“If you find her number, I’ll pull over and speak to her.”
As Kane negotiated his SUV through the traffic, he wondered why the Black Rock Falls townsfolk celebrated every festival on the calendar. Although, he imagined visitors from neighboring towns boosted the economy. He rubbed his stomach, glad to find his six-pack not suffering from his overindulgence of homemade cookies and candies he purchased in vast quantities from the stalls lining the streets. The intense morning workouts he performed with Jenna kept him in shape, and her skills had become formidable. After a couple of psychopaths had kidnapped her last winter, she had changed significantly and had worked hard to overcome the flashbacks. Allowing him to train her in mixed martial arts had made them firm friends. They had formed a comfortable relationship and banned talk of work during their downtime together.
As he drove, he scanned the area. The local park was a mass of color with candy-striped marquees and a bounce house. At the sight of two clowns leading kids on ponies, the hair on the back of his neck stood to attention. He pulled into a parking space. “Clowns.” He slid his gaze to Wolfe. “I wonder if they have a union or something.”
“They require a permit and insurance to run pony rides in Black Rock Falls.” Wolfe’s gaze lifted from his phone. “We should check the past and present clown permit registrations. We might find if Price had any close friends.”
I’ll have to brush up on city council laws. “Yeah, great idea. Keep searching, I’ll check them out.”
He slipped out of the car and strolled toward the line of kids waiting for a ride, tickets in hand. When the clown returned to the starting position, he slapped him on the shoulder. “May I have a word?”
“I have kids waiting.” The flash of annoyance in the man’s amber eyes did not reflect the oversized smile on his white face.
Kane led him out of earshot of the kids. “It won’t take long.” He pulled out his notepad and pen. “What’s your name?”
“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.” The clown had a French accent and narrowed his gaze at him.
“I didn’t say you had, but you’re working with kids and in this town you need a permit and insurance to run a pony ride. Plus, you need to be able to show the permit on request.” Kane straightened. “Now answer the question. You wouldn’t want me to cuff you and drag you down to the sheriff’s office in front of the kids, would you?”
“I have a permit.” He pulled off a white glove, unzipped his costume, and reached inside. “My name is Claude Booval and my associate is my brother Pierre. Both names are on the permit.”
Kane made notes, taking down the names and address of the brothers. “Where were you this week?”
“It’s the Fall Festival. We are here in the park every day from nine until six. We stay at the Black Rock Falls Motel and before you ask, no, we didn’t leave the motel at any time. We used room service for meals.”
So, they are in the clear for Price’s murder but still might be in the pedophile ring. “Would you please remove your other glove?”
“Why?” Claude’s eyes opened wide with surprise.
“I’m investigating an incident involving a clown with a spider tattoo on his hand.” Kane narrowed his gaze on the man. “Know anyone fitting that description in town?”
“No.” Claude removed his other glove. “See? No tattoos.”
Kane glanced up to see the other clown walking toward him. “Pierre Booval?”
“Is something wrong?”
“Show him your hands.” Claude gave an exaggerated sigh. “He is looking for a clown with a tattoo.”
“Sure.” Pierre removed his gloves.
No tattoo.
Disappointed, Kane tried another angle. “Do you know a clown by the name of Amos Price or the names of clowns who frequent the festivals or who live close by?”
“We don’t associate with the other entertainers. You see, they are our competition for work.” Claude shrugged. “Many of them are clowns
one day, elves the next. For us it is a profession, not a chance to put on a costume. Although the rodeo clowns are different.”
“I’m not talking about the rodeo clowns but those who work with children.”
“Ah, I gather one of our profession has acted unprofessionally?” Pierre’s bright red mouth turned down in an almost comical way. “We are aware of child molesters. They ruin our reputation but it is not always clowns. A magician lured our sister, Angelique, away from a birthday party. She was missing for three days but managed to get out of the house when the monster was sleeping. He got seven years in jail.”
Bells and whistles went off in Kane’s brain. “When did this happen?”
“Eight years ago, in Blackwater. She was only twelve.” Pierre’s eyes filled with sorrow. “She has never been the same and after years of therapy she still sleeps with a knife beside her bed.”
“This is why I need to find this man.” Kane stared at the men. “What was the magician’s name?”
“Stewart James Macgregor.”
“Thanks.” He scribbled in his notebook. “Anyone else involved?”
“We don’t know. Angelique has never spoken to us about her ordeal. When she escaped, a woman walking her dog outside Macgregor’s house helped her. She took her to the police and was able to identify the house.”
“You live in Blackwater?” He did not recognize the address on the permit. “Do you live there now?”
“No. We have a place in the low county. Ten miles east of here. We moved there three months ago. We purchased a small ranch from the retired Mayor Rockford. Angelique still lives with our parents in Blackwater.” He sighed. “Before you ask, we stay in town because our vehicle is being repaired at Miller’s Garage if you need to check.”
“Okay, thanks.” Kane pulled out his cards and handed them to the men. “If you notice a man with a black widow spider tattoo on his hand, call me. If you hear a whisper about anyone working with children acting inappropriately, call me. I’ll keep your names out of any inquiry. I just want to catch this guy.”
