by Hood, D. K.
“I guess we’ll have to go into the cellar and take a look.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “I locked the cellar door when we left last night, so if someone went through this window they’d still be in the cellar.”
An icy trickle of rain ran down the collar of Jenna’s jacket and she shivered. “Oh, this day just gets better by the second.”
Keeping a watchful eye all around, Jenna led the way inside the house. They both paused in the entrance to pull on surgical gloves and then she closed the front door. “We’ll clear the rooms, just in case.”
“Roger that.” Kane tipped his head to the left of the entrance. “Do you want to split up?”
Jenna allowed her last visit to run through her mind. All the rooms on the lower level were spacious and had minimal furniture. It would be difficult for an intruder to hide anywhere. “Yeah, but first we’ll see if the cellar is locked.”
“Okay.” Kane led the way to the hallway. “It’s locked. I can see the bolt across the door.”
“Good, then we’ll split up. You check the study and upstairs, I’ll go right. Call out as we go.” Jenna headed back to the family room and, keeping her back to the wall, turned the knob and pushed the door open. She peeked around the room and, seeing it empty, closed the door. “Family room, clear.”
As she moved toward the kitchen, she could hear Kane calling out as he cleared the rooms upstairs, and they met up at the kitchen door. She turkey-peeked around the door and then entered. After checking out the mudroom and back door, she turned to Kane. “No one has been here. They’d track dirt inside, and the mat outside was dry before we used it.”
“Cellar next?” Kane turned to leave.
“Hold up.” Jenna frowned. “We’ll open the door and call out. If someone is down there, they’ll want to come out rather than die of starvation.” She sighed. “I’m more interested in searching for clues to discover why someone wanted to murder Lucas Robinson.”
She waited for Kane to unbolt the cellar door. When he waved his flashlight around and called out, no response came. He looked at Jenna and shrugged. “There’s no one down there. Want me to go check?”
Jenna shook her head. The idea of going into a dark cellar again chilled her to the bone. “It’s not necessary. We have everything we need. I’ll grab the pair of boots I found in the broom closet and take them to Wolfe for a comparison to the footprints under the window.”
“I’ll go and get the hard drive out of his computer. Did you notice a laptop anywhere?” Kane turned to the office doorway.
“No, but there was a briefcase resting on a chair in the bedroom.” Jenna swallowed hard at the thought of viewing the bloody crime scene again. “I’ll go get it.”
Without waiting for a reply, she pulled a face mask from her pocket and dashed up the stairs, avoiding the blood trail. Inside the master bedroom, she averted her gaze from the congealed blood pools around the bed and collected the briefcase. As she slipped down the stairs, she heard tires on gravel. A car door slammed, and moments later, someone knocked on the front door. As Kane emerged from the office and went to her side, she looked at him. “It seems we have a visitor.”
“Hmm, and one who isn’t too worried about crime scene tape.” Kane headed for the door, reaching for his weapon.
Eleven
Kane peered through the window. An old man dripping with water stood on the porch. He had wrinkled cheeks, and a tuft of gray hair poked out of the front of his fur-lined trapper hat. Brown eyes looked at him through black-rimmed eyeglasses. He’d bundled up against the weather, and Kane couldn’t make out if the visitor carried a weapon. He opened the front door a few inches and looked at him, watching his body language for any signs of aggression. “Is there a problem?”
“Maybe.” The man indicated behind him with his thumb. “Seen a truck in the bushes back a ways on Stanton Road. I stopped to take a look and the air thereabouts has a stink like roadkill. I figured it was a wreck, so I called 911. The dispatcher said the sheriff was at this address, and she said as I was close by, I should drop by and take you to where I found the wreck.”
As the man finished speaking, Jenna’s cellphone chimed. Kane could hear her speaking to Maggie and frowned. “I see.” He edged onto the porch, blocking the door to avoid the visitor viewing the bloody walls inside the house. He pulled out his notebook. “Did you go and see if anyone was injured?”
“No, with the smell and all, I thought it would be better to call 911.” The stranger shuffled his feet. “I didn’t really want to get involved.”
“You did the right thing.” Kane met the man’s dark gaze. “I’ll need your details. What brings you out in this weather?”
“Tom Dickson, I’m out of Saddle Creek. I own a cabin up there and was heading into town looking for work.” Dickson frowned. “I got myself laid off for the winter. I’ve not been at the plant long enough for paid vacation time.”
Kane relaxed a little. Saddle Creek was an isolated area in the foothills of Stanton Forest. In his time in Black Rock Falls, he’d come to realize many people lived off the grid in the small cabins all over the forest. “There’s no one hiring around here at the moment. Maybe try some of the ranches farther out. They’ll have livestock that needs tending during winter.” He heard Jenna disconnect and come toward the door.
“Yeah, I was thinking of the produce store maybe.” Dickson rubbed his hands together. “It’s warmer inside.”
Kane turned as Jenna came out of the house, briefcase in hand. “Sheriff, this is Tom Dickson. He found a wreck on Stanton Road.”
“Yeah, Maggie called and said he was on his way. We’ll check it out.” Jenna closed the door behind her and then gave Dickson a long, considering stare. “Do you have provisions for winter? You’ll be snowed in before long.”
“Well, yes, ma’am I did until a bear tore down my shed. It came back with a few of its friends and ate everything.” Dickson sighed. “Then the plant laid me off, last on, first off they said, so I’m looking for work.”
“We need someone to stack boxes in the cellar.” Jenna raised one eyebrow. “It will take a day and it’s nice and warm down there. Will that help?”
“It sure would, ma’am. Thank you kindly.” Dickson frowned. “Do you want me to lead the way to the wreck?”
“Yeah.” Jenna followed him down the steps. “Then head into the sheriff’s department and speak to Maggie at the front counter. I’ll call her and she’ll show you what I need. She might know of other people around town who need odd jobs doing as well.”
Kane watched Dickson walk away with a distinct limp. Whatever his age, he appeared to be struggling. “Do you work with horses?”
“Sure do.” Dickson’s mouth twitched into a smile. “It was my gelding who alerted me to the bear. Darn nuisance. By the time I got outside the damage was done.” He swung into his truck. “Turn right at the end of the drive. It’s about a quarter mile along the highway on the left.”
Kane removed his latex gloves and pulled on his thick leather pair before placing the evidence bag containing the hard drive into the back of his truck. He turned to take the briefcase from Jenna. “You sure about allowing a total stranger into our basement?”
“What’s he going to steal—the furnace?” She flashed him a grin. “The poor old man is destitute; would you rather I sent him to the soup kitchen?”
Kane closed the back door and opened the driver’s side. “No, I guess Maggie will watch him.”
“And Rowley. Walters will be in for a couple of days this week too. He’ll make sure Dickson behaves himself.” Jenna climbed into the passenger seat and turned to him. “The townsfolk look out for each other. Once the word gets out he needs help, he’ll get work. A man like that won’t take charity.”
“I guess Maggie will have it all around town by the time we leave tonight.” Kane started the engine and headed down the driveway. He glanced at Jenna. “If this is a wreck and it happened last night, I doubt anyone will have survived out in this wea
ther.”
“If it stinks like roadkill, it happened way before last night.” She looked at Kane. “In this weather, decomposition would be slow.”
Although sleet pelted the windshield and the driveway had vanished into a haze of gray, it didn’t take Kane too long to catch up to the other driver. It was a cold, wet, miserable day, and as they turned onto Stanton Road, a thick mist made the tall majestic pines appear as if a bubbling lake surrounded them. Water dripped from the branches and disappeared into the swirling fog, whipped up by the continual howl of wind. He glanced at Jenna. “I’m wondering how he noticed a wreck in this weather. I can hardly make out the blacktop.”
“Hmm, and it’s gotten worse in the last hour or so.” She tucked her hair under her hat and then pulled on gloves. “He’s slowing down. I can’t see anything from here.” She sighed. “I have the awful feeling we’re going to be here for some time.” She indicated to the back of a truck wedged between two thick pines. “There it is.”
“I see it.” The truck had plowed through the undergrowth and come to rest between two trees. “The driver should’ve survived. I wonder what happened?” Only the tailgate was visible; the forest and heavy mist seemed to have swallowed up the rest of the vehicle. Kane pulled up behind Dickson’s truck. As he opened the door, a sudden wave of unease rolled over him. He scanned the immediate area in all directions, the mist was so thick now, it was as if Dickson’s truck was sitting in a cloud.
“Maybe he had a medical emergency.” Jenna came around the hood and glanced at him.
“It’s possible. Let’s see if we can locate the driver and then we’ll look for skid marks.”
“Sure.” Kane’s gut was screaming at him something was terribly wrong with this scenario.
“I can’t smell death. Let’s be careful.” Jenna’s low voice came from close behind him, echoing his thoughts, and the sound of her weapon slipping from the holster appeared loud in the silence.
“Copy.” Kane looked over at Dickson. He could see both his hands on the wheel. When the window buzzed down, he waved him away. “Thanks, we’ll take it from here.”
The old man gave them a nod and then drove away. As so many strange things happened in Black Rock Falls, walking into traps had become par for the course. He turned to look at her. “I can’t smell anything either. If this is a trap, it’s a great place. With the mist and constant sleet, it’s hard to see anything. There could be a tripwire anywhere.”
“I’ll look down, you look up. I’m not seeing any footprints.” Jenna was searching the ground with her Maglite. “I can’t see any ground disturbance or tripwires.”
Kane glanced up into the canopy and frowned. “Nothing above us apart from crows just sitting up there waiting. There must be something dead around here but I’m not sure why they’re not on the ground.”
“We can’t stand here birdwatching all day.” Jenna indicated toward the truck. “The body might be inside the vehicle, so the crows don’t have access.”
As they moved slowly between the soaked trees, underfoot the pine-needle-packed ground was like walking on blankets. All around was eerily silent. Stanton Forest was usually a hive of activity and home to a vast variety of wildlife. The silence was unusual and a warning something wasn’t right. The truck seemed to emerge out of the mist; several dents covered the tailgate and both front doors hung open. Kane took photographs using his phone and then moved in slowly. He peered inside the cab: no sign of blood but he found the forest floor disturbed around both doors. “Looks like they were running away from something.” He snapped more images and his gaze locked on something. A tingle of a warning raised the hairs on the back of his neck. “Oh, and this is unusual.” He plucked two black feathers from the front seat and held them up. “Didn’t Wolfe find a black feather beside Lucas Robinson?”
“Yeah, but it may not be connected.” She pointed up. “They probably came from the crows. The wind could’ve blown them inside the truck.”
“I’ll bag them.” He squinted in the unrelenting sleet. Even the tall pines didn’t offer them much shelter. “There’s no blood inside the truck. The logical place to go would be back to the highway.”
“From the broken branches, they went this way.” Jenna moved on ahead of him and then stopped dead. “Bobcat.”
Kane moved to her side, raised his voice, and waved his arms around. “Get out of here.” The cat raised its blood-soaked muzzle from the corpse of a man, snarled but backed away and bounded into the forest. “The cat was keeping the crows away.”
“There’s another body over here.” Jenna turned to look at him and her face drained of color. “Headshots, both of them.”
Kane crouched down beside the first victim. “This guy was running away and took a bullet in the shoulder; the headshot was last. From the damage, the shooter was packing for bear.”
“Same with this one. He has a wound in the back, headshot to finish him.” Jenna leaned against a tree and sighed. “Take as many images as possible. I’ll call it in and get Wolfe on scene.” She lifted her gaze to Kane. “Finding those feathers might be significant after all. I sure hope these murders and the hit aren’t connected. The last thing we need over Halloween is another darn serial killer in town.”
Twelve
It was a miserable, gray day but the sight of the bright orange pumpkins piled up outside the grocery store made Shane Wolfe smile. It had become a tradition for him and his three girls to carve up a pumpkin for Halloween. It was one of the few remaining traditions left over from when they’d been a real family before his wife had died of cancer. After purchasing a suitable specimen, Wolfe stepped over the river of leaf-strewn muddy water hurtling down the gutter and slid the pumpkin inside the back of his SUV. These days he immersed himself in his work but his determination to give his daughters, Emily, Julie, and Anna, a normal life was paramount. All three took after him in coloring, with blonde hair and gray eyes, but thankfully they all had their mother’s petite build and attitude to life. Emily was following in his footsteps and studying to become a medical examiner at Black Rock Falls College, Julie was in high school, and as bright as a button and his baby, Anna’s priority in life was riding the paint pony Kane had given her for her last birthday. He grimaced when his phone rang and shook the rain from his hat before climbing into his vehicle. He fished the phone out of his top pocket. “Wolfe.”
“It’s Jenna. I’m afraid you’ll have to postpone the autopsy on Robinson. We have a double homicide out on Stanton Road. Multiple gunshot victims. The killer chased them down and shot them in the back. We’re on scene. I’ll send you the coordinates.”
“I’m in town. Emily and Webber are at my office. I’ll go grab them and my van and be with you ASAP.” Wolfe disconnected and started the engine.
He’d left his daughter Emily and his other intern, Colt Webber, a deputy who’d joined his staff to study forensic science, studying blood spatter from the Robinson case. Now he had more cases piling up to limit his precious family time. He sighed and headed through the mist-shrouded town, arriving a few minutes later at the ME’s office. He strolled inside and swiped his card, glad to see his interns fully involved in the task he’d set them. “We have a double homicide in Stanton Forest. Dave and Jenna are on scene. It’s cold, wet, and muddy—wear boots and wet weather gear.”
Moments later they climbed inside the van and he punched in the coordinates for the murder scene. “Do you have classes this afternoon?”
“Yeah.” Emily peeked out from the hood of a raincoat two sizes too big for her. “But we’ll be through by three.”
Wolfe turned onto Stanton Road and peered through the swirling mist. The few people braving the weather hustled along the sidewalk, bowed over into the wind, chins tucked in and holding tight to the brims of their hats. “We’ll delay the Robinson autopsy until four. I’ll see what we have here, but I’ll leave the autopsies of the Stanton Forest victims until the morning. I’ll want you in my office after breakfast as you don�
�t have classes until after lunch.”
“Oh, Dad, why so early?” Emily shivered. “It’s freezing.”
“Have you changed your mind about becoming an ME?” Wolfe kept his gaze on the murky road ahead.
“Don’t be silly.” Emily pulled an aghast expression. “I’m entitled to ask, right?”
Wolfe bit back a grin. She was so like her mother. It warmed his heart to see she’d inherited her mother’s grit. In her chosen profession, she was going to need it. He glanced at her and shrugged. “Nothing we do in this job is particularly enjoyable, Em, you just gotta grin and bear it.” He cleared his throat. “Any problems, Webber?”
“No, sir.” Webber frowned. “Three homicides in twelve hours. I hope we’re not having a Halloween killing spree.”
Wolfe glanced at him. “Don’t jump to conclusions before we’ve completed the autopsies. Many things are not what they seem.”
“Dad.” Emily looked at him. “Has Jenna determined how Mr. Robinson’s killer entered the home?”
Wolfe shrugged. “I haven’t read her report yet. I’d guess she was called out to this murder before she had time to file it.” He frowned. “I’ve never seen weather like this before, so windy with sleet and yet the mist still hangs around.”
“It’s because we’re at a higher altitude.” Webber rubbed the condensation from the side window. “Or it’s just because it’s Halloween. They say strange things happen around this time, spirits and all coming through from the other side.”
“So you’ll be planning a visit to the Old Mitcham Ranch on Halloween to sleep over?” Wolfe chuckled. “Or are the college students too old to do that these days?”
“There’s no way I’m going near that place.” Webber gave a choked laugh. “I’m not afraid of ghosts, it’s just way too cold to hole up there overnight.”
“Right.” Wolfe kept his eyes on the road.
Ahead the wig-wag lights on Kane’s black truck loomed out of the mist. Wolfe slowed and, turning on his hazard lights, pulled up in front of it. He removed his warm leather gloves and exchanged them for surgical ones from a box on the dash. “Glove up, use the masks. Webber, get the metal detector from out the back. If the killer used a rifle, we might find casings.”