by D. K. Hood
After watching Walters sneak into his cubicle carrying a paper sack filled with homemade goodies from one of the stalls lining the main street, Jenna decided to get away for a few precious moments. She walked past the front counter and gave Maggie a wave. “I need some sugar. I’m going to the store.”
Stepping out into the sunshine, she sidestepped a bunch of kids on skateboards and weaved her way through the throngs of people toward the tables lined up outside the community hall. The townsfolk had draped bunting over the front of the building and it continued along the front of each stall. Bright, handwritten signs decorated the wall, giving the prices of what was on offer.
She moved slowly, taking in all the treats and purchasing everything from cookies to fudge. As she strolled across the road at the end of the block, she had the strange feeling someone was watching her. Goosebumps rose on her arms and her scalp prickled. She glanced around, expecting to catch someone following her. The crime scenes had put her on alert and awoken memories of her kidnapping six months earlier, but why would she be suffering flashbacks on the main street?
Dropping into secret-agent mode had saved her many times. She walked head erect and used the shop fronts to keep a close eye on who was behind her. All she could see was the milling crowd and no one in particular stood out. She stopped at an impressive display of pies and, pushing down the rush of nerves, selected four then waited for the woman to place them into a box for her. On the other side of the street, she noticed Aunt Betty’s Café had joined in the celebrations, with posters advertising the rodeo and flags.
She waited to cross the road and every hair on her body stood at attention. What is wrong with me? It’s broad daylight and the place is crowded, I’m safe, Carlos is dead.
Hurrying across the road, she pushed open the door to Aunt Betty’s and went straight to the counter. After ordering coffee, she stood with her back to the wall and checked out the customers. The tourists she did not know, but she spotted the computer guy Lionel Provine eating lunch with Aimee, Kate, and a group of kids. He could have been watching her. Hmm, I wonder if their mothers know they are so friendly with him. At least they are out in a group.
She started when Reverend Jones touched her arm, and she gazed at the man’s concerned expression. “Did you want to speak to me, Reverend?”
“No.” Jones gave her a warm smile. “Miss Hartwig has been trying to get your attention. I think your coffee is ready.”
She looked into his compassionate gaze and smiled. “Oh, yes, thank you. My mind was on something else.”
“Are you okay? You seem a bit jumpy.” He squeezed her arm with his large hand. “Would you like me to walk you back to the sheriff’s office? I’m going in that direction the moment my order is ready. It would be no trouble, no trouble at all.”
She gave him her best bright smile. “I’m fine but thank you so much for your consideration.” She picked up her coffee and headed for the door.
As the sensation of someone watching her slid over her again, she hoisted her box of purchases under one arm then turned to look back at Aunt Betty’s and straight into the dark eyes of Lionel Provine.
Twenty-Two
After returning to her office, Jenna dropped into her chair, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling trying to absorb all the information gathered on Felicity’s murder over the last twenty-four hours and compare it with what she knew about Joanne Blunt. They had nothing in common apart from age. Joanne did not live in town and she had no friends in the area apart from her cousins. All of them had alibis, and as far as they knew, she had not met or conversed with anyone since her arrival. Jenna had absolutely no suspects or leads whatsoever. A knock at the door drew her attention, and she noticed Deputy Wolfe standing in the doorway. “Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, a pair of boots and a scrap of blue cloth likely from the victim’s T-shirt.” Wolfe moved into the room and pushed the door closed behind him. “I think I have a pretty good idea of the sequence of events at the scene.”
Jenna pushed to her feet. “Photos?”
“Yeah, we all took tons. I’ll upload them ASAP. Rowley is waiting outside the evidence room. Who has the keys?”
“Kane and myself. Tell Rowley to drop them down the evidence chute and we’ll log them later.” Jenna headed for the door. “Where is Kane?”
“Ah, he had to go home and pick up some underwear.” Wolfe stood to one side. He gave her a lopsided grin. “Rowley noticed a boot in the river and Kane volunteered to go in after it. Searching underwater he found the second boot, then we had the long walk through the forest back to the car. The insects are a bitch.”
“Why didn’t you leave a cruiser at both ends of the trail, it would have saved you a long walk?” She stared at him in amazement then laughed to herself. This is going to be a very long day. She headed for the coffee machine.
“Well, it was like this, ma’am.” Wolfe followed her out the office. “Kane had the theory the killer would be wet, as in soaking wet. We both believe the murder took place in the water, as there is no substantial blood evidence on scene. The killer carried her to the flat rock to cut her up after he cut her throat and let her bleed out. It would make sense he would be wet after washing in the river. But after dressing in dry clothes by the time he walked back along the trail, his hair would be dry enough not to draw attention.”
Jenna refilled the coffee maker. “And was Kane’s hair dry when he reached the road?”
“Nearly, but he was wet all over. He went into the river fully dressed.” Wolfe took four mugs down from the shelf. “That’s why he headed home.” He sighed. “I’ll get started on the Joanne Blunt preliminary examination now.”
“I’d like to hear all your theories because I need proof both victims weren’t killed elsewhere then carried to the forest to be put on show.” She turned and leaned her back against the counter. “After interviewing Felicity’s friends, my list of suspects is a mile long for her murder but I have absolutely nothing for Joanne Blunt. She literally arrived in town and someone killed her.”
“Kane thinks it’s a local who moves around, maybe in his job, but there are differences in both murders. We know Joanne Blunt was heading to the rock pool for a swim but Felicity Parker had no reason to be in the forest. I think the Blunt murder was opportunistic. The killer came across her, chased her down. From the bruising, she fought back. He pulled her hair and punched her rather than using a weapon. From what I could determine, he used one knife not a variety.” Wolfe went to the refrigerator and took out the cream. “But both murders are ritualistic and I have no doubt he has killed before and will again, very soon.”
She glanced up to see Kane strolling through the door carrying an Aunt Betty’s takeout box. His blue gaze moved around the room and rested on her, and he headed in her direction. “There he is now. If you handle the coffee, I’ll go with Kane and place the items you found into the evidence locker.”
“I’ve picked up some food. I’m guessing you haven’t had time to eat either.” Kane smiled at her and dropped the takeout box onto the counter. “We have a lot to discuss.”
“Thanks, but I’ve collected enough pies and candy for a month.” Jenna returned his smile.
“Great!” He grinned. “You hungry?”
“Famished. I’ve been waiting for you to get back. Once we’ve taken care of all the evidence you’ve collected, we can eat.” She turned to Wolfe. “I’ll send Rowley to give you a hand. Take the coffee and food into my office, we won’t be long.”
“We found a pair of cowboy boots, pink with sparkles. They fit the description of the pair Felicity was wearing the day she went missing. There is a scrap of blue material with a sequin, which might be a part of her top.”
She strolled beside Kane and they met Rowley outside the cage. The young deputy appeared a little frazzled. “Thanks, we’ll take it from here. Go and help Wolfe—Kane was kind enough to pick up our lunch so we might as well eat and discuss the case.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley handed the box of evidence to Kane. “Thanks, I could eat a horse right now.”
She waited for him to go, and they used their keys to unlock the evidence room. As she entered a description of each article into the book then the computer, she glanced up at Kane. “I had the strangest feeling someone was following me today.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“Not following me but I went to pick up coffee from Aunt Betty’s and Lionel Provine was there with some kids. When I left, I had the same feeling. I turned around and looked straight into his eyes.”
“We have an inbuilt radar. Instinct or whatever.” Kane shrugged. “It may be nothing but we’ll keep an eye on him. I’m glad you told me.”
She sighed. “Okay, back to the job at hand. Any thoughts?”
“You mean apart from knowing this animal is a psychopathic, exhibitionist, murdering son of a bitch?”
“That would be the general consensus but you have a knack for figuring out how a killer’s mind works. How long do you think before he strikes again?” She closed the book and stared up at him.
“Right now I don’t have a clue.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m hoping the emails I sent out last night to the sheriff’s departments of other counties might be able to shed some light on this monster.” He followed her from the cage and pulled the door shut behind them. “There have to be other murders with the same M.O. The murderer is making a distinctive statement and I’m sure will kill again. These crazies usually have a pattern: They start slow, as long as six months between kills, then the hunger gnaws at them and the distance between each murder becomes smaller. Think of killing to them as an addiction: Once they are hooked, they keep needing a bigger fix and crave it more often. So, with two on the same day, we can expect him to act again very soon.”
Jenna headed into her office and took her seat behind the desk piled high with takeout cartons of cakes and sandwiches. She lifted her gaze to Kane. “How much do I owe you? After the trek you did through the forest, this meal is on the department.”
“I’m good.” Kane slid into a chair. “There is nothing to spend my money on around here, is there?” He selected a packet of sandwiches. “I didn’t have to pay for the tickets to the dance on Friday night either. The guy gave me a bunch for nothing and said we were all welcome to attend.” He glanced at Wolfe. “As you requested, I arranged for four deputies from two other counties to help out Friday night and all this weekend, so we can be undercover at the heart of any trouble if you agree?”
Jenna shrugged. “Sure, but I want uniforms as well. Rowley and Walters can pull the night shift during and after the dance. The three of us will be at the dance, and I’m sure Shane would like to take his daughters out for the evening, or a part of it?” She glanced at Wolfe and smiled. “At least your seventeen-year-old will want to join in the fun.”
“Yeah, Emily has been harping about going since we got to town. Not the other two, they can stay at home with the nanny. I can’t watch all three at once, and we have a killer in town, in case it slipped your mind?”
“I’m not likely to forget seeing the bodies of Felicity Parker or Joanne Blunt anytime soon.” Jenna selected a sandwich and peered inside. “Aside from the articles we logged in the evidence locker, run me through what else you noticed on scene. So that we don’t get confused, just Felicity Parker’s crime scene for now.”
“First and most significant is I’m sure the killer murdered her in the river. The evidence tells me he lay in wait for her to arrive and had everything he needed on hand.” Wolfe placed his cup firmly on the desk. “He killed her then carried her to the rock to act out his fantasy.”
“First impressions on the evidence so far?” Jenna looked at Kane.
“I agree with Wolfe. The killer planned the murder. He had too much stuff with him for it to be a random thrill-kill. We found evidence of rope, condoms, not to mention the evidence proves he used more than one knife.” Kane took a bite from a sandwich, chewed, swallowed, then shrugged. “What I can’t get my head around is Felicity told her parents and her friend she was heading in the opposite direction. What happened around the time she left home to make her go into the forest alone?” He reached for his coffee, took a gulp, then cleared his throat. “The timeline we have for her movements makes no sense at all.”
“What do you mean?” Rowley leaned forward in his seat and frowned. “We know the time of death was between eight and ten. It has to be. Felicity was seen at eight and found just after ten.”
“No, you have me all wrong.” Kane placed his sandwich back in the box and looked at him. “We have to assume the killer planned the murder. People don’t carry all that equipment around just on the off chance a girl will wander into the forest alone. The killer had the scene set up to trap her if she tried to run. He was there well before she arrived and lay in wait.”
“That makes sense.” Wolfe scratched his blond buzz cut.
“Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.” Kane’s blue gaze moved from Wolfe to Jenna. “So how could he possibly know Felicity would be in the forest at that precise time?”
Jenna stared at her deputies across her desk and a cold shiver slid down her spine. “There is only one explanation. Felicity knew her killer. He might have arranged to meet her or maybe he bumped into her on the street and talked her into going to the river with him.” She glanced at Kane. “What do you think?”
“I’m sure he didn’t meet her accidentally. From the evidence at the crime scene we have to assume he set up the killing area well ahead of time.” Kane met her gaze and raised one dark eyebrow. “I would like to know how the killer knew what time she would be leaving the house. You mentioned Aimee usually drops by to give her a ride into town. So, if the killer had been watching Felicity, he wouldn’t be expecting her to walk to Aimee’s house.”
“You said she had an argument with her boyfriend.” Wolfe raised his ice-gray gaze to her. “Has anyone checked to see if he called her? Young women can be secretive about their boyfriends. If she planned to meet him at the river to make up after their argument, it would make sense she wouldn’t tell her parents and make an excuse to walk to Aimee’s house.”
Jenna swallowed her sandwich and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a possibility, but her mother mentioned she made a habit of telling her if she planned to meet him.”
“We don’t know what peer pressure she was under from her friends. Maybe going out with an older boy and then breaking up, she couldn’t take her friends ‘told you so’ attitude and kept the meeting to herself. What do we know about this boyfriend?”
“Not much.” Jenna picked up her notebook and flicked through the pages. “He is twenty, on the football team at college.”
“Would you like me to check the cellphone records and see if he called her at any other times, ma’am?” Wolfe shrugged. “That would be a place to start.”
Jenna let out a long sigh. “Walters is downloading them as we speak.” She glanced at Kane. “What was your impression of the boyfriend?”
“Derick Smith doesn’t fit the profile but I don’t think we should discount anyone at the moment. We know he delivered a car and picked up the loaner but we don’t know the timeline and George can’t give an exact time he returned to work.” Kane rubbed the stubble on his chin absently. “We’ll need to check out the owner of the car, Mrs. Bolton.”
Jenna made a few notes in her daybook. “Okay, I’ll keep him on the list.”
“Although, I’m sure this wasn’t a crime of passion, her face wasn’t touched. It is unusual for this type of psychopath to kill women they care for. He did say he planned to marry her.” Kane’s brow wrinkled in concentration. “And we know the same killer murdered Joanne Blunt.”
“Maybe she decided to end the relationship and he lost his temper and killed her accidentally then took it out on a stranger as well.” Rowley’s young face paled. “It happens.”
Wolfe flashed Rowley a look that could kill. “I want you
to take a real long look at the crime scene photographs and tell me why you think what that monster did was accidental.”
“Ah well… I guess.” Rowley’s ears went bright red.
Jenna cleared her throat. “Hey, settle down, Wolfe. Rowley has a right to an opinion. This is a discussion and I value everyone’s views.” She stood and walked to the whiteboard. “Okay, we have a very minimal gap between the last time Felicity’s parents saw her alive and when the kids found her body.” She wrote Felicity’s name on the whiteboard and underneath, “Last persons to see her alive,” then added Mr. and Mrs. Parker and the time of approximately eight. She turned to look at Wolfe. “Did Weems confirm stomach contents?”
“Yes, cereal and milk.” Wolfe glanced at his notes. “In fact, my observation on that alone would place the time of death before nine; no digestion had taken place at all.”
“At that time of the morning, people in the area would be leaving for work. It might be an idea to release it to the media.” Kane sipped his coffee. “Someone must have seen something, a car, a person walking their dog, a man strolling along the road. The killer couldn’t have been invisible.”
Jenna frowned. “I’m not sure I want the media scouring the forest just yet, not with two murder scenes sticking out for all to see, but I can see your point. I’ll put out a media release to say we found the bodies and urge the public to be cautious. I’ll ask for anyone who saw the girls in the vicinity of Stanton Forest and see if anyone calls in with information.”
“There would be about thirty residences along Stanton Road near both crime scenes.” Rowley clasped his hands in front of him on the desk and gave her a determined look. “It would be faster to call everyone in the area tonight around, say, six. Most people will be home from work by then and we could cover the entire neighborhood in a couple of hours.”