by D. K. Hood
“I figure he’ll need his wallet to pay me. He’s in number twenty-six.” She gave them a wave as they headed for the door. “Come back soon.”
Forty-Three
He switched off the TV in disgust and tossed the remote onto the coffee table, then stormed out of the room. Anger heated his cheeks as he shoved open the back door and stood on the porch. Snow battered his bare flesh and sent cold tears running down his face. A deadly chill crawled through his clothes, raising goosebumps on his skin, but he remained motionless, staring at the skeletal trees blackened by frost along the perimeter of his land, and tried desperately to think. Winter seemed to muffle sound as if everything was hiding beneath the blanket of snow, too afraid to make a noise. The usual wildlife was missing today. In fact, everything looked cold and dead. Right now, he needed the quiet solitude to get away from the constant chatter over the radio or TV about the people missing from Black Rock Falls. Why couldn’t Sheriff Alton leave well enough alone?
He slammed a fist on the handrail, shattering the icicles and sending them spearing into the snow-filled garden bed below. Dammit all to hell. After driving all over the local counties, picking up hitchhikers and taking them back to his underground hiding place, his laziness had overcome his natural good sense. Kidnapping people anywhere close to home was a mistake and he should have known a woman like Jenna Alton would poke her nose where it wasn’t wanted. Most sheriffs didn’t give adult missing persons more than a cursory look, especially when he left no evidence for them to find, but leaving Ella Tate alive had been a big mistake and Alton was like a dog with a bone. She had the media making everyone jumpy and her deputies were running all over town chasing down non-existent clues. Now he would have to postpone his plans until spring and then choose a new area to hunt.
Of course, no one could possibly suspect him of kidnapping or murdering anyone and the idea of keeping Olivia until the melt flittered into his mind. It would be an option. Doug wouldn’t be a problem; he could make him vanish easily enough. He chuckled, filling the air with a cloud of steam, at the memory of Olivia’s terrified stare. He still couldn’t believe how well things had worked out for him. Who would have thought he’d come across a car wreck complete with a young woman of the right age and type for his needs? But then the sheriff had started an investigation and spoiled everything.
It was just as well he could outsmart Sheriff Alton and had planned each move ahead of time. He’d purposely not touched Ella and the drug he’d given her made her look like she’d lost her mind. She was the last person to see three missing people alive and should be the sheriff’s number one suspect but no, Alton was hunting for a mythical axman. Where Ella had gotten the ax idea from he couldn’t imagine because he’d hit Sky with a wrench.
Jenna Alton’s interference in his business made his blood boil and he wished he had the opportunity to take her out of the equation. Over the last two days the thought of seeing her drugged, helpless and at his mercy had become a fantasy. The idea of feeding Alton into the machine and hearing the satisfying crunch as it ground her bones into mush made him smile. He would send her in alive, maybe tied up and gagged. The sight of her moving slowly into the gaping maw of the machine filled his mind with vivid images. He’d enjoyed watching the machine work its magic many times since he’d created the illusion of a hospital ward. The clinical set-up had been pure genius. It was laughable how calm people became if they truly believed they were safe in a hospital—until he placed them on the conveyer belt.
Forty-Four
Snow hit the windshield in a blinding sheet by the time Kane pulled up outside the Pauls’ residence and made a dash to the front door with Jenna close behind him. Sky’s mother opened the door with a hopeful expression and Kane gave a shake of his head. “I’m sorry, no news about Sky or Doug but we have every available person working on finding them.”
“We came to speak with Ella if she’s home.” Jenna gave Mrs. Paul a compassionate smile. “We hoped she might be feeling a little better today.”
“She’s kind of stunned, very depressed and we’ve contacted the military to try and have her brother sent home for Christmas on compassionate grounds.” Mrs. Paul stood to one side. “You can try talking to her, but I’ve asked her what happened and she seems very vague.”
Kane followed Jenna inside the warm house. At Mrs. Paul’s insistence, they shucked their coats and followed her into a modern kitchen complete with granite bench tops and aluminum appliances. He inhaled the smells of wood smoke, cinnamon and freshly brewed coffee and took an offered seat at a center island beside Jenna.
“I’ll go get her.” Mrs. Paul made her way back down the hallway.
Sometime later Ella appeared at the doorway, looking pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She gave him a worried stare, then moved with obvious reluctance to take a seat opposite. Kane cleared his throat and took out his notebook and pen. “I hope you’re feeling better now?”
“Not really.” Ella gave him a sullen look. “I feel like someone is messing with my head.”
“Really?” Kane leaned on the counter. “How so?”
“I keep having nightmares, like when I’m awake.” Ella pushed both hands through her untidy hair. “Different versions with the night the man hit Sky and when we saw the wreck.”
Kane made a few notes. Often making a suspect believe he was noting every word they uttered calmed them and encouraged them to speak. He lifted his gaze. “What can you remember before seeing the wreck?”
Ella described her discussion with Doug about going to search for Sky, then leaving and heading toward Blackwater. Kane held up a hand to stop her talking. “Think back; you’re driving through town and turning onto the highway. Did you notice any signs?”
“Signs, what kind of signs?” Ella frowned. “You mean street signs or stop signs?”
Kane shook his head. “Nope, what about a road closure sign with flashing lights halfway across the access to the highway?”
He watched her closely as she considered his question. The Department of Transport had erected the sign close to midnight. “What time did you leave with Doug to search for Sky?”
“It was going on eleven.” Ella wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked back and forth. “I remember going to meet a guy named Jim. I met him on Facebook, he said he was a medical student but when I went to look for him again, his page had vanished. All our messages are gone as well, as if he didn’t exist.”
Kane exchanged a meaningful look with Jenna. “If he kidnapped Doug and Olivia, she’s the girl missing from the wreck; it’s likely he deleted his account.” He met Ella’s gaze. “Take it slow and try to remember what happened. Did you meet Jim on the highway?”
“I remember seeing his white pickup on the side of the road and his headlights were all cloudy, like there was smoke in the air around him or close by.” Ella closed her eyes. “I remember Doug asking me what Jim looked like but when Jim got out of his pickup, he wrapped a scarf around his face.” Her eyes sprang open. “He was wearing a cowboy hat over a hoodie.”
Kane made notes, then smiled at her. “That’s good. How big was he? Could he have been the man who chased you?”
“Maybe, but it was difficult to say with the hat and all.” She shuddered and gripped the edge of the counter. “When Doug drove a bit closer, the headlights picked up the wreck and that poor woman hanging out the windshield.”
“Was the door to the wreck open?” Jenna leaned forward on the counter. “Did you see the passenger?”
“Yeah, leaning back in the seat with blankets tucked in around her.” Ella’s eyes brightened. “I saw her move her head. Doug got out and helped Jim carry her into the back of his pickup.”
Kane frowned. “In the cargo bed or in the back seat? Did it have four doors or two? Tell me exactly what you saw, step by step.”
“They carried the woman to Jim’s pickup. It was big, four doors, it looked like my brother’s with a big grille at the front so maybe a GMC. Doug slid
inside the back seat carrying the woman’s shoulders and Jim held the legs. Then Jim shut the door and went around the other side, opened the door and bent in to talk to Doug, then he came to speak to me.”
“You didn’t go to help?” Kane looked at her and she shook her head.
“No, Doug told me to stay in his truck with the shotgun in case anything went wrong.” Ella swallowed hard, then shook her head. “I remember Jim opening the door to speak to me, then the next thing I remember is waking up wrapped in Doug’s thermal blankets and seeing the wreck. I was freezing. I’m not sure how I survived.” She made a sobbing sound. “Then you arrived. That’s all.”
When Jenna’s cellphone signaled a message, Kane waited for her to glance at the screen. They were expecting an update from Rowley. She gave him a slight nod and he turned his attention back to Ella. “Do you know a man by the name of Levi Holt?”
“No.” Ella gave him a long, confused look. “You know I’m not from these parts. How would I know anyone from here?”
Surprised, Kane leaned back in the chair. “I didn’t mention he was from here. He is out of Blackwater.”
“I still don’t know him.” Ella gave Jenna a desperate look. “I’m doing my best to remember.”
“You’re doing great.” Jenna smiled at her. “The blood we took from you is being tested. We believe Jim may have injected you with a drug that causes temporary amnesia. The fact you remember what happened now makes me believe this is what happened.” She sighed. “What I don’t understand is why he took the others and not you. Do you know why?”
“No but right now, I wish he had taken me as well.” Tears streamed down Ella’s cheeks. “I see the way people look at me as if I did something wrong. Sure I argued with Sky at the roadhouse but we made up in the car before that asshole hit her with the ax—” She looked at Kane. “—hatchet or whatever, but I would never hurt her or Doug. I cared for Doug. Sky and me are like sisters.”
Kane scribbled in his notebook. “Yet this is the first time you came for a vacation here?”
“Yeah but I share a room with Sky at school.” Ella wiped her eyes on a tissue. “Is that all?”
At a signal from Jenna, Kane closed his notebook. “Okay, I think that’s enough for today.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.” Jenna stood and smiled at Ella. “We’ll let you know the results of the blood test and I can assure you we’re doing everything possible to find Sky and Doug.”
Outside in his truck, Kane stared at the message from Rowley on Jenna’s cellphone.
Holt’s story is much the same as Ella Tate’s. Checked his whereabouts at the time of the disappearances and he has sound alibis. Will obtain statement and email. Jeff Knox lives in room twenty-six at the Blackwater Motel.
Kane handed back the phone, then started the engine and turned to Jenna. “That rules Holt out of any involvement in the kidnappings and I have a theory why the Axman left Ella behind. He is convinced he is in the clear but is concerned about our investigation. I figure he believes if we catch him, an unstable young woman with convenient memory loss would create reasonable doubt at his trial.”
“He’s as slippery as an eel and trying to outsmart us.” Jenna sighed. “And right now he’s doing a great job.”
Forty-Five
After making a few enquiries, Rowley drove to the new bakery owned by Ty Aitken and to his relief found the store open. He turned to Webber. “You don’t see many stores like this anymore. It’s like Aunt Betty’s Café. They make everything fresh on site and it’s not from a factory like most stores around here. The smell of fresh-baked bread reminds me of my grandma.”
“Mine too. She’d bake her own bread and spread it thick with butter.” Webber smacked his lips. “Nothing better.” He scanned his notes. “So this guy is supposed to have seen Knox carrying a woman into his motel room. This in itself doesn’t make him the Axman.”
Rowley shrugged. “If the sheriff wants him interviewed, she has an angle. Knox has priors and if the woman fits the description of Sky Paul, he could be a suspect. Right now, we’re just treading water. We don’t have a shred of evidence and no suspects.”
“Okay, I guess we see what Aitken has to say.” Webber slapped his hat on his head and climbed out of the cruiser.
Rowley stepped over a mound of graying snow littered with candy wrappers and followed him into the store. The bell chime surprised him. It was as if he’d walked into the 1950s. The young woman at the counter smiled at them. “I’m afraid we don’t have much to offer you deputies. Folks have been coming in all day.”
Rowley glanced at the remaining cakes, cookies and bread inside a glass cabinet and smiled at her. “We’re looking for Ty Aitken. Is he here?”
“I am.” A man in his early forties strolled out from the back wiping his hands on a flour-covered apron. “What can I do for you?”
Rowley introduced himself and Webber. “We heard via an informant that you witnessed Jeff Knox carrying a woman into his motel room on Friday of last week.” He pulled out his notebook and pen. “Is this true?”
“Come out back.” Aitken motioned for them to follow him. “I’ll tell you what I know.”
They followed him into a room set to one side of the huge ovens and preparation areas. It had a table and chairs in the center. A couple of lockers against one wall and a counter with a sink. Cups hung on hooks beside a coffee machine and a refrigerator hummed in one corner. Rowley took a seat but Webber stood by the door and leaned one shoulder against the wall. Rowley opened his notebook. “Okay, what did you see?”
“I’m usually here between the hours of ten and five overnight. I’m only here now because we received a special order.” Aitken rolled his shoulders wearily. “That night I’d mixed the dough and set it to rise, then went to find the order book. I remembered I had an order for a birthday cake but I’d left the details at home. My wife handles that side of the business and it was too late to call her, so I went home. On the way back—”
Rowley held up a hand. “What time was this?”
“Close to three.” Aitken rubbed his chin. “I saw him as plain as day. Jeff Knox was carrying a young woman with blonde hair over one shoulder from the back seat of his vehicle to the motel room. She was moving, like wriggling, but not screaming.” He frowned. “I know Knox is a lowlife, so I turned off my headlights and cruised to the curb. I could see clear into the room. He dropped her onto the bed. She wasn’t protesting, so I figured she wanted to be there and I drove off.”
“Are you aware of the people missing between here and Black Rock Falls?” Webber straightened. “It’s been all over the news.”
“The hours I work, I don’t catch the news.” Aitken frowned. “Who went missing?”
Rowley looked up from his notes. “A young woman by the name of Sky Paul, blonde, small build, in her early twenties.” He noted Aitken’s astonished expression. “We believe a man kidnapped her on that Friday night around midnight.”
“Do you recall what vehicle Knox was driving?” Webber leaned both hands on the table and stared at Aitken. “You may have witnessed a crime.”
“Holy shit! I don’t recall the make, and under the flashing lights on the sign over the motel, I’m not sure of the color. A silver, maybe, or white van.” Aitken met Rowley’s eyes. “Do you figure he’s killed her?”
Rowley leaned back in his chair. “We’ll need more evidence before we come to any conclusion. The sheriff will likely apply for a warrant to search his motel room. I’ll need you to write a statement about what you witnessed. Can you do that for me, Mr. Aitken?”
“Sure.” Aitken, visibly shaken, pushed to his feet. “I need coffee first.” He went to the counter and pulled down three cups. “I’m dead on my feet.”
“Okay, we can wait.” Webber flicked a glance at Rowley. “I’ll go get a statement book from the truck.”
Sometime later, with the statement completed, Rowley led the way to his cruiser with a paper sack of cakes and cookie
s tucked under one arm. He glanced at his watch. It was close to five and the weather was closing in. He slid behind the wheel. “I hope we make it through to Black Rock Falls. You’d better call the sheriff with an update.”
“One thing.” Webber peered into the loaded bag of goodies. “We won’t starve.” He pulled out his cellphone and called the sheriff. “Ma’am, it looks like we have a suspect.”
Forty-Six
Sunday, week two
Sunday morning arrived and Jenna felt as if she might as well beat her head against a brick wall. It seemed that every time she had gotten ahead in the case, something happened to slow down the investigation. As Knox was considered a resident of the Blackwater Motel, she would need more than the owner’s permission to search his room. To avoid any issues if they proved Knox was involved and the case went to court, she needed to obtain a search warrant issued by the Blackwater judge. She would be out of her jurisdiction in Blackwater but wouldn’t have a problem seeking assistance from the Blackwater Sheriff’s Department.
After emailing the paperwork to the Blackwater judge, he’d refused to issue a search warrant on what he termed as hearsay and requested more information on Knox. It had been pointless to argue with him and she’d set to work searching the Blackwater databases. She hadn’t asked for Kane’s help but he had worked beside her well into the night hunting down information on the hitchhiker rape case and two cases of violence against women then presenting it in a nice concise file for Judge Eaton. Now they had probable cause but she wasn’t sure it would be enough. Judge Eaton was being difficult and to make things worse they would have to wait for him to return home from church before speaking with him again.