Forty-Nine
Chagrined, Kane dropped into the chair in his booth and stared at Jenna’s office door. What part of discussing a case didn’t she understand? He followed his gut and right now his gut told him there was a connection between the attempts on her life and the murders.
He desperately wanted to pay Stan Clough a visit, and speaking to him was a priority, but a search warrant would be an asset if he noticed anything suspicious. The idea the man owned a piggery worried him to some extent and knowing the voracious appetites of pigs, it would not be beyond reason to believe a psychopath could feed his victims to his swine. A pig will devour a carcass, bones and all, and DNA-testing their shit often proves useless.
He rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought. Did Clough have a family or close friend? If two men were involved in such brutal killings and lived in Black Rock Falls, they would have committed more murders in or around the area. Both Sarah’s and Helms’s deaths told him the killer had escalated his need to murder. If he assumed the missing persons from two years ago had been victims, he had reason to believe the killer’s pattern had been disturbed—and Clough had been in jail for six months.
He would need to contact other counties for a list of missing persons. Psychopaths often moved around collecting victims. Relatives may have reported people missing, but how many people without family and friends disappear without a trace? This maniac could have been doing this for years.
He glanced at Jenna’s door and decided to get back to work. Pulling out his notebook, he scanned the witnesses Billy Watts had named. The coach would be the best witness and he would ask the manager of the Larks gym. He called both numbers and wrote down the time the witnesses remembered seeing Watts and Beal arrive and depart. As the times coincided within a fifteen-minute span, he crossed both suspects off his list. He stared at Josh Rockford’s name and rubbed his chin; he needed to check his father’s old Ford pickup.
He brought up the DMV files on his computer screen and jotted down the locations of the Ford pickups he wanted to inspect. Still new to the area, he would have to rely on his GPS to guide him. He reached for his cellphone and punched in John Davis’s number. “Ah, Mr. Davis. I’m on my way to inspect your pickup. Do you need to let your wife know? I don’t want to worry her by showing up unannounced.”
“I’m finished for the day. My ranch is set back off the road and might be difficult to locate. If you stop here on the way, you can follow me.”
Kane frowned. “Yeah, thanks. I’ll be there in five minutes.” He removed his sidearm from the holster and checked the clip.
“Problem?” Deputy Rowley stopped, coffee cup in hand.
“Nah.” Kane smiled at him. “I’m just being careful.”
“Don’t worry about the sheriff.” Rowley gave him an apologetic shrug. “Her bark is worse than her bite, as they say.”
“I’m not worried.”
Rowley’s face pinked and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Of course not. Oh, by the way, none of the dates for the cash withdrawals coincides with Watts’ or Rockford’s movements, according to the cellphones or GPS. When he’s not with the Larks, Rockford seems to move around town at odd hours, as in overnight, and he spends a lot of time online.”
“Okay.” Kane holstered his weapon and pocketed his notebook. “I’m heading out to look at the pickups then I’m heading home. I’ll see you in the morning.” He glanced at Jenna’s office door. “See she gets home safely.”
* * *
He met John Davis outside the real estate office and followed his car out of town and into the hills. The light had started to fade by the time he drew up beside the blue pickup. He pulled up the hood of his jacket and slipped from the seat. Grabbing his cellphone, he moved around the vehicle, snapping shots. Convinced this pickup was not the one he had seen the night of Jenna’s accident, he gave John Davis a wave. “All done. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Not a problem.” Davis moved to his side with a bunch of excited dogs circling him. “I have to ask, has something happened at the Old Mitcham Ranch?”
Kane weighed up his reply. “We have reason to believe a crime was committed in the area.” Holding up a hand to prevent Davis from questioning him, he smiled. “I’m sorry, as it’s an ongoing investigation, I can’t give you any more information.” He glanced up at the sky and winced at the sight of gray clouds heavy with snow. “I’d better be going. I have to inspect Mayor Rockford’s vehicle before I call it a day.”
“Okay. If you drive through that gate,” Davis pointed to a dirt road recently cleared of snow, “it takes you directly to the back of Rockford’s barn. He keeps the vehicle inside. I’m in a deal with Rockford on feed so we keep the road clear for deliveries. It will cut your traveling time in half. I’ll leave the gates open, if you sound your horn on the way back, I’ll come down and close them.”
Kane nodded and followed him back to his SUV. “Thanks.”
* * *
The trip to Mayor Rockford’s ranch had been a waste of time. The old pickup had evident rust in the tailgate and no sign of a sticker. Kane headed home with the sound of Alton’s harsh words ringing in his ears. There could be no doubt the pickup used in her accident belonged to Mrs. Woodward. His conclusion about the case had not changed.
When he arrived home, lights blazed in Jenna’s house but no floodlights illuminated the driveway. She had not taken the time to set up her security system. A cruiser, one of the older ones, belonging to Pete Daniels, was in her driveway. She had likely borrowed the vehicle but if he had given her a ride, she could have invited him to stay for coffee, maybe with the intention of finding out what information he had been leaking. Somehow, the idea of Jenna entertaining another man disturbed him, not in a jealous way but more as if a close friend had dumped him.
Kane stomped into the house. He needed more information, more insight into the happenings in Black Rock Falls. Josh Rockford had something hidden behind his outgoing persona, and who was Stan Clough? Who would be better to fill him in than the town gossip? Reaching for his cellphone, he flipped it open and dialed the number. “Hi, Mary-Jo, this is David Kane. I was wondering if you’d be free for dinner tonight.”
When she gushingly agreed, he secured a table at the Cattleman’s Hotel restaurant for eight. He had not been on a date for five years but had played the part of a doting companion on assignment many times. It’s only business. After shrugging away the nagging voice in the back of his head and ignoring the instant grip of betrayal in his gut for his dead wife, he whistled a tune and headed for the shower.
Fifty
It was pitch-black outside when Jenna noticed the headlights of Kane’s SUV heading out the gate. A wave of panic hit her along with the sinking recollection she had not reinstalled the floodlights to her security system. With Kane close by to keep her safe, she had not made the job a priority. Never mind, he would likely be back after eating dinner, and in the meantime she would keep busy.
She glanced at the clock and, seeing it was after eleven, strolled to the front door and peered in the direction of Kane’s cottage. The porch light illuminated the doors to his garage. They stood wide open and the inside was a gaping black maw. “Out on the tiles, are you, Kane? Hmm, and after you told me you had suffered a bad breakup. Men!”
Walking back to her bedroom, she flicked off the lights on the way and lay down on her bed. She tried to sleep but the argument with Kane kept coming to the front of her mind. After midnight, her phone disturbed her and it took some moments to realize the beep was the border alarm. “So, you decid