Follow Me Home (Detectives Kane and Alton)

52

For once, she was in a good mood. She had the day free to enjoy the Fall Festival. After wandering through town avoiding the milling people, she spotted Stu Macgregor, but right this minute he was the least of her problems. He had never touched her or any of the girls and was a broken man after his time in prison. The court case had taken up all his cash and his family wanted nothing to do with him. The deputies had him on their radar. Not that she had left him out of her diary. She had recorded every detail she could remember in that time, along with details of her recent murders, because as sure as hell, Sheriff Alton would not allow her to walk free for much longer.

Over lunch in Aunt Betty’s she savored the memory of watching Chris’s life slip away. With glee, she allowed each detail to percolate through her mind. Killing him had been satisfying and she had enjoyed the heat of his blood gushing over her. The smell of death intrigued her with its many facets and she almost wished she had the time to roll in it like some barbaric heathen. She let out a contented sigh. Yes, her plans to kill monsters were going along just fine.

She glanced up at the TV, and the noisy crowd enjoying their meals seemed to vanish from view. Her chair clattered to the floor and she dashed from her table to the counter to catch the breaking news on TV. She gaped at the image on the screen of the young girl she had seen outside the cabin yesterday. When she read the “Missing girl” banner splashed across the screen, anger curled in her belly, making her hands shake. Her heart raced and she could not drag her eyes away from the TV, then Susie Hartwig’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Dear Lord, won’t you look at that poor child.” Susie frowned up at the TV. “I sure hope she hasn’t fallen into one of the swimming holes and drowned.”

There are worse things that can happen to a girl in Black Rock Falls. She gathered herself and glanced at Susie. “I hope not. Can you turn up the volume so we can hear what happened?”

“Sure thing.” Susie moved behind the counter.

The stern face of the news anchor filled the screen. “Thirteen-year-old Sandra Doig was last seen leaving Black Rock Falls Middle School by the back gate on her bicycle yesterday. If anyone has seen Sandra, please call the number on your screen.”

Holy shit, what happened to her? Chris was dead and could not hurt her. The forest was deserted and the road empty when she left. Sandra should have made it safely to the highway. In fact, she had not given her a thought since leaving Stanton Forest. The memory of seeing Bobby-Joe driving past flashed into her mind and she wanted to scream in anguish. Oh shit, Bobby-Joe has taken her to his cabin.

A trickle of sweat ran annoyingly between her shoulder blades but she could not move her attention from the TV. Her gaze slid to Susie, who looked at her with a puzzled expression. She tried to relax and think. Her plans for Bobby-Joe had been complex, but with the sheriff’s department climbing all over the mountain not far from his secluded cabin, she had little chance of torturing him to death, and nothing else would do. He would pay for what he had done.

She allowed her clenched jaw to relax, forced her face into a composed expression, and met Susie’s gaze. “I wonder if the sheriff will ask for volunteers to join the search.”

“I guess but they do have the rangers.” Susie shrugged and pulled a pencil from behind one ear. “Table three is ready to order. Gotta go.” She hurried away.

Acting as nonchalant as possible, she returned to her table, picked up her chair, and sat down. She had to take down Bobby-Joe today and he would be her final act of revenge.

After draining the coffee cup, she dropped some bills on the table and headed for the door. She had a call to make.

By the time she slid behind the wheel of her car, sirens wailed in the distance as the sheriff department’s vehicles headed toward Stanton Forest. The idea of manipulating Deputy Kane amused her. She started her car and headed for her apartment to change into hiking gear. This time, she would need the knife, her pistol, and a stun gun. The image of Bobby-Joe flashed into her mind. He was cruel and calculating but after all, he was only a man. She had proved they all had their vulnerabilities, but killing him would be special. The pain he suffered would not atone for what he had done or the lives he had taken.

I’m going to kill you slow, Bobby-Joe.

I’m going to make you scream.

53

Jenna decided to send Bradford and Rowley to search Macgregor’s cabin the moment Kane arrived. “Lights and sirens, and call me the moment you get there. If you don’t find her, get back here double time.”

She glanced up from her desk, glad to see Kane ushering Stu Macgregor toward the cells. “Kane, give Rowley the keys to Macgregor’s house.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Moments later, he returned and informed her about a call he had received about the missing girl. The information put a completely different perspective on the case.

“How good is this lead?”

“The caller gave me details of her bicycle and what she was wearing.” Kane raised one eyebrow. “She said she saw the girl heading down a trail toward the forestry cabin yesterday afternoon. The idea of her going willingly would fit, especially if we are talking about a pedophile ring. You know how predators work—they groom kids and he probably convinced her to meet him at the cabin.”

Dammit! “So, it’s possible Stu Macgregor has her at the cabin in the woods, near where this witness last saw her, and not at his home?”

“It’s possible, and at least we have a place to start searching.” He leaned on her desk. “That’s one hell of a big forest out there and she could be anywhere. Right now, Macgregor is denying he is involved. The informant is all we have to go on for now.”

Torn between checking out the cabin and waiting for her deputies to search Macgregor’s house, she groaned inwardly. If I had Wolfe and Webber here, this would not be an issue. “We’ll wait for Rowley and Bradford to check his house. It is the most logical place. He could have met her in the forest and taken her to his place like the others. If we luck out there, we’ll head out to her last known location. I’ll get onto the media again and organize a search party. As you know, the first forty-eight hours are crucial in missing kids’ cases. I have a pair of Sandra’s socks. Do you think Duke will be able to track her?”

“Yeah.”

Jenna went to her cupboard and pulled out her emergency backpack. “Go and get Duke, lights and sirens, then head out the back road to Stanton Forest. I’ll text you the coordinates. Walters can take over here. I’ll meet you at the road leading to the cabin.”

“Roger that.” Kane strode out the door.