“The murders were all over the news this evening but nothing was leaked about the links to the girls you found.” Rowley tipped back his hat and scratched his head. “Why would they threaten Kane? His reputation is untouchable and the locals know it.”
When Kane opened the back of her SUV and pulled out the vests, she heaved a sigh of relief. She shrugged and turned back to Rowley. “Most killers don’t think logically. Whoever is killing the pedophiles believes they are doing a community service and figure Kane is getting in their way. He was interviewing suspects today and maybe got close to the killer.” She headed toward her house with Duke following close to her side. “Problem is, some people think jail is too good for pedophiles and would turn a blind eye.”
“I could see why there would be a split opinion.” Rowley walked beside her and gave her an uncomfortable stare. “People who were abused as kids and parents who lost kids to these creeps would be happy someone is killing them.” He cleared his throat. “We want to catch them and bring them to justice. I can see both sides of the argument.”
Jenna stopped walking; she had to admit she could see both sides too, but her job was to enforce the law. “We follow the letter of the law and personal opinions don’t apply. Not ever.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After waiting for Kane and Wolfe to clear her house, she headed up the steps in time to see Kane checking the alarm system. “Find anything interesting?”
“You tell me.” Kane’s mouth twitched as he held up two wires torn from the main box. “The floodlights, I gather? It didn’t take a tech-head to work out the wiring. The label you stuck on the control panel is a dead giveaway.” He raised one eyebrow and his lips quivered as he attempted to smother a grin. “Give me a few seconds and I’ll have these reattached.”
“What about prints?” She unhitched the dog’s leash then moved to Kane’s side.
“Wiped down.” Wolfe came up the passageway and pointed to a small scuff on the floor outside the broom closet. “I would say they parked across the road behind the barn then walked here before you arrived. Kane mentioned he drove into his garage. You have a seven-minute turn off delay on the lights, so he had plenty of time to return to the house, is that correct?”
“Yes, I jogged to the house, went inside, and disabled the alarm, got changed, re-set the alarm, and came back here. The lights were working fine then.”
“They hid the bucket of blood somewhere close.” Wolfe sighed. “They followed you inside and hid in here.” He swung open the door of a small cupboard and shone his flashlight inside. There are a few smudges of soil but no footprints. When you went to Kane’s they disabled the floodlights and alarm.”
“How did they know you planned to go over to Kane’s cottage tonight?” Rowley’s questioning gaze moved between them.
“We went to dinner at the Cattleman’s Hotel. It was crowded—anyone could have seen us arrive in my vehicle. We chatted about watching a movie over dinner.” Kane rubbed his chin. “It’s possible someone overheard us. They would have had plenty of time to get here before us and set this up, or they just got lucky.”
Jenna chewed on her fingernails, thinking. “We spend a lot of downtime together. If someone has been watching us, they would assume we’d spend some time together after going for a meal. We usually do.”
“Just a minute.” Wolfe held up a finger then turned back to the front door. “Do you often use a wedge to keep the door open?”
Jenna followed him. “No, never.”
“I noticed this when I came up the steps.” Wolfe pointed to a small wedge of wood on the porch. “Come outside and close the door.” He led the way.
Jenna complied and watched as he slid the wooden wedge near the door hinge and the floor.
“Okay, I want you to go inside as you would normally.” Wolfe handed her the bunch of keys she had given him.
She used the keys to open the door, strolled inside, and allowed the door to swing shut behind her. A few moments later, the door swung open and Wolfe smiled at her. “The wedge prevented the door from closing completely but not enough for you to notice.”
“Oh my God.” Jenna shook her head in disbelief. “I wonder if the killer was seated beside us at dinner?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t notice if a suspect was close by.” Wolfe’s astonished expression moved over Kane’s face. “Think. Did you notice anyone at all?”
“People were coming and going all the time; nobody in particular registered with me. To be honest, I wasn’t looking for a threat. I was concentrating on discussing the case and eating.”
Jenna sighed. “Mr. Davis was chatting to George Miller and his wife when we arrived but none of them are on our list of suspects.”
“Yeah, I noticed them in the lobby.” Kane cleared his throat. “If we’re done here, I’d like to check out the cottage now, ma’am. With the floodlights, it should be easy enough to find any tripwires.” He patted Duke on the head. “Stay here, boy.” He picked up the flashlight and headed out the door.
Jenna turned to the other deputies. “Don’t just stand there, let’s go.” She followed them out the door.
“Ma’am.” Wolfe strode beside her. “Leave this to Kane and me. We have specialized training in this area.”
They seem to be specialized in everything. She gave him a curt nod. “Okay, we’ll keep away from any potential blast zone. Be careful. Don’t forget you have kids at home.”
“Not for a second.” Wolfe flashed her one of his rare smiles then jogged to Kane’s side.
Her heart raced as her deputies checked the area. As they moved around, she heard Kane’s deep voice call out, “Clear.”