Be Mine Forever (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Sixteen.” Turner gave his details. “I’ve been calling her friends and nobody has seen her since she left practice at the school gym last night.”

The all too familiar shiver of uneasiness slipped down Jenna’s spine and she exchanged a meaningful look with Kane. “Okay, and what time was this?”

“Around nine, nine-thirty last night.” Turner heaved a long sigh. “I didn’t notice her missing until this morning. I called her phone and it’s not responding. I went out to hunt her down this morning in case she’d slipped out before I woke. I went to Aunt Betty’s Café and then I checked around town again but I couldn’t find her.”

With her mind running down her list of the necessary procedures in a missing person’s case, Jenna stared into space for a beat. “Does she own a vehicle?”

“Yeah, but that’s not here either.” Dr. Turner sounded frantic. “No one has seen it and it’s distinctive, it’s a 1950 Ford pickup, and painted fire-engine-red.”

Jenna made notes. “Okay, we can put out a BOLO for the truck. Does she have a boyfriend she might be with?”

“Nope, she broke up with a boy by the name of Wyatt Cooper a couple of weeks ago. I called him and he hasn’t spoken with her since.”

It had been such a relaxing Sunday. Jenna stared at Kane and his face was grim. She gave herself a mental shake. “Okay, Dr. Turner. I’m on my way.” She disconnected and pushed the phone into her pocket.

“I’ll go grab my jacket and weapon.” Kane hurried from the house.

“What’s happened?” Wolfe came into the room loaded up with dirty plates.

Jenna explained. “We’ll head out now. Sorry to ruin the cookout.”

“We all had a relaxing afternoon. It was great!” Wolfe

smiled at her. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll explain what’s happened to the others and get these in the dishwasher. I’ll be sure to set the alarm before we leave.”

Relieved, Jenna smiled at him. “Thanks, Shane. I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll tend the horses to save you time when you get home.” Rowley appeared at the kitchen door, carrying plates of food. “Sandy will store the leftovers in the refrigerator.”

Grateful for such wonderful friends, Jenna squeezed his arm. “Thanks, Jake.”

She rushed to her room to collect her duty belt and sheriff’s department jacket. Giving her friends a wave, she hurried out the door as Kane drove up in his black unmarked truck, affectionately known as the Beast. Climbing inside, she fastened her seatbelt and entered the address into the GPS. A thought came to her. “Just how many glasses of wine have you had, Dave?”

“One.” Kane gave her a long stare. “Have you ever known me to drink more than two glasses of wine, like ever?”

Jenna shook her head as they headed out the gate and hit the blacktop. “No, can’t say that I have. Why is that?”

“Living in Black Rock Falls is a delight as well as a curse.” Kane flicked her a glance. “I’m never sure what’s going to happen in any given hour, and I like to be clear-headed and ready for anything.”

Two

Still damp after a late storm the previous night, the lowlands and mountain vistas surrounding Jenna’s ranch appeared to have received a new coat of paint. Dressed in an artist’s palette of fall colors, they sparkled under the late afternoon sun and gave off a fresh aroma. It had been good to see rain after a dry spell had muted the lush green landscape, although the storm had been loud. She had discovered apart from the fear of the vet and baths, Duke, Kane’s bloodhound, had added loud storms to his repertoire of fear. Her enjoyable Saturday evening with Kane watching movies had been disturbed by howls loud enough to wake the dead. The noise had sent her black cat, Pumpkin, climbing the drapes and hissing like a leaky furnace. When Kane, finding it amusing, had howled along with his dog, it had taken her forever to untangle Pumpkin and calm her down.

Such were the changes in personality happening to Dave Kane of late. After his wife had died in a car bombing, he’d withdrawn into himself but as the years slipped by, he’d slowly come to terms with his loss. He was still the same, lean, mean fighting machine, ex-special forces sniper, who’d arrived in town some years ago but somehow now, he laughed more and seemed to be living his life to the full. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and seeing him happy made her smile. They’d taken the first tentative steps toward a relationship but the decision to keep it strictly private had been unanimous. Being sheriff had responsibilities and if things didn’t work out between them, they’d remain friends and no one would be the wiser.

They headed into the town of Black Rock Falls, Jenna’s gaze moved over the crowd of people making repairs to the rain-soaked Fall Festival banners. As Kane slowed the Beast to negotiate the people spilling onto Main, Jenna waved back at the cheery greetings of the townsfolk, who’d voted for her to protect them for an extended five-year term. The festival ran from Tuesday through Saturday and was a much-anticipated tourist attraction. Apart from the popular white-water rapids, and hiking or riding in the forest, this year the town was hosting the chainsaw wood carving championships at the showgrounds, an art competition in the town hall, and a farmer’s market in the parklands. All this along with the normal street vendors and performers who swarmed to the festivals throughout the year, left Jenna hoping the violent crime side of her profession would slip into obscurity.

She glanced at Kane. “I’ll call the media as soon as we’ve spoken to Dr. Turner. I’m going to need people to man the hotline phones.”

“Yeah, Maggie and Walters might be able to do the first shift.” Kane looked over at her. “We could have the calls diverted to our phones for the night shift and sort out better arrangements for the morning?”

Jenna considered asking their secretary, Magnolia Brewster, or Maggie, as everyone called her, and the semi-retired deputy Walters to do a Sunday shift and sighed. “Yeah, Rowley’s had a few beers, he’ll be okay for the morning. I’m glad Sandy can drive him home. Although, the way she’s expanding, she won’t be able to fit behind the wheel for much longer. She is what? Only five months or so by now?”

“She might be having twins.” Kane shrugged. “Although, they went for an ultrasound last week and Rowley hasn’t mentioned anything.”

Jenna smiled. “Yes, Sandy is playing her cards close to the vest. Most new moms can’t wait to show off the images.”

“I guess they want to keep things private.” Kane winked at her. “Sometimes it’s for the best.”