Whisper in the Night (Detectives Kane and Alton)

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After Kane insisted on carrying her to the front passenger seat of his truck, Jenna had reached her pain threshold and his offer of cold packs suddenly seemed like a good idea. Her teeth chattered as he slid them up her back, setting them over the T-shirt she wore next to her skin. “Oh, this is wonderful. Why haven’t I tried this form of torture before?”

“Trust me, it will help.” Kane pulled down her clothes and fixed her seatbelt, then wrapped a blanket around her. He shut the door then headed around the hood of the vehicle.

Her phone signaled a message and she met Kane’s gaze as he slid behind the wheel. “I’m getting jittery the moment I hear the message tone. I figure they’re all from the Shadow Man.” She pulled the cellphone from her pocket.

“If it’s from him, he’s different to any psychopath I’ve profiled before.” Kane frowned. “He’s changing his gameplay so rapidly it’s difficult pinning a profile to him.”

Staring at the caller ID, she lifted her gaze to Kane and swallowed a rush of fear. In trepidation, she opened the message and groaned. “It’s from him.”

Don’t imagine you’re lucky to be alive. If I’d wanted to kill you, I’d have aimed for your head.

You’ll need to step up your game, Sheriff. You’re making it too easy for me and I figured with your reputation, you’d be an opponent worthy of my skills.

But you’re not.

Bile rushed up the back of Jenna’s throat. Kane had been right – the Shadow Man had her in his sights and Lindy and Amanda were his means to get to her. He would consider the girls collateral damage, with no meaning or worth to him as a killer. She reached for a bottle of water and sipped. The cold fluid unclogged the lump in her throat. “It seems to me your profile of him is fitting just fine. This animal goes way past monster – he is a twisted SOB.” She stared at Kane. “How are we going to catch him before he kills Amanda?”

“By not rushing into one of his traps.” Kane met her gaze. “He’s had the advantage from the get-go and is using his communications to direct our moves. While we’re checking out his red herrings he’s making his next move.”

Jenna winced at the reality of the situation. “Okay, okay. Then we go back to basics to beat him by following kidnapping procedure and hunting down persons of interest.”

Her message tone chimed again and the cellphone slipped from her hands. It took an effort to pick it up again and look at the screen. “Oh, my God. He’s sent another message with attachments.” She held the phone so Kane could view the screen.

Now look what you’ve made me do, Sheriff.

That’s 2–zip to me.

Maybe I’ll kill you next time – or maybe I won’t.

How many sweet innocent girls will I have to kill before you stop me?

Anger at this smug remark tightened Jenna’s stomach. “He’s killed Amanda and now he’s blaming me? What makes a person so evil?”

“He’s using the guilt trip method by placing the blame of his actions on you, Jenna.” Kane shook his head slowly. “He’s obtained some basic skills in psychoanalyzing, which would make me believe he’s received therapy along the way or studied it at some point.” He cleared his throat. “Open the image files.”

Steeling herself, Jenna bit down hard on her bottom lip and opened the files. The first picture was of a person wrapped in a blood-red shawl. The shawl partially covered the face like a hood. The second was of the face. It was Amanda Braxton and her sightless eyes stared at the camera as if surprised, but her lips carried the blueish hue of death.

“It’s Amanda. Can you make out where she’s at?” Jenna enlarged the image and handed the cellphone to Kane. “Is that the bench outside the library in town?” Sick to the stomach, she stared at him. “Surely someone would have noticed a dead body – look, I can see people close by.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Unless it’s been superimposed on the background.”

“I don’t think so, the shadows look authentic. Her mom didn’t mention anything about a red shawl.” Kane frowned. “We have a CCTV feed on that corner. I’ll bring it up on my phone.” He accessed the app, and then turned toward her, a puzzled expression on his face. “The cameras are down. The error report states the cameras from Main Street through to Mill Road went offline at five this morning.”

“How the hell did he manage to disable the CCTV system when it runs from our office?” Jenna stared at him in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

“They’re not wireless.” Kane scratched his cheek. “Cut the main feed and the entire section goes down. It wouldn’t take an expert.” He unclipped his seatbelt. “I’ll go and bring Wolfe up to date.”

“No.” Jenna gripped his arm and winced at the pain the small move produced. “I’ll call him on the way to town but first I’ll send Rowley to secure the scene. If the Shadow Man has planted an explosive device like last time, he’ll need to clear the area.”

“Roger that.” Kane started the engine and they roared down the driveway and out the gate.

Jenna made the calls and notified Wolfe first, then contacted Rowley. “You’ll have to get Maggie to drive my cruiser to one end of Mill Road and block it – the keys are on my desk. She can leave the keys with you and walk back to the office. Use your cruiser to block the other end. Don’t approach the body. Use your loudspeaker to clear the people out the area.”

“Roger that.” Rowley sucked in a deep breath. “Do you want me to check for any life signs?”

“No, don’t go near her.” Jenna swallowed the bile crawling up the back of her throat. “The killer could have rigged the area with a bomb. Wait until we get there. Kane has experience in explosives and Wolfe will be on scene soon.” She disconnected and looked at Kane. “What’s the chances she’s alive?”

“From the photograph, I’d say she’s been dead for hours.”