“Yeah, not a problem, I’ll contact them. I’m going to be hanging around for hours waiting for documents to be processed. The hospital has to complete a ton of forms before they’ll release the body.”
She let out a long sigh. “I’m convinced it’s an inside job. It’s obvious a member of the pedophile ring works here or knows someone who does.”
“Unfortunately that doesn’t help much.” Kane cleared his throat then gave her an apologetic look. “Anyone who spent time in here as a patient for any length of time
would be used to the shift changes as well.”
“I’ll speed things up a bit by taking blood samples from the nurse on duty last night and we’ll need to go confiscate the urn.” Wolfe rubbed his chin, making a rasping sound over his blond stubble. “I’ll have to do an autopsy.” He pushed a gurney closer to the bed then threw Kane a pair of gloves. “Help me get her onto the gurney. It stinks in here. I’ll put her in the room next door for her brother to see her.” He flicked a glance at her. “Can you distract her brother for a few minutes? He is in her file as next of kin. Obviously, her parents gave him the honor. Get him to fill in a permission form. There is one in my kit.”
“Sure, but before I forget… Did Price or Dorsey have a scar on their knee? It would have been significant, maybe the same as knee replacement surgery.”
“No, they had nothing unusual apart from the scar on Dorsey’s stomach, and the birthmark on his neck Zoe identified.”
“Then the one with the scar on his knee is still out there.” She looked at the girl with deep compassion. “I have to find her killer; she deserves justice.”
36
Jenna waited as her two deputies used the sheet to lift Jane onto the gurney. She noted the way Wolfe covered her with a fresh sheet and almost reverently smoothed her hair.
“If you take Adam down to the nurses’ station to sign the forms, we’ll move her.” Kane rubbed at the black stubble on his chin and glanced at her with a look of detachment. “He might refuse to sign the permission forms.”
“He’ll sign.” She bent to search the pockets of Wolfe’s bag. “He wants to know what happened to her.”
After collecting the required form, she headed out the door. She found Adam Stickler in the same position and touched him on the shoulder. “I’ll need you to fill out a few forms if you don’t mind? Come down to the nurses’ station with me.”
She sighed with relief when he followed her without question. The poor man was so pale she thought he might collapse. “The ME has a few concerns, as you do, about Jane’s death. He would like to do an autopsy but we’ll need the next of kin’s permission.”
“I’m her next of kin as of yesterday.” Adam gave her a disgruntled stare. “My parents are embarrassed and were too cowardly to tell her they didn’t want her living with them.” He let out a half-choked sob. “They won’t have to worry now, will they? You know, I haven’t bothered to tell them she died. I’m not sure if I ever want to see them again.”
Jenna blinked back the tears stinging the backs of her eyes and rested a hand on his arm. She did not know what to say to him. “Do you want me to speak with them?”
“Would you?” He straightened and looked down into her eyes. “Deputy Wolfe is the new ME, isn’t he? Is he good? Will he be able to find out what happened?”
“Yes, he is the best I know.” She led him to the nurses’ station and placed the paperwork on the counter. “If you’ll sign these forms, I’ll take you to see Jane.”
With the signed forms in one hand, Jenna took Adam into the room to view and formally identify his sister’s body. Kane and Wolfe stood to one side, their faces grim. Beside her, Adam allowed the tears to fall and held his sister’s hand for a long time.
“I’ll take care of her for you.” Wolfe stepped forward and laid one large hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Go home and get some rest.”
“Did she suffer?” Adam’s mouth turned down.
“No.” Wolfe led him to the door, his voice low and compassionate. “She went to sleep.”
Jenna watched the two men walk out the door and turned to Kane. “Do you know what her murder means?” She dashed a hand through her hair. “We’re chasing smoke and shadows. Whoever did this is running scared of the vigilante and the law. He killed Jane because he thought she could identify him and maybe others in his group of perversion.”
“Which means Zoe could be next on his list.”
Jenna pulled out her cellphone. “I’m calling Zoe’s father to give him the heads up. I’ll call the sheriff there as well to keep him in the loop.”
In the hallway outside Jane’s room, Jenna made the calls. She decided to inform the Blackwater sheriff she would be interviewing a potential suspect in his jurisdiction as well. She smiled at Kane when the Blackwater sheriff offered her his full cooperation to solve the case. “Yes, I do believe the pedophile ring is widespread, and from the list of missing girls I sent you, there may be other counties involved.” She put her cellphone on speaker and moved closer to Kane.
“Oh, I’m on the case, Sheriff. I’ve had my deputies working all weekend checking out cold cases from ten years back. I’ll be chasing down leads to any street entertainers as well. We have a few clowns coming through at odd times of the year. If we find anything, I’ll call you.”
“Thank you.” She disconnected and turned to Kane. “That’s good news and we have the go-ahead from the Blackwater sheriff. I didn’t want to tread on anyone’s toes.”
When Wolfe strolled toward her wearing a concerned expression, her stomach dropped. What else is wrong? She lifted her chin. “You look like the sky before a storm, what’s up?”
“Being here in the hospital clicked something in my mind.” He glanced at Kane. “Do you have the images you took of the bottle of pills found in Amos Price’s truck?”