“Yeah.” Rowley wiped a hand across his mouth as if in disgust. “That can’t be good.”
The sound of Kane’s voice in her ear startled her but she quickly regained her composure. “What have you found?”
“A girl’s bicycle fitting the description of Sandra’s. Its front wheel is bent out of shape. I’ve marked the place. It was on a trail just off the main road. Then Duke led us to the end of the road. Here it widens out, so I guess firetrucks used it as a turnaround spot. There is an SUV parked here, and the hood is cool, so it’s been here for a while.” Kane cleared his throat. “I ran the plates. It belongs to Chris Jenkins, and guess what? He lives in the mountains. Problem is, Sandra’s scent went cold here. I figure she got into another vehicle. We could have two guys working together, maybe a procurer and a client?”
“Roger that.” Jenna kept up a constant scan of the area and one hand on her pistol. “I think we have something significant here too.”
She explained the flies and the silence. “I’ll leave the mic open and go and take a look inside the cabin.”
“Okay. We are heading to your position now.”
Jenna slid her Glock from the holster and turned to Rowley. “We don’t know if anyone is watching us or who, if anyone, is inside. We’ll be vulnerable inside the cabin. I’m going to recon it alone. Get into the forest with a tree to your back and watch my six.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley pulled out his weapon, gave her a curt nod, and backed into the shadows.
She knew the drill, stick to the tree line then move from the corner of the cabin and look through a window. The emergency cabins in this area were little more than one room and she should be able to see if anyone was inside. She reached the side of the cabin and listened for any sound of movement.
Nothing.
As she edged toward the window, a great cloud of flies rose into the air, buzzing with annoyance. They landed on her, covering her face as if she was their next meal. She waved them away and turkey-peeked inside the window. The quick glance gave her little information as blackness met her gaze. The only light came from the small windows and apart from the one she was looking through, flies blocked the other. She banged on the wall, sending the flies swarming again. “Sheriff’s department, is anyone inside?”
Silence.
Shit! She holstered her weapon just long enough to pull on a pair of surgical gloves then spoke into her mic. “It looks empty. I’m going to try the door.”
Heart thumping against her ribs at the thought of finding a murdered girl inside, Jenna eased along the wall to the front of the cabin and turned the doorknob with trembling fingers. As the door swung open, a cloud of flies rushed inside and the stench of death flooded her nostrils. Light from the door fell over the body of a man, lying on his back in a pool of blood. Multiple stab wounds adorned his bare chest and his eyes stared at her, set in a horrified expression that would stay with her for a very long time.
A swarm of flies joined the ants crawling over his face, and as nausea grabbed her, Jenna moved away from the door. The man was obviously dead and the fewer people disturbing the scene the better. She spoke into her mic then had the courage to look at the body again. “We have a naked body, male, late thirties. Stab wounds to chest. I can clearly see a scar on his knee; he could be one of the members of the pedophile ring. I would say he has been dead maybe twelve hours or so.” She sighed. “I’ll notify Wolfe and then start a perimeter search but if this is another vigilante murder, I doubt we will find anything.”
She heard a dog barking and was glad to see Duke bounding toward her with Kane in tow. She pulled out her cellphone and called Wolfe. “We have another homicide.”
54
Nothing was going to plan. Irritated, Bobby-Joe dragged the girl from the bed. “Get back into the cage and don’t make a sound, hear me?”
“I want to go home.” She looked up at him, her chin stuck out at a stubborn angle. “You said you would take me home.”
He grabbed her hair and twisted it in his fist, enjoying the
flash of fear in her eyes. “You are home. You’ll do anythin’ I want, when I want, and how I want.” He laughed when her eyes widened. “You’re never goin’ home, and if you try to run away, I’ll hunt you down then go get that pretty little sister of yours. I’ll slit your mother’s throat while I’m there.”
Coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, he headed up the cellar steps and strolled through the pantry and into the kitchen whistling. The sound died on his lips at the sight of a young woman leaning against the kitchen counter aiming a pistol at him. He stared at the gun clasped combat-style in both hands. The weapon looked big in her small fists and her face seemed familiar. Who the hell was she and what did she want? Flicking his eyes around to look for a weapon, he spotted a knife on the counter. Confident he could overpower her, he lifted both hands and edged in that direction. “What’s your problem?”
“You said that to me as well.” The woman’s hands held the gun with unnerving steadiness. “That you’d hunt me down and kill my parents, but you didn’t find me, did you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about but I do know you’re on private property. My gate is locked and signposted for a reason.”
“I took care of the gate. You should have purchased a thicker chain; my bolt cutters sliced through it like butter.” She smiled at him. “You didn’t expect me to walk all the way back here, did you?”
“Okay. So, you’ve obviously been here before. What do you want? Did you come to tell me I’m a daddy?”
“No.” Her expression turned to ice. “I’ll give you one thing—you and your friends were always careful.” A slow smile twisted her lips. “I guess you’re running out of friends now, huh?”
Unease crept over him. How did she know two of his friends had died recently, and where the hell was Chris? He had expected him to arrive last night to use the cage, but after scaring his girl in the forest, maybe he’d decided to hole up in the cabin until later. He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “You’re talkin’ a load of shit, lady.”
“Am I?” She lifted her chin and her cold eyes bore into him. “Let me see… Amos died, then Ely. I ran into Chris near where you picked up Sandra; he won’t be bringing his girl here today.”
Panic made his heart beat uncomfortably fast. How does she know about the girl I met in the forest? “I don’t know any Sandra.”