Forgotten Bones

by Vickie McKeehan

  Harry studied the monitor. “That’s from the tracking device I put on her Yukon?”

  Josh nodded. “Coupled with her cell phone data, it shows she’s just entered the Boise area.”

  “Where her parents live,” Reggie added. “It’s an interesting phenomenon with serial killers. Gary Ridgway often sent his wife to visit relatives when he got the urge to ramp up.”

  Skye frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that. Do you suppose Jaynes did that each time he took a girl? Any way to find out?”

  Leo had been distracted with several text messages.

  “Leo, are you with us?”

  “Oh. Sorry. It’s my aunt in Seattle. She says she hasn’t heard from Emmadine since the day before yesterday. The day before she headed home.”

  “She’s probably been busy settling in from the trip,” Judy offered.

  “Maybe. I’ll give her a call and see if she’s still mad. If she’s speaking to me, that is.”

  Josh switched to a different screen on his laptop. “You go ahead. I’ll log this on automatic, then we’ll grab Sierra and Zoe and head to the restaurant for dinner. Join us there when you’re ready.”

  “Will do,” Leo said, gathering up his laptop and heading out the door to his cottage.

  “I’ll give him some alone time,” Harry determined. “I don’t want to step in the middle of family business. What’s the special of the day? I feel like a good meatloaf.”

  Reggie made a face. “Missed it by a day. You’ll have to settle for chicken fried steak.”

  “That’ll do,” Harry grunted. “Maybe they still have some of that pecan pie afterward.”

  Judy shook her head. “All you guys think about is food.”

  “Hey, this kind of work makes you hungry,” Harry fired back. “A body needs fuel to think straight. I don’t know how anybody does anything without a good meal.”

  Skye nudged him out of the way. “A good meal would go down better if Jaynes was already in custody. But of course, he isn’t because he’s a cop.”

  “Don’t start that. Jaynes isn’t in custody because we need to put a solid case together first,” Harry pointed out.

  “But I don’t like to think about him out there without the wife and kids as an anchor. Who knows why Susan actually left?” She grabbed her phone to send Zoe a text. “I’ll go pick up Sierra and Zoe and meet you guys over there.”

  “We’ll go together,” Josh said, getting to his feet. “This place should be fine with all the cameras here. Leo even hooked up a security system. If any of these doors open for any reason, we’ll know about it.”

  “We should do that for Zoe’s place, too,” Skye suggested. “I don’t like us spread out like we are.”

  Josh put a hand on her shoulder. “All taken care of. While you were in town, Leo showed me how to install one on her doors and windows. It’s all hooked up to the same alert system.” He held up his phone. “It’s all right here.”

  “That makes me feel only slightly better. Maybe we shouldn’t have brought Sierra into this situation.”

  “Yeah. It’s getting tougher to justify why she should be here.”

  Skye kept nibbling on a thumbnail. “I’m thinking about calling Dad and Lena to fly here and pick them up. Tonight.”

  “Do it. Things will only get more dangerous. With them back in Seattle safe and sound, I think we’ll feel better about moving forward on Jaynes.”

  “We are moving forward, aren’t we?” Skye stopped walking. “Oh, my God. Jaynes. Why didn’t I see it earlier? The name of the boy Wren Grayhawk had trouble with at school, the day she held that parent-teacher meeting and stayed late. The boy’s last name was Jaynes. Scott Jaynes. That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “Scott must be a relative, a cousin maybe. We’ll find out.”

  She grabbed his arm. “We need Sierra and Zoe out of here as soon as possible. Like now.”

  Twenty-One

  With that decision made, it was difficult to remain calm at the restaurant. But Skye gathered her group around a table in the corner because everyone still had to eat.

  Sierra made up her mind first. But then, it was normal for her to settle for pasta. As long as she had access to macaroni, the world seemed to make sense again.

  Skye had decided on the salmon when she looked up to see Leo approach the table. The look on his face told her something was wrong.

  “I just got off the phone with my aunt back in Seattle, and Emmadine never made it home. She’s not in her apartment. She’s not been seen on campus. No one’s heard from her since she left the lodge yesterday.”

  Skye let her menu drop to the table. “What do you mean no one’s heard from her? At all?”

  “I mean I checked the airlines and Emmadine never got on the plane. Her ticket went unused.”

  “Here in Idaho?”

  “Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

  Skye pushed her chair back from the table. “Before we panic and start conjuring up a really bad scenario, let’s grill the desk clerk that told Zoe an Uber driver picked her up. What was his name?”

  Zoe folded her menu. “Henry. I remember his name tag. Want me to confront him?”

  “I’ll do it. Keep an eye on Sierra. Harry, stick close.”

  “You got it.”

  Josh followed Skye into the lobby and up to the front desk. The clerk hadn’t changed from two nights ago. “Hi, Henry. How’s it going?”

  “Good. What can I do for you?”

  “You must be stuck here on the three to midnight shift as a regular, is that right?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Why did you tell us that our friend Emmadine Duvalier left here in an Uber?”

  “Because she did.”

  “And it couldn’t have been a police cruiser?”

  Henry shifted his feet in a nervous two-step without answering.

  “How much did the cop pay you to say that our friend left in an Uber?”

  “A hundred bucks. He was a cop. I saw his badge. It wasn’t fake or anything. He told me not to blab about it.”

  “How did he know Emmadine had decided to leave? How much did he pay you for information?”

  “Look, he said us locals had to stick together and that you guys were just here for a few weeks. Outsiders versus locals. That’s what he said. I just kept him informed about what I overheard you guys talking about. Kept him in the loop, so to speak. When your friend called the front desk to arrange for an Uber to take her to the airport, I let the guy know. That’s all I did.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s gone missing. That guy you worked with is not what he seems. He’s not a good guy at all. So, when he calls back, and he will call you for an update, tell him you haven’t heard a word about Emmadine’s disappearance. Tell him everything is fine. Tell him we’re heading back to Seattle soon, and you don’t know anything about it. Understand?” Josh handed him five one-hundred-dollar bills to make sure he did.

  “I understand. But he’s a cop. And he’s…he’s kind of scary.”

  “Yeah. He wears a uniform. But trust me, you don’t want to get mixed up in what he’s done, not any more than you already are. Just tell him everything’s fine with us, and you’ll be okay. But work on making it sound genuine. Don’t sound so nervous.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Skye took out her cell phone. “That’s why Jaynes freaked out this morning. He thought we were there at the farm looking for Emmadine.”

  “Probably. The thing is, how do we get her back?”

  “Do you think she’s still alive? Or was he protecting her body? She had to be in that shed. Right?” When Lena picked up on the other end, Skye went into her pitch. “Look, I know this is a lot to ask, but I need you and Dad to fly here tonight to Coeur d’Alene and take Sierra and Zoe back to Seattle. Tonight, Lena. We need them safe. It can’t wait until tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like you’ve found your killer, and things are heating up. No worries. We’ll charter a jet if we need t
o. I’ll text you the details as soon as I know them.”

  “Great. Thanks. Have a safe flight. See you when you land.” Skye ended the call and then blew out a breath. “Who’s gonna tell Leo that Jaynes took his cousin?”

  “I’ll do it. I figure Jaynes hung around the lodge, watching Emmadine. He saw her get into the Uber. Somewhere between here and the airport, Jaynes likely intercepted the car, stopped them for speeding or for some other infraction, then took Emmadine.”

  “And what happened to the driver?”

  Josh cut his eyes to hers. “We haven’t bothered with the news today. Somewhere out there, Uber’s missing their driver.”

  Back inside the bungalow, Skye packed up Sierra’s stuff while Leo paced back and forth in the small living area. “Do you think she’s still alive? I know the percentages. I’ve been doing this long enough to know the odds. It isn’t good. It’s never good when a serial killer…”

  “Just stop,” Josh said. “For one thing, Emmadine is not in his preferred victim category.”

  “Come on, he’s killed Black girls before.”

  “Girls, Leo, not grown women.”

  “Not that you know of.”

  “Fair enough. But Emmadine is twenty-three. She’s not in his targeted age group. This man goes after little girls. Even Zoe would be a stretch for him to grab. He’s probably planning on using Emmadine as a bargaining chip.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  Skye toted Sierra’s bags out to the front door. “Because we were getting too close, Leo. We were asking his wife questions one day and the next… Jaynes obviously felt the heat. He had to do something big, and Emmadine’s leaving presented him with perfect access. No doubt he somehow got the Uber driver to stop using his cruiser, red lights flashing, and all. But the important thing now is getting her back.”

  Leo finally spotted the luggage. “Are you guys leaving?”

  Skye shook her head. “Sierra and Zoe are. With Lena and Travis. They’re flying here tonight to take them back home. I’m sorry I brought Emmadine into this mess. She’s here because of me.”

  “Us,” Josh corrected.

  “If I’d known…I should’ve realized the dangers and left you guys in Seattle. All of you. I’m truly sorry.”

  In typical Leo fashion, he put his arm around Skye. “We both know that none of this is your fault. Sick minds, crazy bastards, you can’t take responsibility for how they think and what they do.”

  “That’s a generous way of putting it. But it’s still my fault. I assembled the team. I walked in here like I could conquer a decade of murder. Emmadine suffered for it. I’ll get her back. I’ll do everything in my power to make this right.”

  “But right now, we need to meet with Grayhawk,” Josh interjected. “We need to convince him to talk to the County Sheriff’s Department and get a SWAT team to the Jaynes farm.”

  Reggie came in just as they were about to leave. He had his laptop tucked under his arm. Harry followed him into the living room.

  “I know you’re rushing to get out of here, but you better take a minute to listen to what Reggie discovered,” Harry advised. “It’s something else you can use to convince the locals that Jaynes is a problem cop.”

  Reggie opened his laptop to a County website that belonged to the coroner. “You said to look for anything that might be odd or suspicious. Thirteen years ago, the police discovered the body of a twenty-seven-year-old schoolteacher named Brenda Pascoe. Turns out, Ms. Pascoe had a connection to Gavin Jaynes. She was his history teacher in high school. Rumors ran rampant that he and the teacher were doing the deed every chance they got. You know, sex at every opportunity. Then one day, the teacher went missing. Guess where they discovered Pascoe’s body seven weeks later?”

  Skye moved closer to the screen. “Near the potato farm owned by Jaynes.”

  “You got it. Near the tree line at the back of the property but dumped in a ditch close to the road. Here’s the article from the newspaper with a map that shows the exact spot.”

  “That’s where we saw Sara Grayhawk and Kiya pawing at the dirt,” Skye stated in disbelief.

  “And to this day, the murder of the teacher remains unsolved. They never found her killer. The matriarch of the family simply denied any knowledge of why the remains would’ve been discovered on her land. And since it was found next to a County Road where John Q. Public has access, the authorities didn’t press. But that’s not all. This Jaynes guy was homeschooled until he was about sixteen, junior year thereabouts. It seems his mother was a bit of an odd duck and wouldn’t let any of her kids near a real school. None of the kids went to public school. That is, until the incident with the sister.”

  “You mean the rape of the sister?”

  “Exactly. Sharon didn’t go to a real school until she was sent to live with her aunt. That story checks out.”

  “What about the younger brother? What’s his name? Roman. Did he go to public school?”

  “When the mother sent Gavin, she also sent Roman. But by this time, both boys were oddballs, outcasts, if you will. They had trouble making the adjustment to a real classroom. And there are articles in the local paper that suggest that when the boys started attending public school, neighbors began complaining. They claimed that the brothers began to act out, behave really weird.”

  “Like what?” Josh wanted to know.

  “Like set fire to cats. Gut squirrels. Cut the heads off dogs. Leave feces on their doorsteps. Disturbing stuff.”

  “That’s classic serial offender behavior,” Skye stated. “This is both boys, right?”

  “That’s what the newspaper articles say. Both Gavin and Roman Jaynes were accused of burglarizing homes, vandalizing cars, and general mischief. There are twenty-one such reports that made it into a local newspaper column titled, Crime Beat, over a twelve-month period.”

  Skye turned to Josh. “Could it be that Brenda Pascoe was Jaynes’s first victim? Pascoe’s death could be the trigger. He got a taste for it and hasn’t stopped since.”

  She pivoted toward Harry. “Find someone who knew Brenda Pascoe. Find her friends, coworkers, track down family, if possible, anyone who could tell us about Jaynes and how he acted at school when Pascoe was his teacher. Did anyone ever consider that these rumors might’ve been perpetrated by Jaynes? What if he had a crush on her, and she didn’t return his feelings? What if she rejected his advances? I want to hear from Brenda Pascoe’s side of things. I wouldn’t trust the word of Gavin Jaynes as far as I could pick him up and toss him in the air. My guess is he started those rumors about the sex.”

  Harry grinned. “You read my mind.”

  Pumped now, Skye patted Reggie’s shoulder. “Excellent find. Good work. And your timing couldn’t be better. Email me that stuff. We’re off to see Quade Grayhawk.”

  It took them an hour to convince Grayhawk that Jaynes might have Emmadine. After laying out each piece of the puzzle, one by one, it was the audio from Sharon that seemed to push Quade to act. But it took him another two hours to convince the Sheriff’s Department that one of their own had something to hide. In the end, it was the Pascoe cold case that seemed to have the greatest impact on the Sheriff. That information, along with the rape accusation of his own sister, seemed to rally the troops.

  Per his usual tight-lipped demeanor, Quade didn’t share the details of the meeting. But he did reveal that the Sheriff’s Department had concerns about Gavin’s behavior while on duty—a string of complaints over the years, mostly inappropriate contact with minors during the everyday course of doing his job.

  Skye wanted to know if inappropriate contact meant that Gavin had physically touched girls and no one had done anything about it.

  But before it could all go down at the Jaynes’ farm, Skye and Josh had to hand Sierra over to Lena and Travis. While standing on the tarmac of a small airport outside Coeur d’Alene, they hugged and said goodbye.

  “She’s so sleepy. She should conk out for you on the plane,” Skye
told Lena as she reluctantly let go of Sierra.

  “She’ll be fine. Keep us posted about what happens.”

  “We will.”

  “You guys be careful out there,” Travis said, putting his arms around Skye. “We worry. Call when you’re coming home.”

  Zoe had put up more of a fight about going, but in the end, Josh convinced her that looking after Sierra was the most important thing. “Hey, you’re the go-to person if anything happens to us.”

  “No, I’m not. But it’s nice of you to say. Let me know as soon as you find Emmadine. I didn’t mean it when I said good riddance that day she left.”

  “We know that,” Skye said, wrapping her up in a hug. “Thanks for stepping in like you did.”

  “I wish I could do more.”

  “Go. This is almost done here. We’ll be along in a day or two. Watch out for Cody. Keep giving him his meds.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take of Sierra and the dogs.”

  They watched the plane take off. But Skye had tears streaming down her face. “This is getting harder and harder to do.”

  “Tell me about it. This is the reason we didn’t jump in back in January when Laurel went missing. We hashed it around for days and decided it wasn’t for us.”

  “And yet, here we are. Standing on a stupid runway at two in the morning in the middle of nowhere…saying goodbye to our daughter. Why do we do it, Josh?”

  “You know why.” He slung his arm around her shoulder. “But maybe we could make some changes, stay strictly local from now on. Maybe we don’t venture too far from Seattle.”

  “I like the idea of that. There’s plenty of crime happening in Vancouver down to Oregon. Right? That could be our territory from now on. We only leave the Pacific Northwest under special circumstances.”

  “Works for me. Now let’s go find Quade. I’m ready to put this case and Gavin Jaynes behind us for good.”

  “You said it. I’ll text Judy and let her know Sierra and Zoe got off okay and that we’re headed to the Jaynes’ place.”

  “Tell Harry to keep trying to find anything on the history teacher. Ms. Pascoe could be the key to this.”