by D. K. Hood
Fourteen
For some reason, whenever Jenna fell asleep totally exhausted, she dreamed of the beach. A sunny day, not hot but just nice, and walking on wet sand on the edge of a blue ocean that went on forever. Of late, she hadn’t been alone. Dave had been there, walking just behind her. She couldn’t see him but kind of sensed he was there. He gave her a wonderful feeling of security, and when she lifted her face to the sun a peace came over her, leaving all her worries behind.
“Jenna.”
It was Kane’s voice dragging her away from her idyllic Shangri-La. She squeezed her eyes tight shut, not ready to leave yet. “Do we have to leave so soon?”
“Well, you can stay, but I figure you’ll want to be involved in the search.” Kane’s fingers closed around her arm and gave her a little shake. “Atohi’s dog found human remains in the forest. We’re heading out to the res to track down the rest of the body. Are you coming?”
Reality came crashing down like an avalanche, and Jenna opened her eyes and looked at him. Dressed to travel, with his Kevlar vest under a thick winter jacket and a woolen cap pulled down over his ears. “What time is it?”
“Almost ten.” Kane glanced at his watch. “We’re meeting Blackhawk at eleven. We need to move along.”
She swallowed hard. “What did the dog find?”
“A part of the lower leg, just above the ankle and some ways up. It was chewed up some. The bears or the dogs had gotten to it before Blackhawk noticed it.”
“Oh, so we’re assuming this is the owner of the ear?” Jenna yawned and pushed her hair from her face.
“Maybe.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “It was pretty hairy and had a part of a tattoo. It could be male. Wolfe has already confirmed the ear is from a female, so we may be looking for two different people.” He held out a cup of coffee. “Get this into you. If you’re hungry there are sandwiches and coffee in the truck and I’ve packed the saddlebags with supplies.”
“Thanks.” The implications of two people dying over Halloween week again this year seemed too bizarre. “I hope Halloween isn’t going to be spoiled every year by murders.”
“It might trigger some people.” Kane shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
Jenna sat up, swung her legs off the bed, and searched for her boots. “Is Wolfe coming with us?”
“Yeah, he’s leaving Webber to run the office and Em is coming with us. They’ve headed back to town to get their gear. Atohi said it was below freezing at the base of the mountain, so rug up and after what happened last night, a vest would be sensible.”
Pulling on her hiking boots, Jenna nodded. “Sure. I assume we’re taking the horses?”
“Nope.” Kane leaned against the doorframe. “I’ve settled them in the barn, Atohi is supplying horses and a packhorse just in case we need to bring down a body.”
“Okay.” Jenna sipped her coffee and sighed as the rich aroma filled her nostrils. “We’ll need vests for Blackhawk and Em. I don’t want to put them in danger.”
“Wolfe and Em are already suited up and I’ve a spare for Atohi. He was a little upset we didn’t inform him you’d be all alone over the weekend. He said you should have called him.” Kane’s lips quivered into a smile. “It seems I’m not the only overprotective male in town.”
“He knows I can look out for myself just fine.” Jenna searched her bag for another sweater and then grabbed her jacket. “My vest is in the Beast.”
“It’s in the kitchen now, I’ll get it. Finish your coffee.” Kane headed down the hallway. “I’m ready to leave and we’re meeting Wolfe on Stanton.”
Jenna swallowed her coffee and then scanned the room for what else she would need. She’d grabbed a few days’ clothing from the house, but some essentials were still locked inside her room. She smiled. Kane had rescued her duty belt from the house, her gloves and woolen cap. She dived into the bathroom, washed her face, and tied back her hair. The couple of hours’ sleep had worked wonders, and when she returned to the bedroom Kane handed her the vest. She dropped it over her head and pulled on her jacket, hat, and gloves. “What’s happening about securing my house?”
“I emptied your safe, and gun locker. All your valuables and documents are now in my safe. You can go get anything else you need later.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “No one is getting in here. My backup generator is working just fine.” He met her gaze. “The team are here and have their orders. POTUS wasn’t too happy with the breach in security. The ranch will be secure by the time we get home. The cosmetic side may take longer, but you’ll have more control over that side of things. All the broken furniture has already been removed and you can order the replacements. The insurance will cover any cost involved. The interior damage will be repaired by the team over the next day or so.”
“Good to know.” The feeling of someone violating her home hadn’t left Jenna but she smothered it. She dragged up her last ounce of professionalism and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.”
They met Wolfe and Emily as planned, and they set out in a convoy. As the Beast powered its way up the mountain ranges, Jenna dragged her gaze away from the panoramic views of Black Rock Falls and turned to Kane. “Everything you’ve told me and my first impressions still point to James Stone, and yet we know he’s locked away. Is there a chance he could be manipulating people, followers or whatever, from jail?”
“That would be my first conclusion, but I don’t see how he can.” Kane’s attention was fixed on the road. “Jo followed up on her phone call this morning. She wanted to put your mind at rest. Stone is monitored, the only news he gets from the outside is a newspaper. All his correspondence is copied, and as we speak Bobby Kalo is going over it, making sure a code hasn’t slipped past the officials. We’ll hear more later. There’s a ton of mail, he has admirers, followers, but nothing is happening between them and Stone. He’s not permitted to reply to anyone. There is no direct communication to and from the outside. It can’t be him. Jo feels the same. He can’t possibly be controlling anyone from inside the jail.”
Pushing back her memory to the discussion she had with Wolfe about the dark web, she recalled a comparison he’d made at the time to explain how it worked. “Wolfe once told me the dark web was similar to a cartel. There are groups of likeminded people who would prefer to remain anonymous but at times they gather… like pedophiles, sooner or later they trust each other enough to trade. Maybe Stone’s clients in the human hunting racket were widespread and some are still out there waiting for him to reactivate his web presence. They are supersmart and rich. If the newspaper is the only thing Stone gets from the outside, we should be looking closer. I’m convinced he’s involved. I figure, if this is a couple someone has murdered, with the gas on the body and the crossbow bolts, it’s getting too close for comfort.” She turned in her seat and stared at him. The image of Kane falling over the ravine in a cloud of blood made her stomach cramp. “He tried to kill you, Dave. It wasn’t just me, he wanted us both dead.”
Fifteen
If the trip to the forest on horseback hadn’t been to search for the remains of some poor soul, the day would have been idyllic. The wind that had tormented Jenna the night before had calmed to a gentle breeze, and although more storms had been predicted the day was crisp but not toe numbingly so. She rode beside Kane as they followed the dogs along narrow trails that zigzagged across the dense forest at the base of the mountain. Duke ran ahead, nose to the floor with no hint of exhaustion from the long evening awake, beside him another bloodhound belonging to Blackhawk by the name of Seeker. The dogs shared the same mother, although some years separated them. They hit a wider trail and the claw marks on the trees warned of bears close by. She turned in her saddle to Blackhawk. “Bears have been here.”
“The marks are old and there’s no scat.” He waved her onward. “They’re far away and hunt at night and dawn. I don’t think they’d come close to a group of us. They’re smarter than you think.”
The trail ahead widened and she noticed Kane s
canning the area, his head moving from side to side and all around. She rode closer. “What’s up?”
“Nothing yet, but my gut tells me we’re not alone.” Kane’s gaze shifted to her. “I had the same feeling at the ranch. It’s a second sense that something isn’t right.” He sighed. “I can’t see anyone but I’ve been watching for signs of trail cams. If you remember Stone used them to capture and stream his murders. I’ve seen nothing and at the speed Duke is moving, the crime scene isn’t too far away.”
Wolfe moved up behind them and pointed at Duke. The dog was sitting in the middle of the trail and Seeker barked twice and then dropped down. “What does that mean?”
“They’ve found something. And the air here is tainted with the smell of death.” Blackhawk moved past them. “This could be the place.” He waited for a few seconds, observing the surrounding forest, and then turned to Jenna. “Someone trampled the bushes over there, there are broken branches leading off toward the ravine.” He sniffed the air. “Someone had a campfire close by. I can see ashes on the wind.”
“The horses are getting nervous.” The stallion Kane rode tossed his head and snorted. “Are you okay, Em?”
“Have no fear, the mare is placid.” Blackhawk glanced at him and his lips quirked into a smile. “Not so your ride. He carries the name Black Devil, but I’m sure you can handle him. Be aware he might try to take a piece out of one of the others. He bites.”
“So do I.” Kane moved away from Emily and rode beside Jenna.
Jenna turned to look at him. It was hard to believe he’d been so close to death a month or so ago. He covered his discomfort well or had a pain tolerance above most people’s, but she’d gotten to know him well and his usually fluid movements had suffered. The two stab wounds had gone deeper than she’d realized, and one had nicked an artery. He’d been forced to rest up and she’d seen how much it bothered him, but this week he’d turned the corner and was almost back to his old self. As he rode close to her, the stallion’s teeth snapped. The bay mare she was riding was sure-footed but shied away, almost unseating her. She grimaced, seeing Kane’s horse roll his eyes. “Just keep his teeth away from me.”
“Don’t worry, we’re getting along just fine and I won’t give him the chance to bite anyone.” Kane reined in his mount and then wrinkled his nose as a gust of wind blew up the trail. “I smell rotting flesh and gasoline. The body is close by. That’s a smell I won’t forget in a hurry.”
The scent of the pine forest had turned into a smell Jenna would never forget. Death had a stench like no other. It crawled up her nose and stuck to hair and clothes. Like the acrid lingering smell of smoke, a person carried it with them and most times everything she’d worn to a crime scene had to be thrown in the trash. She turned at a tap on her arm. Kane was leaning toward her, his horse sidestepping and eyes rolling as Kane thrust a facemask in her direction. “Thanks.” Pulling it over her nose, she scanned the forest. “The trail opens out some ahead, we’ll take a look.” She turned in her saddle to speak to Emily. “We don’t know what may be ahead, so stay alert.”
“I’ll be in between Kane and Dad. They’ll cover me front and back.” Emily smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
The trail turned to the right and opened up into a small clearing. A tent sat open to the elements, the flap waving and ashes from a dead campfire dancing in the breeze. Jenna’s gaze moved past the tent and she made out a figure at the bottom of a tree. “Wait, Atohi, we’ll go in on foot.”
They dismounted, Jenna waited for Kane to come to her side and looked at the others. “We’ll go in first. Watch our backs.”
Jenna’s heart pounded and bile rushed up her throat as she moved into the clearing. She peered into the tent. “Clear.”
“The fire’s cold.” Kane moved beside her, scanning the clearing from top to bottom. “I can’t see any trip wires but be alert.”
Jenna nodded. “Copy that.”
Step by step, she moved across the campsite, her attention fixed on the body of a man sitting upright. He stared straight ahead pinned by a crossbow bolt through his forehead to the tree. The head and torso were intact but wildlife had gnawed on his limbs. The lower part of one leg was missing. As she moved closer the underlying smell of gasoline wafted from him. His clothes and hair had been soaked but it didn’t hide the stench of rotting flesh. Flashbacks of Stone’s kills washed over her in a horrific rerun. It was as if someone had re-created the scene from one of his many murders. She stared around. The only thing missing was the mutilated woman. Stone picked couples for his clients to hunt. He disabled the male and made him watch as he or his client tortured the woman. The bolt in the head was the coup de grâce. He’d filmed everything and streamed it over the dark web, taking instructions on how to proceed from the highest bidder. Stone’s clients never made it home and became part of a macabre collection of corpses held in a cave at Bear Peak. She turned to Kane. “There are two sleeping bags and backpacks in the tent, also a pink sweater. There’s a woman missing.”
“Maybe they had a fight and she killed him.” Kane was checking the ground around the campsite. “This might be unrelated to what happened at the ranch.”
“It’s making my skin crawl.” Jenna beckoned Wolfe. “Clear.” She looked at Kane. “I can almost feel James Stone watching us and yet I know darn well he’s locked up in jail. Who did this, Kane?”
“I wish I knew.” Kane pulled on surgical gloves. “I’ll search the backpacks for ID.”
Trying to focus on the procedure and not the reality before her, Jenna dragged her gaze away from the staring eyes of the victim. “I’ll examine the tent. Go with Atohi and recon the forest, the woman might be close by.”
“Okay, but I’ll grab the sweater. The dogs will be able to track her from the scent.” Kane touched her arm. “Stone is in jail. Don’t allow the memory of his obsession with you to overshadow what we have here now. It’s creepy that this murder is so close to his case, but there has to be an explanation.”
Jenna stared back at the body. “It’s too darn close, and I’m not imagining the man who wrecked my home. I know you figure I’m not thinking logically but my gut is telling me Stone is involved. We have to find out how he is communicating with the outside before one of his disciples kills again.”
“I know you went through hell last night and whoever doing this is a threat, Jenna, but I can read you like a book and the thought of Stone manipulating a copycat killer and sending someone after you is clouding your judgment.” Kane’s expression filled with concern. “You always think outside of the box. You’re logical. This”—he waved a hand toward the corpse—“doesn’t compute in your mind. It can’t be happening because we know Stone has no communication with the outside world and then we come across a crime scene like this one and it’s unsettling.”
Unconvinced, Jenna nodded to appease him but she had no doubt, some way, somehow, James Stone was in the thick of it. “Okay, okay. Think outside the box, gotcha.”
“If we find anything, I’ll use the com.” Kane headed for the tent, bent to snag the clothing, and then dropped it into an evidence bag. He gave her a wave as he headed to where Blackhawk was waiting with the horses.
As Jenna turned away from the corpse, Wolfe and Emily moved in to secure the site. Having a medical examiner on her team was a bonus. Wolfe’s team documented the scene and she could concentrate on the investigation. She headed to the tent as Blackhawk and Kane followed the dogs through the surrounding forest. Inside the tent, she found two backpacks and bedding. She took photographs with her phone. The tent hadn’t been disturbed. After pulling on surgical gloves, she leaned inside and grabbed the backpacks. She went through them methodically and found a woman’s wallet, her driver’s license but no phone, just like in the Stone case. A wave of panic shot through her and she straightened to stare all around her. This was like a recurring nightmare and she wanted to wake up. Pushing down the rising panic, she scanned the forest, seeing a threat in every
shadow. In her mind’s eye James Stone stepped out of the darkness, intent on murdering her with slow deliberation. It wouldn’t be fast. Stone like to enjoy his kills and he’d make sure it would be an especially slow and painful death.
Forcing her mind back to reality, she shook her head, but panic surfaced in a hurry as the shadows turned into a dark figure heading straight for her. She gasped with relief when Kane walked into the clearing and stopped to speak to Wolfe. As he came to her side, she looked into his troubled expression. “Did you find the woman? I found her purse. June Harris out of Buffalo Ridge.”
“Nope, the surrounding forest is disturbed, so she could have run away. The dogs lost her scent down by the creek. It’s wide and fast flowing, she might have waded across it or fallen in and been washed away. Or someone carried her. It’s hard to tell. There’s nothing but rock alongside it.” He indicated toward Wolfe. “The man has a wallet in his back pocket, no phone. That’s what’s left of Payton Harris.”
A shiver went down Jenna’s spine. “No phones, the man disabled. This is too close to Stone’s murders. We have to keep looking. June Harris must be here somewhere or what’s left of her.” She shook her head slowly and then waved a hand toward the corpse. “I’m not paranoid. This has Stone’s signature all over it.”