Promises in the Dark

by D. K. Hood

  She waved him away. “Sure.”

  The door slammed behind him as Jenna’s phone chimed. She glanced at the caller ID and sighed with relief. “Maggie, any news from Rowley?”

  “Not yet but that’s not why I called. The Blackwater Sheriff has put out an Amber alert, his granddaughter, Pamela, is missing. She didn’t arrive home after visiting her grandma last night. Sheriff Stuart has had everyone out looking for her and they found her school backpack in a wooded area close to town. I thought you should know as she is coming up fifteen, like Sophie Wood.”

  Jenna put the phone on speaker and pulled out her notepad. “Okay, so she went missing when?”

  “She was last seen leaving her grandma’s house at about five-thirty last night. She likes to stop by and have a chat on her way home from school. Her folks don’t get home from work until six, so I guess it passes the time.”

  If the girl did the same thing every night, someone could have been watching her movements. Jenna frowned. “No signs of a struggle?”

  “The information I have is what I told you. Do you want me to call and ask?”

  She leaned back in the seat. Could this be a coincidence or related to the kidnapping of Sophie Wood? As nothing linked the cases, no fire or explosion, she dismissed the notion. “If you could call them and inform them, we had a missing girl the same age out of Louan, they might be prepared to share the information but I doubt the cases are related.”

  “Okay.” Maggie sounded relieved. “I’ll call as soon as Rowley checks in.” She disconnected.

  Jenna brought Kane up to speed when he returned. They headed out of town and along Stanton when Jenna noticed a pickup on the side of the road with a flat tire. “Hey, hold up. That’s Sandy’s vehicle.”

  “You sure?” Kane backed up, stopping opposite.

  “Yeah, she has a pink teddy bear hanging from her mirror and a sticker on the windshield for the school parking lot.” Jenna jumped from the truck, dashed across the road, and tried the doors. “It’s locked.”

  “Maybe she got a ride into town or to work?” Kane shrugged. “Get back in the truck and call her.”

  Jenna slid into the front seat and made the call. The phone went to a message and she left her own. “It’s Jenna, we saw your truck on the side of the road. Just checking you’re okay.”

  “Where would she go and turn off her phone?” Kane munched on a sandwich.

  “Work or her mom’s place. Her mom insists they don’t play with their phones when they visit.” Jenna sighed. “She must still think she’s a kid.” She looked at Kane. “Should we be worried?”

  “Not yet.” Kane headed back down the highway. “We’ll find Rowley and he’ll be able to hunt her down. I recall him mentioning dropping a tire into Miller’s, so maybe she’s had two flats in a row?”

  Unable to push the concern for her friend from her mind, Jenna chewed on her fingers. “Did Wolfe give her a tracking device?”

  “I have no idea, he doesn’t keep me in the loop of everything he does, Jenna.” Kane turned onto the first firebreak road. “Once we’ve hunted down Rowley, what’s next on the list?”

  Jenna opened her iPad and scanned the files. “We go see George at Miller’s Garage and see if Suffolk was there on the night of the explosion.”

  “I already asked in Aunt Betty’s Café and the manager, Susie Hartwig, is going to check the CCTV footage for Tuesday evening, she’ll get back to us.” Kane slowed as Blackhawk’s truck came out of the forest and onto the fire road. “That’s Blackhawk.”

  Jenna sighed with relief when she spotted Rowley in the front seat. She climbed out and went to his window. “Look, before you say anything, we spotted Sandy’s truck on the side of the road. I can’t reach her by phone.”

  “Yeah, I have a trillion messages, she got a flat and couldn’t reach me.” Rowley frowned. “She left a message saying she’d hitched a ride into town and would ask the mechanic from Miller’s to bring her back and change the tire.” He opened his phone. “That was twenty minutes ago. She’s probably in town and ignoring me or has walked round to her mother’s house to wait for the mechanic, it’s not far from Miller’s Garage.”

  “Oh, I see.” Jenna looked past him at Atohi’s grinning face. “Okay, well then what did you find out at the caves?”

  “Apart from the ghosts, bats, and critters?” Rowley shivered. “Nothing but an old mattress that could have been there for years.” He sighed. “No sign of the girl ever being there but someone ventured down there recently because we found twine attached to a bolt in the cave wall. It wasn’t covered in cobwebs like everything else. Atohi believes the forest wardens go in there sometimes to check no one’s been trespassing.”

  Jenna nodded. “Okay, head back to town and hunt down Sandy. Take the time you need to find her.”

  “Thanks.” Rowley smiled at her. “Appreciate it.”

  After climbing back into Kane’s truck, Jenna leaned back in her seat. “Don’t go just yet. This is a great place for a picnic and I’m suddenly famished.” She reached for a sandwich. “It’s been a long day and we deserve five minutes.”

  “There’s something special about the forest in summer.” Kane sipped his coffee. “We sure need to take a day and bring the horses down for a ride. Maybe find a swimming hole and have a picnic.”

  Jenna sighed. “That would be wonderful but leave it a few more weeks, the water is still freezing cold.”

  They sat in silence, eating and just enjoying the view before heading back into town to interview George the proprietor of Miller’s Garage. The middle-aged man was surprised when they walked into the office. Jenna exchanged a look with Kane and went to the counter. “Afternoon, Mr. Miller.”

  “Sheriff Alton, has something happened to Deputy Rowley’s wife? He was in here before asking about her.” George scratched his head. “I don’t know where she went, she didn’t say.”

  Relieved, Jenna nodded. “So, she’s in town somewhere?”

  “I guess, she dropped her keys here, asked us to fix the flat and bring it here for repairs, and she said she’d stop by later to collect her keys.” George frowned. “I offered her a ride back to her vehicle but she hasn’t called to see if the mechanic I sent out to fix the tire has returned yet.”

  Jenna pulled out her notepad. “I didn’t come by to ask you about Sandy Rowley. Do you recall Mr. Suffolk from the Crazy Iron Forge out of Louan, dropping by before closing on Tuesday night?”

  “Yeah, so happens I do.” George went to a book on the counter and flicked through the pages. “He repaired a part I needed for a tractor I’m working on and was kind enough to deliver it for me. It was a rush job. I paid him and made a note of the payment and time of the delivery in my invoice book. I know, I’m old school but my daughter uploads everything into the computer for me. One thing, my old invoice book can’t catch a virus.” He chuckled.

  “What time would that have been?” Jenna made notes. “And when did he leave?”

  “It was a little after five.” He thought for a beat. “We chatted for a while and I helped him load another repair onto his truck.”

  “Did he have anyone with him?” Kane leaned against the counter. “Anyone waiting in his truck?”

  “Nope.”

  Jenna folded her notebook and pushed it into her pocket. “Okay thanks.”

  As they walked back to her vehicle Kane’s phone buzzed. She leaned against the Beast’s door enjoying the sunshine as he answered the call.

  “Kane.” Kane moved closer and put the phone on speaker. “Yes, Susie. Did you find anything on the CCTV footage?”

  “Sure did. Roger Suffolk was here, just before six, he ate his meal and was away by six-thirty. I ran the footage right up to closing and he didn’t return. Does that help you?”

  “It sure does. Can you download a copy onto the flash drive I gave you?” Kane glanced at Jenna and shrugged.

  “I already have.” Susie chuckled. “I’ll keep it safe until you stop by.”
>
  “Thanks.” Kane disconnected and looked at Jenna. “Hmm, this leaves Suffolk’s alibi wide open. I don’t like Jo and Carter’s chances of finding anyone at the Triple Z Bar willing to stand up in court and testify he was there around the time of the bombing.”

  Jenna strolled around the hood and rested one hand on the door handle. “My thoughts exactly.”

  She glanced at her watch. “Jo and Carter should be through speaking to the barkeeper at the Triple Z Bar by now, I’ll give them a call.” She placed the phone on speaker and waited for Jo to pick up. “Hi, Jo, did you get anything from the Triple Z Bar?”

  “Yeah, the barkeeper mentioned he’d seen him around seven but doesn’t recall when he left. It was busy but he remembers Suffolk asking him if he needed any repairs at any time, to call him and gave him his card.” Jo sounded animated. “Think about it, Jenna, when we spoke to him, he was snowed under with work, yet he made a point of speaking to the barkeeper, to establish an alibi.”

  Jenna exchanged a meaningful look with Kane. “Yeah, it sure sounds suspicious. We have him in Black Rock Falls until around six-thirty.” She smiled. “He had plenty of time to drive into Louan and commit the crime.”

  “Not only that.” Carter’s voice came through the speaker. “We’ve walked from the Triple Z to where the blue Ford was stolen. He had plenty of time to steal the Ford, commit the crime, stash the girl, and return the vehicle. He wouldn’t have been seen in the dark and the parking lot at the Triple Z has no CCTV cameras. No one would have seen him returning to his truck.”

  “Then Haralson gets a ride to the Triple Z the following morning and spots the open vehicle, keys in the ignition, and decides to drive it into town.” Jenna could picture the entire scenario in her head. “He would have checked out the glovebox, looking for anything else he could steal, read the registration and gave that name when Kane pulled him over for speeding.”

  “The Ford had been wiped clean and Wolfe only found Haralson’s prints.” Kane turned to face her. “I don’t figure Haralson was involved in the kidnapping.”

  Jenna agreed and chewed on her bottom lip thinking. “Hmm, I’m inclined to agree. He sounds like a kid who took the opportunity of a free ride. I figure he’d have dumped the Ford in town and walked away.”

  “Yeah, we felt the same.” Jo came back on the line. “The tires would have already been caked with soil from the forest.”

  “Something else, Maggie called.” Jenna’s stomach gave a squeeze. “I’m sure it’s nothing to do with our case but the granddaughter of the sheriff out of Blackwater has gone missing.”

  “I doubt it’s the same man.” Jo sighed. “It’s a different MO and Blackwater would likely be out of our guy’s comfort zone. If it’s the same bomber as in DC, he kept to one area, and they don’t usually change.”

  After considering what Jo had said, Jenna shook her head. “Not if you consider the three points: Louan, Black Rock Falls, and Blackwater make up a nice triangle, he could be living in the center.”

  “Or maybe move between the three points in his day to day routine.”

  All the clues pointed to Suffolk. “Yeah, like Roger Suffolk.” She sighed. “Now if Kalo discovers he has some background in explosives, we have a prime suspect.”

  “Yeah, he sounds like a fit.” Kane raised both eyebrows. “But I’m not ready to discount Dexter or Cleaves yet. They fit the profile as well and unlike Suffolk we can put them at the scene.”

  “I have to agree with Kane.” Carter was back. “What we have is circumstantial at best. Without hard evidence, the judge will never issue an arrest warrant.”

  Of course, he was right. Jenna let the case run through her mind. Chasing their tails wasn’t an option, with only one possible case to compare with the DC bombings, she’d have to do the grunt work and re-visit the persons of interest. She’d missed something, a small clue to link the cases together other than the detonator. “It’s getting late. I figure we return to the office and regroup. We’re chasing shadows.”

  “We could work from the ranch tonight?” Jo sounded tired. “Then there’s no long drive home to fall into bed.”

  “Sure.” Jenna glanced at Kane who shrugged. “I’ll need to head back to the office. I want to make sure Rowley’s wife is okay. I’ll explain later. We’ll update the case files, and then call it a day. I’m guessing you’ll want to stop by the steakhouse for a meal before we head home?”

  “You’re reading my thoughts again.” Carter’s voice came through the phone. “We might as well eat before anything else happens. Jo has been insisting all day, if this guy is out for revenge, he isn’t done yet.”

  A cold shiver ran down Jenna’s spine at the thought of more burned bodies. “They never do stop at one, do they?” She sighed. “We can’t have eyes on all the suspects, all the time.”

  “If we set up surveillance it might not help.” Carter cleared his throat. “If it’s the same guy as the DC bomber, he’d have everything planned and could have planted the devices by now. He’s very smart and finding a way into people’s homes isn’t that difficult. Disguised as a meter reader, for instance. All he’d have to do is detonate them when he’s ready. We don’t know if he’s planning on repeating the same scene as he did for the Woods. My guess is as the FBI is all over the case, he’ll be more careful.”

  Suddenly cold, Jenna rubbed her arms. “There’s nothing we can do to stop him, is there? Let’s just hope we figure out who he is soon and pray he doesn’t hit another innocent family tonight.”

  Thirty-Seven

  The idea of driving around with a body in his trunk gave him a buzz he couldn’t explain. A tingle at the base of his spine, the wiggle of butterflies in his stomach, and the way his heart pounded was different from the euphoric rush of pleasure he’d always gotten from watching fires. It had happened the moment he’d given Deputy Rowley’s wife a ride into town. The moment she’d slid inside the old sedan, his heart had raced with excitement. He imagined the thrill of driving far and wide to kidnap women in the same beat up old sedan. He’d drive them somewhere secluded, watch their eyes widen with fear as they realized he wasn’t the helpful, kind man they’d believed. When he’d finished with them and before they took their last breath, he’d show them the pile of bodies in the trunk. He chuckled and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He wanted to start now and gazed at the scattering of women hurrying home along the main street. Such a delicious selection and it would take nothing to encourage one to come close to his vehicle. He sighed. “Not yet but soon.”

  Collecting women’s bodies would be his new hobby. The rush he experienced dominating and killing women was exhilarating. He wasn’t like the other men who committed such crimes, in fact, what he’d done in his life, couldn’t be called a crime because he hadn’t killed anyone who hadn’t deserved it. Once his revenge was satisfied why shouldn’t he indulge himself in a little fantasy? He’d suffered more than his fair share of injustices in his life. It was way past time for him to break out and enjoy himself.

  It was dark by the time he arrived in Blackwater and left the old sedan in a parking lot alongside the general store. He was a creature of the night. Nothing could look better than leaping flames against a dark moonless sky. Fire came to life in the darkness, the still of night enhancing the crackle of burning wood. It reminded him of happier times around a campfire before the strangers came and snatched him away from his home never to return. Now the instant he witnessed a fire, the smell of blackening timbers and the acrid bite from melting plastics lured him. He wished he could stand inside a fire and watch the destruction around him. Fire was after all, a living, breathing entity, controlled sometimes but rarely beaten until it had consumed its fill.

  He took his time scanning the parking lot before opening the door. No CCTV cameras facing toward him and enough vehicles for it to blend in unnoticed. He climbed out, locked the door, leaving his drone covered by a blanket, and took his backpack. His plans for Sheriff Buzz Stuart had be
en sheer genius, with his men all out hunting down his granddaughter and a command center set up in Pamela’s house waiting for a ransom call. Once the old sheriff returned home, he and his wife would be all alone and he had the bait to hook the old guy into allowing him inside. He hustled along the sidewalk keeping to the shadows, crossed the main road, and headed down the treelined road leading to the sheriff’s home. He grinned into the darkness. The sheriff’s cruiser was parked right outside.

  Confident, he walked right up to the front door. His fingers closed around the Glock in his pocket as he knocked on the door. The familiar buzzing came in his ears, telling him it was time to get even. Time to kill.

  Thirty-Eight

  Bone weary and barely able to stand from worry, Sheriff Buzz Stuart dragged himself to the front door. He’d been out searching since his daughter had called to say Pamela hadn’t gotten home from school. He’d searched all day and been forced to return home to rest by the mayor. There had to be some news about Pamela soon, the search parties had been out for over twenty-four hours straight. He’d insisted the search and rescue teams set out at once, knowing instinctively something was very wrong. His granddaughter was reliable and sensible, she wouldn’t take a ride with anyone or wander off without telling someone but as each hour ticked by, the chances of finding her alive diminished. The search party would be scaled down tonight and a fresh team of volunteers would hit the ground at daybreak. His heart seemed to miss a beat as he reached for the doorknob. He couldn’t take bad news and it would as sure as hell kill his wife. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stared at the man on his stoop. In the shadows he couldn’t make out his face. “Yeah, what can I do for you?”

  “I’ve been with the search party. The deputy there said I should ask you if this belongs to Pamela?” The man held out a bracelet. The base metal chain had a unicorn hanging from it. “I found it alongside the road, near the wooded area at the top of Main.”