“No.” Maggie took her seat behind the counter and switched on her computer. “I guess he’ll inform you himself soon enough.” She lifted her double chin toward the window. “There he is now.”
Not wanting to discuss anything in front of Maggie, Jenna strolled into her office and heard the door to the cells close and footsteps heading in her direction. She stared at Kane’s annoyed expression. “What?”
“We don’t have anyone in custody.” Anger flowed off Kane as he followed her into the office. “Walters and Daniels should have been on duty overnight. I told them we had probable cause to hold our suspects overnight for questioning. They could have split the shifts. On whose authority did they release them?”
Jenna’s face grew hot and she moved to her desk. She cleared her throat and chanced a glance at him. Oh, man, he resembled the sky just before a hurricane. “I turned off my cellphone last night and apparently Rowley tried to reach me.”
“Why didn’t he contact me?” Kane’s blue eyes flashed with anger.
Jenna shrugged. “Why do you think? He likely called the house without luck and guessed I stayed overnight at your place. He wouldn’t have risked disturbing us.”
“Oh.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck and his gaze raked her face. “Yeah, I see, but really that’s no excuse. We are single adults and what we do is our business.” His attention moved toward the door. “That sounds like him now.” He turned and marched out of the office.
A few seconds later, Deputy Rowley strolled into the office wearing an uncomfortable expression. The tips of his ears had turned a bright shade of pink.
“Morning, ma’am.” He gazed at Jenna then his feet. “I released the suspects.”
“Why?” Kane shut the door behind him then dropped casually into a chair in front of her desk
. “On whose authority?”
“Mayor Rockford came here with a lawyer who said he was representing Josh, Billy, and Dan. He insisted I show him the arrest warrants and asked if I’d read them their Miranda rights.” He sucked in a long breath. “I explained Sheriff Alton had brought them in for questioning and no charges had been laid. I also told him we had a right to hold his clients for seventy-two hours without charging them. I tried to contact Sheriff Alton but the lawyer insisted I conduct the questioning in his presence or release the suspects. I couldn’t quote probable cause or proceed because I wasn’t up to speed with the current investigation.” He ran a hand through his hair and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “We didn’t get to impound the vehicles either. The lawyer said we needed a warrant. As the only vehicle suspected in any ongoing cases is a blue Ford pickup and none of the suspects own one, I didn’t have probable cause.”
Jenna folded her hands on her desk. She did not intend to come down hard on Rowley. He had followed the rules. “You had no other option.” She caught Kane’s annoyed expression in her periphery. “Just one thing. Did you ask the suspects to come in for questioning or did you arrest them?”
“I didn’t have a warrant for their arrest.” Rowley straightened. “I went to the hockey training and when they came out the dressing rooms, after training not before, I requested they accompany me to the station to answer some questions.” He sighed. “Rockford complained about police harassment, said this was the third time we’d spoken to him in a week. Their coach told them it would be better to cooperate and they came willingly. I didn’t put them in the cells or cuff them. Rockford called his father and shortly after the lawyer arrived and the mayor stormed off ranting about having you fired .”
“Did you get to question them at all?” Kane leaned forward in his chair. “About their whereabouts during both incidents involving the sheriff?”
“Yeah.” Rowley pulled out a notepad from his inside pocket. “I asked Rockford to account for his whereabouts on the night of the sheriff’s accident. He said he took Susie Hartwig to dinner and she spent the night at his place.” He flicked a glance at Kane and wiggled his eyebrows. “You’ll remember the waitress from Aunt Betty’s Café?”
“Go on.” Kane waved a hand in dismissal. “Did you speak to Watts or Beal?”
“No, I interviewed Rockford. I’m not sure if Daniels got time to ask any questions; he was assigned to Billy Watts.” He turned his attention back to Jenna. “I sent Walters home and swapped his duties with Daniels. He volunteered to be out at first light searching for Sarah Woodward’s purse. Do you want me to go and help him? I could work back from the motel to the crime scene?”
A knock came on her office door and she looked up to see Daniels. “Ah, just the person I wanted to see.”
“Mornin’, ma’am.” Deputy Daniels flashed a white smile and approached the desk.
“Did you have time to question Billy Watts about his whereabouts on the night of my accident?”
“No, but I did ask him if he was anywhere near Dutton Road yesterday morning. He said he did visit the landfill but couldn’t dump his garbage.” Daniels gave her a smug smile. “I know for a fact he keeps a hunting rifle in his SUV. He isn’t a bad shot either. I’ve been hunting with him on a number of occasions.”
“Who told you about the shooting?” Kane leaned forward in his chair then shot a death glare at Deputy Rowley.
“Rowley.” Daniels frowned. A bemused expression crossed his face. “He gave us both a rundown on the cases and what questions to ask the suspects. Times and whereabouts mostly. Although, he didn’t say squat about finding Sarah Woodward dead.” He put his hands on his hips. “It wasn’t a secret, was it?”
“Well in a way, yes, because we need to keep a lid on the details of her death for now.” Jenna glanced at Kane’s stony expression. “I couldn’t be reached last night and Rowley took the initiative to enable you to question the suspects.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Rowley gave Daniels a smug smile then turned to Kane. “After three incidents involving Sheriff Alton in less than a week, I think one of us needs to be with her at all times.”
Sick of her deputies classing her as a woman first, sheriff second, Jenna let out a long sigh. “I can take care of myself in the office and if I am kidnapped and lose my cellphone, vehicle, or weapon, Kane has devised a backup device to track me.” She tapped her earring and smiled at Kane. “Our new deputy is very resourceful.”
Forty-Two
Dumbfounded, Kane stared at Alton. She had lost her mind to be informing anyone about the tracking device in her earrings. He caught sight of movement in the hallway and pushed to his feet. Through the open door, he recognized Billy Watts strolling past on the way to the bathroom. He rubbed his chin, concerned one of Josh Rockford’s friends had overheard the sheriff’s conversation. The sight of Billy Watts triggered an avalanche of coincidental information he had overlooked. Mind reeling, he cleared his throat and stared at Rowley. “Have either of you spoken to Billy Watts this morning?”
“I have and he’s waiting in the outer office.” Daniels stopped halfway to the door. “He came in again for questioning, says he has nothing to hide.”