Be Mine Forever (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“We don’t have a link between them.” Kane peered at her notes. “Vicky just said Marlene is always hanging around Collins. That would be normal for a quarterback, they usually have a fan club.”

“I’m thinking out of the box, Dave. We’ll hunt them down after we’ve spoken to Verna.” Jenna smiled as the food arrived. “Oh, this looks good.”

“Thank you.” Susie beamed. “Enjoy, I’ll send someone back with a pot of coffee.”

“Do you figure she’ll give you her recipes?” Kane grinned at her. “Nah, don’t ask.”

Jenna frowned. “Why? Is it because I’m hopeless at cooking?”

“Nope. I think they’d be locked away in a vault.” Kane chuckled. “And by the way, I happen to like your little idiosyncrasies. They make you special.”

Twenty-One

Tuesday

The internal clock inside Kane’s head woke him at five. He pulled on his workout gear, a sweater, and sweat pants and then headed out into the misty morning to do his chores. As usual Duke tagged along and Pumpkin, Jenna’s black cat, was sitting on a haybale waiting for them to arrive. He took the horses out to the corral and stood for a second to admire the view and enjoy the horses. He placed one boot on the new gate he’d purchased from the Crazy Iron Forge out of Blackwater and relaxed, allowing the murder case filling his mind to seep into oblivion for a few minutes. The need to complete his chores and head into work tugged at him and with a sigh, he turned to walk back to the barn. He paused mid-stride at a sound coming from inside. Both the dog and cat were around his feet and the ranch was like Fort Knox, no one crossed the boundaries without setting off an alarm. He heard the scrape, whine, plop again and edged alongside the wall before turkey peeking around the door. He barked out a laugh at the sight of Jenna, mucking out one of the stalls. “Morning.”

“Hey.” Jenna leaned on a pitchfork and smiled at him. “It’s cold this morning and I figured I needed to loosen up before we

worked out.” She glanced at her watch. “I want to be leaving here by six-thirty to be sure we catch the Hughes family at home.”

Kane picked up a shovel and scooped and tossed manure into the wheel barrow. “Have you decided anything about the saliva sample found at the crime scene?”

“Yeah.” Jenna had moved onto the third stall. “I sent it to Bobby Kalo to run through the DNA databases last night but unless our suspect has been in trouble with the law, or served in the military, we won’t find a match.”

Kane kept up a steady pace and didn’t stop to look at her. “They have access to all the DNA databases, including the ones people use to discover their family tree. We might not get a direct hit but we might get a close relative.”

“I hope so.” Jenna broke open a bale of straw and shook it out inside the stall before repeating the process in the next one along. “We need something to go on and it seems to me, whoever stabbed Laurie with the screwdriver left the saliva. They were in a rage and could have been shouting obscenities for all we know. Spittle can fly out all over when someone is angry.”

Kane rolled the wheelbarrow out to the compost pile behind the barn to empty it and then followed Jenna to her ranch house. It was their normal routine, they washed up and then completed a brutal workout before showering and eating breakfast. Their uniform had changed a little since their stint as FBI consultants. The need for unencumbered movement had become clearer with each arrest they made. They both now preferred regular jeans, a T-shirt, and a sheriff’s department jacket. Jenna would wear blue jeans, an open neck blouse, and had swapped her duty belt for a less cumbersome holster and a jacket with more pockets. He preferred black, and wore his Glock in a hip holster, with his badge displayed on his belt. The change hadn’t as much as raised an eyebrow with the townsfolk and although Rowley had asked the question, Jenna had informed him as sheriff and deputy sheriff, they could wear what they pleased.

They rolled through town at close to seven and arrived at the Hughes home a little after. Kane gave his siren a blast and went up the driveway with his wig-wag lights flashing. He turned to Jenna. “I don’t want them taking pot shots at us.”

“If they have nothing to hide, they shouldn’t be so worried.” She turned to him. “They must have had regular visits when they were in the foster system.”

Kane approached the house, doing a visual scan of the area, windows, and doors for any sign of a shotgun pointed in their direction. A dusty old Chrysler sedan was parked under the trees out front. “Yeah but that was some time ago, when Verna was a kid, things have changed around these parts since then.”

The door opened, Cory stepped out, and the screen door slapped shut behind him. Kane buzzed down his window. “Is it okay with your ma if we have a chat?”

“Sure?” Cory’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “What’s up?”

Kane climbed out and waited for Jenna to join him. He followed her onto the porch step. “Can we come inside?”

“Ma, the sheriff is here.” Cory turned away from the door. “Can they come in to speak to you?” He turned back and stood to one side. “Straight ahead, she’s in the kitchen. Verna is cooking breakfast. She has the parade this morning and can’t be late.”

“We won’t keep you long.” Jenna tucked a DNA test kit under one arm and followed Cory down the hallway.

The house smelled like a chicken coop and Kane had to maneuver his way around piles of junk. The adoption would never have been approved if the house had been in this state. He assumed since the adoption had gone through and her husband had walked, Mrs. Hughes had become a hoarder. He stepped over empty bean cans and piles of newspapers. The mounds of trash showed evidence of rodents, the place was a mess. He eased inside the kitchen. Here it seemed the kids had made a space to cook and eat but it was minimal. Kane waited in the doorway and batted away the flies.

“I guess you know, we took a sample of Cory’s DNA to eliminate him from the investigation into Laurie Turner’s death?” Jenna waved a test kit. “We weren’t aware Verna was adopted, so we’re here to ask if we can get a sample from her as well. We’re testing all of Laurie’s friends.”

“I was never Laurie’s friend.” Verna scowled at them over one shoulder. “She used her family’s money and her pa’s position to get on the cheerleading squad. The rest of us had to earn our place.”

“I see but all the same, we’d like a test if it’s okay with your ma?” Jenna looked hopefully at the woman seated at the table with a cigarette held between her fingers.

“Nope, I won’t give my permission.” Mrs. Hughes shook her head. “You got no right to take my boy’s DNA. Now he’ll be on the FBI’s database for life.”

Kane cleared his throat. “He’s old enough to give permission, Ma’am, and the sample would only be a problem if he’s planning a life of crime and from what I’m seeing, he’s hardworking and good at his job.”