by D. K. Hood
“I’m so sorry.” Jenna’s voice sounded very loud. “I’ll pour you another coffee.”
Kane opened one eye and blinked at her. “It wasn’t your fault. Duke distracted me by barking just as you aimed the kick at my head. I turned into the blow, so it’s my bad.” He sighed. “I’d love another coffee but I need to take my meds. They help me keep my balance if the pain gets bad.”
“I’ll go get them.” Jenna pushed the cup toward him then examined his face closely. “Your eyes crossed when I hit you. Is that significant?”
His sight had been blurry since she’d kicked him in the temple, but he squeezed her arm to reassure her. “No, I don’t think so. The meds are in the bathroom over the sink.” He fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. “Thanks.”
The moment she stepped out the front door, Kane’s cellphone vibrated in his pocket. This is all I need. He squinted at the caller ID and, seeing it was Wolfe, accepted the call. “What has you up so early? Great play last night. Your daughter has talent and we really enjoyed watching her.”
“Thanks, Anna was over the moon when she heard you and Jenna were there. I really appreciate the support; well, we all do. It means a lot.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “I called Jenna but she didn’t pick up.”
Kane glanced out the kitchen door. “She’ll be back soon. Can I help?”
“The reason I called is that Rowley got a call from the FBI’s Cyber Division and gave them my number as I understand the technical side of things. They intercepted a fragment of a transmission on the dark web involving human hunting.”
Kane put down the frozen peas and went for his coffee. “Why contact us?”
“They are contacting a number of law enforcement agencies across a wide area. They had a botanist examine the trees and shrubs in the footage and believe it is an alpine region. Any of Montana’s mountain ranges through to Colorado. From the description they gave me, the location could easily be Stanton Forest. After the current murders, it was a head’s up.”
Kane frowned and instantly regretted it then pressed the frozen peas against his temple. “Yeah, from what Barry Colter said, the killer was acting as if he was hunting them, and we know he used a body cam. Do you figure he could be uploading images to the dark web? The technology is available to just about anyone now.”
“From what I understand he could be streaming video from the murder scene. We could be looking at a killer who is running a member’s only club online or something similar with a paying audience. You’d be surprised what is available on the dark web.”
“You mean a pay-per-view murder? Holy cow, I’ve heard everything now.” Kane allowed the information to permeate into his brain. “I need to think on this one. If this is our killer, we have a new breed of psychopath in the area.”
“If anyone can profile him, you can.” Wolfe sighed. “Whoever he is, he is brutal, and from Barry Colter’s statement, he gets a great deal of pleasure out of making his victims suffer.”
After taking a few sips of his coffee, Kane pushed through the ache radiating from the metal plate in his head and tried to think straight. “You have the equipment to hack into the dark web. Do you think you can track the people involved and see if the trail leads back here?”
“Not one chance in hell. They bounce the signal around the world. It would be impossible to locate them, but from the information the FBI gave me, I might be able to locate the site or a ghost copy of the page the organizer used. If I can find that, the FBI can take it from there. I’ll work from home as my equipment is not what you might call ‘standard issue’ and leave Webber in charge of the ME’s office for the day. He will process the backpacks you collected from the Blythes’ cabin and email a list of anything useful he finds. I’m not expecting the test results to arrive from the samples we took at the crime scenes for a day or so.”
Kane sighed. “Okay, let me know if you run down some leads.”
“Sure, and thanks again for coming to the play. You made my little girl very happy.”
“That’s what family is for.” Kane smiled as the line went dead.
“Whose family?” Jenna walked into the kitchen and stared at him with incredulity stamped all over her face. “Jesus, Kane, you didn’t break cover, did you?” She handed him the bottle of medication.
“Nah.” Kane opened the bottle, tipped out two pills, then swallowed them with coffee. “That was Wolfe thanking us for going to the play.” He leaned back in the kitchen chair and stared at her, willing his eyes to focus. “He had a call from the FBI.”
After explaining, he tossed the peas into the freezer. “He’ll let us know if he finds anything and Webber will email copies of any info he finds in the backpacks we picked up from the Blythes’ cabin. He will be going over them looking for trace evidence of foul play as well.”
“It sounds like Wolfe has everything under control his end, but I guess it will be just me, Bradford, and Rowley today.” She pushed to her feet. “Although, I don’t like leaving you alone with a head injury.” Her cool hand rested on his forehead. “Maybe I should stay home. I can run things from here.”
Kane snorted. “Once the pills kick in, the dizziness will subside and I’ll be good to go.” He smiled at her. “I’ve had bigger hits playing football. It’s not as if you knocked me out. This plate in my head obviously makes me more vulnerable than I realized.”
“I don’t think so. It was like hitting a brick wall; my heel is still sore and you didn’t move one inch.” Jenna wiggled her foot. “I went full force and thought you would duck out of the way as usual.” She sighed. “I should be able to take you down by now.”
“Not necessarily.” Kane sighed with relief as she came back into focus. “But you would be able to take down the majority of men my size.” He finished his beverage and looked up at her. “From the information Wolfe gave me, if this killer is using Bear Peak as his personal killing fields and streaming it to an audience online, we are dealing with a very complicated type of psychopathic behavior. Most are in a world of their own making. They act out a scene in their minds, or kill in a certain way to satisfy a need.” He twirled the medication bottle on the table and stared at it for some moments. “If this man is killing to entertain others as well as feeding his own need, we have a killer wearing a coat of many colors, unpredictable and deadly.”
42
Later that morning, Jenna called the deputies into her office and brought them up to date. She had been keeping a close eye on Kane. After she had kicked him in the temple, he had stood there and stared at her with his gaze slightly off center for some moments before reacting. It had frightened her more than she would ever admit. With a plate in his head, she was aware, he suffered headaches in winter and was not sure if his silent agony was a tough guy thing or he had the ability to ignore pain from his years of military training. His face was still pale when he took a seat in front of her desk. He had insisted on coming into the office but had at least taken the ride she had offered.
She waved at the copious amounts of notes she had added to the whiteboard. “Our suspect is Caucasian, between five ten and six feet tall, muscular build, strong. He disguised his voice, so we don’t have an accent.”
“I could step outside and haul in six men off the sidewalk who match that description.” Bradford wrinkled her nose. “My bet is the killer is Jim Canavar. He seems the most likely to be doing this, going on his history.”
Jenna welcomed discussion. She stood and went to the whiteboard. “Yes, he is on the suspect list. The husband is always a person of interest, and as his last girlfriend went missing and he seems to have vanished, he goes to the top of my list.”
“Don’t forget he is a player.” Rowley straightened in his chair. “Bailey’s friends didn’t hide the fact he likes to play the field.”
“Jim and Bailey seemed pretty devoted to each other.” Kane crossed his long legs at the ankles and looked at Jenna. “Although, I’m surprised he took Bailey back up the mounta
in after she found the skull. She seemed a little freaked out to me. Her money would be a motive for killing her—if he had planned to have her vanish like his girlfriend. Something could have gone wrong and animals did not have time to scatter his victims’ remains. It would be just dumb luck for someone to trip over the bodies in an area the size of Stanton Forest.” He lifted his chin. “I gather from the gossip he was involved with Bailey in the weeks before his ex-girlfriend went missing, which makes me wonder if the girlfriend was a trial run.”
“What if he killed the first couple as well?” Rowley’s eyebrows rose in question. “He could have taken his wife to the murder scene just to see how well the wildlife had scattered the remains.”
“That is a possibility. It might be an idea to look at his phone records and see where he was at the time.” Kane rubbed the darkening bruise on his temple. “They might not show us much if he makes a habit of ditching his cellphone and taking his women off the grid to kill them.”
Jenna nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but we’ll need to do a search of his movements going back a year. Rowley, call Detective Stokes at the Hollywood precinct and tell him what we need. They might be able to chase down some leads.”
“I’m sure he is the killer. I read his file and he is a typical sleaze ball.” Bradford gave Jenna an exasperated look. “I figure the Asian guy was his accomplice, but he killed him and used his vehicle to make his getaway.”
Deciding to explain rather than challenge Bradford’s assertions, Jenna folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “That could be true, and as we haven’t any clues to John Doe’s identity, I’m not ruling out he was involved in some way.”
“I disagree.” Kane shrugged. “We have no evidence to suggest John Doe was involved. The blood spatter evidence suggests he died after Bailey. He could have tried to assist her and the killer murdered him as well.”
“We’ve had an all-points bulletin out on Canavar since his wife’s body was discovered and his face has been splashed all over the news.” Jenna stared at the faces of her deputies. “Not one of the leads panned out even with the substantial reward Bailey’s parents have offered. He hasn’t accessed any of his bank accounts, so if he is still in the forest he is living off the grid.”
“Okay, but if it is him, why keep killing?” Rowley looked bemused. “If money is a motive, as you believe, he wouldn’t gain one cent for killing Lilly Coppersmith.”
“Most psychopaths—and we know this killer is one from what we have seen of his behavior— are very smart. Money would be a very small part of his true motive; those dark, disturbing thoughts would be buried deep in his psyche but the allure of money is tempting as well.” Kane sipped the cup of coffee he was cradling in his hands. “If Canavar is involved in live-streaming murders to the dark web, it would be very lucrative, so don’t count him out just yet.”
Jenna cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “The next person of interest is Ethan Woods. Although he seems to keep slipping through our net with the help of his lawyer, I still have him firmly in my sights.” She turned to the board. “He fits the general description and we can place him at Bear Peak at the time of Bailey Canavar’s and John Doe’s murders.”
“It is likely he was in the forest when Lilly Coppersmith was murdered as well.” Rowley flicked through his notes. “I went to the Cattleman’s Hotel last night for a meal and ran into a group of men I know who hunt in that area. As luck would have it, Woods was sitting at the bar with James Stone. I asked them if they knew Woods, and all of them mentioned seeing him at the checking station up that way the day before Lilly’s murder.” His mouth curled into a smile. “They said he looked like he planned to stay a while from the gear he was carrying.”
Jenna glared at him. “And you are telling me this now?” She dashed a few notes onto the whiteboard. “You should have informed me about this evidence immediately.”
“I added it to his file, and the names of the people I spoke to last night.” Rowley shut his notebook with a snap. “I knew we’d be discussing the cases first up this morning. I didn’t consider it to be urgent.”
Jenna turned back to the whiteboard. “Okay, the only other persons of interest are Joseph Blythe and his father, Brayden.” She glanced at Kane. “During Kane’s interview with Brayden Blythe, I tried to make conversation with Joseph. He acted suspiciously and refused to look me in the eye. I noticed blood caked under his fingernails, and when I questioned him, he informed me he had been skinning squirrels, which may well be true.”
“Let’s look at the evidence. They live in the area of all three murders and have priors. Both men wear army camouflage gear and have an arsenal of weapons. Either one could be the killer.” Kane placed his coffee cup on her desk. “Although I didn’t see a crossbow with their weapons, they did have a number of backpacks and pairs of shoes they claim to have found abandoned in the forest. When Webber processes them, he will send over the details.”
“The bags and shoes could be trophies.” Bradford crossed her legs. “What do you think, Sheriff?”
“I don’t think so. Up to now, the killer hasn’t taken the victims’ personal possessions with him as far as we know.” Jenna’s attention moved to Bradford. “We found the belongings of the other victims close to the scene. The Blythes remain on our list of people of interest until proved otherwise. They could be off the grid because they prefer to live alone. Being antisocial isn’t a crime; neither is collecting things people leave behind in the forest.” She sighed. “Or they are mass murderers. Right now we don’t have enough evidence to haul in anyone.”
43
He heard the undertones of an argument as he strolled along the walkway between the bar at the Cattleman’s Hotel and the main lobby. He slowed his pace, seeing the couple in a heated exchange in an alcove, and wondered what had brought the sheriff and her deputy to the hotel at lunchtime. As he moved closer, he realized they were out of uniform. His heart skipped a beat; perhaps they had discovered his identity.
The sheriff pushed her deputy hard in the chest and stormed toward the hotel foyer. Closer now, he stared at her face in surprise. The small, dark-haired woman was not the sheriff at all but could be a close relative. As she headed for the door to the restaurant, the man with her gave him a dismissive glance and followed her. Not a doppelgänger for Deputy Kane after all. This man was older, in his late forties, and had a slight paunch.
He headed for the restaurant and gave his name to the maître d’. An unfamiliar waiter approached and he requested a table at the back of the room adjacent to the arguing couple. He could see the woman’s face clearly now, the way her eyes flashed with anger and the stubborn set of her chin. She flicked her dark hair out of her eyes, and at that moment, the overpowering desire to watch her die overwhelmed him. It came in an emotion so strong he had to squeeze his eyes shut to regain control. His hands trembled at the thought of her angry gaze set on him. She would fight—at first.
Once she came to the understanding she was part of a game, the fun would begin. He would allow her to run, just far enough before clipping her to slow her down. The hide and seek was the best part. He could always smell women’s fear, and when he found them and dragged them back to their men, they put on a good show. Since his last kill, he craved for another. The instructions coming through his earpiece from the viewers’ votes had heightened his experience to a new level.
Lilly had lasted longer than expected and he had enjoyed every moment. He opened his eyes, peering over the menu at the woman at the next table, and could see her dead, staring eyes superimposed over her face. The ceiling lights sparkled on the knife set so neatly on the pristine white tablecloth and shot the memory of Lilly’s final moans to the front of his mind.
In fact, in the end, Lilly had looked darn right grateful. He did not want her thanks; he needed his prey to realize there was no escape and no God to save them. He was in control of every breath and heartbeat until he alone decided when they could die.
It was a damn shame Lilly’s boyfriend had gotten away. The trail where he left her was isolated and the chances of anyone finding the couple’s bodies would have been remote. From what he had seen on the news earlier, the sheriff and her team had finished their investigation in the forest and uncovered few leads. With the sheriff back in her office, he could plan another hunt straight away.
Hikers swarmed into town daily and most took the regular trails to take in the falls or the rivers. It was the couples, who went into the forest for some alone time, that he needed for his sport, and they came in droves at this time of the year. His choice of a dark-haired small woman was one thing, but haunting the local bars and restaurants in the hope of overhearing people’s plans was making him far too visible. He glanced at the couple at the next table and decided to shadow them for a couple of days because they would be perfect.
The waiter arrived and he gave his order then took out his notebook and flipped through the pages, not reading a word. His attention had fixed on the couple’s conversation. The woman, he discovered, was Mariah, and she called her companion Paul. He gathered from their chat Mariah worked as his secretary and they were away on a business trip, or dirty week, take your pick.
She was not happy. Apparently, he had offered her a scenic tour of the falls; their outing to the most popular area earlier in the day had almost led to one of Paul’s business partners finding them in a compromising position, and Paul was a married man.
He listened for while, losing interest, but when the waiter delivered their meals, Paul was kind enough to ask if the waiter knew of any secluded places a couple could go to be alone in Stanton Forest.
He almost burst out laughing when the waiter suggested the old trail that ran past his cave. So enthusiastic to help the couple, the waiter came back a short time later with a tourist map and marked the trail with his pen.
Mariah seemed to be happy with the compromise and they made plans to rent the gear they needed to stay for one night in the mountains. As the conference they were attending wound up on Friday, they could head up the mountain on Saturday morning.