by D. K. Hood
“It’s the Larks’ home game tonight.” She flicked him a blue gaze. “Most other weekends are quiet in the hockey season because the fans from here follow the team. We are on the rodeo circuit too, and as soon as the snow melts, the cowboys come to town. Trust me, the visitors and locals keep us on our toes.”
Sheriff Alton impressed him. Protecting Black Rock Falls County with a handful of officers would be a nightmare. He rubbed his temple in anticipation of the torment to come. His plans to vegetate in a backwoods town had disintegrated like snowflakes on a heated windscreen. The familiar pain in his head returned with a wave of nausea. Agony shot through his back teeth and he relaxed his jaw in a practiced move to gain control. He needed a meal and a gallon of strong coffee if he planned to make it through the day.
“Are you feeling okay?” Alton turned in her seat and an expression of concern crossed her face. “You’ve gone as pale as a ghost.”
“It’s just a headache.” He pushed his lips into what he hoped was some semblance of a smile and decided to be honest. “I mentioned the plate in my head? Well, the cold doesn’t do me any favors.” He kept his gaze on the road. “As long as I keep the hat on, I’ll be fine.”
“You have a choice, you know.” Alton leaned back in her seat but the concern had not left her expression. “Why not start on Monday and take the weekend to rest after your trip?”
Why wasn’t she taking the attempt on her life seriously? “Ah, someone tried to kill you, and in my book the attempted murder of a sheriff is priority one on my list.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” Alton let out a long patient sigh. “I’d like to view the evidence before I decide. You didn’t actually witness the incident, did you?”
“I didn’t see the impact.” Kane stared at her in disbelief. “But I am a witness to dangerous driving causing an accident and to the suspect leaving the scene without so much as slowing down to see if he’d injured you.”
“You are law enforcement all the way.” She tucked a strand of black hair into her hood. “Don’t you ever stand down?”
“Nope.”
They passed a convenience store and a gas station. A real estate office with frozen red and white flags hanging from the gutter was set back on one side of the road and conveniently opposite a red-brick building with a shingle denoting a lawyer’s office. In the middle of town, he found Aunt Betty’s Café wedged between a medical center and an optometrist. He pulled the car to the curb and they stomped through the snow toward the café’s doorway.
The delicious smell of ham, eggs, toast, and coffee wafted toward him in a wall of welcoming succulent heat. When Jenna did not reply but moved in front of him and dropped into a blue plastic seat at a wooden table in front of the window, he followed, glancing around. The place was spotless, and popular, judging by the number of people enjoying their meals. A low hum of conversation filled the room and many people glanced in his direction. He shucked his coat and dropped it over the back of the chair before sitting. Two men in their twenties shot to their feet and, disregarding the food piled on their plates, headed out the door. Kane followed their progress down the street and made a mental note of their descriptions. You are not on duty. Inhaling the aromas of the delights on offer, his attention went to the glossy colored illustrations of meals pinned to the wall behind the counter. “What do you recommend?”
“Everything.” Jenna’s face lit up with a grin at the young woman approaching with a coffee pot in hand. “Morning, Susie.”
“Mornin’, Sheriff Alton.” The woman filled two cups with coffee and placed the pot on the table then pulled a writing pad out of her pocket. “What can I get you?” Her inquisitive brown eyes moved over Kane. “Good mornin’ to you too. You must be new in town?”
“This is Deputy Kane.” Jenna shot him an amused stare. “Say hello to Susie Hartwig. Her grandma started this establishment in 1960.”
Kane nodded. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Hartwig.”
After ordering, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs. His gaze flicked over two men sitting in a secluded corner and sending furtive glances their way. Lifting the coffee to his lips, he regarded Jenna over the rim. She appeared at ease but her attention moved around the room, resting on each person before moving on to the next. He dropped the cup back into the saucer and met her gaze. “I find it hard to believe two visitors have vanished in Black Rock Falls without a trace and yet the moment I walk in the door the locals pick me as a stranger.” He cleared his throat. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“It does.” Jenna rubbed her small hands together. She spooned sugar into her cup then lifted the creamer. “It’s common knowledge Mayor Rockford hired a new deputy. The moment you walked in here with me, you became a person of interest. The two missing persons may have worked on the outlying ranches. If Mrs. Woodward came into town to pick up her mail, she might have avoided Aunt Betty’s Café. We have spent a good deal of time showing her photograph around the ranches without luck but a teller at the local bank remembers her. She came into town one time to do her banking, so she might have worked somewhere in the area as a housekeeper, perhaps.” She sipped her coffee, and her lips curled up in contentment. “Many people visit Black Rock Falls and unless they cause trouble or call attention to themselves I doubt many people would remember them.”
“So I gather Mrs. Woodward wasn’t staying in town?”
“Not at the Cattleman’s Hotel or the Black Rock Falls Motel.” Jenna unzipped her coat with a flourish. “Apparently, she has several vehicles but her granddaughter believes she was driving a pickup.” She raised both dark eyebrows. “Oh, don’t give me that look. Hers would be one of possibly a hundred passing through town at any given weekend. I haven’t met the woman, let alone upset her enough to run me off the road.”
Everyone is a suspect until we prove otherwise. “Okay.” He lifted his chin toward the men across the room on their right. “Any problems with the men sitting at two o’ clock?”
“No. They happen to be friends of mine.” Jenna’s voice snapped a reply then waited for Susie to place plates piled high with food on the table. “Thank you.”
“Enjoy! I’ll be straight back with fresh coffee.” Susie collected the coffee pot then bounced toward the kitchen humming and came back in a few moments to refill their cups.
Kane eyeballed the men again in his periphery. “Your friends seem a bit nervous around law enforcement. Known them long?”
“About two years or so. The Daniels brothers were the first people to welcome me to Black Rock Falls.” Jenna’s smile reached her eyes. “One of my deputies, Pete Daniels, is their brother. I think you’re imagining things; they have absolutely no reason to be nervous around law enforcement.”
“What’s their story?”
“Pete wasn’t raised here. When their mother died, his father sent him to live with an aunt. Pete has his own place in town.” Alton’s lips quirked at the edges. “His brothers are friendly and laid-back, much like my deputy. It’s nice to know they turned out normal, considering their father. I’ve heard tales of his cruelty that would make your hair curl.”
Kane moved his attention to the men then back to her. “What happened to their father, is he in jail?”
Jenna pushed a stray black hair from her face and shook her head. “No, he fell under a tractor, as far as I know, some years before I arrived in town.”
Interesting. “Was there an investigation?”
“It was an accident. Wow! You’re intense and the way you are looking at them I’m not surprised they’re nervous.” Alton’s eyes flashed with anger. “You are an unknown quantity in town and intimidated me when we first met. Adding the fact you arrived the same time as I’ve been conducting a door-to-door would put anyone on edge. I’d say many people believe they’re under scrutiny and I’m sure quite a few have something to hide.”
“Maybe, but with a brother in the department, they’d be aware of the reason you’ve been asking questions.” Kane shoo
k his head. “It’s unlikely they’d have something to hide unless Deputy Daniels is covering for them. Can he be trusted?”
“He’s a rookie. Sometimes he acts a little cocky and I’ve had to speak to him in the past about discussing cases with his streams of girlfriends but he is shaping up okay now. Would he report his brothers for breaking the law? I really couldn’t say but honestly, the Daniels boys are the least of my worries. They keep to themselves and don’t cause trouble. I think you can take them off your radar.” She picked up a fork, scooped up fluffy scrambled eggs, and popped them in her mouth then lifted an amused gaze to him. “In case you’re wondering, the two men that high-tailed it out of here are Josh Rockford and Dan Beal, the men I arrested for being a public nuisance. They tend to overindulge and Rockford thinks he is God’s gift to women, which could turn into a problem as half of his fans are teenage girls—not that any have complained.” She raised a dark eyebrow. “I noticed Rockford was on his cellphone when we arrived. I would guess they’re probably late for hockey practice. I held them up yesterday and the coach would have fined them for being late. The Larks’ coach has very strict rules about players missing training sessions.”
“Okay.” Kane ate with leisure and mulled over what they had discussed earlier. He wanted to investigate Jenna’s accident before the trail went cold. “Do you happen to know what vehicles they drive?”
“Not Beal but Josh Rockford drives a decked-out rig. Red with plenty of chrome. He’s the peacock of the team, if you know what I mean?”
“Then it wasn’t him—or it wasn’t his car.”
“It could easily be Rockford.” Jenna cleared her throat and her cheeks colored. “He believes he can use the fact his father is the mayor to get out of trouble and he is disrespectful toward me in a suggestive way.”
“He doesn’t appreciate being rejected?”
“No.” Jenna met his gaze with a frown. “He is the ‘women should be barefoot and pregnant’ type and no doubt expects to marry a virgin.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Kane stirred his coffee. “Did you contact Rowley?”
“Yeah, and he should be reporting in soon. I told him to drop in here on his way to the station and bring the images of the scene. With what you have, we’ll be able to see if anyone else disturbed the area after we left.” She stared thoughtfully at the table, poured cream into her fresh coffee, added sugar, and stirred. “Are you sure you want to sign on today? If you’d prefer we can discuss the accident at the station on Monday?”
“I’d rather start work today. I’d like to find the person who caused the accident before they have time to repair the damage to their vehicle.” He narrowed his gaze. “Why aren’t you making the attempt on your life a priority?”
“Trust me, I am.” She gingerly touched the dressing on her forehead. “I had Rowley on scene as soon as possible. You have a description of the vehicle that hit me and took photographs before the snow covered any marks. I believe we’re well on the way to finding a suspect.”
Kane leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Then give me the case so I can investigate.”
“As I am involved it would be the sensible thing to do. Rowley doesn’t have the experience but he works well under instruction.” Jenna turned and her face broke into a smile as the door to the shop swung open and a ruddy-faced young man wearing a deputy’s jacket over blue jeans removed his hat and ambled toward them. “Ah, here is Deputy Rowley now.”
“Ma’am.” Deputy Rowley strolled to the table with a camera in one hand.
“Rowley, meet Deputy Sheriff David Kane. He is taking the lead in my apparent hit-and-run.” Alton gave a dismissive wave in his direction. “Take a seat and show me what you have.”
Kane offered his hand. “Did you notice any paint residue on the damage to Sheriff Alton’s vehicle?”
“Yes, sir. I took a video and stills.” Rowley’s handshake was firm. “I remained on scene until the tow truck arrived and informed the operator to take the vehicle to Miller’s Garage and not touch it until further notice.” He placed the camera on the table.
“Do you mind?” Kane looked at Alton and indicated toward the camera.
“Go ahead.”
He flicked through the images, zooming in on anything suspicious. The scrape to the rear guard appeared to have paint residue. He showed the image to Alton. “We’ll need a sample.”
“I’ll collect a forensics kit from the office then we’ll head down to the garage.” A frown wrinkled her brow and she rubbed her temples. “It can wait until after we’ve eaten.”
Kane smiled. “I have one in my car.” He glanced at Rowley. “Go to the garage and remain there. Make sure no one goes near the car. We’ll relieve you in about ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” Rowley jumped to his feet and headed for the door.
“He seems efficient.” Kane cut into a slice of succulent honey ham and pushed it into his mouth.
“He’s getting there.” Alton lifted a slice of toast and sighed. “It amazes me. Without fail, every Saturday something comes along to spoil my day.”
Kane reached for his coffee and flicked her a gaze. “I’m sure this won’t take more than an hour.” He finished his coffee. “I would like to chase down the pickup ASAP.”
“If you want to go through the DMV records be my guest, but take me home first.” Alton puffed out a tired sigh that lifted her bangs. She pushed her plate to one side and stared at him. “I have two officers on duty this weekend and I’ll need to introduce you. If the headache becomes a problem, you can access the DMV records from home when you recover but I would suggest utilizing one of the other deputies.”
He imagined her slipping back into her pink slippers and leaving her cop persona at the door. “I’m fine now and I’d prefer to work at the office so I can delegate some of the work. I want to familiarize myself with the missing persons’ cases as well.” He stood and reached for his wallet. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” Alton pulled bills from the pocket of her jeans and tossed them on the table. “My treat, to say welcome to Black Rock Falls.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t get used to it.” She picked up the camera, then, head erect and eyes front, marched toward the door. “Don’t forget to grab the forensics kit from your car. The garage is right across the street.”
He grinned at her and snatched his coat from the back of the chair. “Yes, ma’am.”
Seven
Jenna made her way across the street to Miller’s Garage and stamped the snow from her boots before entering. She winced at the sight of the crumpled police cruiser, glad to have escaped the wreck without serious injury. Deputy Rowley ambled up to her and gave her a boyish smile.
“George will fill out a damage report for the insurance company but he thinks you’ll need a replacement.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “You did mention wanting a new patrol car.”
Jenna shook her head, annoyed at his insinuation. “I wouldn’t risk my life for a new car, and spinning upside down in the snow in the middle of the night wasn’t my idea of fun.”
“Someone driving a dark Ford pickup caused the accident.” Kane moved to her side and his intent stare at Rowley made the young man’s cheeks color. “I can identify the vehicle. What is the name of the road with the barn on the corner, not far from the scene? The one with the shot-up stop sign.”
“That would be Smith’s Road.” Rowley rubbed his chin as if in deep thought. “There are a large number of Ford pickups in town, but from the paint scrape the vehicle is dark blue. That might narrow our search a bit and I can name a few owners.”
“Make a list of everyone you know in the area with the same vehicle and check them for damage. If you are delayed getting back to the office, send me a list of those we can discount.” Kane straightened to his full six five, took a card out of his wallet, and handed it to him. “I’m going to be checking the DMV records this afternoon and we can follow up any leads when you return.”
�
�Yes, sir.” Rowley glanced at the card. “If you don’t need me here, I’ll start on this right away.”
“Okay.” Jenna smiled at him. “I’m heading home soon, and before you hear any gossip, Kane is living in the cottage on my ranch until he finds somewhere else to live.” She flicked a glance in Kane’s direction. “Unless he decides to stay.”
“The cottage suits me fine.” Kane made a great show of walking around the wreck, examining every inch. “Rowley, wait until I collect the paint samples. I’ll need you to countersign the sealed baggies; the sheriff can’t touch the evidence.” He grimaced. “Conflict of interest.”
“I understand.” Rowley’s brow crinkled into a frown. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Sarah Woodward called late yesterday afternoon. She said she had some more information about her grandmother and wanted to drop by the office this morning.” He met her gaze “Do you want me to interview her?”
“Yeah.” Jenna remembered the prisoner in the lock-up. “And then, when you’ve checked out the Ford pickups, go down to the Cattleman’s Hotel and get a list of the other men involved in the poker game on Thursday night. Go and speak with them, and if Billy Watts’ story checks out, release him with a warning.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her attention moved to Kane bent over inspecting the back panel of the patrol car. He impressed her by the meticulous way he collected and bagged the paint samples. When he straightened and moved away to label each piece of evidence, she moved to his side. “What do you think? Accident or attempted murder?”
“Attempted murder.” Kane passed the bags to Rowley for his signature. “The paint evidence and the scene photographs disprove the accident theory. The vehicle couldn’t have accidentally slid into your car.” He took a notepad out of his pocket and drew a diagram. “The road at the point of impact is a tight left-hand bend, and at the speed the driver took the corner, the centrifugal force would pull the back end of the pickup to the right away from your vehicle. As there is no evidence the driver lost control and left the road or fishtailed into the cruiser, the driver was in control when he clipped the back of your car.”