by D. K. Hood
“Yeah.” Jenna stood, swamped by his jacket. “I could wear this as a winter coat.” She grinned at him.
Kane stored her wet jacket and then climbed onto the dirt bike. When Jenna jumped on behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, he turned his head to speak to her. “I figure we came close to witnessing an attempted murder. If Jones wasn’t so fit, his chances of surviving the rapids would’ve been limited.”
“Yeah.” Jenna rested her chin on his shoulder. “We need to be keeping a close eye on Lyons. He’s shaping up to be our number-one suspect. He’s so arrogant, I figure he wouldn’t have thought twice about following Chrissie into her room and killing her or murdering his best friend.”
Nineteen
It was close to nine thirty when Pete Devon walked out of the locker room and made his way to the college’s Olympic-size swimming pool. He’d delayed his regular session to avoid Brook, the girl Seth had mentioned as a perfect candidate for the next party. He stood for a moment, inhaling the familiar smell of chlorine, and then his gaze settled on someone gliding along his usual lane. To accommodate students who liked to train, the college had divided half the pool into lanes, and he preferred swimming laps in the middle one. Disgruntled, he stood observing the swimmer’s technique. The man cut through the water with a smooth stroke and his turns were fast. As a likely member of the swim team, he took priority over an injured football player.
Pete dove in and counted the laps in his head. Training in the pool had become almost mechanical and he enjoyed the quiet time alone to think. He’d been paranoid since discovering the girl—what was her name? Ah yeah, Chrissie—had died after willingly allowing half the team to have sex with her. Yeah, she’d seemed a little drunk at the time, but hey, she probably needed the courage. Seth had insisted she’d been more than willing, and nothing they’d done had pushed her over the edge. In fact, Seth had made sure she’d gotten a ride home, and she’d been fine when Pete and Alex had driven her back to her dorm. Now the cops were interviewing everyone, as if they figured someone had murdered her.
He pushed his arms out to touch the wall and his fingers met solid flesh. Unable to stop, he collided with someone. He trod water and then chuckled. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you came here, man.” He ducked into the next lane.
“There’s lots of things you don’t know about me.” His friend’s face broke into a grin. “Ever played Shark?”
The way he looked at him disturbed him. The smile didn’t reach his eyes; instead, cold orbs fixed on him, empty of emotion. What did I do to upset you? He cleared his throat. “Nope, can’t say that I have. It sounds like a kids’ swimming game?”
“You could say that, but it’s more of a race. How fast do you figure you could swim with a shark chasing you?” His smile didn’t fade.
Pete shrugged. “Pretty fast, I guess.” He continued treading water.
His friend waved him away in an arrogant gesture. “Go on, I’ll give you a head start and then try to catch you. I’ll be the shark. Unless you’re chicken.”
Pete shrugged. “It sounds a bit childish. Okay, so if I play your stupid game, what happens if you catch me?”
“I’ll kill you.” A sinister chuckle came from deep in his chest. “Okay, in five seconds. One, two…”
Twenty
Wednesday
It was a little after seven when Jenna’s cellphone chimed the 911 ringtone. She’d just sat down to eat breakfast in Kane’s cottage and hoped the cowboys arriving in town hadn’t started to make trouble. She took one bite of her eggs then reluctantly answered the call, putting the phone on speaker to allow Kane to listen. “Sheriff Alton.”
“This is Bob Jamison. I’m a paramedic over at Black Rock Falls General. The cleaner at the college called us out to the pool for a suspected drowning.” He waited a beat. “There’s a deal of blood on the ladder and trauma to the victim’s face. We hauled the body out of the water from the other side, left it on the gurney and sealed the area. I figured you’d want to take a look, in case it’s suspicious.”
Jenna exchanged a glance with Kane. “Yeah, we’ll get the ME out there. Can you wait until he arrives and tell the cleaner we’ll need a statement?”
“Sure, but she’s pretty shaken. We have her in the back of the bus. A security guard came to look and he recognizes the body but can’t give a positive ID—he doesn’t know his name. Says he believes he’s on the football team and swims here almost every night, same time.”
“Thanks. Keep him there as well.” Jenna disconnected. It was about a half-hour drive from her ranch to the college, but Wolfe could get there in ten minutes. “Rowley’s close. I’ll send him out to hold down the fort until Wolfe gets there.”
“You finish eating.” Kane picked up his cellphone, made the calls and then disconnected.
Jenna sneezed and looked at him. “Thanks.”
“You okay after the freezing-cold swim?” Kane’s gaze moved over her.
Jenna swallowed the mouthful of eggs. The previous evening, they hadn’t discussed saving Jones. She’d just wanted to soak in the hot tub then get an early night. “The rapids moved faster than I imagined.”
“It was just as well we had the dirt bike or we wouldn’t have gotten there in time.” Kane frowned. “The bends slowed him down some, but it was closer than I’d have liked.”
Jenna reached for her coffee. “Did many of your things get wet?”
“Nothing above the waist.” Kane frowned. “You?”
“Yeah, most of my stuff is ruined, but my phone came through okay.” She finished her coffee and stood to collect the dishes. “I have a drawer filled with everything I need at the office. It was just as well I didn’t lose my keys, my wallet, or my phone.” She rinsed the plates and slipped them into the dishwasher. I have new cred packs at the office as well; mine is a little wet but my creds are fine.” She sighed. “My notebook is toast but I have a spare. Thank goodness my files are up to date.” She glanced at him. “I guess you’ll need replacements for everything as well?”
“No, I’m fine. My notebook was wet too.” Kane smiled at her. “I’ve replaced it with a digital pen. I can use it on my cellphone screen and it converts my notes to text via Bluetooth. I’ve been itching to try it.”
“Wolfe?” He always had the best gadgets. “That would save tons of time updating files manually. I’ll ask him to get me one too.”
“Don’t worry him, I’ll order you one online.”
Jenna smiled at him. “Thanks.”
“Jenna.” Kane leaned against the counter and looked at her with a concerned expression. “If this is an ‘accidental’”—he made quotes around “accidental” with his fingers—“drowning, it means three college kids have died in about the same number of days. Jacobs’ death is suspicious, and I figure if this victim is on the football team as well, it has to be connected.”
Jenna had come to the same conclusion. She messed with the dishwasher and then turned it on before straightening to look at him. “Yeah, if he is, something’s not right.” She blew the bangs from her forehead. “I’m ready to leave. We’ll head out to the college first. Let’s just hope another killer isn’t stalking Black Rock Falls.”
It was a magical day when summer mellowed into fall, and Jenna decided it was her favorite time of year in Black Rock Falls. Each season had its own glory, but as Kane drove toward town, she opened her window and allowed the wind to tousle her hair. Glancing in the side mirror, she could see Duke’s reflection, his long ears flapping and lips vibrating in the airstream as if he was singing. Glad to be alive, she inhaled the crisp morning air, almost tasting the flavors of the season. The smell of pine and then wood smoke intermingled with the last sprinkle of fragrant wildflowers. She inhaled, appreciating the fragrant air filling her lungs. Her mind filled with the horrible experience of watching Jones coming close to drowning and what had happened in the college pool. Did the fight by the rapids have anything to do with it?
The lan
dscape changed dramatically as they left the open grasslands and moved through town then out onto Stanton Road. The rolling green pastures and grassy hills soon became a forest of tall pines, growing so close together a bear could be a yard away and hidden from view. The dark, rough-barked trunks lined the roadside like a row of sentries, hiding the many secrets within.
“What’s on your mind?” Kane glanced at her for a second before returning his attention to the road.
Jenna dragged herself from her thoughts. “If both these deaths are homicides, what’s the possibility they are revenge killings for Chrissie? Have you had time to look into her background yet? Is her father capable of murder?”
“The father is terminal and too ill to murder anyone. Her grandpa is in his eighties so we can rule him out. Her brother is the eldest by six years and MIA in the Middle East somewhere. From all accounts, her sister and mother wouldn’t be strong enough, but she does have a cousin in town: Steve Lowe.” The nerve in Kane’s cheek twitched. “He’s twenty-one, six feet tall, and works at the feed store in town. Their families live one street apart so I’d guess Chrissie and Steve spent plenty of time together as kids.”
“Hmm. So he’s a possible. We’ll need to speak to him.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip, thinking through the circumstances of each case. “The cases are coming along so fast I can’t seem to get a foothold on any of them. We haven’t gotten any real proof against the men we feel might be responsible for Chrissie’s rape, and if Wolfe rules Jacobs’ death as murder, we have two persons of interest in the case, maybe three if we include Steve Lowe. I feel a little out of control right now, as if the cases are sweeping us along on a mystery ride.”
“Then we take it one step at a time. I really don’t recall any of our cases being easy, and we made it through okay.” Kane turned the corner onto the sweeping driveway leading to the college. “Once we find out the drowning victim’s name and Wolfe has made a determination, it will make life easier.” He smiled at her. “You know darn well, once you lay the cases out on the whiteboard everything will fall into place.” He chuckled. “Knowing you as I do, you’ll have figured out a list of possible suspects by noon.”
They parked beside Wolfe’s van and walked to the amenities center. Jenna glanced at Kane. “I’ll speak to the paramedics and the cleaner. Find out who opened up this morning and which security guard locked up last night. I’d like to know how come he missed seeing a body floating in the pool.”
“Okay, and I’ll go check the CCTV footage as well.” Kane frowned. “If someone tampered with the cameras again, I figure we have a killer on campus.” He headed off with Duke at his heels, tail wagging.
A shiver ran down Jenna’s spine and she pushed away the familiar rush of dread that gripped her at a crime scene. The back of the ambulance was open and a middle-aged woman was sitting inside, wrapped in a blanket. Jenna couldn’t see Wolfe or Rowley anywhere, so she approached the two paramedics speaking with a security guard. “Which one of you called it in?”
A short man with close-cropped hair and a round face held up a gloved hand. “That would be me, Sheriff. I’m Bob Jamison.”
Jenna nodded. “Okay. Is the woman who found the body well enough to make a statement?”
“Yeah, she’s a bit shaky but she should be okay.” Jamison nodded toward the entrance to the pool. “The ME is inside with the other deputy.”
Jenna pulled a pair of surgical gloves from her pocket and pulled them on. “I’ll go see the body then come and speak to the cleaner. What’s her name?”
“Gladys Birch.” Jamison cleared his throat. “I called the dean as well and he’s on his way.”
“Thanks.” Jenna headed for the entrance to the pool. Maybe he’ll be able to ID the body.
Twenty-One
Kane stared at the footage on the screen in the security guard’s office and shook his head in disbelief. The camera outside the entrance to the amenities center had blinked out in exactly the same manner as the previous night and around the same time. In the hour before that, two students had entered the pool area, one male and one female. This time, the camera activated again at 10:35 p.m. and caught the security guard entering the building at 11:05 p.m. Seconds later he came out, locked the gate, then went on his way.
He straightened and cast his gaze over the security guard. The man was in his sixties with a belly hanging down over his belt. His white-streaked greasy hair hung down each side from an attempted comb-over. It was only a couple of hours max since he’d started work but his clothes looked as if he’d slept in them. Pudgy hands with dirty nails gripped a stained coffee cup. Kane wrinkled his nose, wondering how he kept his job. An odor like the football locker room after a game with added onions hung in the office as thick as fog. “Did you have the system checked out after the last failure?”
“Me? No, the request for maintenance was sent through the normal channels. Who the hell knows if anyone will come out and fix the darn thing.” The security guard shrugged. “I didn’t go inside the pool either, I just unlocked the gate for the cleaner and left. I had a couple of students waiting on me to unlock the gym.”
Kane made a few notes. “Do you keep a log of your shifts?”
“Yeah.” He pushed a tattered book in Kane’s direction. “It’s just for when we do our rounds, and we make a note if anything unusual happens.” The guard placed his cup on the desk and leaned back in his chair, making it groan under his weight. He folded his arms across his substantial waist and looked at him. “There’s no mention of the malfunction. I guess the guys were out on their rounds.”
How convenient. Kane glanced over the entries and snapped a few shots of the relevant pages over both days with his cellphone camera. “I’ll need to speak to the guard who locked up last night.”
“That would be Dirk Voss. He locks up and Tim Brannon handles the library. By eleven most of the students have left.” The guard was scanning a file on his computer. “I’ve found his number. I’ll give him a call.” He dialed the landline and after a brief explanation handed the receiver to Kane.
Kane took the warm, greasy receiver and, avoiding contact with his skin, gave his name. “What time did you lock the amenities center last night?”
“Around eleven.” Voss sounded as if he’d just fallen out of bed.
“Did you go inside to make sure no one was using the pool?”
“Kinda. I went to the doorway and called out, waited some, then called out at the entrances to the locker rooms. It was as quiet as a tomb.” Voss yawned. “Why? Did I lock someone inside? All the kids have cellphones—one call and someone would go let them out.”
Annoyed by the man’s unprofessional behavior, Kane stared at the floor. “I’ll need you to come by the sheriff’s office this morning to make a statement. Your inability to do your job could’ve cost a man his life. The cleaner found a body floating in the pool this morning and he’s been there all night.”
“You sayin’ that’s my fault?”
Kane grimaced. “I’ll leave that to the sheriff to decide. If you’re a no-show by noon, I’ll be dropping by to haul your ass downtown.” He dropped the phone onto the cradle and reached into his pocket for a card. “Email me a copy of that section of tape. You do know how to do that?”
“Yeah.” The guard took the card from Kane. “I’ll do it now.”
Kane nodded. “Thanks, I’ll show it to the sheriff.” He headed out the door, glad to be breathing fresh air again. “Come on, Duke. Let’s go see who’s been killed this time.”
Twenty-Two
Wolfe’s investigation was in full swing as Jenna walked poolside. Markers littered the area around the ladder, and to one side the uncovered, pale-skinned body of a young man lay on a gurney. Wolfe was deep in conversation with Rowley and they both looked up at once as she approached. “What have we got?”
“At first glance, an accident.” Wolfe walked her to the body. “He slipped climbing up the ladder and fell, hitting his nose on the top rung, fell i
nto the water, and drowned.”
The chlorine in the water hadn’t disguised the smell of death: not rancid yet but the awful smell of the first signs of decay. The young man’s face was a mess, his nose near flattened and the tip pushed up. His skin was pale and rippled from a long time spent submerged in water, and his eyes stared into nothing, cloudy like a dead fish. She frowned. “So, what makes you think otherwise?”
“Every death is suspicious unless proved otherwise. Do you know what he was doing prior to his death?” Wolfe looked at her expectantly.
Jenna dragged her gaze away from the body. “If he’s on the football team, yeah I do. They all went to a coaching clinic or whatever over the weekend. They train every morning, and if he lived in Lyons’ house, there’s a possibility he could’ve been involved in Chrissie Lowe’s rape. Why?”
“See here on his ankles, both sides have a tiny, half-moon indent?” Wolfe pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket and handed it to her. “I’m not 100 percent sure but I figure they’re nail marks. Sure, they could’ve happened during group sex, I’ve seen worse injuries; but if not, someone could’ve grabbed his feet as he was climbing the ladder and pulled him in a downward motion. He’d lose his grip and his face would hit the top rung.” He cleared his throat. “I have to consider every angle before I make a decision, Jenna.”
“That would take strength.” Rowley stared into the pool as if weighing up the facts. “Because some of him would’ve still been in the pool. It’s hard to exert force under water.”
Jenna nodded, glad to see Rowley add his conclusions. “That makes sense. So is this another probable homicide?”
“Ah…” Wolfe frowned. “When I’ve conducted an autopsy, I’ll let you know my decision.”