by D. K. Hood
“The cereal I had this morning and the weak coffee didn’t come close to eating toast and eggs with you.” Kane checked his watch. “Maggie will have just opened the office. The deputies are hard at work. Dr. Turner will be in transit on his way to work, so we’ll go see him at the school. Stan Williams is driving the school bus so we have time to spare. I ordered, pancakes, bacon, and maple syrup.” He subconsciously rubbed his stomach. “Susie said she’d have them ready in no time.” He poured coffee and added cream and sugar. “Have you put the witch back in her cage?”
Laughing, Jenna met his raised eyebrow and serious stare. “After two cups of coffee, yeah I think she’s under control.”
“Good.” Kane sighed. “I need to discuss the latest case with you.”
Jenna held up a hand. “Before you give me the rundown, I’ve been going over my notes and with everything happening so fast, we still haven’t hunted down Wyatt Cooper and spoken to him about finding his DNA on the briefs found in Laurie’s mouth.” She ran her finger through a sprinkle of sugar on the table and frowned. “He was missing after the parade too. Is this a coincidence or is he involved in both murders?”
“Hmm, I figure we need to call his father and ask him to bring him down to the office for questioning.” Kane removed his hat and placed it on the seat beside him. “As he’s underage, anything he says to us without his parents’ permission might be a stumbling block in the prosecution.”
“Okay, I’ll call Mr. Cooper when I get back to the office.” Jenna leaned back in her chair. “Now what have you got for me?”
After Kane brought her up to date, Jenna stared into space and tried to process all the information. “Wolfe will do a complete forensics sweep of the apartment but if it’s the kids again, they know too much about trace evidence to leave anything behind. I’ve been considering if Mrs. Turner’s murder is a copycat. It doesn’t feel like the same killer or killers.” She waited for Suzie to deliver Kane’s meal and more coffee. Once she had moved out of earshot, she opened her phone to scan her files again. “On the other hand, we know the killers are smart and have been trying to throw suspicion on other people by using the briefs. What if they couldn’t steal another pair of briefs?”
“They’d find something else to use to shift the blame.” Kane ate slowly.
Jenna leaned forward. “What if the kids got access to Laurie’s pickup? We know someone disabled her truck, so they have knowledge of the vehicle. By parking it and committing another murder they’re pointing the finger at Dr. Turner.” She shrugged. “Just how easy is it to hotwire one of them?”
“Very easy and I could probably start one with a screwdriver but we’d have to examine the vehicle to see if it’s been tampered with.” Kane frowned. “I doubt we’d get a search warrant on a sighting of a vehicle parked in the vicinity late at night. It’s not enough probable cause.”
“We might get permission from Dr. Turner to look at the vehicle.” Jenna sipped her coffee. “I’ll go and speak to the people Mrs. Turner worked with in the beauty parlor. They might know if she had any enemies or threats but I doubt it. Seems to me, the only problem she had was her husband. What if he’s involved?” She rubbed her temples, thinking, and looked at Kane. “Although, his hostility toward his wife, and the vehicle on scene makes his involvement too obvious, almost staged.” She sighed. “And how could he possibly know details of the cheerleader murders? We’ve played our cards close to the vest. The causes of death haven’t been divulged to anyone and we didn’t tell him the details of what happened to his daughter. It seems very strange that Mrs. Turner was strangled, naked and had a pompom with her. It does point the finger to the same people who murdered the cheerleaders.”
“Unless Dr. Turner believes we’re pushovers.” Kane nibbled on a strip of crispy bacon. “Remember he’s a shrink. If he did kill his wife, making his involvement appear obvious might be a ploy. I wouldn’t rule him out just yet.” He shrugged. “My bet would be that the red Ford pickup will be reported stolen sometime soon.”
Jenna nodded. “Yeah, if he is the killer that’s the usual move but a stolen vehicle report would have had to be filed last night for me to believe it.” She snorted. “I mean the pickup is a bit hard to miss, he’d notice for sure if it went missing from his driveway.” She met his gaze. “I’d love you to interview him with Jo. Between the two of you, we might find out if he’s involved. But first we’ll inform him about his wife’s murder and arrange the ID.”
“We’ll have to try and persuade him to give us his fingerprints.” Kane finished his meal and reached for his coffee. “I’ll find a way.” He placed his cup back in the saucer and sighed. “I’m done here.” He pulled out his wallet and dropped bills on the table. “My treat.”
Jenna collected her things and stood. “Thanks.” She led the way out the door, giving Susie Hartwig a wave of thanks.
After dropping her cruiser and Duke at the office, she climbed into the Beast and they headed to the high school. After speaking to the woman on the front counter, and waiting for her to call Dr. Turner, they headed down a long passageway to his office. The door was open and Dr. Turner didn’t stand to greet them, just stared at them from across his desk. Jenna couldn’t imagine this man was capable of counseling students, his attitude was hostile and unapproachable. She removed her hat and waited a beat to compose her words. It was better to come straight to the point without offering any reason. “I’m sorry to inform you that your wife is dead.”
“Jeanette is dead?” Turner leaned back in his chair and towered his fingers as if she’d just told him it was raining outside. “Overdose?”
Jenna shook her head. “We don’t have the cause of death. Would you be willing to come by and identify her around noon today at the medical examiner’s office?”
“If I have to but you do have Laurie’s DNA to use as a comparison. You don’t really need me, do you?” Turner looked as if he’d just scored a point. “I mean you didn’t need me to identify Laurie, did you?”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Kane took out a notebook, opened it to a new page, and handed it to Turner. “Would you mind listing Jeanette’s next-of-kin? Do you know if she had life insurance? If so, can you give me the company name as well?”
“I’m her next-of-kin and I’ll have to check my documents for the name and address of the company. I kept up the payments for Laurie’s sake.” Turner splayed his fingers on the notebook to keep the pages open and his eyes flickered with annoyance. “I’ll have the information by noon.” He closed the notebook and handed it back to Kane. “Now please leave, I have students to speak to and I don’t want them to see you. They’ll think I’m breaking our confidentiality.”
Jenna nodded. “Sure. Do you want us to call anyone to go with you to the viewing, a clergyman perhaps?”
“No!” Turner waved them away. “Now will you please leave?”
Stunned by his reaction, Jenna turned to leave but Kane blocked the door.
“Before we go…” Kane narrowed his gaze at the doctor. “Is Laurie’s red Ford pickup at home?”
“No, my red Ford pickup is parked right outside in the staff parking lot.” Turner raised both eyebrows. “Why?”
Jenna pulled out her statement book and started to write as fast as possible. She glanced up at Turner. “Do you mind if we take a look at it? There’s a loose end we’d like to tie up.”
“The ME said he’d cleared the vehicle and released it? What now?” Turner pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it across the table. “You’re not taking it again, are you?”
“No, not this time.” Jenna handed him her statement book. “If you could sign here. I’ll need your permission to search the vehicle.”
To Jenna’s surprise, he signed and handed it back. She collected the key using the tips of her fingernails and smiled. “We’ll have this back to you in a few minutes.”
“Leave it at the front counter.” Turner waved them away. “I have work to do.”
“Just one more thing, we have to ask, I’m sure you understand?” Kane had adopted a concerned expression. “Where were you between seven and say ten last night?”
“At home. I had a private counseling session.” Turner’s eyes burned with indignation.
“Okay, thank you.” Jenna led the way outside and dropped the key onto the hood of Kane’s truck. She pulled on gloves and opened the statement book. “Please tell me we have a few good sets of prints.”
“A full hand on my notebook.” Kane gloved up and took the laser fingerprint scanner from his pocket and ran it over the statement book. “Oh yeah, we have some great prints. Bag the statement book as evidence.” He ran the scanner over the key and his notebook. “Yeah we have plenty to use as comparison.” He pulled out an evidence bag and dropped the books inside. “I always keep a spare notebook in my pocket just in case we need to gather prints. This is the first time I’ve hit paydirt.”
Jenna turned around and scanned the staff parking lot. “I can see Laurie’s pickup. So, it wasn’t stolen last night after all.”
They hustled to the 1950 red Ford pickup and Jenna stood by while Kane examined the vehicle, using the scanner to capture any fingerprints, on the inside, steering wheel, doors, and seats. He locked the door and they went back to drop the key at the counter. As they walked back to the Beast, she looked at him. “You haven’t said much. Did you find anything?”
“Fingerprints but no tampering.” Kane removed his gloves and tossed them into the trash. “Whoever drove that vehicle last night used the key.” He raised both arms in the air and dropped them. “Unless by some miracle we have another identical pickup in town, that was the same vehicle our witness spotted outside Mrs. Turner’s apartment.”
Forty-Four
Once inside the Beast, Kane uploaded the prints to the files and sent copies to Wolfe, while Jenna updated her files. They had time to spare, the forensics team wouldn’t be finished processing the crime scene yet and it was too early to drop by to speak to Stan Williams. He lived right next door to Jeanette Turner and if there had been an argument, there was a good chance he’d overheard something. If not, Kane wanted to know if he had an alibi for last night. His gut was telling him not to trust Williams but they would need to tread carefully as they’d be stepping on the FBI’s toes if they’d already started their investigation into his penchant for cheerleaders. The files updated and evidence stowed away, he turned the truck around and headed back to Stanton. He stared out at the forest and slowed the truck to admire the view spreading out to the mountains one side and across the prairie on the other. “Just look at that, it never ceases to amaze me.”
“It’s a beautiful place all year around but in fall the colors are incredible and the sky goes on forever.” Jenna buzzed down her window and inhaled. “The name Big Sky Country is true. Here the views are endless. It’s a special place and almost timeless in parts. It’s no wonder Atohi works so hard to preserve the forests, he wants everyone to know how precious they are.”
Kane pressed his lips together, recalling the last time he’d seen Atohi. “I hope Carter doesn’t corrupt him. They’re out fishing again today.”
“Corrupt Atohi?” Jenna burst out laughing. “He’s pretty set in his ways. I wouldn’t worry.” She poked his arm with her finger. “Did he try with you, last night?”
“He tried.” Kane turned and smiled at her. “But I’m pretty set in my ways too. I should’ve driven home. I hadn’t been drinking but you know Ty. He had invited these women to his room for drinks and I had the transport.” He shrugged. “I made it clear I wasn’t interested and the one Ty had assigned to me decided to take a cab home. In the morning, Atohi showed and Ty just walked out and left me with his woman.”
“So, you being you, gave her a ride home and she kissed you on the cheek?” Jenna squeezed his arm. “I’ve known you for a long time, Dave. A player you’re not.” She glanced at her watch. “As much as I’d love to sit here admiring the scenery, we need to talk to Williams and catch Wolfe before he leaves the crime scene, I’d like to find out what progress he’s made.”
Kane smiled at her. “Copy that.” He headed home. “Just don’t forget Williams believes I’m a friend. We don’t want him to know he’s under FBI surveillance.”
“I might be the wicked witch some days, Dave, but my memory is just fine.” Jenna laughed.
They found Stan Williams at home. His eyes widened at the mention of a murder next door and Kane stood back to allow Jenna to take the lead.
“Mr. Williams, didn’t you notice the sheriff’s vehicles when you left this morning for work?” Jenna’s determined expression had obviously unnerved him and she played on the fact. “What time did you leave?”
“I left a little after six.” Williams leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. “As you can see, I park my truck in the courtyard, I drove out the alleyway and didn’t see anyone at all. A few vehicles drove by, I don’t recall any one of them in particular.”
Kane exchanged a meaningful look with Jenna. Williams would have left before Jenna had received the call from the driver of the garbage truck. He took out his notebook and made a few notes, trying to look as disinterested as possible. He wanted Williams to believe he was a friend and someone who enjoyed the same interests or the FBI investigation would be over before it started. He waited for Jenna to continue the questioning and when Williams glanced at him, he rolled his eyes.
“Did you hear anything last night?” Jenna stood her ground. “Anyone arguing, a fight or anything unusual from next door?”
“Not if it was between eight and ten, no I wouldn’t hear anything.” Williams shrugged and turned to look inside his apartment. “I spent last evening going through the shots I’ve been taking and making copies for my clients. I have my earbuds in and listen to music. It helps me to concentrate. I wouldn’t have heard a bomb exploding.” He looked from Jenna to Kane. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, Sheriff. I wish I could, truly.”
“Okay, thank you for your time.” Jenna turned to move down the stairs.
“Nice to see you again, Dave.” Williams grinned. “I’ll be in touch.”
Kane forced a smile. “Thanks.” He headed down the steps.
The garbage truck had left but Wolfe’s van had returned to block the alleyway and old Deputy Walters was sitting in his cruiser out front. Kane gave him a wave and went up to his window. “Need anything?”
“Nope, I’m just fine. Wolfe says he won’t be more than a few more minutes and I can get back to watching TV.” Walters smiled. “I always appreciate the work, Dave.”
Kane nodded. “We couldn’t manage without you.” He headed after Jenna.
As he turned into the alleyway, Wolfe was coming down the stairs leading to Jeanette Turner’s apartment. He was in a deep hushed conversation with Jenna. He moved to their side and they went into a huddle. “What did you find?”
“What you described.” Wolfe looked at him. “There’s been a crude attempt to cover up fingerprints but we found a variety of sets in the usual places people miss and one set are a match with Dr. Bob Turner.”
“That’s interesting, considering he claimed in his statement that he didn’t know where his wife was living.” Jenna frowned. “So, we have to assume the first time he came here was last night and as a bonus, his truck was seen outside. We have him dead to rights.”
“Hold your horses.” Wolfe looked from one to the other. “Just to add a little twist to the investigation. I found more than one match for Wyatt Cooper as well.”
Astounded, Kane turned to Jenna. “I figure you’d better call Mr. Cooper now. I’d really like to know what Wyatt was doing in Jeanette Turner’s apartment.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jenna pulled out her phone and made the call. She disconnected with a nod. “He can drop by at noon. He’ll go and collect Wyatt from school and come see us in his break.”
“I’ll need to lock the apartment down and keep it as a crime scene.
There’s more work to do here now.” Wolfe frowned. “We’ve completed a thorough forensics sweep but I’ll need to revisit after the autopsy. I want to discover the timeline of the murder and I can’t do that properly until I’ve examined the injuries to the victim.” He smiled. “Rio filmed inside and now that we have 3D imaging software, we’ll be able to see the scene from all angles in the lab as well. Having a media expert on the team is a bonus, so far his work has been exemplary.”
“He is a good fit.” Jenna’s lips flattened into a thin line. “Although, I’m surrounded by experts, yet we have three murders and the evidence is a tangled mess. Nothing seems to fit. There are so many missing pieces in the timelines, and although my gut tells me it’s two killers in one case, the evidence to date in the other two murders point to one person.”
Kane looked from one to the other. “Then we have to consider we have different people responsible. A pair for sure for the Becky Powell case but maybe we have a completely different person responsible for killing Laurie and her mother.”
Forty-Five
The wind had picked up and it whistled down the alleyway in an eerie moan as if nature mourned the murder of another innocent victim. As Jenna made her way to the Beast, her boots crunched on the leaves overflowing the gutters. A beautiful nuisance, the leaves came in every shade from green to honey brown and brought back memories of her childhood, running through the piles, knee deep and kicking the leaves about to watch them settle like feathers again. She valued the leaves, and welcomed them to the small garden she rarely had time to tend. The leaves offered her rosebushes nourishment and would disintegrate come the first rain. Pushing back her memories into their safe place, she climbed into the truck and fastened her seatbelt. As they headed back to the office, she turned to Kane. “I want to drag Dr. Turner down here right now but I guess we’d better wait until he views the body.”