by D. K. Hood
“I don’t remember but you check out and we are in the forest, so I guess I’ll have to believe you.” He rolled off her then grunted and his face paled to sheet-white. “Dammit, my knee is shot.” He pulled himself onto a sitting position behind a tree and peered at a ripped hole in his blood-soaked jeans. “Smashed my kneecap.”
“Let me take a look.” To keep his mind off his injuries, Jenna gave him what information they had on the killer and what had transpired in the last hour. She dragged over the medical kit and bent over his leg. “You’ll need this tended by a doctor. I stapled the cut on your head but this needs a specialist. All I can do is clean and dress it for now.”
“Do it but I don’t have one chance in hell of climbing up that slope.” Kane winced as she poured antiseptic over the wound. “Have you called for backup?” He reached inside his jacket, checked his cred pack, then removed his weapon and searched his pockets.
“No, the cellphones are smashed.” Jenna noticed how slow he was moving and frowned. “Any other injuries?” She took bottles of water from the backpack and handed him one then sipped the other.
“Too many to count.” His glance was softer this time.
She finished dressing the wound and looked up at his pale, drawn face. “There’s morphine in the kit.”
“No, I need to be alert.” Kane frowned then searched her face again. “We have to move. Now! If the killer saw me fall, he knows my position and could be on his way.” He shrugged on the backpack then dragged himself up using a tree. “Hand me that branch, I’ll use it as a cane.”
They moved a few yards into the canyon in deep shadows before Kane needed to halt. Jenna could almost feel his agony but he had not made one complaint. He hung, panting, to a pine and she walked a few yards away and looked up to get her bearings. The branches shattered beside her as a shot whizzed past her head and struck the trunk of a sapling. She dropped and rolled behind a huge boulder. Fear clutched at her, speeding her heart rate; the killer had given a warning he was on his way. He wanted her terrified to increase his pleasure. He is hunting me.
She crawled to the other side of the boulder and found Kane dragging himself toward her. After helping him into a sitting position, she removed his backpack. “There is water and energy bars in there and a thermal blanket.”
“Okay.” Kane gave her a quizzical stare; the bruises on his face had turned a nasty purple and blood trickled from under the dressing on his head. “You planning on leaving me here for the bears?”
“You can look after yourself for a while. You have plenty of ammo and I’ve seen you shoot.” She crouched down in front of him. “Listen to me, Dave. I’m going to lure the killer away from you. If he enters the canyon, we’ll be more vulnerable; no one knows we’re here. We’ve missed the check-in time and our team will know something is wrong by now and be moving in up there on the trail. I’ll just have to avoid being caught by him before they arrive.”
“No way.” Kane’s brow wrinkled. “If this is a serial killer, a psychopath, no one really knows what’s in his mind; he could get mad and kill you just for the heck of it. I won’t let you do this, Sheriff. Stay here and we’ll fight him together.”
The cold way he looked at her, it was like a stranger had taken over his body. “We don’t have a choice. With your injuries, like it or not, Dave, he’ll have the advantage. If I leave you here, I will be able to draw him away. He is not interested in you, and I figure he already believes you’re dead. I sure did.” She looked into his bloodshot eyes. “You profiled this killer and I’m the type of woman he murders. The men he kills are superfluous to his needs.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Kane gripped her arm. “If we stay here, the moment he walks into range, I’ll take him down. The shots will alert your deputies and they’ll come running.”
She wondered if he had all his faculties after his head injury and shook her head. “I know that’s the way you are used to working, Dave but we do this by the book. There are hunters all over the forest and anyone could be down here and walk into range. We have to be sure it’s the killer before we shoot. You can’t just kill the first person who walks in here; he has to pose a threat.”
“I figure he’s already posed a threat to me, ma’am.” Kane’s mouth twitched up in the corner. “Say I go along with this madness. What’s your plan?”
“If I dart into the open, for just a second to gain his attention, I can move into the shadows and climb to the top of the canyon. The team is scanning that area. They’ll spot me, and come running. This is the only option we have. Like I said, they have no idea we are down here.” Jenna shrugged. “If I stay, we will be playing the killer’s game. The lunatic up there doesn’t want to kill me outright; he prefers to torture his victims and we can use it against him.”
“And if he disables you?” Kane sipped the water from his bottle and winced. “Say he shoots you in the arms; you won’t be able to fight or use your weapon. Your team won’t be there in seconds, will they?” He gave her a long look. “He is using a high-powered rifle and from what I have witnessed so far is a marksman. He could take the team out before they know what’s happening.”
Jenna shook her head. “Not my team. For heaven’s sake, you trained them and we have Wolfe up there in command. He is like you, an ex-marine. He won’t let us down.”
“If you say so, but I’m your best protection even with a busted knee.” Kane’s gaze narrowed. “If you know me as well as you say you do, you’ll understand.”
“I do but right now, I need to protect you. This is the best option. I have to trust in our team.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Stay safe. I’ll deal with this son of a bitch then send Wolfe to help you, I promise.”
Refusing to argue with him, she replaced her sunglasses, pushed the bottle of water into her pocket, then turned and sprinted out of the forest across the sunlit area in full view and back into the shadowed tree line to the steep canyon wall. She dove into the undergrowth and headed slowly up the side of the chasm. Above her, she heard the sound of a rifle with a suppressor shooting in rapid succession; the killer was firing all around her as if herding her. A wave of panic hit her. The game has changed. I’m playing by his rules now.
61
His day could not get better and now his prey had marched right out of cover and into his sights. He chuckled and aimed a few more shots to her right. “Come on, get back on the trail. I am waiting to play with you.” He leaned over the edge, watching the bushes move as Mariah climbed up the steep incline.
She would be exhausted by the time she reached the top, and with the sun dropping fast, he didn’t have too much time to allow her to rest before he concluded his hunt. He glanced at his watch. He had maybe an hour of good daylight left. He wanted the chase; seeing her run frantic then knowing she could never escape fed his need. The votes were in on how he would kill her, but herding her closer to his cave was his main objective. He wanted to savor her in front of his friends. After all, it had been years since some of them had seen a woman.
He quivered with excitement at the thought of her reaction when he switched on the lamps in his cave. She would scream, horrified at his friends’ expressions. He doubted many people would appreciate their rate of decomposition like he did. His friends would smile at her and he would feed off her terror. His heart would beat so fast and yet he would be calm. He did so like to take his time with his prey and savor each delicious moment.
He waited for her to pop out of the canyon and bolt down the trail, heading toward her campsite. Taking his time, he strolled after her; she was moving at a slow pace and it would be easy to keep up with her. He followed, then to his surprise, she stopped walking, stood in full view, and took a long drink from a bottle of water. He raised his rifle then placed two shots into a tree on her left. To his surprise, she did not run screaming into the forest but turned slowly to face him. He stepped into the open and pointed his rifle at her. He had distorted his voice and it should terrify her. “Run or I’m
going to kill you where you stand.”
“What? You’re planning on shooting me in the back?” Her loud voice came out in a confident sneer and it was strangely familiar. “Big man, with a big weapon. You are just a weakling son of a bitch using a high-powered rifle against an unarmed woman. A real man would at least have the guts to fight me one on one.” She lifted her chin. “What? Am I too big for you to take on? Go home to Mommy, little boy, and stop wasting my time.”
Anger flared and he dropped the rifle and unsheathed his knife. “I’ll make you sorry you said that to me, bitch.”
62
Desperate to gain time, Jenna waved her arms at him. “Bring it on, you little worm.”
Her bravery came from the movement ahead on the trail. Her team was closing in and her raised voice would have caught their full attention. The man before her was tall but not as big as Kane, and covered from head to foot. A hideous skull-print bandana masked his face, and sunglasses covered his eyes. He was just as Colter Barry described. She stood feet apart and shoulders straight to make him come to her. Kane’s profiling on this lunatic filtered into her mind; the killer fed on fear and likely enjoyed his victims to beg for their lives.
Adrenaline pumped through her and she wanted to fight him as if the notion of a woman bringing him down would put everything right. She heard him speak but not to her; he was communicating through his com. The idea he might have accomplices had not entered her mind. Unease slid over her. He was advancing and tossing the knife from hand to hand as if he had all the time in the world.
“I’m going to kill you slowly and make you scream for mercy but I never give mercy.” The killer moved toward her in slow, deliberate steps. “You’re mine now, Mariah. There is no escape.”
Desperate to show no fear, Jenna laughed at him. “My name is not Mariah.”
She could hear people crashing through the bushes in the distance behind her, but was it her team or the lunatic’s accomplices? Taking action was her only choice. “Drop the knife. I’m Sheriff Jenna Alton and I’m not alone.”
The killer stopped mid-stride then, to her surprise, chuckled. “Ah, the ultimate prize. So, I gather I took Deputy Kane out earlier. Well, you had me fooled but then you resemble most of my victims, don’t you? There is no one here to save you, Jenna. I have eyes everywhere and if that cute blonde was part of your team, well, I’m afraid she lost her heart to someone else.” He stalked toward her in measured steps. “No one will get to you in time. It’s just you and me, like it should be.”
Worry for Bradford’s safety flitted through her mind. How could he have gotten to her with three deputies watching her back? She lifted her chin. He did not know she carried a weapon under her jacket, and from what she could make out, he only had a knife plus a degree of insanity on his side. Reasoning with him might still be an option. “You didn’t kill Kane. I’ll give you one more chance to surrender peacefully.”
“Are you crazy?” He tilted his head to one side. “I would die before I surrendered to a woman, especially you.” His pace quickened as he moved toward her down the trail.
Without taking her eyes off him, Jenna unzipped her jacket and reached for her weapon. Holding it in both hands, she took aim. “Halt or I will shoot.”
The killer laughed maniacally and kept on coming. Jenna squeezed the trigger, aiming for his right arm. The man staggered under the force of the bullet but held onto the knife as if he was impervious to pain, and his steps did not falter. He was less than ten yards away and closing fast.
“Bad, Jenna. Head or heart, sweetie.” He shook his head like a dog then increased his speed. “Or did you miss? Not so confident now, are you, bitch?” He lunged toward her, knife raised.
Without a second thought, Jenna stood her ground, took aim, and fired. His kneecap exploded and he howled in pain, hitting the ground with a massive thud. She waited a beat, hoping he would give up. If she killed him, they would never know how many people he had murdered. When he roared in anger and waved the knife at her, fear trembled her hands and she gaped at him in terror. As if with superhuman strength, he gave her a satanic grin and dragged himself toward her.
“You’re next, Jenna.”
Jenna’s finger dropped to the trigger of her Glock once more. “Oh, I don’t think so.”
“Hold your fire.” Wolfe came crashing through the forest and onto the trail with Rowley and Webber close on his heels.
Before Jenna had a chance to issue orders, Wolfe kicked the knife from the killer’s hand and cuffed him. She stared at the deputies. “You took your time. Where’s Bradford?”
“She’s dead.” Rowley’s eyes filled with sorrow. “By him, I figure.”
Grief rolled over Jenna but she swallowed it and nodded. “He admitted as much to me. Get a rescue chopper out here. Kane is in the canyon and needs urgent medical attention. This asshole can wait.”
“Leave the chopper to me. Where is he? I’ll go down to him.” Wolfe turned his attention to Jenna and waited for directions. “Webber can tend to the prisoner’s injuries.”
Jenna gripped Wolfe’s arm and led him to one side. “Kane has been shot in the head and is suffering partial memory loss. He didn’t recognize me. You’ll need to be careful approaching him. He’ll shoot first then ask questions later. He’s gone back to just after the accident.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “The car bombing.”
“He’ll recognize me.” Wolfe turned away and headed down the canyon.
Jenna walked back to stare down at the prisoner.
“You should have killed me.” The killer lifted his head.
“I wouldn’t have given you the satisfaction. I hope they keep you in jail for the rest of your life; lethal injection is too good for you.” Jenna bent over the killer and ripped off his disguise then gaped at him. It was not Ethan Woods as she had expected. She blinked, confused at the face staring back at her. “James Stone.”
Epilogue
So many things had happened to Jenna in the weeks since a military rescue helicopter winched Kane out of the canyon. Instead of flying him to Black Rock Falls Hospital, they went to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. When Wolfe had informed her Kane required a secure environment to recover, she figured he would not be returning to Black Rock Falls anytime soon, if at all.
So the call from the hospital came as a surprise. Kane wanted to see her. Worried what he would say to her, she chewed on her fingernails, figuring out what to do. The person who called informed her she could visit him a few days after his next round of surgery, but she wanted to be there for him and could not wait another second. She had to know if he intended to return to Black Rock Falls.
The flight to Washington gave her time to think how close she had come to being a victim of James Stone. She had been on dates with the man. Who would have thought a person who defended people for a living could murder in cold blood? She stared out the window at the clouds and allowed the case to settle in her mind. Kane would want all the details.
The days following the capture of James Stone had been harrowing. Without information on Kane’s condition, other than that he was alive, her nerves had shattered. She called the hospital daily with the same result. Not being a relative, they refused to give out any information. Rowley and Wolfe had supported her the best they could, and Emily spent the weekends telling her gory tales to keep up her spirits.
She had shipped Bradford’s body back to her family in Helena then thrown her team into unraveling the dark side of James Stone. After sifting through hours of horrific video footage of his murders, they discovered his cave at Bear Peak. Inside they found the body of Jim Canavar. Stone had documented Jim Canavar’s death, clearing him of any involvement in the crimes. Jim sat alongside a line of unknown victims. Jim Canavar’s ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend were not amongst the bodies in the cave, nor were the owners of the backpacks, but they found footage of the murder of cold case victims Paige and Dawson. It was a relief to close the
cold case file and to know their killer would be behind bars for a very long time.
After tracking down missing Asian tourists, the FBI identified John Doe as Lee Pu, a Chinese national who had transferred huge amounts of cash from his bank account on the day before he left China. The FBI could find no trace of the off-shore account but assumed it was a payment to Stone to be involved in the murder of Bailey Canavar. Even though the payment for the new rig Stone owned came from an overseas bank account, Stone denied knowing Mr. Pu.
With Wolfe working alongside the FBI’s Cyber Division on Stone’s computer, they located and shut down Stone’s site on the dark web. The details of his scheme had horrified her. Stone spent his vacations murdering all over the state and driven home with one special corpse as a souvenir but offered no names of his victims. He admitted to moving the body of his suitable friend through the forest on horseback to join the others in his cave. As Mr. Pu was obviously a client, the FBI were looking overseas for possible DNA matches for the other victims and hunting down possible cold cases throughout the state. Stone obviously derived a thrill out of taking his client’s cash then killing them and once identified, the victims’ bank details would be investigated by the FBI for any huge withdrawals from their accounts just prior to their disappearances. Even with all the FBI’s expertise, they were still unable to trace his co-conspirator for the pay-per-view, or any of his online clients.
The extensive interviews with Stone carried out by an FBI profiler revealed that after Stone’s family died in a house fire, a couple had adopted him. Not six months later Stone claimed to have discovered the couple bludgeoned to death in their bed. The police never considered Stone a suspect at twelve years old but the kill had whetted his appetite for more.