She dragged out the knife and grinned at him. “Don’t tell your mommy, this will be our little secret.”
48
Apprehension fell over Jenna like a shroud as she walked into the picturesque clearing. She hoped Kane was mistaken and the bones he had discovered belonged to animals. The temperature dropped considerably as she entered a shadowed, horseshoe-shaped area surrounded by a sheer rock wall rising hundreds of feet into the air. The air was still and held a damp, earthy fragrance. Underfoot, a coating of twigs and pine needles crunched with each step. She peered into the darkness waiting for her eyes to adjust. Protected from the weather, she considered absently how the secluded area would have made a superb camping ground until her attention moved to the pathetic stark white remains scattered in
the long grass. “Oh, dear Lord. Stand back, everyone. Wolfe take a look and see what we have here.”
Her gaze moved to Kane on his knees peering intently at something. His dog sat obediently on the tree line watching his master as if waiting for a command. “What do you have there, Kane?”
“It’s a locket.” Kane’s expression was grim. “I recognize it from one of the photographs of missing girls.” He glanced over at Wolfe, who was suiting up in coveralls. “Maybe you should start here.”
“I’ll do a preliminary examination but by the weathering of what bones we can see, I won’t be able to determine the age of the remains by usual methods. There is no smell either, which would make me assume the remains have been here for some years.” Wolfe threw a bundle of coveralls to Kane. “Suit up. We’ll need to mark out a grid, make a sketch of the area, and take some pictures. Then I suggest we look for Old Corkey’s cabin.”
Jenna left them to it and did a slow visual scan of the area then turned to Rowley. “We’ll mark out the perimeter of the crime scene.” She moved back a few paces and removed her backpack then took out a roll of crime scene tape. “Start way over there, attach the tape, then come back to me.”
By the time they had finished attaching tape to trees, Wolfe was waiting to speak with her. She strolled toward him. “How many?”
“It’s too early to tell but there are three skulls visible, so the killers buried them in very shallow graves. I can see plastic sticking through the grass in places and they marked each grave with a rock. There are three rocks.” Wolfe stood hands on hips, his face expressionless, a façade he seemed to drop down when on a case. “Once the area is photographed and I’ve made a rough sketch of the positions of the bodies, I will make up a grid. It is easier to have a term of reference when excavating a site of this size.” His gray gaze slipped to the gravesite then back to her. “Once we have finished the preliminary examination, I’ll have more accurate information to relay to the FSD in Helena.”
Attempting to keep her own professional persona, though the horror of what lay a few feet before her had shaken her to the core, Jenna nodded. “Okay, but if you want to find the other burial site, we will need to keep track of the time. It’s not safe traveling these trails after dark and those graves will still be here in the morning. Tell Kane and Rowley how you want the grid set up. I have rolls of tape, string, and bright orange flags in my backpack.” She gave the backpack a kick with her toe. “I’ll take the photographs.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wolfe turned away and spoke to Rowley.
“The locket belongs to a girl named Jodie King.” Kane pressed an evidence bag into her hands then held up his cellphone to show her a picture. “She is wearing it in this image and it’s inscribed on the back: To Jodie, love Mom and Dad.” He cleared his throat. “She went missing eight years ago.”
Within fifteen or so minutes, she had the photographs and her deputies had the grid set up. Jenna stood to one side with Rowley watching Wolfe and Kane move from one grid to the other. She had attended grave excavations before but not on this scale and found she had a morbid fascination in the way Wolfe worked. Using a small trowel and a brush, he removed fallen leaves and other debris from each grave, made notes, measured any bones lying on the surface, and ran a commentary into a small recording device. She checked her watch and another hour had flown by in an instant. By the time Wolfe and Kane had flagged three graves, the sun had slipped low in the sky.
To her relief, Wolfe stood and walked carefully from the crime scene with Kane at his heels. She waited for them to remove their coveralls and gloves then walked toward them. “Do you have a preliminary report?”
“Three shallow graves, three skulls are visible, two show no signs of trauma, and one shows indication of blunt force trauma. From the bones scattered over the general area, there is evidence of animal intervention, but there are also the same injuries I found on Jane Stickler. Untreated broken bones, which would indicate the killers kept at least two of these children for some time, at least six weeks after the injury.” Wolfe let out a long, weary sigh. “This site is going to take some time to excavate. It may be months before we discover the identity of these kids.”
Anger reared at hearing about the atrocities the kids had suffered, but she pushed down the rage welling inside her. I have to find the men who did this. “Contact Helena and ask them to assist our investigation.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jodie King’s locket weighed heavy in her hand. She lifted her gaze to Kane. “How did the vigilante know about this place?” Jenna stared at the dirt-smeared locket, her mind racing. “She must have been involved somehow. I wonder if one of the men kidnapped her. From what we know about Lizzy Harper’s father, he took her to a fishing cabin up here somewhere—she could have witnessed Jodie’s murder and overheard where they planned to bury her body.”
“Do you think we have found our vigilante, ma’am?” Rowley’s dark eyebrows raised. “I mean, do you think Lizzy Harper is our killer?”
“Everything points to her being involved.”
“She is on the top of my list but maybe she only witnessed one of these kids’ murders.” Kane rubbed his chin, his face pensive. “The timeline doesn’t fit for Jodie, but then we don’t know how long Lizzy’s father abused her or how long they kept Jodie alive before they killed her. Lizzy won’t give us any information.”
“With what we have so far, I might be able to convince the DA to issue an arrest warrant. If not, I’ll organize surveillance.” Jenna bent and pulled an evidence bag from her backpack, labeled it Jodie King, then dropped the smaller bag inside. “If it is her, I don’t want any more murders on my watch.”
“If we could find the rest of the ring, we might be able to stop the vigilante before she strikes again.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck and gave a weary sigh. “If we had one single connection to link our murder victims we might have a chance.”
“They can’t be far away if the vigilante is stalking them in Black Rock Falls. The cabins are the common denominator in all these cases and all are located in Stanton Forest.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “What other clues do we have, Kane? We found two girls in cabins in the mountains. Lizzy Harper told you her father took her fishing and they stayed in a cabin at the top of Black Rock Falls.” She waved a hand around, encompassing the area. “The fishing cabins are walking distance from here. I’m convinced they have a hideout close by.” She stared at the failing light. “Dammit, we need more time.”
“If we go straight to Old Corkey’s cabin and check it out, we’ll have time to ride up to the fishing cabins and take a look. It’s not that far out of our way.” Kane raised one black eyebrow in question at Rowley.
“Ten minutes, I guess.” Rowley pulled the GPS out of his pack and scanned the screen. “Maybe a lot less as we’re riding. Old Corkey’s is in that direction.” He pointed into the forest. “The fishing cabins are above us and to the right. I’ll scout around for a trail.” He headed for his horse.
As usual, she could depend on Rowley’s local knowledge. She shot a glance at Wolfe. “Did you contact the Helena forensics team?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’ll be able to pick us up from the Black Rock Falls Hospital helipad at seven in the morning and bring us back here.” Wolfe waved a hand toward the gravesite. “I have covered all the remains. The crime scene should be fine overnight. There is nothing of interest for any wildlife.”
When Rowley rode up moments later, Jenna walked to meet him. “Find a trail?”