“Done.” Jenna lingered at the bottom of the steps, pretending to look at her notes.
“Well, fancy seeing you here, Sheriff.” Anderson climbed out his pickup, carrying a cardboard carton. “Checking up on me?”
The challenging way he looked at her sent a shiver down her back. “No, Mr. Anderson that would be police harassment. I came by to speak to Mrs. Rosen.” She noticed Kane emerging from around his truck and offered Anderson a smile. “I see you’re beefing up the security around here.”
“Can’t get too much security. Maybe you should call out Silent Alarms to secure your ranch. Out there in the middle of nowhere, you’d need a reliable alarm system.” Anderson’s gaze moved over her face. “We don’t want you going missing in the middle of the night, now, do we?”
A cold sweat beaded on her flesh as she took in his satisfied smile. It was as if he was taunting her. “I’ll be su
re to look into it.” She noticed Kane edging toward Anderson’s truck and pressed on. “How long does it take to install a complete system?”
“It depends what level of security you need.” Anderson inclined his head. “Are you all alone out there?”
Jenna frowned, waiting a beat as if considering his question to delay him a little longer. “Yeah, I live alone so I guess I’ll need the works.”
“No dogs?” Anderson lowered his voice. “I figured you and Deputy Kane lived together. I see you heading off home with him most nights.”
Most nights? Has he been watching me? “No dogs and Kane has his own place.” She could see Kane in her periphery, sliding behind the wheel of his own truck. “I’ll give Silent Alarms a call on Monday and get a quote.”
“Mention my name. It’s good for a discount. Look, I’ve gotta go.” He winked at her. “Mrs. Rosen expects me to have this installed before I leave for the day.” He headed up the front steps and knocked on the door.
Shaken, Jenna headed to Kane’s truck and climbed into the passenger seat. “Is he using a GPS jammer?”
“Nope.” Kane was staring at an app on his cellphone.
Jenna moved her attention away from the screen and back to the house. “He’s been watching us.”
“Yeah, I heard.” Kane’s mouth turned down and he shook his head. “Creepy guy but that doesn’t make him a killer.”
Unease crept over her as she glanced back at the house. “I guess not but I’m suspicious of everyone right now.”
“Why Anderson? He didn’t threaten you.” Kane frowned at her. “I figured that was the salesman in him. Maybe he tried to make you uneasy so you’d buy something.”
“Oh, I don’t know, something’s not right about him.” Jenna’s cellphone buzzed a message. She glanced down at the caller ID and panic shot through her at the sight of a private number.
Heart pounding, she stared at the house as the door opened and Anderson slipped inside. It couldn’t be him; too many pieces would have to fall into place. For instance, if he was the killer, how did he know she’d be at the Rosens’ at that precise moment to schedule a call? Then again, if he’d made sure to be in plain sight of Mrs. Rosen at the time the message went through, she’d make the perfect alibi for him. It all came down to reasonable doubt. Did he have access to a burner cellphone with call scheduling? If they couldn’t prove it and Mrs. Rosen didn’t witness him using a cellphone at that time, the DA wouldn’t issue an arrest warrant because the moment he went up against Cross in court, that simple fact would be used to cast reasonable doubt on his guilt. She had three dead girls, Julie was missing and their suspect list had shrunk away to nothing. She wanted to break down and cry but she bit back a sob and turned to look at Kane. “It’s another message from the Shadow Man.”
Unable to stop shaking, she opened the message. “It has an attachment.”
“Show me.” Kane leaned his head toward her. “Message first.”
Now you’ve made me mad and when I get mad, I get even.
You’ve broken the rules, so now there are no rules.
Maybe this one will count more. You have an attachment to her, don’t you?
We’ll meet real soon, Jenna. I’m so going to enjoy watching you die.
The oxygen lasts 3 hours.
Tick tock, tick tock.
Terror gripped Jenna as she opened the video file attachment. She couldn’t breathe. “Oh, my God, he’s buried Julie alive.”
Fifty-Eight
So cold. Icy tendrils seeped through Julie’s clothes and her teeth chattered. A strange damp smell surrounded her as she tried to drag herself awake. Her head throbbed and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Dazed and disorientated, she forced her heavy eyelids to open. Darkness surrounded her, in deep shadows. The memory of a strong arm around her and the smelly rag pressed to her face slammed into her. She tried to sit and struck her head. Where am I? With trembling fingers, she found rough boards surrounded her and panic tightened her chest making it hard to breathe. I’m inside a wooden box.