“Silent Alarms.” Mrs. Braxton shrugged. “All the houses in this area use the same company. When I purchased the house, the realtor recommended them.”
Jenna frowned. “Who else has been in or around the house?”
“Let me see.” Mrs. Braxton looked suddenly confused. “The Green Thumb Landscaping Service, and Mr. Packer drops by to fix anything I need fixing. They’ve all been very professional and reliable. My quilting club members speak highly of them too.”
With the coincidences piling up, a wave of morbid apprehension crept over Jenna. “Have these men had contact with Amanda at all over the last month or so?”
“Why, yes, I believe so.” Mrs. Braxton sniffed. “The gardening service comes once a week and of course they would have met her. Mr. Packer came by to fix the window in the kitchen. It had gotten stuck over winter.”
“And Silent Alarms?” Kane gave her an enquiring look. “Have any of their technicians spoken with Amanda?”
“I don’t know for sure. They would’ve seen her, I guess, but they worked outside. I had sensor floodlights installed and the CCTV camera. It was a deal they advertised last month.” Mrs. Braxton lifted her red-rimmed eyes to Jenna. “When Mandy went missing, I hit the panic button and they called within a few seconds. The man was very nice, he said the CCTV cameras hadn’t been activated overnight and no intruders had entered our property.”
It was like déjà vu. Jenna couldn’t believe what Mrs. Braxton was saying. Two of their prime suspects had been in contact with Amanda and both girls had left a secure environment with CCTV cameras as if they’d been ghosts. One she might believe, but two was way past coincidence. Cold fingers tickled the back of her neck in a gruesome warning, and she forced her expression to remain calm and in control, but inside turmoil raged. If she received a message from an unknown number right now, she wasn’t sure what she would do. She gathered her thoughts. “You did the right thing checking in with the security company. Could you make a list of anyone at all you know who met Amanda recently? Not just friends, anyone at all you can think of, and I need a run-down of her movements over the last weeks.” She handed Mrs. Braxton her notebook.
“Sure, Luke will help me.” Mrs. Braxton straightened in her seat. “Anything to find Mandy.”
“Wolfe and Walters are here.” Kane turned and headed out the door.
Jenna stood. “Shane Wolfe is our medical examiner and our forensics expert. He and his assistant Deputy Webber will need access to Amanda’s room and her laptop.” She turned as they entered the room. “Deputy Walters will remain here and set up a recording device to your landline in case anyone contacts you about Amanda.”
“Do you think someone has kidnapped her?” Mrs. Braxton looked horrified.
Jenna gave her a comforting squeeze. “We’re covering every angle, Mrs. Braxton.”
After updating Wolfe and collecting a large evidence bag from his kit, she turned to Mrs. Braxton. “I’m going with Kane and Atohi Blackhawk to search the grounds for any trace of Amanda. We’ve a bloodhound tracker dog with us as well. Do you have anything she’s worn lately we can use to give him her scent?”
“Yes, I have her jeans in the laundry basket. I’ll go get them for you.” Mrs. Braxton got up and took a few unsteady steps toward the doorway.
Jenna followed her to the laundry room and handed her the evidence bag. “If you could place them in here, please?” She took the bag. “Thank you.” She glanced at Luke, who was hovering in the hallway. “Why don’t you make your mother a cup of coffee?”
With the bag tucked under one arm, Jenna made her way outside to meet the others. She glanced up at Kane. “I’m guessing the Shadow Man has struck again.”
Twenty-Five
The heady perfume from the flowers each side of the porch washed over Jenna but the delightful scent didn’t remove the awful sensation that it was already too late to save Amanda. As she walked down the steps beside Kane, a blast of cold wind rustled through the trees and seeped into her clothes, giving her goosebumps. The blue sky that had greeted her earlier had turned an angry gray as storm clouds rolled over the mountains. She shivered, then, zipping up her jacket, walked across the driveway to greet Blackhawk. “Thanks for coming out again, Atohi. I really appreciate your expertise in tracking.”
“I will always be here when you need me, Jenna.” Blackhawk indicated with his thumb over one shoulder to Duke. The dog’s head hung out the SUV’s window and he was whining and giving the odd discontented bark. “Although, you have your own tracker right there.”
“Yeah, but he can’t exactly tell us what he’s seeing. I’ll go get him.” Kane hustled over to his truck to collect Duke and returned with the crime scene kit.
“That’s because you don’t listen to him, Dave.” Blackhawk shook his head. “Dogs are not as complicated as people.” He turned to Jenna. “Wolfe mentioned we’ve another teenager who up and walked out of her home at night. Is it the same as last time?”
Jenna nodded and stared into the dense wooded area bordering the driveway. “I’m not sure but it appears this one locked up before she left. I can’t imagine a kidnapper taking the time to reset the alarm – but hey, this is Black Rock Falls, anything is possible.” She turned to Kane. “Ready?”
“I sure am. Open
the bag for him to take a sniff.” Kane led the dog to Jenna’s side.
Jenna looked over at Atohi. “If it’s the Shadow Man again, he’d have bundled her into his vehicle. We found no evidence he chased Lindy outside – in fact we found zip.” Jenna bent and opened the evidence bag for Duke to sniff.
“Seek.” Kane unclipped Duke’s leash. “Seek, Duke. Find the girl. That’s right.”
The dog ran around in circles for some moments with his nose to the ground, and then headed for a path leading into the woodland. Jenna stared after him in disbelief. “I can’t imagine a young girl would wander in there at night voluntarily. It looks creepy enough in daylight.”
As Duke bounded down a narrow trail, birds lifted from the branches and flew into the air with discontented squawks. Jenna stood to one side to allow Kane and Atohi to go ahead of her; they could translate Duke’s whines and behavior far better than she could and by bringing up the rear, she would catch anything they’d missed.
Shrubs and vines had spilled over the pathway, giving the impression no one used it very often. Bushes and low pine branches seemed to reach out and grab at Jenna’s clothes. It would have been much worse for Amanda last night. The sensation must have been like ghostly hands dragging her into a dark abyss. Jenna quickened her pace. Ahead, Kane’s head moved from side to side as he scanned the area in all directions. Atohi followed close behind Duke, his attention not on the dog but on the ground. Jenna moved slowly over the uneven path, negotiating exposed tree roots, then stopped mid-step when Atohi held up one hand.