al worker. I figure we should start by following up on the missing kids’ cases from the newspaper cuttings left in front of your cottage. Now we have access to statewide databases, we can check each name.” Jenna pushed her hair behind one ear. “If any of them are alive, they might have information we could use.”
“What about Jane?”
“I’m still waiting for the all-clear to visit her again. Now she has had time to get over the shock, she might be able to give us some more information.”
“I hope so. I think finding the journalists who wrote the stories would be beneficial. Writing an article on a missing kid would be hard to forget.” Kane turned onto the highway and they followed a slow-moving tractor. “They often have theories they can’t print about suspects. It would be worth following up on them just in case we get a lead on the pedophile ring.”
Jenna picked up her coffee cup and sipped, allowing the rich brew to run over her tongue. “Good idea, but as those missing girls came from all over the state, I’m going to run Price and Dorsey through the Montana Sexual and Violent Offender Registry and see if they have been active in other towns. They often list known associates as well.” She glanced at him. “We know about Stewart James Macgregor, the magician, and I’m sure I received an email when he was released from jail. I didn’t red-flag him because he was classed as reformed and a minimal threat.”
“They can’t be reformed.” Kane snorted in derision. “It is a sexual preference they’ll never change.” He pulled up outside the sheriff’s department and lifted the other cup of coffee from the console. “Rowley has already arrived and it looks like Webber has volunteered as well.”
Jenna heaved a sigh of relief. “Great, we need all the help we can get.” She slid from the car and headed for the door.
She walked to her office, passing Rowley chatting to Webber. “In my office, deputies.”
After waiting for her deputies to sit down, she went to the whiteboard and picked up the marker then split the board in two down the center. “We are dealing with two cases. They are intertwined but we need to take a separate approach to both of them.” She wrote Vigilante killer on one side of the board and Pedophile ring on the other then listed the victims and suspects.
She turned to face them. “I’m going to run the names of the vigilante killer’s victims through the Sexual and Violent Offender Registry. With any luck, if they have committed an offense anywhere in the state, the arresting officer will have a list of known associates.” She moved back to her desk and sat down then turned on her computer and waited for her emails to download. She located the file Wolfe had sent her and printed four copies. “Deputy Wolfe has emailed me a list of the names of the missing kids, dates, and the names of the journalists involved with the cases.” She lifted the copies from the printer and scanned them. “Okay, we have six kids. Rowley, you take the top three, and Webber, you take the last three. Feed the names into the state database and see if you get a hit. You will be looking for juvenile missing persons’ reports. Next, I want you to find a contact number for the reporter. You would be surprised how useful they can be if you speak to them off the record.” She pulled out her notebook and checked the list she had made overnight. “Kane, I want a list of all known associates of Lizzy Harper and Pattie McCarthy; maybe throw Angelique Booval into the pot as well. Find out if they are involved in any clubs or groups.”
Not one of the deputies made a sound, and apart from the strong scent of a variety of aftershaves, she would not have known they were there. She looked up from her notebook at their unblinking stares, handed the copies to the deputies then sighed. “What are you waiting for? Lives are at risk, get a move on.” Maybe I need to start cracking a whip.
29
Dread had hung over Chris Jenkins like a storm cloud the moment the image of Amos Price flashed onto his TV screen, and the feeling had gotten worse with the news of the cops finding Ely Dorsey’s dead body in a motel. His fingers had itched to call Bobby-Joe, but keeping to the code they’d devised to prevent any outsiders from discovering their friendship, he climbed into his SUV and headed up the mountain road to Bobby-Joe’s house.
After parking some way from the locked entrance to Bobby-Joe’s private road, he headed on foot to the old, dilapidated cabin. As he walked through the pine trees, he did a slow scan of the area to make sure Bobby-Joe was alone. Satisfied, he dashed across his front yard and entered the house by the back door. The kitchen was empty, dirty dishes overflowed the sink, and the place stunk of garbage and stale beer. “Bobby-Joe. Where are you, man?”
“Here in the bedroom. I’m talking to my honey.”
Chris wiped the sweat from his brow and strolled into Bobby-Joe’s bedroom. Bobby-Joe was seated at the computer and typing a response to someone in an online chat room. “We need to talk. Did you see the news?”
“Yeah, just a minute.” Bobby-Joe typed some more then spun around in his seat. “Man, I have this sweet thing on the hook and I’ve found the perfect place to take her. A cabin reasonably close to the road and no one goes near the place this time of the year. I could park on the fire road and walk there.” He grinned widely. “She is already willin’ to meet me. Would you believe she is coming on her bicycle?” He chuckled and winked at him. “If you’re looking for a nice place, we could maybe meet up there with both girls then bring them here. I have plenty of room in my cage for two lovelies.”
“Yeah, but unlock the damn gate so I can drive here. It’s one hell of a walk.”
“I’ll give you a key. Most people who see your SUV will think it’s me anyway. It’s the same make, same color but stop cleanin’ the damn thing if you plan to come here. A clean rig don’t look right.” Bobby-Joe chuckled.
“Sure.” Chris nodded, surprised Bobby-Joe was still making plans to kidnap another girl. Concerned by his friend’s laid-back attitude, he swallowed hard. His friend was unpredictable and acted as if Amos and Ely showing up dead meant nothing. “Are you thinking of taking another girl now, so soon after what’s happened?”
“Yeah, of course, and I know you want one of your own. Now that Amos’s girl is unavailable, I’m getting anxious.”
Chris stared at him, not able to understand why he was so calm. “The cops found the girl? Holy shit. I thought you went over there. Why didn’t you bring her here?”
“Because I thought he would be coming back and I didn’t have the keys to unlock the damn cage.” Bobby-Joe stood and ambled into the kitchen. “I didn’t know he’d dropped dead. Heart attack, I expect, fat bastard.” He took a couple of beers from the refrigerator and handed him one. “Don’t worry, the kid won’t be able to identify us, and we made sure we left nothing there. It’s cool.” He sighed. “You down with my plan or what? We take two at the same time and bring them here. I have plenty of tranquilizers. We’ll work out the time. You meet your girl at the cabin first and half an hour later, I’ll get mine to arrive. They won’t be able to get away from both of us.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m in.”
A rustling noise came from outside the open window and Chris spun around. His heart pounded with fear. “Did you hear that? Maybe the cops are out there.”
“Man, you’re jumpy.” Bobby-Joe gave him an exasperated look and leaned out the kitchen window. “There’s no one out there apart from a few chickens scratchin’ around.” He pulled his head in then took a long gulp of his beer. “You need to grow some balls. No one comes here. It’s safe, so stop worryin’.”
Chris swallowed the fear strangling his voice and tried to lean casually against the counter. “I’m being cautious, is all.”
“Sure you are.”
“What do you think happened to Ely?” Chris opened the bottle and frowned. “Two of our friends dying in the same week. It doesn’t make sense. Do you think someone is hunting us down?”
“Nah, you really believe a young girl could kill either of them? Ely died on the job.” Bobby-Joe sniggered. “One of the paramedics who transported his body to the ME’s office spoke to me. He said he was naked and wearing a condom. I guess his new girl split; no one mentioned finding her at the motel.” He sighed. “He’s dead so it don’t matter if she saw his face.”