by D. K. Hood
“Do you have a TOD?” Jenna pulled out her notebook and found her pen. “I gather he’s been in the water all night?”
“Yeah and the water temperature messes with the readings, so I don’t have a time of death, but going on the skin deterioration, I’d say at least eight hours.” Wolfe pulled a body bag from his kit. “We’ll get him loaded into the van.” He looked at her. “We need a positive ID. Have you found anyone who might know him? I’ll need permission from his next of kin.”
Jenna shook her head. “Not yet. Do you mind waiting until the dean gets here? He might recognize him.”
“Sure.” Wolfe indicated with his chin toward the locker rooms. “While we’re waiting, I’ll take a look in there as well. I found a towel on the bench, so I gather he left his belongings in a locker. The students are required to carry a photo ID card with them. Emily has just gotten hers.”
“I’ll go. They leave them open, so the locked one will be his.” Rowley headed off in long strides.
“Call me when you locate the locker and don’t touch anything,” Wolfe called after him.
Jenna looked at him. “No Webber this morning?”
“No.” Wolfe shook his head. “I thought it best as he’s trying out for the football team.” Wolfe had lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “I figure the less time he’s seen with us, the better. I’ve given him backdated paperwork to say he’s been doing an internship in my office since starting college, just in case Seth Lyons questions him. Webber seems to believe Lyons is involved in the rape case and will be trying to get closer to him.” He narrowed his gaze. “I don’t envy him.”
Footsteps in the hallway caught Jenna’s attention and she turned to see Kane with David Bent, the dean, coming toward them. She stood her ground and waited for them to reach her. She took in Bent’s neat appearance: professional in a dark brown suit with leather patches on the elbows, but his expression was one of horror at the sight of the body. She waved her hand toward the corpse. “Do you know this man?”
“Ah, yes. Dear God, what happened?” Bent stared at the corpse and then slowly back to her. His Adam’s apple moved up and down as if he couldn’t find the words. He visibly gathered himself. “It’s Peter Devon, another member of the football team.”
Another coincidence? Jenna made a note. “Thank you. Ah, the medical examiner will be able to give you the details.” She indicated to Wolfe.
“Right now, it looks as if he slipped getting out the pool and struck his head.” Wolfe moved to her side. “I’ll be able to give you more information once I’ve completed my examination.”
Jenna glanced at him. Wolfe was a master of not offering a cause of death without absolute proof. She led Bent away from the body. “We’ll need to notify his next of kin. Mr. Wolfe will need their permission to conduct an autopsy.”
“He’s out of Helena and his father is a close friend of mine.” Bent pushed a hand through his hair in an agitated manner. “I think it should come from me. I’ll make a video call.”
“Thank you.” Jenna took a card from her pocket and handed it to him. “We’ll also need permission to search his belongings, including his vehicle. I know it’s difficult to ask for things like this, but I can assure you it’s necessary.”
“Why?” Bent narrowed his eyes at her. “Is there something you’re not telling me, Sheriff?”
Jenna shook her head. “No, you have the same information as I do right now, but when an unusual death occurs, we make sure no stone is left unturned. A scanned copy will be fine. If you can arrange to have the parents send it straight to me, we’ll be able to release the body to them without an unnecessary delay.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Bent turned away and left, muttering under his breath.
Jenna turned to Kane. “Get anything out of the security guards?”
She listened as Kane went over everything he’d discovered. “Another CCTV failure? Well, that’s convenient. Take a look at the body—what do you see?”
Jenna waited for Kane to examine the crime scene and chat with Wolfe. Then Kane pulled on a pair of gloves and assisted as Wolfe maneuvered the corpse into a black body bag and zipped it up.
As Wolfe packed up his forensics kit and collected the samples, she turned her attention back to Kane.
“So, Wolfe’s not making any hasty conclusions, huh?” Kane moved to her side. “Looking at the damage, someone smashed his head into the side of the pool.” He shook his head. “Unless this guy was drunk or taking drugs, why would he slip? He’s hanging on to the railing with both hands. If he slipped, he might have grazed his shins on the ladder but I doubt he’d let go. If he slipped and let go, I’d say he’d fall backward into the water, not drop like a stone with enough force to break his nose. The water would have slowed him down some, enough for him to grab the railing.”
Jenna indicated to Rowley, who was heading toward them from the locker room.
“I found his locker.” Rowley smiled at Kane. “I bet you could open it in a second.”
“Probably.” Kane glanced at Jenna. “Do you want me to take a look?”
“We’ll take a look.” Jenna made her way to the locker room. “I’ve asked for his parents’ permission to search his belongings and vehicle. I can’t see a reason why they’d refuse.”
“Well then, in case they refuse, we’ll lock it again.” Kane shrugged. “No harm, no foul.” He glanced at her. “If we find damning evidence, we’ll post a guard or add another lock until we obtain a search warrant. There’s always a way.”
Jenna snorted. “I’m padlocking the gate to the pool. No one is getting in here until Wolfe makes his decision. Right now, as far as I’m concerned, this is a crime scene.”
As Rowley had suggested, Kane had opened the combination lock in a few seconds. She looked at him and raised both eyebrows. “How did you do that?”
“Once Bent told you his name, I looked him up online. Found his date of birth and a few images of him with the football team. I tried his date of birth first, then doubled up his team number and it opened. People are creatures of habit; they use familiar numbers so they don’t forget. It’s a locker, so he wasn’t too worried about security.”
Jenna peered inside. She could see a gym bag, clothes hung on pegs, and a pair of worn sneakers with socks balled up inside. She found a set of keys in his pants pocket, and a pair of sunglasses lay on top of his bag. “See if he left his phone inside the bag.”
“Interesting.” Kane had placed the bag on the bench and was searching every crevice. He held up a cellphone then pulled another from a zipped compartment. “Why would he need a second phone?”
Jenna moved closer. “Can you get into it?”
“Oh, yeah.” Kane scanned the calls and frowned. “No calls made but he uploaded image files from the same number, this number. It’s a burner. I figured as much. You can buy these at any 7-Eleven.” He opened the image gallery and dropped his hand to his side, obscuring the view. His gaze lifted to Jenna. “This only proves he likes rough sex but it’s not Chrissie Lowe. The woman looks of age as well.”
“Let me see.” Jenna narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you believe seeing images like this will bring on my PTSD but I’m over it, Dave. I’ve dealt with many rape cases in my career and I can’t lead an investigation from the sidelines.” She held out her gloved hand. “Show me.”
She flicked through the shots, sickened by the content, and then lifted her gaze. “Oh, they’re smart. I can’t make out one face in these shots apart from the girl. We can’t even prove Devon was involved. Anyone could’ve given him this phone. For all we know, this might be a fetish.”
“It could also be his girlfriend.” Rowley peered at the screen. “They’re adults and there’s no law against group sex.”
Jenna looked at Kane. “It’s too much of a coincidence, finding these images when we have a rape case on campus. We’d need the cooperation of the woman involved, but finding her might be a problem. What do you think?”
“If we plan to use this as evidence, we need to pack it up neatly and obtain a search warrant.” Kane pointed to the screen. “Look around the room in the images. I figure it belongs to Lyons. I checked his room at the house, and this one has the same drapes and nightstand. We blow these up and we’ll get the location.” Kane rubbed his chin. “Although, if we find this girl, I doubt she’d admit to any wrongdoing.”
Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “Why? If someone raped me, I’d sure want them locked up for a long time, and this is proof.”
“Proof she was raped but no evidence to point to the men who raped her. Unless we can find some distinguishing marks on the men involved.” Kane shook his head. “It takes a twisted bunch of guys to rape a woman. This isn’t sex, it’s violence, and I figure they’re using these shots as blackmail to keep their victims quiet.”
Twenty-Three
A crisp morning breeze brushed Colt Webber’s face and tousled his hair as he ran through the tunnel and out to join the football team. The memories of the roar of the crowd, the scents and smells of a stadium packed with people at high school, filled his head. He could still see the cheerleaders clear in his mind. Heck, it seemed like a moment ago.
He had to admit the idea of being undercover both thrilled and unsettled him. He’d heard rumors about Lyons: his arrogance and temper had gotten him into trouble many a time. The fact the man had backup in the form of a number of heavyweights made his threat real and disconcerting. Up to now, his life at college had been enjoyable and he’d taken to his subject with enthusiasm, made new friends, and enjoyed working beside Shane Wolfe in the ME’s office. He’d become a sponge soaking up the wealth of information that poured from his mentor. His career change from deputy to ME’s assistant might not have eventuated. On arriving in Black Rock Falls, his immediate attraction to Wolfe’s eldest daughter Emily had been a mistake. At seventeen, Emily was too young to be seeing a man in his twenties, and Wolfe had made it clear he didn’t want his daughter involved with him. Emily, a sensible, smart woman, hadn’t taken much convincing and they’d walked away as friends.
To get his foot in the door with Lyons and his buddies, he’d dropped by a training session to speak to the coach. He’d told him that he’d played football in high school and wanted to try out for the team. Coach had made him drop and do thirty pushups. He’d smiled to himself. Since arriving in Black Rock Falls, he’d trained daily with Jake Rowley and was fitter now than he’d ever been in his life. He’d completed his pushups on his knuckles. He’d impressed Coach and noticed Seth Lyons watching him like a hawk. He wondered now if the quarterback’s attention was a good thing or a potential threat. Time will tell.
He swung his helmet as he walked and joined the other players making their way to the coaching team for morning practice. They went through a fitness training session and then Coach concentrated on plays. After watching from the bench for some time, Coach called him over. He wanted him to try out for the position of wide receiver and had him running and catching balls. One thing he could do well was catch a football.
After countless resets, Colt pulled off his helmet to wipe the sweat from his eyes and Coach strolled over to him with Seth Lyons.
“As Devon hasn’t graced us with his presence this morning, without offering a reason, I’m benching him.” Coach gave Lyons a look that prevented any arguments. “Lyons, this is Colt Webber.”
A pang of regret gripped Colt. Wolfe had called him earlier about the death of Pete Devon. Obviously, the news hadn’t spread yet. He took the hand Lyons offered and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“Where’ve you been playing?” Lyons gave him a confused look. “And why the hell haven’t you tried out before now? I’ve seen you around, you were here last semester.”
Colt shrugged. “I’m out of Boston. Last semester I was way too busy to commit to joining a team.”
“Too busy how?” Lyons rested his hands on his hips and lifted his chin as if assessing him.
“Working.” Colt met his gaze. “I held down two jobs but since I’ve gotten a scholarship I have more free time.”
“When you two have finished passing the time of day, I want to try a few plays with him and see if he fits.” Coach stared at him. “How fast can you learn plays?” He handed him a playbook.
Colt grinned. “Pretty fast.”
“Good. We’ll go with the first two in the book.” Coach walked away and left him with Lyons.
“They’re pretty simple.” Lyons went through the moves. “Got it?”
Colt nodded. “Yeah.”
After spending a great deal of time setting and resetting the plays, Colt had his head firmly back in the game. It had been as easy as riding a bike and he figured age had given him more strength and speed. When Coach called practice to a halt and sent the players to the showers, he figured even without Wolfe’s intervention, he would’ve made the team.
“Webber, and you too, Lyons.” Coach waved them over and stared at Webber as if assessing him. “Okay, I’m giving you a shot, but you’ll need to learn the plays.”
“Alex’s playbook is in my room. I’ll give it to him. It will save time and it’s not like Alex is going to need it any longer.” Lyons glanced at him. “We’ll need to study this together. I don’t like mistakes during a game.”
“I want him up to speed by the weekend.” Coach walked away without a backward glance.
“Where are you staying?” Lyons narrowed his gaze. “On campus?”
“Nah, I’ve got a room at my aunt’s house in town.” Colt fell back on the cover story Kane had created.
“Your aunt’s house?” Lyons cringed. “Are you a monk or something?”
Colt chuckled. He needed to convince Lyons he was as sleazy as he was. “Nah, the opposite, but my scholarship doesn’t cover accommodation. Not that I take girls home; having any visitors causes her a problem.” He winked. “It doesn’t slow me down though. I’ve got a nice ride and Black Rock Falls has old abandoned ranches all over so I don’t go hungry.”
“I figure we’re gonna get along just fine.” Lyons slapped him on the back. “We, ah, me and some of the guys live in our own house. It’s a big old ranch house out on Pine at the first bend. Living in the dorms was way too restrictive and the dean kept sticking his nose in our business.”
Colt indicated with his chin toward the college. “I figure the dean believes he’s a prison warden the way he keeps tabs on everyone’s movements with those damn swipe cards. There are far too many rules. We’re adults not kids.”
“I’m liking you more by the minute.” Lyons chuckled. “Exactly. And as far as I’m concerned football has the only rules I intend to live by.”
“That’s me, hard and fast.” Colt grinned. “And never drop the ball.”
“We’re having a wake to send off Alex on Thursday night, why don’t you come along?” A serious expression crossed Lyons’ face. “You’ll have heard about Alex Jacobs’ accident? We want to say goodbye in our own way.”
As Pete Devon’s death would be all over campus by the time they arrived at class, Colt wondered how it would affect Lyons. He plastered a grim expression on his face and nodded. “Sure, I’ll be there.”
“I’ll supply the entertainment and beer.” Lyons gave him a long, considering stare and then seemed to make up his mind. “Why don’t you drop by tonight? I’ll give you the book and we’ll go over the plays.”
Not believing his luck, Colt nodded. “Sure.”
“Around nine would be good.” Lyons turned to go. “I’m hitting the showers.”
Colt stood for a few seconds watching Lyons strut toward the tunnel. Stage one had gone better than expected but he needed to be living in the house and that would take some doing. What will I need to do to gain his trust?
Twenty-Four
He strolled from the football field, puzzled by the morning’s events. He’d seen Webber around the college and hadn’t realized he’d played football. He must have used som
eone’s influence to get himself on the football team so fast. Who is this guy? He opened his laptop and in seconds had hacked the college’s student database. After scanning the files, he found Webber’s details. The man was on a scholarship and interned at the ME’s office. Webber had already completed his first year’s internship at the ME’s office and wasn’t one of the usual brain-dead jocks. A guy like Webber would ask questions, and from his direct stare and confident walk, he was nobody’s fool. Yet if he was a player when it came to girls, a player would be useful.
He allowed ideas to percolate through his mind and then snapped his fingers. Of course, Webber would have access to a variety of drugs. Who better than someone working in the ME’s office? Surely, samples of different drugs would be available for testing. In any case, everyone in town was aware Shane Wolfe had been a medic in the military before taking over as ME. As a deputy, he’d often been at the scene of an accident, patching people up before the paramedics arrived. Oh yeah, working alongside him, Webber would have access to drugs.
He figured Webber would make the team. It didn’t take a fool to see how enthusiastic Coach had been toward him, and he wasn’t nice to anyone. Webber was an unknown quantity and he’d have to tread easy, but over the last couple of days things had worked out just fine. He’d taken out two of the team without breaking a sweat. In truth, when it came to dying, they’d became weak momma’s boys.
Twenty-Five
Rushed off her feet, Jenna sat in on the interview with Dirk Voss, the security guard from the college. She’d given Kane the lead as he’d spoken to the man on the phone earlier.
“Run through your routine for locking up; what do you do from, say, seven.” Kane’s face was void of expression.
“Let me see, I’m in the office until eight thirty, when we both go on patrol. We split up and do a general walk-through. After, we come back here, have a cup of coffee, something to eat, and then we go out again around eleven to lock up the amenities areas. Then we come back here. We stay here most of the night unless we have a perimeter alert or something similar.”