by D. K. Hood
“We’ve determined that if someone killed both men, they would’ve needed to have a considerable amount of strength, which again targets our suspects.” Jenna looked back at Kane. “Wolfe figures we should think out of the box with these cases. For instance, we’re including Chrissie’s rape in the two suspected murder cases because of the football team link and also looking at any enemies of the team or the coach.”
“Yeah.” Rowley nodded in agreement. “The coach has made a zillion enemies over the years. He’s tough and unforgiving.”
“I’d say there’d be a few people out to get his job too.” Walters’ gray brows furrowed. “If the team fails, the college will be looking at replacing him. It’s a matter of pride.”
“Which brings us back to our suspects.” Jenna sat in her office chair and leaned back. “All have a problem with the team. All want to get even. They may have different reasons but it’s the same result.”
Kane nodded. “Seems open and shut to me. Three suspects? My gut tells me there’s more to this and we’re missing something.” He pushed a takeout bag toward Jenna, noticing she hadn’t eaten anything or touched her coffee. “Do any of these guys know how to disable a CCTV camera, for instance? Has anything else happened with the team or the coach we’re not aware of?”
“Okay, Rowley, I’ll need you to run things here, but if you get any downtime, see what you can find out about rival teams, anything that could point to someone trying to destroy the team or any dirt you can dig up on the coach.” Jenna took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “That’s all we have for now.” She waved at the bags of food. “Grab what you want and we’ll all get back to work.”
Kane waited for them to go and looked at her. “You know what’s bothering me about all this?”
“What?” Jenna raised one eyebrow in question.
“If it’s payback against the team for whatever reason, why take out the lesser players first? All can be replaced by players on the bench.” Kane reached for a bag of sandwiches. “If it was me, my target would be Lyons, the star quarterback.”
“Hmm.” Jenna leaned back in her seat. “Maybe whoever staged the accidents is planning something special for Lyons?”
Thirty-One
For Jenna, writing out the facts in a case on the whiteboard centered her mind and put the priorities in order. She stared at the board. The three cases revolved around the football team but if they turned out to be murder, she needed to know what would trigger someone to kill the players? She finished her sandwich and took a sip of coffee before dragging her attention away from the whiteboard and looking at Kane. “What if I go left field and make a crazy assumption about these cases?”
“Give it to me.” Kane leaned on the desk and met her gaze.
Jenna nodded. “Okay, what if we’re looking at this all wrong?” She drummed her fingers on the table. “These college football teams are rivals and do weird things, like stealing each other’s mascots. I know there was some trouble with the team from Louan a couple of years ago.”
“Where’s this going, Jenna?” Kane lifted his cup and sipped.
“Say it wasn’t Lyons and his friends who raped Chrissie—what if it was members of a rival team? Maybe they figured we’d haul in Lyons and his friends for Chrissie’s rape. When that didn’t work, one or more of them went postal and decided to kill the players.”
“Uh-huh.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess if we could prove someone else overheard Lyons asking Chrissie to the party, it might be possible. We know Lyons lures girls to the house to rape them and has been doing so for some time.”
Exasperated, Jenna stared at him. “Yeah, you’re probably right, I’m just grabbing at straws—and from what Livi told me, it’s not a secret. Guys like him, who have fathers to make their mistakes go away, often brag about breaking the law, and it’s not too far-fetched to believe the other teams are aware of his deviate behavior. Think about it. Lyons has just scored. He’s found an innocent young girl willing to go to the party alone. Do you honestly believe he’d keep the news to himself? No way, he’d be crowing to everyone involved in his dirty little games.” She tossed the bangs out of her eyes. “They’d all be in on the plan, wouldn’t they? Anyone could have overheard them.”
“So why bleach the room? We know Chrissie was there, it had to be them. Duke picked up her scent.” Kane leaned back in his chair. “Unless the other players dropped her at the house and she staggered inside for help.” His mouth turned down at the edges. “Lyons and his gang are sick enough to use the situation to their advantage—like I’ve said before, rape is violence, not sexual gratification.” He sighed. “Then there’s the vehicle. We know it belongs to the janitor and we have positive proof Chrissie was inside.”
“But when was she in the car?” Jenna stared at the whiteboard. “We know she was given a ride home in the silver sedan but that doesn’t prove it was the same vehicle that she was seen getting into by Livi. It was dark and she wasn’t sure of the color.” She threw her hands in the air. “We sure haven’t gotten much to go on up to now, have we?”
“You mentioned chasing down Stein, Jones, and Lowe—that’s a start.” Kane finished his coffee, collected the empty bags, and stood to throw them in the trash.
Jenna looked up at him. “Okay, make a call to the college security; if they are on campus, we’ll go see them. And call the office at the college as well to find out if someone has turned in Chrissie’s cellphone and shoes. I’m going to write a press release about the missing items and hope someone in town has found them.” She frowned. “I might mention a reward with no questions asked for their return. With any luck, we’ll get a break in this case.”
Moments after Jenna had disconnected from her local media contact, her cellphone chimed. She glanced at the caller ID. It was Wolfe. “Hi Shane, do you have any good news for me?”
“Some. I have nothing to add to my conclusion of Devon’s death. His autopsy showed nothing of interest but the cranial autopsy did show a hematoma below the scalp, which only means he was alive after the blow to his head. So it could have occurred during football practice.”
Jenna pushed away the awful memory of the autopsy and cleared her throat. “What about the evidence from the janitor’s vehicle?”
“I’ve identified two of the foreign hairs in the janitor’s sedan as belonging to Jacobs and Devon.” Wolfe took a deep breath. “Jacobs could have been responsible for the bruises on Chrissie Lowes’ arms; his hands fit. I’ve made an impression of the ring and compared it to the mark on her skin. And I was able to extract a small amount of DNA from the ring. I’m testing it now. If it comes back as a match for Chrissie, we’ll know he was involved. The DNA traces I found were blood, caught around the stones in the ring. He might have been the one who hit her and split her lip. The blood we found on the stairs is her blood type, and alcohol is in the sample. It will take a few more days before we know for sure if it’s Chrissie’s.”
A wave of relief swept over Jenna. At last some headway in the case. “Anything on the blood trace in the car?”
“Yeah, it’s a match for Chrissie’s blood type.” Wolfe sighed. “I hope the DNA test will prove beyond doubt Chrissie was in the house and in the janitor’s vehicle after the rape, but we have no evidence to prove it was the same car she got into on Saturday night.”
“Thanks for rushing this through. I really appreciate it, Shane.”
“It’s my job but I appreciate an ego stroke from time to time.” He chuckled. “I’ll write up my reports and bring them over to you in the morning.”
The line went dead and Jenna smiled. “I’m sure lucky to have such a great team.”
She stood, grabbed her jacket, and headed out the door. She met Kane at the front counter. “Any luck with the lost-and-found?”
“Nope.” Kane straightened from leaning on the counter. “Both items are distinctive, so it didn’t take too long. Security will be looking out for them in case they’re turned in.” He handed h
er a go-cup of coffee. “And we’re in luck, Stein and Jones are in the library, so we can go and speak to them now.”
“We’ll stop by the feed store on the way back and speak to Lowe.”
“I sure hope nothing else happens while we’re out.” Kane slid his Stetson on his head and made his way to the front door. “We’re getting snowed under now.”
Jenna grimaced. “This is Black Rock Falls. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen here.”
Thirty-Two
The sky seemed to go on forever above a million pines, and fluffy white clouds nestled over the mountaintops like cotton candy wigs. He hadn’t been at peace for a long time. Of late, his mind had muddled events into streams of images frayed at the edges or incomplete like the faded color of an old photograph, but all this had changed the first time he’d lain down on the college roof. On his back, hidden between two huge air conditioning units, the gritty cement was hard against his spine as he stared at the screen watching a live feed from the drone.
It was like watching a reality show, the weird and entertaining daily lives of the students and faculty. All had secrets and stories to tell. Most people lied or exaggerated happenings in their lives. It was as if there wasn’t enough excitement in their humdrum existence, so they had to make up stories to impress their friends. The gossip reminded him of the kids’ game where a story is told to one person at the beginning of a line and asked to pass it on. By the time the story arrives at the final person, it’s a different story, with so many embellishments and add-ons it doesn’t come close to the truth.
He’d come to the conclusion people acted like ants, all with a job to do or a place to go. Some so predictable he could set his watch to them. Take Emily Wolfe, for example: this semester, each afternoon at four, she’d drive to the forest, park in the parking lot, and then run up the path alongside the rapids. But did she take the switchback and come back down like everyone else? Not Emily. She jogged past the top of the rapids and weaved her way along an old trail that eventually led to the top of Black Rock Falls—the actual place the founders had used to name the county and the sprawling town.
Once there she would stand staring out across the wide-open vista, to the town spreading out way below and the miles of grasslands stretching into the next county. After a short break, she’d turn back around and then head down the winding pathway, past the old dilapidated bridge spanning the river, and then follow the trail down to the parking lot.
In fact, he’d discovered many secrets of late. The tiny drone had offered him the opportunity to eavesdrop on just about any conversation. If he didn’t find a convenient window, most people were too busy checking out their cellphones to notice his tiny machine hovering above their heads. His drone had been close by when Emily had told Webber about jogging to the top of the falls at four each day. It made sense: she’d chosen the most popular time, as usually there would be a number of other students on the lower trail. Nice and safe.
Nowhere is nice and safe, Emily. Nowhere.
Thirty-Three
The noise and smells of the college surrounded Jenna as she followed the security guard to the library. She waited with Kane outside the door for the guard to go and find Stein. She turned to Kane. “Isn’t it strange how the smell of a place brings back so many memories? The moment I walked in here, the smell of books and body odor made me remember a day a security guard came to the library for me.” She pushed the memory back into the recesses of her mind. “Before you ask, it’s old news, okay?”
“Sure.” Kane took her hand and squeezed. “I’m here for you if you need me. Any time, you know that, right?”
She turned and smiled at him. “Yeah, and it’s good to know.” She reluctantly let go of his hand, pulled out her cellphone, and searched for a file. “We’ve got zip on Stein. No priors of violence; a few fights on his school record but he’s never been charged with anything.”
“He admitted to having feelings for Chrissie, so he has motive.” Kane shrugged. “It doesn’t take too much to push people over the edge. Gang rape and then if he figures she committed suicide because of it, it’s one hell of an inducement.”
“Yeah, especially as Livi and likely most of the women living in her dorm are saying that’s how she died.” Jenna peered through the glass door at Stein, heading in their direction with a confused expression. “He’s on his way.” When he walked through the door and looked at her, she indicated toward the doors to the garden. “Can we talk outside?”
“Sure.” Stein walked beside her. “Have you charged the men who raped Chrissie?”
Jenna shook her head. “Not yet. Her cause of death is inconclusive.”
“So, what do you want with me?” Stein looked perplexed. “I sure as hell didn’t hurt her.”
“I didn’t say you did.” Jenna let her gaze move over the young man. He had the chiseled muscular frame of an athlete, yet he was unshaven and dark circles ran under his eyes. “You keep in good shape. Do you lift weights, swim? Martial arts?”
“I do track, weights, and swimming, and I run most afternoons. Yeah, I’ve studied martial arts. It’s good for my flexibility.” Stein gave a snort. “Good Lord, you think I’m involved in the accidents of Alex Jacobs and Pete Devon, don’t you?” He shook his head. “Those two boneheads wouldn’t be worth my time. Now, Seth Lyons…” He punched the palm of his other hand. “I’d like to take him apart piece by piece, but if I laid one finger on him, his old man would have me in jail for ten to twenty. I’m not that stupid.”
Jenna nodded. He might be smart but he hadn’t convinced her of his innocence. “Where were you on Tuesday night, the day Pete Devon died?” She waited for a reaction but his blank expression meant either he couldn’t remember or he was remembering just fine and trying to come up with an alibi. “Around nine thirty?”
“I’m not sure.” Stein scratched his head. “I usually spend time in the library after dinner. I could’ve still been there or in my room. I’m not sure, things have been a bit muddled”—he tapped his head—“in here since Chrissie died.”
Jenna made a few notes then looked back at him. Maybe he was taking her death harder than she’d thought. “Are you sleeping?”
“What, are you a doctor now?” Stein snorted in resentment. “How do you figure I’m sleeping? My friend was pack raped and then committed suicide. Everyone knows what happened, so I’m not sure how you came up with an inconclusive verdict. How do you think I feel knowing the men that hurt her are out there laughing about it?” He took a step closer, his fists clenched. “You know Seth Lyons is responsible, why don’t you arrest him?”
“Take a step back, Mr. Stein.” Jenna rested her hand on her weapon. “You can be assured we’re doing everything in our power to find out who assaulted Chrissie.”
“I’ve told you.” Stein’s face contorted with rage. “It has to be Seth Lyons and his football buddies. No one else lured her out alone.”
“We have no proof it was Lyons but you can be assured we’re hunting down suspects.” Kane laid a hand on Stein’s shoulder. “With three deaths within a week, we’ll be asking everyone questions. We’re tracking people’s movements, and right now, we need to know who was seen in and around the swimming pool the night Pete Devon died.”
“I don’t remember being in the area.” Stein glared at Kane. “My roommate might remember. Why don’t you ask him? His name is Paul Brown. He’s in the library studying. Want me to go get him?”
What, and ask him to give you an alibi? Jenna closed her notebook and looked at Stein. “No, you wait here with Deputy Kane and I’ll speak to him.” She turned to the glass door. “Where’s he sitting?”
“Over by the window.” Stein led the way back inside and pointed through the glass door to a man with auburn hair. “Black T-shirt.”
“Okay, thanks.” Jenna walked to the door, and the security guard who’d accompanied them went to meet her. “I haven’t finished with Stein yet but I need to speak to Paul Brown.” She pointed t
o the man at the desk. “It will only take a minute.”
She hurried over to the man and lowered her voice to introduce herself. She asked him about the night Devon died. “Do you recall seeing Phil on Tuesday night around nine thirty?”
“He’s been a bit crazy since Chrissie died.” Brown rubbed his chin. “We studied for a while after dinner, we do most nights, but he said he needed some fresh air and alone time. I went back to our dorm and watched TV with some of the guys. He came back around ten thirty. The show had finished and I was heading back to our room when he came in through the front door.”
The next question stormed into Jenna’s head. “Was he acting normal? Was his hair wet or perhaps his clothes?”
“Not that I recall. He was wearing a baseball cap, so I didn’t see his hair. He acted normal, I guess. I didn’t take much notice.” Brown frowned. “Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
Jenna stood. “You’ve been very helpful. Thank you.” She walked to the security guard. “When Stein returns, we’ll be ready for Jones.”
Out in the hallway she went to Kane’s side and looked at Stein. She hoped that in her absence Kane had gotten more information from him. “Do you remember taking a walk on Tuesday night after studying with Paul?”
“Not really.” Stein stared into space. “Oh yeah, I came out of the library and turned toward the stadium. I’m not sure where I went. I had a lot on my mind.”
“Did you speak to anyone or see anyone who could verify your whereabouts?” Kane narrowed his gaze. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that a person you had a problem with died on campus and you don’t have an alibi?”