The Crying Season: An edge-of-your-seat crime thriller

by D. K. Hood

  His meal arrived and the bottle of merlot he fully intended to consume to the last drop. He sipped his glass of wine and allowed the aromatic flavor to spill over his tongue. As it was Tuesday, he had plenty of time to set up his trail cams. The added bonus: He could visit his friends in the cave and discuss his plans with them—after all, they were such good listeners.

  44

  Wednesday, week two

  Early Wednesday morning, Jenna received a call from Wolfe requesting a meeting to discuss his findings. No matter how much she insisted, he had refused to discuss anything over the phone. Since Lilly Coppersmith’s murder had hit the news, the phones had been running hot with information, all of which had taken precious time to investigate. The killer was a ghost or blended so well into Black Rock Falls, no one had actually seen him moving to or from any of the crime scenes. Any leads they had run down had been a complete waste of time.

  She waited for her deputies to take seats then smiled at Wolfe. “Okay, what do you have for me?”

  “Plenty.” Wolfe dropped a file on the table. “I’ve been working closely with the FBI’s Cyber Division. They discovered a small thread of information about a syndicate running a pay-per-view site on the dark web. This site is disturbing; for instance, cannibalism. I found advertisements and some folks actually volunteer to be eaten.”

  “Oh my God.” Bradford paled and covered her mouth.

  Jenna glared at her. “Go on.”

  “We already know the dark web is used for every illegal activity across the spectrum. The problem is that they are virtually impossible to track. They select remote locations, which are difficult to identify.” Wolfe opened the folder. “Until now.” He handed images to Jenna and Kane. “These are stills from a fraction of video from the murder of Lilly Coppersmith.” He cleared his throat. “Worse still, if you look at the bottom of the images, you can see an indicator and a corresponding list. I believe the people watching controlled what happened next. They voted and paid for the killer’s next move.”

  “This is a first, a psychopath taking orders during a kill. Usually they are in almost a trance of self-centered bliss.” Kane sifted through the images. “How much of this do you have?”

  “That’s it.” Wolfe pushed a hand through his hair and gave Kane a weary look. “I used every technique I know but this organization is very smart; they broadcast then autodelete. This is why I only found a trace of the video.”

  Jenna’s stomach clenched at the horrific shots and the realization of exactly what Wolfe had discovered. It wasn’t long ago that she had been that woman, tied, naked, and helpless with a maniac hovering over her. This was her trigger, the scene that caused a chain reaction in her mind and sent her tumbling into a flashback. A wave of nausea washed over her and she thrust the memory to the back of her mind and replaced it with a butterfly perching on a flower. As her control dropped firmly back into place, she folded her hands on the table and took a deep breath. She was determined to catch this man before he could harm anyone else. “We at least know why he needed the trail cams now, and the body cam.” She glanced at Wolfe. “No leads on the killer? No images of him at all?”

  “Nope. He is using a voice distorter as well, and what we do have is fragmented; the FBI will see if they can clean it up but it’s doubtful.” Wolfe leaned back in his chair. “I do have information on the backpacks.” He sifted through the photographs in the file. “I’ve uploaded all this information to the appropriate files. As we have at least three people, I named the file ‘Backpacks’ for an easy reference. I’ll leave it to you to chase down what information I found on them, but at this stage I would assume they are deceased.” He sighed. “Until you determine if they are dead or alive, we have nothing to investigate. However—” Wolfe pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and placed it gently on the table “—one of the bags had a small camera wrapped in a pair of socks. Unusual as most people use their cellphones to take selfies, but as luck would have it, I found images of a couple with Bear Peak in the background. They are in the file, and the FBI cross-checked the images on all available databases; the couple is from France and went missing two years ago.”

  “It’s a Nikon.” Kane’s face held a puzzled expression as he peered at the camera. “Blythe senior said he hadn’t sold anything from the bags; perhaps he was telling the truth.”

  Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “If he found valuables, he should have handed them in.”

  “Well, technically he did.” Kane met her gaze. “He gave them to me.”

  “What else did you find, Wolfe?” Jenna reached for her coffee and sipped.

  “The contents of each bag gave clues to the identity of the owners. Tags in clothes had names and we found a credit card inside a concealed pocket. Out-of-state and overseas visitors, all of them. Likely one woman and three men, going on the contents of the backpacks. The woman in the photographs has dark hair, which is significant. I found blood trace evidence on all of the bags, and it is degraded but it is human.” Wolfe’s lips formed a thin line. “People don’t leave expensive cameras and credit cards behind. I found a similarity between these bags and the ones we took from the crime scenes. Someone or something covered these bags with organic material from the forest floor. From the rate of decomposition and fungi growth in the organic material, I believe someone attempted to bury them at one time.”

  “That would be hard to do in the forest with the number of animals foraging around.” Rowley looked up from making notes. “They are inquisitive. A bear will tear a camp to shreds looking for a snack, same with a backpack. I’m surprised the bags are intact.” He rubbed his chin. “I haven’t seen bobcats bury things.” He smiled. “Apart from their poop.”

  Jenna got to her feet and stared at the whiteboard. “What jumps out at me is the killer or killers are targeting hikers who are unfamiliar with the area.”

  “It also means we have more bodies in the forest.” Kane’s gaze moved over the evidence. “Depending on how far back the murders occurred, we will have a difficult time finding them.”

  “Don’t forget Lilly Coppersmith came from Blackwater.” Bradford leaned forward in her chair. “She should have been familiar with Black Rock Falls.”

  Jenna shook her head. “Not necessarily; this might have been her first visit.” She stared at Colter Barry’s name for a long second then tapped the whiteboard. “We need to speak with him again. I want to know how he happened to be on a remote trail and if he discussed his trip with anyone in town.” She turned and looked at Kane. “Someone is watching these couples; they find out where they are heading, and if it is in a remote area, they set up the trail cams then kill them.” She turned her attention back on Wolfe. “How long would it take to set up a pay-per-view?”

  “If they have subscribers, as long as it takes to send a text.” Wolfe’s chair creaked as he leaned forward. “Live-screening is instantaneous. They would launch an app and there would be at least two people involved. The killer and a moneyman who does the grunt work, likely a black hat he is working with and trusts to a certain degree. Remember, in the world of the dark web, people are ghosts without faces, they are usernames or simply codes. I would say the moneyman pays the killer a retainer or advance then a percentage of the take.” He sighed. “For the killer, it’s a win–win situation. He gets the thrill of the kill and a bulging bank balance.”

  “Untraceable?” Jenna huffed out a breath.

  “Yeah, I’m afraid so. I can’t even give you a heads up if they set up again. They move the download mirrors and only the subscribers get the link.” Wolfe pushed to his feet. “That’s all I have to report, ma’am, and I need to get back to the lab. I’ll call if anything significant comes through from the samples we took at the crime scenes and send my full report by email.”

  Jenna smiled at him. “Thank you. I appreciate the time you’ve put into this, Wolfe.”

  “Just doing my job, ma’am.” Wolfe pushed on his hat and headed for the door.

&nbs
p; Jenna sat down and sifted through the file Wolfe had left on the desk. “Okay, this will take a couple of days to work through. Rowley, I want you and Bradford to search for the backpack people and see if you can find any reports on them. The first place to contact is their embassy or local police. They would know if their families had reported them missing and when.” She tapped her bottom lip. “If you come up empty, find out if they left the country and when. While you’re doing that, Kane and I will pay Colter Barry another visit.”

  45

  At the hospital, Jenna greeted the deputy from Blackwater sitting outside the elevator on the secure floor. The Blackwater Sheriff’s Department had supplied men for shifts around the clock, with Walters filling in where possible. “Thank you for your help. I gather three deputies are staying at the motel until we can get Mr. Barry to a safer location?”

  “Yes, ma’am, and with Kane here making sure Aunt Betty’s Café keeps us well fed, there won’t be any lack of volunteers the next time you need assistance.”

  Jenna bit back a smile. “That’s good.”

  She led the way to the hospital room with Kane close behind and smothered a gasp at Colter Barry’s bruised and battered face.

  “Good morning, Mr. Barry. How are they treating you?”

  “I’m okay. I have drugs for the pain.” Barry’s bloodshot eyes settled on her face. “My folks came by to see me last night and I’ll be going home as soon as the swelling goes down on my spine. The doc says there’s no permanent damage but it was close.”

  “That’s good.” Jenna pulled up a chair and sat down. “We are going to arrange for you to stay in a safe house until we catch Lilly’s killer. You are the only person who has seen him and he doesn’t know you can’t identify him.”

  “Okay. I guess.” Tears leaked from Barry’s eyes. “Do you know what it feels like to be helpless while some maniac kills the person you love?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Kane dragged a chair from the other side of the room and sat down. “You can’t blame yourself and you can’t change anything.”

  “I miss her so much.” Barry’s bottom lip quivered just slightly.

  “I would say ‘sorry for your loss’ but it means nothing.” Kane cleared his throat. “What gets me through is knowing their love will remain in your heart forever and they’ll always live in your memories. Any time, day or night, you just have to think about them and they are with you again.”

  “Thanks.” Barry blinked at Kane. “That is a lovely thing to say.”

  A love that lasts forever. His wife. Jenna glanced at Kane and swallowed the lump in her throat then turned back to Barry. “We came to see you because we need what you can tell us about where you went and who you spoke to before you went on the hike.”

  “Last Friday we caught the bus up the mountain for a look around. I wanted to find out from the checking station if there were any safe hiking places well away from the hunters. We hiked up to the falls. We stayed at the Black Rock Falls Motel. Caught the bus on Sunday and got put down near the old trail to Bear Peak.”

  “So, you found out about the trail from one of the wardens or a ranger?” Jenna took out her notebook and pen. “Do you remember his name, or can you give me a description?”

  “No, not a warden. They were so busy they told me to take a map and keep out of the designated hunting areas.” Barry sucked in a breath. “We missed the bus and hitchhiked, got a ride from one of the hunters. I asked him for the most secluded trails and he gave me an old map. He told me about the track leading to Bear Peak, how quiet it was away from the tourists. In fact, all the info we needed. He even gave us the bus information. He was a real nice guy.”

  Psychopaths usually are real nice people. Jenna and Kane exchanged meaningful looks. She smiled at Barry. “Do you remember where you put the map?”

  “It was in the pocket of my jeans. The doctors cut them off me when I arrived.”

  Jenna sighed. The hospital would have incinerated them by now. “Do you remember what type of car he was driving?”

  “Nope, it was the same as everyone’s rig around here.” Barry closed his eyes. “It was a dark color, I don’t remember the make.”

  “What about the driver, was he from around here?” Kane leaned forward. “Or did he have an accent? Was he Caucasian, Native American?”

  “He was white, wearing a woolen cap like yours, didn’t see his hair or eyes—he was wearing shades. Can’t say how tall he was either, he was sitting down.” Barry shook his head. “He wasn’t the killer—that man had a creepy voice like an alien.”

  “Did you see his hands?” Jenna pushed on. “Any rings, scars on his face or hands, tattoos?”

  “Nope, he was wearing gloves.” Barry sighed then moaned and pressed the morphine drip dispenser clutched in one hand. “He was a normal guy. He dropped us right at the motel. We ordered in for dinner and left town early Sunday to catch the bus. We didn’t speak to anyone else about our plans.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  Jenna stood. It was pointless trying to question him now. She turned to Kane and waved him outside into the hallway. “What do you think?”

  “If it was the killer, then it’s more than likely a chance meeting because he is too smart to risk someone seeing him with the victims.” Kane shrugged. “If someone did see him pick them up hitchhiking, Barry says he dropped them off at the motel. It wouldn’t be evidence against him but as Lilly was the type of woman he enjoys killing, he used the information he gave Barry to set the scene for his next kill.”

  A shiver slipped down Jenna’s back. “That easy? That scares the hell out of me.”

  “That easy this time maybe but not for the others. The chances of everything falling into place for him like that would be remote.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “I figure the only possible way the killer finds his victims is once he sees a suitable couple, he stalks them to discover their movements. Let’s face it, most couples who don’t come here to hunt are looking for a romantic weekend or honeymoon.”

  Jenna leaned against the wall, running the information through her mind. “Stalking them would be difficult unless the killer works in the industry, as in at the hotel or even as a travel agent. How else would he be able to follow their movements or know their plans?”

  “The killer could frequent the Cattleman’s Hotel like most of the hunters in town; we know the first two couples stayed there.” Kane shrugged. “We have two suspects who go there as well: Woods and Canavar. We have information that Canavar visited Black Rock Falls last fall and I would be interested to know if he took a room at the hotel.”

  Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “Both men fit the description Barry gave us, but this scenario removes the Blythes. I doubt either of them go to the Cattleman’s Hotel very often.”

  “They don’t fit the description of the man who picked up Lilly and Colter. I wouldn’t describe either of them as a—” Kane made quote marks in the air with his fingers “—‘really nice guy.’ Would anyone suspect a nice guy staying at the hotel who has a casual chat with them in the restaurant or at the bar? This is a friendly town, everyone chats to strangers.”

  Jenna nodded. “That’s true.”

  “Then again the killer could have a partner who works where the old maps are still available. Psychopaths could be smooth-talking, good-looking men; he could have a woman for a partner. Remember there are women who are attracted to killers.” Kane stared into space as if running scenarios through his mind. “The moment they come across a suitable couple mentioning hiking in a secluded area, they alert the killer and he stalks them until he discovers their plans. He sets up the pay-per-view and meets them on the trail.”

  Jenna gaped at him then the pieces started to fall into place. Everything Kane said made sense. No one would sit in wait for days in the forest hoping a couple matching his perfect type would stumble into a trap. “Yes, previous gaps between kills could mean he was waiting for the right couple to come along.” She straightened. “A
s the Cattleman’s Hotel is linked to two couples, and two suspects, we should head back to the office and split the workload. I want information on the owners of the backpacks as soon as possible. If any of them are missing, we need to find out if they stayed at the Cattleman’s Hotel and when.”

  “Yeah, and I would like to know how many people inquire about the old trails. I’ll make some calls and find out who has copies of the old maps available for tourists.” Kane glanced at her. “We’ll need to be told if anyone makes inquiries then alert them to the dangers.”

  Jenna headed along the corridor. “Let’s hope one of the people we talk to isn’t the killer’s partner, or he’ll know we’re closing in on him.”

  46

  He arrived back at the Cattleman’s Hotel in time for lunch. His business in town had not taken long, and after watching the local news broadcast, it was obvious Colter Barry had not been able to offer a clear description of the killer, described as Caucasian, between five ten and six feet tall, wearing camouflage gear. He chuckled. That description covered at least fifty percent of the men in town at this time of the year.

  He passed Paul and Mariah on the way to the restaurant and headed for the stairs. He had discovered so much about them in a short time. Simply by following them into the hotel elevator and leaving on the same floor, he had their room numbers. Obtaining a pass card had been easy. He had “accidentally” tripped over one of the housekeeping staff and removed the card from the cord on her belt without her noticing.

  Not a soul passed him in the hallway, and the excitement of entering Mariah’s room made his hands shake. She had dressed in a hurry. Clothes littered the bed and it was easy to see which side Mariah preferred by the open book on the bedside table. He touched her intimate belongings and, staring at his reflection in the mirror, rubbed them over his nose, inhaling her scent. His expression showed an urgent desire to kill her—on a face none of his prey would ever see.