by D. K. Hood
Jenna glanced down at her notes. She needed a description or a name. “Come on, now, you must know this guy. Why did he attack you? Who is he? We’ll haul him in for assault.”
“I attacked him.” Lyons smirked at her. “He wanted to act the hero and chase after Emily. He wouldn’t back off, so I hit him. End of story. Can I go now?”
“The interview isn’t over yet, Mr. Lyons.” Jenna stared at him. “It’s come to my attention that you’re in the habit of inviting young women to your off-campus house with the intention of raping them.”
“Me?” Lyons’ eyes never left her face. “You have the wrong man.”
“Do I?” Jenna placed the compromising images taken from the uncut media files on the table before him. “This is you and your friends, raping women, I believe?”
“You can make what you like of those photographs but I know the truth.” Lyons’ mouth curled into a sadistic grin. “They all came willingly and never made a complaint. Some women like group sex, or are you too frigid to understand a good time, Sheriff?”
Beside her, Jenna heard a low growl come from Kane and she exchanged a meaningful glance with him before turning her attention back to Lyons. “I understand these four women are speaking to the FBI as we speak.” She saw the raw rage in his eyes. “In fact, all these witnesses will testify that you and your friends drugged and raped them at a party at your house and then blackmailed them to keep quiet.” She shrugged. “Your friend Josh rolled over on you in the Chrissie Lowe case too. We have all the details about the night she died and evidence to back up his statement. In fact, we have all the flash drives and enough witnesses to keep you in jail for the rest of your life and then some.”
“Do you want to give us your side of the story?” Kane leaned forward. “This is your chance.”
“I don’t have a story.” Lyons glared at him. “I don’t need to rape women—they come to me willingly. I’m the quarterback; they all love me.”
“Uh-huh.” Kane folded his arms across his chest. “That’s why Chrissie Lowe killed herself after your date.”
“Can we move on to the night Alex Jacobs died?” Jenna needed so much more from Lyons. “Did you spot him on the weights?”
“Nope.” Lyons pulled at the cuffs, making them jangle against the hook in the table. “If you’re going to accuse me of killing him as well, I want a lawyer.”
Jenna shrugged. “Very well.” She took down details and closed the interview. As she stood, she looked at him and smiled. “How’s it feel to be on the losing team?”
Fifty-Three
Wolfe scratched the two-day-old stubble on his chin and stared at the results of the blood tests taken from Chrissie Lowe and Dylan Court. Nothing was adding up; in fact, all his findings seemed contradictory. He’d made his final determinations and didn’t believe Jenna would approve. He’d checked his findings a number of times and they’d all come out the same. Unconvinced, he’d visited the college to speak to the coach and members of the faculty who’d accompanied the players on their trip. All had said the same thing and confirmed that Pete Devon had taken a number of big hits over the days before his death. They’d also mentioned that Dylan Court had taken the deaths of his friends hard, to the point of seeking professional help. He signed the death certificates and let out a long sigh then turned his attention to Lyons’ test results from the hospital.
Although Lyons had been out of control on arrival at the hospital, the tests had detected no alcohol or drugs in his system. What had made him charge onto an unsafe bridge like a lunatic remained a mystery, and so far, he wasn’t talking. The arrogant young man didn’t seem the type to run from a fight, and from Josh Stevens’ statement, which Jenna had emailed to him earlier, Lyons had controlled everything and everyone in his house.
After collecting his results and shoving them into a folder, Wolfe headed for the door. At the reception, Emily sat chatting with Webber. He hadn’t questioned her about her ordeal, preferring she had a good night’s sleep, and figured going over a near-death experience once with everyone present would suffice. “Ready to go?”
“Do you want me to take care of reception?” Webber stood and helped Emily to her feet.
Wolfe shook his head. “Nope, I’ll lock up. You come too; you’ll be needed to help sort out this mess.”
“Dad.” Emily gave him a worried look. “You mad at me?”
Wolfe locked the door and turned to her. “You’re a grown woman and I respect your decisions, but risking your life after all we’ve been through is upsetting.” He let out a long breath. Being a single father was becoming harder each year. Once, his glare had them all scampering to their rooms, but as they grew into young women, Emily and Julie in particular needed more tact than an angry growl. “Kane shouldn’t have involved you. It was unprofessional and I told him so.”
“You know Dave would willingly take a bullet for any of us.” Emily’s face drained of color. “You heard his orders over the com. Jenna sent him down the back trail and then he took the cut-through track to meet me. He was following orders and he figured I was safe with Colt covering me. I can’t believe you blamed him, Dad. He’s like your brother. Heck, he’s one of the family.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Jenna risked her life to save me. She could’ve waited for the fire department, but no, she came onto the bridge to help me, same with Dave. He didn’t hesitate to climb down the rock face to save us. That’s what family does, Dad.” Her eyes filled with tears. “You used to be like that too.”
Wolfe looked down at her and cupped her chin. “I know I don’t take so many risks now because I’m all you have. I made a promise to your mom to always be here for you.” He dropped his hand. “Wipe your eyes or we’ll be late for the meeting. And in case you’re worried, I sorted everything with Kane. We’re good.” He headed for his truck. Oh boy, my girls sure have a way of twisting my heart.
The aroma of coffee and cinnamon buns greeted them as they entered Jenna’s office. With everyone squashed around her desk and talking at once, it was like walking into a cage filled with turkeys. Wolfe dropped his files on the table amid the cups, coffee pots, and plates of buns and then helped Emily into a chair. He looked at Jenna. “Morning, ma’am. How’s the arm?”
“I’ll do.” Jenna was looking pale and drawn. She stood and went to the whiteboard. “Okay, so many things happened yesterday, we’ll need to correlate everyone’s stories into a timeline.” She glanced back at Wolfe. “Are there any findings we need to consider before we go on?”
Wolfe tapped the folder on the desk. “I have made a determination in the cases. They’re not what I expected, and the reasoning behind each one is complicated. I suggest we deal with each case separately, and I’ll give you my cause of death as we go. It will make more sense if we deal with Chrissie Lowe’s rape first. I have ruled her COD as suicide, I’ll elaborate later.”
“Okay.” Jenna moved down to the end of the board. “This morning we interviewed Josh Stevens and Seth Lyons; you have all received a copy of their statements. Stevens verified Chrissie’s movements on the night she died. As you can see from the timeline, she left the student hall at nine. We now know she got a ride to the party with Jacobs and Devon, was drugged and raped, and then around two was returned to her dorm. It was then she wrote a text message to a number we can’t trace.” She looked back at Wolfe. “Any luck finding out who she messaged?”
Wolfe shook his head. “It could’ve been an attempt to contact her brother but there was no reply. From what I could ascertain by pulling every string I have, her brother’s team went down in enemy territory. If any of them survived the wreck, they won’t for long.” He stared at Webber and Rowley. “That information is classified and does not leave this room.”
“I trust my deputies.” Jenna added notes to the whiteboard. “Okay, let’s move on. Lyons is talking to his lawyer but he won’t be getting away with anything. We have video proof he was involved in Chrissie’s rape and many others. I’ve turned a copy of everything over to the DA
’s office. The FBI has spoken to a number of victims from the video files and found some who are willing to testify. The DA refused to cut a deal with Josh Stevens and he is currently on his way to the county jail to await a hearing. I believe due to the evidence against him he’s opted to plead guilty to rape but will be testifying against Lyons in an effort for leniency.” She looked back at Wolfe. “Do we have solid evidence to corroborate Stevens’ statement?”
Wolfe opened his file and searched through the documents. He was old-school when it came to reports and he liked having the paperwork in his hands. “Yeah, I found prints on Chrissie Lowe’s shoes that match Alex Jacobs. The hairs found in the vehicle match Jacobs and Devon. The shoes were found where Stevens mentioned in his statement.” He glanced back through his notes. “The date-rape drug, jet, which Webber reported Lyons mentioned, was the one used on Chrissie Lowe—it all ties in. There’s no doubt Lyons used the same method with each of their victims. I’m sure now that the threat is over, the FBI will encourage more women to come forward to testify and make claims for damages.”
“Okay, so we can inform Chrissie’s parents that apart from Lyons and Stevens, the men involved are deceased. I’ll go and speak with them as soon as we have charged Lyons.” Jenna looked at Wolfe. “Okay, moving on to the other cases. Up to now, we’ve had three possible suspects, but I believe Lyons may have been involved as well.”
“I figure we’ll need to compile all the evidence we have from yesterday.” Kane’s gaze moved around the group. “Although Lyons made light of the fight with the guy on the trail, we need to know who he is and what scared Lyons enough to jump onto an unsafe bridge.”
“I know why.” Emily sucked in a deep breath.
Fifty-Four
Worried when the color drained from Emily’s face, Jenna took her seat at the desk and looked at her. “In your own time, Em. What happened when you headed toward the old bridge?”
“A man grabbed me from behind and pressed a gun to my head. He said he would shoot me.” Emily swallowed hard. “But would let me go if I did what he said, and he only wanted me to distract Seth for him.”
“Oh, Emily, why the hell didn’t you tell me this last night?” Wolfe looked grief-stricken. “Are you sure you want to do this now?”
“Yeah, Dad.” Emily squeezed his arm. “I’ll be fine.”
“Did you recognize him?” Kane leaned forward when Emily shook her head. “What did he look like?”
“I didn’t see him, he grabbed me from behind.” Emily glanced at Wolfe. “I couldn’t do a thing, Dad, he was strong and had my arms pinned to my sides.”
“I understand.” Wolfe took her hand. “You survived, that’s all that matters now.”
Jenna nodded at Emily. “Just take it slow, Em. No one is in trouble. We just want to figure out what happened.”
“I walked up to Seth. He was waiting for me by the bridge. I turned him around so I could see the other guy but I didn’t see a gun.” She looked at Kane. “He was tall and muscular and wearing a blue ball cap, black T-shirt, and jeans. He had the cap pulled down over his eyes and his face was in shadow. I couldn’t make it out.” She sighed. “Before you ask, he could have been Stein or Jones—they’re the same build and he was some ways away.”
“What about this man?” Kane held out a photograph of Steve Lowe. “Was it him?”
“Maybe.” Emily looked at Jenna. “They’re all much the same.”
“Okay.” Jenna smiled. “Go on, what happened next?”
“All I could think about was what Dad had taught me: distract and then run. So I told Seth there was a man with a gun behind him and then I ran onto the bridge. I figured he wouldn’t risk following me.” She let out a long sigh. “I heard Seth yelling at the guy but I didn’t look back. Next thing, the bridge started swaying and shuddering. I turned around and Seth was coming after me, and his face was bloody. The man wasn’t there and I told him so but he kept on coming, fast. Next moment the bridge broke and he was just hanging there. Then I saw Jenna and Dave. You know what happened next.”
“Do you figure the guy who gave you the flash drives at the bridge could’ve been him?” Kane looked at Jenna.
Jenna sighed. “Maybe but he didn’t look like he’d been in a fight, and from the state of Lyons, he’d have gotten in a few punches. I didn’t see a weapon either.” She looked at Webber. “Did you see who grabbed you?”
“Nope.” Webber rubbed his bruised neck. “He had me out in seconds. I didn’t so much as hear a twig crack.”
“The man who gave me the flash drive could’ve witnessed the fight. It shouldn’t be too difficult to track him down if he’s studying at the college.” Jenna sighed. “Big guy with a buzz cut. Could he be on the football team?”
“There are four or five big guys with buzz cuts on the team.” Webber narrowed his eyes. “Come to think of it, the guy Court took down to the cellar was big. I didn’t see his face but he was wearing a blue ball cap under his hoodie. I recall seeing it sticking out, light blue.”
“Maybe he removed his cap and acted nonchalant to fool you.” Kane rubbed his chin and looked at her. “He didn’t want to be seen running away, so he hung around for a few moments to give you the flash drives.” He shook his head. “Rowley took photos of everyone who came down the trail and you said he wasn’t one of them.”
The hairs on the back of Jenna’s neck rose. “So where did he go?”
“Maybe he found himself a vantage point and watched the rescue. Not many people hang around to assist the cops.” Wolfe let out a long sigh. “Jenna, did you see a weapon?”
“No.” Jenna shrugged. “I was a little preoccupied at the time to notice where he went.”
“He didn’t pass me.” Webber filled a cup with coffee. “If he didn’t go down the trail, he must have gone up. Maybe he watched from where they launch the kayaks and then came down later?”
“In the dark?” Jenna shook her head. “By the time everyone left the mountain, it would’ve been pitch-black. Only a lunatic comes down the falls trail in the dark, and it was cold last night. He must have slipped by us.”
“He didn’t come down either trail.” Rowley looked offended. “I had them both covered until Kane and Wolfe arrived.”
“Okay, but there’s a million ways out of Stanton Forest. Just to cover every angle. Rowley, get a list and images of all the male students around twenty to, say, twenty-eight, and we’ll take a look.” Jenna sighed, pushed to her feet, and indicated to the whiteboard. “We’ve no hard evidence to prove Stein or Jones were involved in any of the possible homicides. Sure, they had reasons to pick a fight with Lyons on the mountain, but from the images Rowley took on the day, neither of them wore jeans, so that rules them out, and none of us saw Lowe on the mountain.” She looked around the faces before her. “Can anyone give me a solid reason why any of these men could be responsible? Everything we have is circumstantial at best.”
“Suspicions aren’t enough for an arrest warrant.” Kane sighed. “Which brings us back to Lyons.”
“He wasn’t so brave without his friends around him.” Emily rubbed her hip and grimaced. “I saw his face. Whoever that man was, he scared the hell out of him.” She shuddered. “Seth was running for his life.”
Jenna’s phone rang and she returned to her desk to take the call. “Yes? Okay, I’ll be right out.” She held up a hand to halt the buzz of conversation. “Livi Johnson, Chrissie’s roommate, is outside. I’ll go and talk to her.”
In the reception area, Jenna smiled at the young woman. “Yes, what can I do for you, Livi?”
“It’s just I found this when we were cleaning the noticeboard in my dorm.” Livi handed her a newspaper cutting containing an image of the football team. “See, some of the faces of the players have circles around them? I figured it was a bit spooky as three of them are dead now.” She handed the paper to Jenna. “See here at the bottom of the page? Chrissie wrote that—she always added an emoji and her initials to messages. I figure
those were the animals who raped her.”
Jenna swallowed hard at the emoji of a sad face and the initials “CL.” Chrissie Lowe had reached out from the grave to tell the world who’d raped her. How had her team missed this vital piece of evidence? “It was on the noticeboard?” She frowned. “Where is that in relation to your room?”
“She would’ve had to walk right by it on her way. It’s in the hallway.” Livi shook her head. “It was covered with a sign-up list. It went up the day I found her. Someone must have posted it real early. This was underneath it.”
Jenna squeezed Livi’s shoulder. “It must have been a shock for you to find this.”
“Strange that three of them died in accidents, isn’t it?” Livi’s eyes searched her face. “It’s as if she had an avenging angel.”
Jenna stared at her for a beat. Of course, Wolfe hadn’t released the causes of death to the press but rumors and gossip spread like wildfire across a college campus. He wouldn’t issue a statement until he’d made a determination in each individual case. She nodded. “It is strange, isn’t it?” She led Livi to the door. “Thank you for bringing this in.”
Saddened by the simple emoji, Jenna stared at the newspaper cutting and then pushed a hand through her hair. She gathered her composure, walked back into her office, and handed the clipping to Kane. “A voice from the dead. This was pinned to the noticeboard in Chrissie Lowe’s dorm. How did you miss it?”
“I searched for notes.” Wolfe frowned. “I gave the noticeboard a cursory scan but it was packed with information. I honestly didn’t see a newspaper cutting. It must have been covered by something else.” He pulled out his phone and scanned the files. “Here’s an image of the board I took that morning. See, no newspaper cutting.”
“I looked at the noticeboard as well.” Rowley frowned. “I took a copy of the college newspaper she had in her room with an article about Seth Lyons in it. It’s in a bag in the evidence room but she hadn’t written on it.”