Break the Silence (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Obviously.” Jones pointed to his face. “Dylan Court grabbed me from behind and Devon and Lyons had gotten a couple of punches in before I had time to react. I figure they planned the whole thing.”

So he knows martial arts as well. Interesting. “Did Lyons push you over the falls?”

“Like I said before, I’m not sure, but one of them did.” Jones snorted. “I didn’t jump into the rapids for fun.”

“That’s a shame, we could have charged one of them for attempted murder.” Jenna met his angry gaze. “Moving on, can you remember where you were between, say, eight thirty and eleven the night Devon died?”

“Hmm. I went for a drive into town, collected some takeout from Aunt Betty’s Café. I came back here and studied. The security guard asked me if I wanted the library left open around eleven, I guess. I had training in the morning, so I left and went to my dorm.”

He’d mentioned times and places that could be easily checked. Jenna folded her notebook and smiled. “I think that’s all for now. If you’ll give Deputy Kane your number, we’ll be in touch to arrange that impression of your fingers.”

“Sure.” Jones gave out his details then headed back inside the library.

Jenna sighed. “Hmm, I’m not too sure about him, and Stein really unnerved me before. For a guy who acts gentle, he tried the stand-over tactic with me.”

“And Jones is volatile.” Kane pushed his notebook inside his pocket. “It will be interesting to see if either of them matches the fingernail marks on Devon’s legs. One thing’s for sure: they’re both strong enough to be the killer of Jacobs and Devon.”

Jenna led the way back to the college entrance. “They are both more than capable of killing both men, they both have motives, and neither has a solid alibi for the TOD.” She sighed. “We’ll see if anyone remembers seeing Jones at Aunt Betty’s, but with the visitors in town for the Fall Festival, the chances will be slim.”

“As Rowley hasn’t called, I’d say he hasn’t found any standout enemies of the team or the coach, and no one has called in about Chrissie’s missing items.” Kane slipped into step beside her. “We need to know if Walters has hunted down the design of Jacobs’ ring. It would be a problem if everyone living in Lyons’ house owns one.”

Jenna frowned. “I’ll call Walters and find out. Then we’ll talk to Lowe.” She glanced at her watch. “ It will be getting late by the

n, so we’ll leave Rowley to close up. I figure as we have to drop by Aunt Betty’s, we might as well stop for an early dinner.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Kane grinned at her and rubbed his belly. “Thursday’s early-bird special is bison short ribs, mashed potatoes, and buttered carrots.”

Jenna couldn’t stop smiling at Kane’s expression of absolute bliss. “That good, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Thirty-Four

Kane eased his truck into a space behind the feed store and glanced over at Jenna. “I guess we tread easy with this guy as he’s just lost a relative.”

“You take the lead, I’ll take notes.” Jenna rubbed her forehead. “I’ve a headache straight from hell.”

“Sure.” He slid from behind the wheel and headed toward the back of the store.

The door resembled the entrance to a barn. It had a ramp up into the main store and roll-down shutters over a wide entrance. The smells coming from the feed store had their own unique flavor. He’d recognize a feed store blindfolded by the mixture of hay and pony pellets with a dash of leather. Chaff and hay littered the parking lot, making patterns in the dust as the wind moved them in different directions. All around him, men moved back and forth. The next moment a forklift zoomed down a ramp carrying bales of hay. Soon after a tall man with a buzz cut and dark stubble, wearing blue jeans and a plaid shirt, carried a sack of feed out to a truck and dumped it in the back.

Kane sidestepped a hunting dog curled asleep among the commotion and looked at Jenna. “Busy place.”

“Looking for anyone in particular, Sheriff?” Plaid shirt headed toward them.

“Yeah.” Jenna looked toward the open space into the store. “Steve Lowe.”

“Then you’ve found him.” The young man smiled at Jenna. “Need to change the feed order for your ranch?”

“Not this time.” Jenna sighed. “We’re sorry for your loss.”

“I am too but I figure you’ve got something else on your mind.” Lowe flicked a glance at Kane. “What else has happened? Is it Jack?”

Kane stepped forward. “No, his status is still unchanged. We came to ask you a few questions about Chrissie. Is there anywhere private we can talk?”

“There’s a room out back.” Lowe headed up the ramp, past the sacks of various feeds, salt licks, and barrels of molasses, to a room. “In here. We use it for breaks.”

Kane followed him inside with Jenna on his heels. The room was sparse, containing a table with chairs, a refrigerator, a coffee pot on a bench, and a sink.