Whisper in the Night (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Have you figured out a profile for him yet?” Jenna allowed Emily to dab antiseptic on the angry red scratches on her face.

Kane nodded and rubbed his shoulder. “We’re lucky to be alive but this killer has made a big mistake. Before he planted a bomb, I found it difficult to profile him and could’ve gone a few different ways, but not now. This killer is a psychopath and showing advanced narcissistic tendencies. He enjoys killing and has gotten away with it. Problem is, he wants to be famous and craves recognition.” He pushed to his feet and winced at the pain in his legs. “So, one, he’s not a local, and two, we’re looking for a man between thirty and forty, Caucasian, who’s worked in a variety of jobs and gained knowledge on the way.” He held out a hand and pulled Jenna to her feet. “He’ll likely be hiding in plain sight because he is playing ‘a catch me if you can’ game.”

“Yeah?” Jenna gave him a determined look. “Well in the past, I figure he’s been dealing with a few backwoods sheriff’s departments.” Her mouth turned down. “Now he’s playing against my team and I don’t intend to let him win.” She snorted. “I’m going to enjoy taking him down.”

Eleven

Tuesday

Bruised and battered, Jenna made her way into Aunt Betty’s Café. She’d trimmed away some of the singed hair and showered, but the smell of the explosion seemed to have set up permanent residence in her nose. A street sweeper drove down Main Street and the local council workers moved around in organized chaos, cleaning up the mess left behind by the swarms of people and media involved in the search for Lindy. The response had been overwhelming, followed by an outpouring of assistance of food and hot drinks for the teams, supplied by the Black Rock Falls Women’s Association. The search had delayed the preparation for the Spring Festival the following weekend, but she assumed the bunting and advertising would be up before the end of the day. Life goes on.

Jenna limped up to the counter and placed a large order with Susie Hartwig. She’d called a meeting in her office at ten. Murder investigations involved a lot of tedious grunt work and as they worked long hours for days on end, she made a habit of providing food for her deputies. She leaned casually against the wall and noticed the inquisitive looks from the other customers. The explosion had caused more than a few scratches to her face and in fact, she looked as if she’d lost a fight. She wondered if they’d gotten a look at Kane yet – if so they’d figure they’d both been in a brawl.

The time immediately following the explosion was still a blur – she remembered heading to Kane’s vehicle then vomiting and Emily had ended up driving them to the ER. She’d left after a couple of hours but due to his previous head injury, the doctors insisted Kane remained overnight. When she’d returned at six this morning with his clean uniform, she discovered he’d spent half the night running background checks on a list of possible suspects. At the meeting, they’d discuss his findings.

She glanced out the café window to where Kane had parked his sparkling-clean truck. It was hard to believe the dust-coated vehicle they’d found after the explosion was the same SUV. After dropping them at the hospital, Emily had taken the truck home and with help from her sisters, Julie and Anna, had set about putting it and Duke right. She wished she had taken a photograph of Kane’s grin when he set eyes on “the beast” and a very clean Duke when they left the ER.

She collected the bags from Susie, slipped out the door and went to the truck. “The town gossips are going to be busy today.” She handed Kane the food and climbed into the passenger seat. “You should have seen the strange looks they gave me, like I was a zombie or something.”

“And it’s not even close to Halloween.” Kane grinned at her. “Just as well I stayed here.” He started the engine. “Wolfe called. He’ll be at the meeting as well. I’ve sent the case file to everyone so we’re all on the same page.”

“Wolfe is a rock.” Jenna sighed. “While we were stuck in the ER last night, he informed Lindy’s parents, arranged and supervised the viewing and gave a press conference.”

“That’s Wolfe.” Kane’s mouth twitched at the corner. “He’s gotten me out of so many situations, most of them I’d one chance of surviving and he found me that one chance. He’s always been someone I can rely on when everything goes to hell.”

/> “Yeah, there’s a special bond between you. You’re like brothers.” Jenna leaned back in the seat. “I asked Agent Josh Martin to sit in as well. He arrived yesterday from the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team and worked alongside Rowley. We’re lucky to get him – they only deploy the response team if a child abductee is under twelve years old. He’s going to give us a run-down of similar cases in the state.”

“I know him.” Kane’s brow furrowed into a frown. “I worked with him in my other life on a case before he joined CARD.”

Worried, Jenna turned to him. “Will he recognize you?”

“Nope. I don’t recognize me.” Kane pulled his vehicle into his space outside the sheriff’s department. “He’s never met Wolfe either… although, Josh might recognize my voice.”

“They made a lot of changes to me too.” She glanced at him. “I like my look apart from one thing; I’m really a blonde. I’ve a few scars around my eyes but I’d never know you’d had plastic surgery. What did they do?”

“Hmm.” Kane gave her a long searching look and ignored her question. “Blonde… really?” He grabbed the bags from the back seat and handed them to her. “I’ll grab Duke and meet you inside.”

She figured the few things Kane mentioned about his past life would be all he’d ever tell her. She slid out the truck and made her way to the office. “Morning, Magnolia.” She smiled at the receptionist and noticed Wolfe’s teenage daughter, Julie, looking at her with an apprehensive expression. “Did you want to speak to me, Julie?”

“She sure does.” Maggie beamed at her. “This child spent the entire day yesterday manning the phones. I couldn’t have managed without her.”

Jenna caught sight of Kane walking up behind her with Duke at his heels. She glanced at Julie. “That was very kind of you.”

“It was very exciting.” Julie smiled. “I wanted to ask you if I could do an internship here at the sheriff’s department.”

Jenna smiled. “Yes, as long as it’s okay with your dad, we’d love to have you. Bring me the paperwork to sign.” She turned to Kane. “I’ll need some time to add all our potential suspects to the whiteboard. I’m not sure when Agent Martin is arriving.”

“I’ll brew some coffee and make sure everyone is up to speed.” Kane’s stiff gait told her the wounds from the splinters were hurting like hell.

Twelve

As she entered all the information onto the whiteboard, Jenna grunted and stretched out the ache in her back. She had so many bruises on her body she looked like a statue carved out of blue marble. She made a mental note to tell Kane how much she appreciated the hot tub he’d installed in her gym last year. After making one more notation on the whiteboard, she turned to see him at the door to her office, carrying two jugs of fresh coffee. Rowley followed close behind with the fixings and Walters brought up the rear with the cups. “Has Wolfe or Agent Martin arrived yet?”

“They’re outside, ma’am.” Rowley placed the fixings on the desk beside the cups and copious amounts of food Jenna had purchased from Aunt Betty’s Café. “I’ll go get them.” He headed out the door.

When the men walked into the room, Jenna smiled at Agent Martin. “Nice to see you. Thanks for coming.” She poured a cup of coffee and waited for the men to take their seats. Anxious to get her deputies out interviewing potential suspects, she remained standing at the whiteboard. “Listen up. I have a list of the main persons of interest we have so far. Our investigations to date suggest all these men had the opportunity to interact with Lindy Rosen in the weeks before her death.” She pointed to the whiteboard. “Paul Kittredge, thirty-eight, is one of ten men employed by the Green Thumb Landscaping Service. He’s of interest because he worked close to the house for a full week prior to Lindy’s disappearance and after a background check we discovered he pleaded guilty to a case involving the sexual abuse of a child in his care. The judge in the case gave him a six-year deferred sentence and after he completed the time, he changed his plea to not guilty and the district judge dismissed the case.”

“That’s the strangest thing I ever heard.” Wolfe rubbed his chin. “So he pleaded guilty and now he walks free?”