by D. K. Hood
Jenna called Wyatt Cooper and found him at home. After speaking to both his parents, she removed him from their list. Her deputies and Carter discovered two of the four unobtainable, their phones turned off and not at home. “So, we have Cory Hughes and Dale Collins missing. Do we know what they drive?” She stared at the evidence on the whiteboard.
“Hughes had a white pickup at the high school but that might be supplied, he could have another vehicle.” Kane tapped on his computer. “Nothing else belongs to him.”
“That doesn’t mean a thing.” Carter rubbed the back of his neck. “Kids often borrow rides. He could be driving anyone’s vehicle.” He waved at the whiteboard. “What about Dr. Turner, he’s out on bail?”
Jenna met his gaze. “I still have the Blackwater deputies patrolling in town and keeping an eye on his home. I’ll call one and ask them to go and check on him.” She made the call. “He is close by. I’ll hold until he has eyes on him.”
She waited, for what seemed like ages before the deputy came back on the line. She nodded. “Okay, thanks. Watch him for a bit and then continue on patrol. It won’t hurt for him to know we’re tracking his movements.” She disconnected.
“Dr. Turner is at home.” Jenna stared at the men. “We have a girl out there in danger. We have to find her. Come on, Dave, where would they take a girl to murder her?”
“I’d imagine somewhere close to home. At sixteen they wouldn’t risk taking her into the forest.” Kane’s brow furrowed in concentration. “I’ll search Google Earth in their local area for abandoned ranches or businesses.”
“Okay.” Jenna turned to Rio. “Head down to Aunt Betty’s and take a look at their CCTV feed, see if you can get a time Vicky left and maybe a look at the vehicle.” She turned to Carter. “Can you check the feed on the CCTV cameras on Main? You may hit paydirt.”
With a nod of their heads both men took off in a hurry. Jenna turned to stare at the board when Wolfe’s ringtone filled the office. She snatched up the phone and put it on speaker. “I hope you have something for me, Shane, we have just been notified of another missing girl, Vicky Perez.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Wolfe paused a beat. “I hope this will help. The Snapshot DNA Profiler came through. This is amazing technology. We have an image of a female. I’m sending it through to your phone now. Do you have anything to compare it to? Dark hair and eyes, Caucasian?”
Astonished, Jenna stared at the image on her phone. “She looks familiar. Kane has a file with recent images of the cheerleaders. I’ll get straight on it. Thanks, Shane.”
“I’m at the office until late if you need backup. Call me if you get anything.” He disconnected.
“I have something on the possible hideouts.” Kane looked up from his laptop. “Both Hughes and Collins have outbuildings on their ranches. Hughes has what looks like an old run-down building about half a mile from the house. Collins has a similar place. Both could be old barns from when they ran stock.” He tapped away again. “I have the files up for the cheerleaders, show me the image.”
Jenna sat beside him as they scanned the photographs. The image Wolfe had sent was like an identikit picture, not a photograph, and she stared at all the faces. So many girls had dark hair and eyes. “What about her, Verna Hughes?”
“Yeah, it’s a close enough match for us to chase down Hughes.” Kane scrolled through the images. “And her. I’ve spoken to her. She was at the kiosk talking to Dale Collins.” He stared at the whiteboard. “Marlene Moore.”
Astonished two similar girls had links to two suspects, she picked up her phone and called Rio. “Get back here, we have a lead.” She headed down the hallway and burst into the communications room. “Ty, we have two possible couples. We’ll have to split up. Kane figures he has the most probable locations.”
“Let me see.” Carter ran back to her office and stared at Kane’s results. “Yeah, it’s secluded enough not to be heard and close enough to home the kids wouldn’t be missed.” He turned to look at her. “Don’t call the girls. You don’t want to alert them we’re coming, Jenna. They might do something stupid. Give me the coordinates.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Kane pushed to his feet. “If I’m right and the girl is the dominant personality here, anything might happen.”
Jenna nodded in agreement. “Okay, we go in silent. Wear your liquid Kevlar vests, I don’t want anyone getting the jump on us.”
“The day a kid gets the jump on me is the day I retire.” Carter snorted. “But I’ll wear the vest.”
“Vicky left Aunt Betty’s at eight.” Rio bounded into the room. “I couldn’t ID the red truck but when I called in the media report, I put out a BOLO on the vehicle as well as the girl.”
Jenna nodded. “Good work. If she’s been gone that long, we need to move on this now.”
“What have you found?” Rio raised his eyebrows in question.
Jenna brought him up to date. “Look, I don’t want these kids to die in a hail of bullets. I doubt they’ll be armed and I’d like to know what’s behind this killing spree.”
“I hear you’re a sharpshooter.” Kane looked at Rio. “How good?”
“Damn good.” Rio’s face was deadly serious. “I don’t kill unless my partner or I are in mortal danger.”
“Good to hear.’ Kane nodded.
“Just as a sidenote.” Carter eyeballed Kane. “I can shoot a dime out of the sky. Now we’ve stated our creds, are we moving before this kid gets murdered or what?” He turned to Jenna. “I’ll take the Hughes’ ranch, Rio’s SUV won’t be noticed so easy.”
Feeling the tension building up, Jenna took a deep breath. “Okay move out.” She grabbed her phone and called Deputy Walters at Aunt Betty’s to update him on her progress and then they headed out the door to Kane’s truck.
As Rio’s SUV weaved through the crowded festival traffic and then sped into the distance, Jenna slipped into her Kevlar vest and then strapped Duke into his harness. The bloodhound would be an asset and alert them if anyone was hiding close by. Her heart raced as she climbed into the seat and buckled up. She glanced at Kane as he pulled on his gear wearing a combat face expression. “I hope we find her.”
“I figure one of us will.” Kane turned the Beast onto Main and, lights flashing, maneuvered through the traffic. “Although logical thinking doesn’t usually apply to psychopathic behavior but this time it’s underdeveloped. If this is one of the cheerleaders, she’d just be getting started.”
Jenna looked at him. “Should I run it past Jo for her opinion?”
“We don’t have time.” Kane turned onto Stanton Road and accelerated. “This killer is an unknown quantity, unpredictable to the max. She believes she can control people, so will try, and play the injured party. Don’t let her under your guard. Going on the kills to date, especially the repeated post-mortem stabbing of Laurie Turner, we need to be on our guard. This girl will stop at nothing and she doesn’t care who she hurts.”
The truck hurtled into the darkness, the flashing red and blue lights making the forest look surreal. A sea of red and blue glanced over the pines as they sped past, making the dark depths of the forest flicker like a silent movie. Jenna didn’t have to explain that time was against them, Kane was pushing the Beast to the limit of safety at high speed. She could never get used to the way he pointed his truck at a gap between vehicles and seemed to make it through. With her heart in her mouth, she gripped the seat as they hit the straightaway and Kane pulled out. The Beast roared its approval as if it had at last been freed from its cage. They flew down the wrong side of the highway, passing vehicles as if they were standing still, and then tucked back into the lane as they approached a sweeping bend just as an eighteen-wheeler barreled by.
When Jenna heard the voice on the GPS, she leaned forward and turned off the flashers. “About five hundred yards on the right, then take a sharp left into the road to the ranch.”
“Copy that.” Kane slowed the Beast. “There’s an old building some ways from the house. L
ook out for a track on the left, from the satellite image it looks overgrown. I’ll turn off the headlights and we’ll be able to see our way with the parking lights. If there is someone here, we don’t want to alert them.”
They bounced along the tree-lined dirt road and Jenna searched for gaps that might lead to a track to the barn. A space in the trees came up and she made out a dirt road leading through the trees. “Stop. I think I can see the turnoff; we’ve gone past.”
“Okay.” Kane reversed and turned onto a trail.
Jenna leaned forward and peered ahead. “It’s a well-used path, maybe this isn’t the place.”
“It looks about right. The barn should be about a hundred yards from the main track. We have to check this out and fast. That girl’s life could be on the line.” Kane pulled into the trees. “We can walk from here.” He glanced out the window. “We won’t need to use a Maglite; it’s a full moon and I can see like a cat.”
Jenna’s stomach flip-flopped. Going into an unknown situation had sent her adrenalin into overdrive. She gave him a nod. “Let’s go. You first. I’m not planning on walking into any spider webs.”
“Sure, I just love spiders.” Kane grimaced. “Stick to the path and you’ll be fine.”
Ahead of her Kane moved in silence, Duke heading out before him on his leash, and she followed, keeping close to the path. With trees on both sides of the track, their boughs reached out to touch each other across the divide. Moonlight speared through the branches sending zebra shadows across the ground. She moved in closer to the trees and a web caught her hair. She batted it away and then heard a muffled scream. In front of her Duke had become a rigid statue, hackles raised. Unnerved, Jenna took a step forward and tugged on Kane’s shirt. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “What was that?”
Fifty-Six
The Zippo lighter clicked again and as the flame licked her bare toes, Vicky screamed, her cries muffled behind the rag inside her mouth. Unbearable pain exploded in her foot and seemed to grow more intense by the second.
“She’s good and awake now.” The Zippo lifted and the flame danced in the deranged eyes of Marlene Moore. “Get behind her.” She discarded the lighter and lifted a knife, waving it around so it caught the glow from the lantern. “See this?” She moved closer. “Maybe I’ll cut out your eyes, just one for a start. I wouldn’t want you to miss any of the fun.”
Terror consumed Vicky. Helpless, tied up, and at the mercy of two lunatics hell bent on killing her slowly, she tossed her head from side to side and squirmed on the plastic. Tears ran down her cheeks and she fought to breathe as her running nose threatened to block her airways. What had she ever done to Marlene to make her hate her so much?
“I heard something.” Dale Collins’ hands trembled as he grabbed Vicky’s shoulders. “Listen.”
“I don’t hear anything but her whimpering.” Marlene gave a satisfied smile. “But I wanna hear her make those funny noises. Shame about the gag, huh, Vicky? No one can hear you but me.” She waved a hunting knife and a small kitchen knife back and forth in front of her eyes. “Which one should I use first?”
Vicky strained her ears. She’d heard something too. A dog barking but some ways away. It came again, sharp and urgent, closer this time, but Marlene had heard it too and she stood to peer around the stall door.
“It’s a dog.” Marlene whipped her head around to Dale. “Your dog died. Know anyone with a dog around these parts who’d be snooping on your ranch?”
“Nope.” Dale’s voice sounded shaky. “When the sheriff spoke to me, they had a hunting dog with them. If they’ve found us, what are we going to do?”
“Douse that light for a start. I’ll go into the hayloft. If anyone comes in, I’ll have the jump on them. They won’t see me coming.” Marlene ran out the door. “If it’s the sheriff, she won’t be expecting kids to fight back.”
“Maybe we should just let her go and hightail it back to your place.” Dale’s voice was a husky whisper. “It’s her word against ours. We can take the backroads. I’ll drop you and dump the truck.”
“Not a chance.” Marlene sounded confident. “It might just be a dog, chasing critters in the trees. We’ll wait and see.”
The old steps to the hayloft groaned and Vicky could hear footsteps above her and to the right. The bark came in the distance and she rolled to one side to look up at Dale. His face, lit by a shaft of moonlight through a skylight on the roof, was set in a gray mask, lips turned down at the corners. She looked at him willing him to untie her and let her go.
“If I let you go, will you keep your mouth shut?” Dale’s warm breath tickled her ear.
Jumping at the chance to get away, Vicky nodded and then the moonlight glinted over the knife in his hand as he bent over her. She held her breath. Voices loud and official broke the silence followed by footfalls and a second later, flashlight beams dazzled her.
“Sheriff’s department. Drop the knife. Drop the damn knife now.” A tall man emerged from the darkness.
The knife dropped onto the plastic and Dale was thrown face first against the wall and cuffed to a rail. “Who else is here?” The man had his back to Vicky. “Is Marlene Moore with you?”
Dale said nothing and just gave a shake of his head.
“Clear the area, I’ll check Vicky.” A woman bent and switched on the lantern on the floor and then turned to her. “It’s okay, no one is going to hurt you now.” She kneeled beside her.
Vicky recognized Sheriff Alton and Deputy Kane and panic gripped her. She screamed against the rag and tried to indicate to the loft with her eyes.
“Hey calm down, it’s going to be okay.” Sheriff Alton pulled at the tape covering Vicky’s mouth. “It’s over. Sit still, I’ll have to cut you free.”
Vicky shook her head and tried to yell the word “no” and tipped her head toward the loft. Too late, terror hit her like a tsunami. Deputy Kane was walking straight into Marlene’s trap.
Fifty-Seven
Marlene smiled to herself, how stupidly self-confident the deputy had walked through the barn. Like most men, he’d allowed a woman to make decisions for him. How easy it was to manipulate men and she’d become an expert. Yeah, she’d started with Dale but she had ambitions, to use men to get everything she wanted in life. She crouched in the shadows waiting for the deputy to search the barn, he’d turn soon and walk back, maybe head for the steps and then she’d launch herself onto him. He was big, a nice wide target and she’d aim for his neck. No one could live with a hunting knife plunged into their throat. She looked at the two sharp blades. If she missed with one, she’d strike with the other. He’d never expect her to be carrying two knives and once he was down, she’d deal with the sheriff. Watching her bleed would be exquisite.
Excitement shivered through her as she breathed slowly through her nose. This was what she lived for— the thrill of the kill. She took a look at the sheriff, still busy trying to calm Vicky who seemed to have gone crazy and was jumping around like an idiot. What a shame, she hadn’t had time to watch her die. Her heart raced as the deputy turned back, checking the stalls, and moving the bales of hay to peer behind. In just a few more steps he would be in just the right position. Heart racing, she gathered her legs under her, gripped the knives, and launched from the hayloft with a triumphant scream.
It was like hitting a brick wall as she plunged the knife deep into his chest. She heard his intake of breath but instead of staggering away, his arms came around her, as if to break her fall. She lashed out, burying the second knife deep under his arm and then caught the expression on his face and the sight frightened her. His eyes were cold like those of a killer— like her own. He hadn’t reacted to her attack. It was like fighting a robot, and she couldn’t even slow him down. Suddenly terrified of him, she kicked out but he had her fast in his huge hands. “Get away from me.”
“Next time you attack someone, don’t give them a warning.” He glared down at her. “Stupid little girl, pulling a stunt like that, I coul
d have killed you.”
Tossed into the stall, Marlene scrambled to her feet and backed away as Deputy Kane, with a knife protruding from his chest, stepped in and grabbed her by the arms. Satisfaction surged through her at the spray of crimson spilling down his arm. She grinned at him. “You lose, Deputy. You’re bleeding.”
“You really need to try harder, if you’re planning to take down a guy my size.” The deputy glared at her. “You’re lucky I noticed you were a little girl. I don’t take too kindly to people attacking me.”
Marlene laughed at his stern expression. Oh, she’d cut him bad and he couldn’t handle being beaten by a kid. She lifted her chin and glared right back. “Loser. I won’t go to jail for jumping out at you, I’m just a kid protecting myself. Maybe they’ll give me a fine is all. You were trespassing on private property.”
“You’ll go for murder one and likely never see the light of day again. You see, in this state you’ll be prosecuted as an adult. Including an assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.” He spun her around and turned to the sheriff. “She’s all yours, Jenna.”
Fifty-Eight
Shocked at the bloody sight before her, Jenna grabbed Marlene as Kane slid down the wall and slumped onto the floor. “Dave, look at me.”
“I’m okay, cuff the prisoner.” Blood poured down Kane’s side and pooled in the straw.
Jenna gaped at him. “You do know you have a knife sticking out of your chest?”
“That obvious, is it? Thank God for liquid Kevlar vests.” Kane grunted and pushed into a sitting position and then rested his back against the wooden panels inside the stall. He touched his side and, after examining the blood dripping from his fingers, looked at her. “It’s nothing.”
Terrified at seeing the color drain from Kane’s face, but with a prisoner to secure, Jenna had no choice but to cuff Marlene, drag her outside the stall, and attach her to the same hitching post as Dale Collins. Immediately the prisoners started arguing.