“I haven’t seen her fight but she sure doesn’t mess around when she’s making arrests.” Rowley grinned. “She took on Rockford when she found him creeping around her house and he is a big guy.”
“She isn’t weak but Rockford had lost the element of surprise. He woke her and she was able to grab her Glock and deal with the asshole.” Kane sucked in a deep breath then coughed out the chemical taste in his mouth. “It’s the ones you don’t hear that are the most dangerous. Surprise attacks kill more people than by other means. I’d say if an intruder had a knife and got the jump on any of us, they could inflict a lot of damage.” He sighed. “Just to be safe, I’d like to make sure her security system is fully functional and I’m too exhausted to deal with it now. Fixing the lights was easy.”
“I’d say she’ll be asleep anyway.” Rowley glanced over to Jenna’s house. “I need to take a shower and get out of these stinking clothes, but it feels strange doing that at your boss’s house.”
Kane chuckled. “I know what you mean. You’re welcome to use my spare room to shower and change if you don’t mind the smell?” Seeing Jenna’s shadow move in front of the window, he lifted his chin. “We’d better get a move on. She is awake and no doubt waiting for us.”
“Okay, thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll grab the bag from my car.” Moments later, Rowley followed him inside and glanced around. “It’s bigger than it looks from the outside.”
“Yeah, I gather it was built for the ranch manager some hundred years ago.” Kane led the way down the passage then pointed across the hall. “Everything you need is in there.”
Fifteen minutes later, Kane sat at Jenna’s kitchen table sipping hot chocolate. His head throbbed and he had inhaled enough chemicals to drop an elephant. He raised sore eyes to her face. “I’ll be glad to hit the sack. It’s been a long day. I’m starting to look like my dog.” He rubbed the hound’s head.
“I won’t be able to sleep.” Jenna nibbled on the cookie she had dipped in her hot chocolate. “My mind is in overdrive trying to figure out what the hell is going on.” She sipped the beverage and her gaze bore into him over the rim of the cup. “I’m used to killers doing the deed then getting the hell out of Dodge, not dropping by for a visit and making threatening calls.” She directed her attention toward Rowley. “I would really like to find out if the vigilante suspects know each other. The support group idea is something we need to explore.” She sighed. “I feel like we’re going round in circles. Did you find any associates of the murder victims?”
“We’ve found a few people who knew the murdered men but none of them are friends. All say the same thing: They didn’t socialize.” Rowley’s dark gaze lifted from his cup. “There has to be a link.”
“I think it’s obvious.” Kane shrugged. “We have three murder suspects, all victims of child abuse. All the women, including the young girl Zoe, mentioned the men wore masks. That is the link. The men are the same group of people and have been doing this for years.”
“Why do you think all the suspects are involved?” Rowley placed his cup on the table and yawned. “You made mention in the murder books that all the suspects were in town on the same day.”
“I did wonder if the women contacted each other but how would they know their names? The courts and media withhold the names of abuse victims.” She drummed her fingernails on the polished wooden tabletop. “Unless the vigilante followed the newspaper stories about missing kids. If they turned up alive, maybe they contacted them later in life?”
“So, we could have a group of women killing the men who hurt them?” Rowley looked interested. “The motive is there. They would want to stop them before they hurt another kid.”
“You could be right. Whoever called Kane and vandalized his house has given us a clear indication there is a group of men kidnapping, molesting, and murdering kids.” Jenna grimaced. “I want to find out who is in this pedophile ring; then we’ll be able to catch the killer before they strike again.”
“Easier said than done.” Kane swallowed the bile creeping up his throat. “They could be operating right here in Black Rock Falls under our noses.”
“Exactly. I hope Wolfe has a list of the missing kids from the newspapers by morning. From what I could see they are a spread from neighboring counties.”
The idea of so many kids dying by the hands of child molesters sent a jolt of adrenaline flooding through Kane. The weariness subsided and his mind zoomed in on the facts of the case. “Yeah, and going way back, some ten years or so. It’s going to be one hell of a job tracking down cold cases and we’ll be up against jurisdiction problems.”
“I don’t give a damn about jurisdiction.” Jenna shot him a cold glare. “I’ll contact the other sheriff’s departments personally and ask for their cooperation, which will be given. The local judges will offer up search warrants without a problem if we have probable cause.” She nibbled on a cookie. “We have to break this pedophile ring for two reasons: one to stop the vigilante, and two to prevent another kid from being kidnapped. I want a round-the-clock investigation. I have Walters taking the 911 calls on Sunday. I’ll hold a meeting on Monday morning to allocate the workload but we will need to go into the office in the morning and keep moving on the investigation. Sorry, guys, can you make it in before ten?”
Kane nodded in agreement. “T
he new deputies seem very efficient and I’m sure they can hold the fort with Walters while the rest of us do the grunt work.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Jenna reached for another cookie. “I want to be right in the middle of this investigation. I should have been with you when you interviewed the vigilante suspects but I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to speak to Zoe.”
Kane shook his head. “With two cases on the go, you had little choice but to split the workload. We covered lot of ground and have Angelique Booval to interview on Monday. Maybe we can speak to the Blackwater social worker as well. They might be able to give us a list of support groups in the area.”
“I can’t imagine a killer attending a support group.” Jenna pushed a lock of black hair behind one ear and sighed. “Then I have no idea what type of crazy we’re dealing with this time.”
“This year, I’ve seen different types of killers.” Rowley glanced at Kane. “From what you say, this type of lunatic comes in many varieties.”
Kane yawned and covered his mouth. “Yeah, there are many different classes of killer.”
“Knowing what type they are makes a difference.” Jenna glanced at Rowley, placed her cup on the table, and stretched. “They are all crazy, and the vigilante is another rung up the ladder to what we’ve been used to of late.”
“Would you class a man who kills in a rage, say when he finds his wife cheating on him, the same type of killer as the man who murdered the schoolgirls last summer?” Rowley ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up in all directions. “You said he was a psychopath, so what is the difference?”
Kane wanted to sleep but he owed Rowley an explanation. “In very simple terms: In a crime of passion, like your first example, the men are blinded by fury so really didn’t know what they are doing. If it is a wife or lover who has hurt them they usually attack the face. They usually show remorse or are shocked they have killed someone. A psychopath may or may not plan a murder but they have no feelings toward their victim. The killing satisfies a selfish need in them, and most of the time in their minds they don’t see murdering as wrong. Some of them truly believe it’s normal to kill people.”
“That’s terrifying.” Rowley sipped his drink. “From what you said about the vigilante, they know what they are doing. I would say they are well-planned revenge murders.” His face went blank as if deep in thought. “So, this is someone who doesn’t fit neatly into either category?”
Kane leaned forward. “Most psychopaths are driven by a trigger. Something bad that happened to them as a child. My guess is our killer is female and suffered abuse as a child. She may have heard or seen something that triggered the killing spree. Taunting me is another trait because they believe they have superior intelligence and can outwit us. They can’t. Eventually they make mistakes. The first one was contacting me and the second was coming here tonight.”