“I’m still shocked.” Jenna gave him a worried look. “If you hadn’t brought me up to speed with our morning workout session I might be dead.”
“Nah, you never lose the training. It’s inbuilt; I just gave you a nudge to get it back on track.” He smiled at her. “Don’t think I won’t have you working your butt off the moment you get clearance from the doc either.”
“The way they are fussing over me, that will be sometime in the fall.”
Kane squeezed her hand. “In the meantime, do you want to know the motives your hardworking team of deputies have confirmed beyond doubt for the murders?”
“Oh, doh!” Jenna pulled a face then winced in pain. “Go on then, give it to me. So far I only know what Dirk told me.”
Kane gave her the conclusions he had relayed to Deputy Rowley concerning Sarah’s death and the attempts on Jenna’s life on the way to the Daniels’ ranch. “The abuse the Daniels brothers suffered as kids often triggers psychopathic behavior, especially when mental health issues are in the family history. It is possible the father murdered their mother and maybe Pete survived because he left the environment as a baby.” He sighed. “The mutilation of the cattle might have preempted the murder spree but it could also have been a way to control Clough. It’s likely that being so isolated, they acted out their fantasies on animals since childhood.”
“That’s all very well but after you found Stan Clough with Pete’s body, what made you keep looking? He was our prime suspect.”
“The forensics found two pairs of boot marks at Sarah’s crime scene and Clough kept on insisting they did it and he was afraid of them. I didn’t believe him but secured him then searched the house looking for trophies or evidence.” He sighed. “When I found Mrs. Woodward’s body and she had written the Daniels’ names as her killers in blood, all the pieces fell into place.” He let out a long sigh.
“How did you find me? The bunker is well hidden.”
“If Rowley hadn’t told me about the survival shelter on the Daniels’ ranch, we wouldn’t have found you in time. By the way, I must commend you on Rowley’s training; he didn’t falter once. Shocked and horrified but as solid as a rock.”
“Yeah, he is a good, dependable deputy.” Jenna rubbed her temples, and her forehead wrinkled into a frown. “I can’t believe the Daniels brothers had the brains to use Mrs. Woodward’s pickup to cause my accident. I guess the BOLO we put out on the vehicle hasn’t panned out yet?” She fingered the dressing on her neck, and her blue eyes reflected her pain.
“Yeah, it did. Walters found the pickup parked in plain sight in the Cattleman’s Hotel parking lot.” Kane smiled. “Rowley is taking paint samples from the damaged front panel as we speak.”
“That’s good. I gather they had time to dump Pete’s cruiser to make sure they weren’t implicated in my kidnapping?”
Kane shrugged. “It looks more like they planned to put the blame on me.”
“You?” Jenna stared at him wide-eyed. “Why you?”
“New kid in town and their biggest threat, I guess.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “They dumped Sarah’s purse in our trash bin and I found a lock of her hair and the missing underwear in my garage. They didn’t have time to dump the vehicle. We found it under a tarpaulin in the Daniels’ barn and it’s with forensics, so we are two patrol cars down at the moment.” He met her annoyed gaze with a grin. “Don’t worry, I spoke to the mayor; he has a rush order on two brand spanking new SUVs to replace them. We’ll have them soon.”
“That’s wonderful. How many of his arms did you have to break?” She giggled and the sound filled him with relief.
“Not one.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I used my charm.”
“Well, you have that in spades.” Jenna sighed. “It is hard to believe they murdered John Helms or poor old Mrs. Woodward for money. Dirk told me they had a heap of debts after they murdered their father. He said they befriended lonely people and tortured them for their PIN as if it was like getting a new job to pay their bills. The way he validated murder was chilling.” She shuddered and rubbed her arms as if cold. “Both Dean and Dirk admitted to raping and murdering Sarah, but from what Dirk said, they have killed quite a few victims. Problem is that it’s hearsay. If forensics don’t find a stash of trophies, we’ll have nothing to go on.” She grimaced. “Although you have to admit, feeding the victims to Stan Clough’s pigs was a stroke of genius.”
Kane rubbed his chin. “Maybe Clough can explain why they stopped killing for two years, then started again. The behavior doesn’t follow the usual psychopathic murderer pattern.”
“As you said before, they would need a fix, and we have no idea how many bodies are rotting away in barrels, do we?” Jenna leaned back in the pillows and yawned. “We should consider every missing persons’ case in surrounding counties from the time they killed their father.” She let out a long sigh. “Won’t that be fun?”
“Don’t worry.” Kane patted her hand. “The state forensics team is out at the ranch. If the Daniels brothers kept trophies, they will be matched against any missing persons throughout the state.”
“I feel like an incompetent fool. We still don’t know how Helms met the Daniels brothers in the first place.”
Kane stood and filled a glass with orange juice then handed it to her. “Yeah, we do. I finally managed to speak to his wife. Her story was pretty close to Father Maguire’s account. The couple had marital problems and Helms needed a break. He decided to hit the road to follow his favorite hockey team and attend all their games. His car broke down in Blackwater and he had it towed to a garage. He told his wife he ran into two men from Black Rock Falls at the garage. They offered him accommodation plus a lift back to town to collect his car for a few days’ work on their ranch. As his vehicle was going to take a week to repair, he agreed. He must have been out of earshot when he used his cellphone; the Daniels brothers obviously didn’t know he’d called her.”
“So, you’re sure it was the Daniels brothers he met?”
Kane smiled. “Proof positive. They made the mistake of speaking to Helms at the garage in front of the owner. They ordered spare parts for Dean’s pickup and left their contact number. The proprietor remembers them leaving with Helms.”
“Why didn’t his wife tell all this to the priest?”
“I asked her the same question. She didn’t speak to the priest until he asked her about the dentist; apparently he didn’t mention anything about lodging a missing persons’ report on her husband.” Kane shook his head. “When I questioned the priest, he told me the wife wasn’t mentally stable and he didn’t want to worry her.”
“That doesn’t account for not being able to contact her for ages.” Jenna met his gaze with a frown. “Did you ask her where she’d been hiding?”
“I did. When Helms told her he was excited about meeting new friends and was looking forward to an adventure, she packed her bags and went to her mother’s house. She was angry at Helms and turned off her cellphone; didn’t turn it back on again, hence the reason we couldn’t locate her. When the priest visited her and asked about the dentist, he told her the cellphone was out of order.” He sighed. “She did seem very vague at times and couldn’t understand why her husband had picked driving around in freezing temperatures over working out their problems.” He snorted. “She had a point. Why anyone would travel alone to Black Rock Falls in the middle of winter to stay with strangers, with or without the hockey game, defies explanation.”