by Hood, D. K.
He’d been so careful never to leave more than a single feather as a clue and laughed aloud when the sheriff and FBI agent dashed straight past him into a clothing store, cackling like teenagers. He slipped inside behind them and made his way around the store, so close he could smell the sheriff’s honeysuckle scent. He walked around like he owned the place, and went about choosing a woolen hat, a new pair of leather gloves, and a hoodie. His heart pounded with excitement, being so close to them, and at one point he brushed against the FBI agent as he reached for a coat on a rack. He listened to snatches of their conversation and heard enough to know the FBI agent was staying with the sheriff. How convenient.
The hustle around the sheriff’s department made him smile. He’d seen vehicles coming and going like buses at a terminal; better still the sheriff had called in the FBI. It seemed the law enforcement in town would be working long hours with eight murders to solve. Keeping them busy was a ploy he enjoyed. The dogged persistence and tunnel vision of law officers on a case meant that he had free rein to move around. He wasn’t concerned when the cravings came; he could act without the worry of the law disturbing him. They’d never suspected him and never would. The problem was the eight victims. He preferred to do things in threes, and eight… well, the number eight didn’t sit well with him. It had to be nine, or maybe twelve, before he satisfied the craving. He smiled and pulled on his new leather gloves, flexing his fingers. At this moment, the choice of who lived or died was in his hands. I own this town.
Thirty-Nine
Saturday morning
Jenna was thinking seriously about asking Mayor Petersham to extend her office. In fact, a few additional rooms would be necessary with the caseload of late. She often needed to have everyone in her office, including deputies from other counties and Wolfe and his team, and things were getting more than a little cramped. She eased her way from the whiteboard and back to her seat. She had Kane on one side of her and Jo on the other; Carter, Wolfe, Emily, Webber, Rowley, and Walters stared at her expectantly. “Okay, I’ve been issuing press releases but we’ve had no call-ins from any witnesses. No one has been near the Old Mitcham Ranch or seen anything the morning of the Stanton Forest murders. So, let’s start with Ruby Evans. Rowley, what do you have for me?”
“I notified her aunt and took her to the morgue. She gave me a positive ID.” Rowley placed the paperwork on the desk. “I asked some questions about Ruby’s movements. She had told her aunt she’d be working late. Her aunt slept late yesterday morning, and assumed Ruby had already left for work. No boyfriends and no friends, the aunt is aware of at all.” He glanced down at his notes. “I followed up at Aunt Betty’s. Susie was upset at the news. She said Ruby left at nine to catch the bus home. I called the bus company and have gotten hold of the driver. He remembers dropping her some ways from the cut through to Elk Creek around nine-twenty.”
Jenna made notes as he spoke and then thinking ahead looked up at him. “Did you ask Susie if Ruby had any problems with any of the customers?”
“Yeah.” Rowley nodded. “She did mention Ruby thought someone had been following her the night before. I asked her if she’d had any problems at work. The only person Ruby had spoken at length with was Atohi Blackhawk’s friend and she didn’t know his name. She was planning to meet him for a coffee on Friday night after work.”
Jenna looked up from her notes. The image of the tall, muscular man with unusual eyes came into her mind. “His name is Brad Kelly.”
“The angry young man.” Jo leaned forward in her chair. “He didn’t seem to have the time to chase women.”
Jenna looked at Wolfe. “Did you sort out the problem with his mother’s remains with Jill?”
“Yeah, if it’s his mother’s remains.” Wolfe gave her a skeptical look. “It’s female, and Jill is going to work out of the mortician’s as the morgue is packed to the rafters. She’s chasing down dental records; as Kelly is next of kin, we have his consent to obtain his mother’s files and see if they’re a match.” He glanced down at his notes. “From the initial examination I did at the scene, the head trauma appears consistent with his story, but we’re taking the word of a child’s memories here.”
“Traumatic memories as a child are usually more accurate than you realize.” Jo glanced at Kane. “You’d agree?”
“Yeah, it’s as if the incident or the face of the perpetrator is imprinted on their memory.” Kane looked at Wolfe. “Although, head trauma in female murder victims is very common.”
Jenna made a few notes. “Okay, then we need to speak to Brad Kelly as he interacted with her.”
“He seems angry.” Jo looked concerned. “Did you do a background check on him?”
Jenna shook her head. “We had no reason to. He came to us seeking help to find his mother’s and brother’s remains. His father was abusive and he witnessed their murder; he made his way to the res, left there when he turned eighteen, and didn’t return until he found out his father had died.”
“Well, I say he fits the typical description of a serial killer.” Carter stretched out his long legs and crossed his cowboy boots at the ankles. “He had a seriously messed up childhood. How do you know he didn’t murder his pa? Have you even considered him? Think about it: he’s just arrived in town and the killings start. The killer leaves a black feather. Seems to me it would mean something to a Native American—the Crow Nation live in this state, don’t they?”
“Is he a member of the Crow Nation?” Jo turned to Jenna. “If so, a black feather could be significant.”
It all sounded feasible but Jenna wasn’t convinced. “Okay, we’ll chase down Brad Kelly’s background and whereabouts at the time of the crimes, but you’ll likely find twenty or so people will vouch for him. As far as I’m aware, he’s been camping at the burial site since they found the remains.” She looked at Kane. “Can you tactfully ask Atohi if the Blackhawks are members of the Crow Nation and ask about the black feather and its significance?”
“I could.” Kane gave her a long look. “But I know he’s a member of the Blackfeet Nation, so I doubt it. If I recall, he mentioned Brad saying his mother sent him to the reservation to be safe among her people. If he’s Atohi’s cousin, then he’d be the same.” Kane raised one eyebrow. “Still want me to hunt down info on Brad Kelly?”
Jenna nodded. “Yes, but later. We’d better cover all the bases and find out how his father died as well.” She glanced around. “Okay, where were we?”
“Ruby Evans.” Wolfe met her gaze. “I’ve completed the autopsy, and my report is in the files. I’ll give you a rundown of the main points. The killer strangled her but that wasn’t the cause of death. I would imagine by the bruises, her killer used strangulation to subdue her for a time before he stabbed her in the thigh. She died from blood loss, and the laceration to the throat was post-mortem and consistent to the killer being left-handed. I found DNA under her fingernails which could have resulted from her scratching herself as she tried to free her hands or during the strangulation. I’m waiting on the results of a DNA comparison and will call you if the trace evidence belongs to her killer.”
“That would sure be a breakthrough.” Carter smiled. “If it matches any of our suspects.”
“I guess we’ll wait and see.” Wolfe shut him down with a look. “Kane and Carter hunted down the families of the victims at the Old Mitcham Ranch. We have all of them coming by sometime today to identify the bodies. I’ll start on the autopsies as soon as we’ve finished up here.” He looked back at Jenna. “From my initial examinations on scene and back at the morgue, I doubt I’ll find more than is obvious. They were all tortured and finished with a gunshot to the head. The killer spaced the deaths over at least one hour as the rate of rigor is slightly different in each victim. The four men all appear fit and normal for their ages.”
Jenna leaned back in her chair. “Have you had time to examine the boots of Trevor Wilson, the site boss? The man with his boots on the wrong feet?”
“Yeah, and I found trace
s of blood spatter that matched the spots on his socks. I can say, without doubt, his boots were removed and then replaced later.”
“Ha!” Carter slapped his leg. “I was right!”
Jenna ignore Carter’s grinning face and turned to Kane. “Okay, Kane, you’ve discussed the scenario with Jo—what have you come up with as a profile for our killer? Is it the same killer, or are we dealing with someone else?”
“The same killer.”
Jenna nodded. She’d heard so many theories about what happened at the Old Mitcham Ranch but she needed Kane’s. “How did you and Jo read the scene?”
“I believe the killer snuck up on the men and threatened them. He would feel powerful and in control.” Kane shrugged. “Then I think he took the boots and jacket from victim number one and wore them. He planned the murders so had on coveralls and gloves. He’s aware of trace evidence and made sure not to leave any, not one footprint or even a shell casing. Same as in the Robinsons’ house and the Stanton Forest murders.” He looked at Jenna. “I know he has a different MO but we’re convinced it’s the same killer.”
“If I can take you back to the first murder.” Jo leaned forward in her seat and cupped her hands on the table. “At first, we see a cold calculated killer. He killed fast and clean. He gained no pleasure out of killing Lucas Robinson, which we all believe was a paid hit.”
“Then you move on to the Stanton Forest Murders.” Kane folded his arms across his chest. “This was the same, disposal of a problem, a fast kill, clean.”
“Then we have the mass murder.” Jo looked at Jenna. “This is a killer prolonging the enjoyment, making it last. Maybe he felt he deserved it after the two fast killings. He needed a fix and took his time to set it up. He used Ruby as bait—why her, we don’t know, unless it was opportunistic.”
“I don’t think so.” Kane looked at Jo. “It’s not easy to just grab a girl off the street at around nine at night. He likely discovered she took the bus and followed her. She mentioned to Susie that someone was following her, so it was probably him. He’d planned the kill and knew the men would be alone. Maybe he had a reason to go there, maybe he went there looking for work or something?” He shrugged. “It’s been all over the media there’s a team up there creating a Halloween attraction.”
Jenna nodded. “Okay. If this is the case, and he made the victims tie each other up, like we thought, they would have left trace evidence on the gaffer tape. Wolfe, that’s a theory you’ll have to prove or disprove.”
“I’ve taken prints and swabs from everyone at the scene. I’ll check the gaffer tape for prints and see if I get a match.” Wolfe rubbed his chin, making a scraping sound on the bristles. “I can verify he mutilated the victims while they were seated. All of them have various blood spatter evidence on the front of their bodies. Apart from the blood spatter around their necks from the head wounds, their backs, from the shoulders down, clearly show the outline of the chairs. The victims would have suffered.”
“He sounds like a monster.” Emily had paled. “The way he laid out the hands, like trophies on the kitchen table and yet so far he doesn’t seem to be taking trophies. That’s unusual isn’t it?”
Glad that Wolfe’s daughter, Emily was involved in the case, Jenna made a note of her comment. “That’s a good point. He doesn’t take trophies.”
“Either that or he’s smarter than we think.” Carter reached for a bottle of water on the desk cracked it open, and took a sip. “Taking trophies is a killer’s downfall and usually leads to their arrest. We know he is cold and calculating, but the way he flips his MO makes him different to any killer I’ve known before.”
“We have.” Jenna shot Kane a glance. “Trust me, Black Rock Falls has seen just about every type of killer known to man.”
Forty
Mind reeling from all the information, theories, and ideas from her team, Jenna closed her eyes for a few seconds to think before taking a moment to look at the whiteboard. “Let’s just take a minute to consider the suspects in this case. Kyler Hall and Cliff Young are persons of interest because they tie in with Lucas Robinson and the Stanton Forest murders. We’ve interviewed both men and they lawyered up. The evidence we have on them is circumstantial at best. I’ll need more to tie them into the mass murder.” She looked at Rowley. “Find out where they were on Thursday night. Check out any witnesses to their whereabouts.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley nodded. “As they’ve lawyered up, I won’t be able to ask them direct.”
Jenna rubbed her temples. “Go talk to their neighbors, call the manager of the construction site, find out where they hang out and ask around.”
“Oh, sure.” Rowley scribbled in his notebook.
“This leads us back to Lucas Robinson’s murder.” Jenna sighed. “We have no other suspects, and it will take a ton of grunt work to chase down all his enemies. He wasn’t liked.” She looked at Wolfe. “Have you released his body yet?”
“Yeah, I’ve sent Lucas Robinson’s remains to the funeral parlor as we needed the space.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “Is Mrs. Robinson well enough to make the arrangements?”
Jenna made more notes. “Walters, I want you to follow up with her, please. Carol Robinson seems fine to me; I visited her with Jo yesterday.” She lifted her eyes to her deputies. “I’m convinced she’s involved somehow. Yeah, I know she’s been locked up since her husband’s death, but there’s something about her that sends up warning signals.”
“Makes perfect sense to me.” Carter barked a laugh. “I’ve read the file. Carol Robinson discovers her husband is having an affair and hires a hitman. This is how our killer arrived in town. Maybe he was heading out after the job and something happened on the highway. Road rage maybe, he runs the men’s truck off the road and gets out his vehicle packing for bear. He guns them down and leaves.”
“So why return and kill Ruby and the men at the Old Mitcham Ranch?” Jenna stood and stretched her back and then went to the coffee machine. “What would trigger him to go crazy?” She poured a cup and went back to her desk.
“A memory.” Jo looked at Jenna. “Something as simple as a scent can cause an episode. If he is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, it can trigger like PTSD. Some people have blackouts, do terrible things and don’t remember. Others remember it as if someone else committed the atrocities, or they see it in flashbacks.”
“Yeah.” Kane looked at her. “It’s like another personality takes over for a time. The problem we have here is if it’s one of our suspects, the other one would be aware of the sudden changes in his friend. He might be covering up for him.” He sighed. “Proving it would be difficult.”
A cold shiver trickled down Jenna’s spine as her mind went back to her encounter with Atohi. She swallowed hard, not wanting to place the facts in order in her mind. If her assumptions were correct, it would mean her friend Atohi was lying to her, and she trusted him. She lifted her gaze from her notes. “I met Atohi and Brad Kelly yesterday. We talked about the remains of Kelly’s mother, as I’ve mentioned. I remember he had a scratch on his jaw, which could tie in with Ruby’s murder. He’d asked her out, so she’d know him and not be afraid if she ran into him. He had an abusive childhood, watched his mother and brother murdered. He arrived in town just before the killings started. We have no idea what he was doing from the time he left the res until a week ago.”
“And if Carol Robinson hired him to kill her husband, when he killed the two men in Stanton Forest, it triggered the memory of his father killing his family.” Kane nodded slowly. “Cold, calculating Brad steps out, and angry, murderous, out-for-revenge-on-the-world Brad comes to the front.”
Jenna turned to Carter. “Is this enough to obtain a warrant for Mrs. Robinson’s bank statements? The judge denied our last request. If she hired a hitman, she’d need a substantial amount of money.”
“Leave that to me.” Carter pushed back his Stetson with one finger. “It’s only probable cause and I figure we have that in spa
des.”
An FBI agent requesting a warrant from their local judge would carry more weight. Jenna couldn’t believe her luck. “Okay, I’ll leave you to handle the paperwork.”
“Sure.” Carter pushed another toothpick into his mouth. “When I’m done, I’ll go by the other crime scenes to get a feel for this killer.”
Jenna looked at the group before her. “Yes, take a look now because I need to get out a press release about the murders. As soon as it’s made public, the ghouls will be out sightseeing. Once I’ve called it in, I’ll go with Kane to speak to Atohi and see if we can find out Brad Kelly’s whereabouts at the times of the murders.”
“I think I’d like to sit in on the autopsies.” Jo collected her things from the desk. “I’m interested to confirm the sequence of events at the Old Mitcham Ranch. It will give me a clearer picture of the killer.”
Jenna closed her notebook. “Okay, we’ll meet back here at five and we’ll go over our findings.” She glanced at Wolfe. “I know the autopsies will take a considerable amount of time. Jo will bring me up to speed if you’re busy.”
“I’ll be working on the victims all day, so we won’t be able to make it, but I’ll call if I find anything significant.” Wolfe tapped on her desk. “Catch you later. Jo, I’ll wait for you in the van.” He left the room with Emily and Webber close behind.
“I’ll be right there.” Jo stood.
There was a scraping of chairs as the rest of the group got to their feet, and Rowley and Walters headed out the door.
“You know something?” Jo looked at Carter. “All this is like déjà vu. Do you remember the Chameleon Killer case out of Baltimore? He left a black feather too and we had no suspects because everyone saw a different man.”
“I know about the case but only read up on it last night.” Carter sighed. “It’s very similar to what we have now and likely the same man.”