Jenna shook her head. “Not yet. We’ll speak to him as soon as we have the results of the test.”
“Why can’t I see my little girl?” Mrs. Turner sat down heavily and peered at her through tears. “What happened to her?”
“I’m not able to give you any information, I’m truly sorry. At this stage we don’t know for sure it’s Laurie.” Jenna squeezed the woman’s arm. “Dr. Wolfe, the medical examiner, will explain everything once he has the results of the test.”
“Okay.” Mrs. Turner pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit up using a silver lighter. She blew out smoke in a stream. “I’ll wait here for Father Derry.”
“Sure.” Jenna stood and headed out the door, pausing at the front counter. “Mrs. Turner has had some bad news. Father Derry will be by soon, can you show him to the break room?”
“Okay.” The girl behind the counter nodded like a bobblehead.
As they headed for the truck, Jenna looked at Kane. “She’s in a bad way.”
“Yeah, breathing in fumes all day from the salon and smoking as well, it’s a wonder she can breathe at all.” He climbed into his truck and started the engine. “Wolfe’s and then Aunt Betty’s for lunch?”
“Yeah.” Jenna pulled out her phone to call Father Derry. “If the DNA results are back by then, we’ll go and inform Bob Turner about Laurie. I guess then it will be time for the autopsy. Can this day get any worse?”
Thirteen
In the school hallway, she paced up and down chewing her fingernails. She’d taken too many sneers and smart remarks from the cheerleading squad to last her a lifetime. Yeah, they’d dropped her to the B team but not for her performance. They’d cut her for one of their friends, a daughter of the local bank manager. She understood the truth now. How the girls on the team manipulated people, using the money or position of their parents to move up in the world. The flirting with her boyfriend and his response had made her mad. He’d been flattered and wouldn’t stop talking about how this one or that one had hit on him. Her fingers trembled at the thought of any of them as much as looking at him. She’d won his heart but since they’d cut her from the squad, she’d noticed his eyes wandering to some of the other girls. She had to put a stop to it and lied to him. Turning the tables on the way the guys thought about cheerleaders hadn’t been difficult. His ego was his downfall and making him believe they had devised a plan to steal him from her then publicly humiliate him had been easy. Her plan had worked.
He was incredibly vain and so good looking the girls at school idolized him. He walked with a swagger but she controlled him now. The idea of stealing the player’s soiled briefs from the locker room when the team were busy in the showers had been pure genius but convincing him to take them had been difficult. As he walked toward her at morning break, she dragged him into a quiet corner and kissed him. “Did you get them?”
“Yeah.” His brow furrowed into a frown. “You know if they catch me doing this, they’re going to think I’m kinky or something. Why do we need sweaty shorts and how long do you figure we can get away with this before someone starts complaining their clothes are missing?”
She took the plastic bag he handed her and thrust it into her backpack. “You didn’t touch them, did you? You picked them up with the bag?”
“Yeah, I did like the last time.” He brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her again. “Tell me, why you need another pair, it goes way past people thinking Laurie was a slut, doesn’t it?”
“It’s the same reason we wrapped her in plastic and wore gloves.” She ran her hand through his hair. “DNA. This way the cops will believe someone else killed her.”
“That doesn’t seem fair, blaming someone else.” He looked worried.
“That’s why I needed another pair. I need to kill another one.” She smiled at him. “I watched your face when I strangled Laurie. You loved it and I’ve picked out the next one. We’ll stuff the briefs in her mouth to throw off the cops. Two different sets of DNA found with the bodies will confuse them.” She looked at him and giggled. “I’ll take out a few of the squad and they’ll be begging me to come back.” She touched his cheek. “Now go and be nice to Becky. Not too nice now. It’s the parade tomorrow and everyone will be occupied. We’ll need a plan to get her somewhere secluded. There’s an empty house in town, I was walking by and saw the last owner leave the key above the front door. We’ll go there. All the blinds are down, it will be dark inside, and I can hide real easy. Take her upstairs and I’ll be inside waiting. I’ll leave the backdoor open and have everything ready. Becky deserves this, I’ve heard her talking and she really wants to make you look like a jerk, so she’ll be putty in your hands.”
“What do you want me to say to her?”
“Hmm, let me see.” She twirled her hair around her fingers and thought for a beat. “Say you’re trying to avoid me, that I follow you, something like that. We’ll need a nice quiet place to get her into your vehicle.” She tapped her lip. “I know. Ask her to meet you in the library. It’s open on Tuesdays until ten. If she shows, make her believe I’m there, stalking you and then sneak out to the parking lot. Say you’ll give her a ride someplace you can make out with her, without me knowing.”
“What you gonna do to her?” He trembled with excitement against her. “Last time, you kinda changed like in a good way. Watching you made my heart race and after when we made out, with her dead eyes watching us, it was incredible.”
“It will be a surprise.” She kissed him hard. After she’d killed two or three more cheerleaders, he’d never dream of leaving her. She smiled, enjoying the power she had over him, and this was just the start.
Fourteen
As Jenna and Kane headed back to the office, Wolfe called with the results of the DNA sample. The dead girl was Laurie Turner. Jenna called off the search at once and headed to Dr. Bob Turner’s residence. They parked outside and then walked to the door. Her knocking was answered after a few minutes and Dr. Turner glared at her. Jenna met his gaze. “We have some news about Laurie.”
“She’s dead, isn’t she? My wife called me and told me you’d found a body.” Turner’s eyes flashed with anger.
Jenna glanced at Kane. “I’m afraid she is, yes.”
“I gathered as much as you went to my ex-wife to obtain a DNA sample. It would have been more professional to have contacted me first.” Dr. Turner’s voice became like granite. “It’s amazing how fast you found Laurie’s mother, I’ve been looking for Jeanette for years. She’ll blame me for Laurie’s death but then she blames me for everything. That woma
n was always a bad influence on Laurie.” He cleared his throat. “Now can you leave, Sheriff? I don’t want your condolences; I have funeral arrangements to make.” He slammed the door in her face.
Jenna exchanged an amazed look with Kane. “Is that the same Dr. Turner who called 911. Wow! That’s some change around in behavior.”
“People react differently to bad news.” Kane raised an eyebrow. “It’s not your fault.”