Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Where are you, Jenna?” Kane pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to stop himself reaching for his phone. He’d looked at it so many times since she left, expecting her to call. He’d pushed away the temptation to call her several times but when she’d left, she’d given him his orders and made it clear she didn’t want him involved. Sure, she’d been angry but was probably down at Aunt Betty’s Café chatting with Susie to get her head straight.

“Has Jenna called in since she left?” Rowley spun his chair around to look at him. “It’s getting late and you’ll miss the snowplow, if she doesn’t get back soon.”

Kane pulled out his phone. “I hope she’s just cooling off; she wasn’t very happy when she left.” He shrugged. “I guess a message wouldn’t hurt.”

We’ll need to leave soon to follow the snowplow, what’s your ETA?

He waited some minutes before the message notification chimed on his phone.

Not sure.

Kane read the message and sighed. He tried again.

If you plan on working the case this evening, I’ll have to go home to feed the horses.

He waited again for what seemed like ten minutes.

Don’t whine to me about your chores, Deputy. Head off and feed your precious horses. I’ll find my own ride home.

Kane read the message and shook his head in disbelief. Jenna had never been darn right nasty. He called her and from the recorded message, he knew she’d refused to take his call. His first instinct was to go and find her but she’d see that as being overprotective. Maybe she just needed some alone time. Perplexed and torn between what he wanted to do and giving Jenna some space, he stared at Rowley. “Seems like Jenna has taken some personal time. We might as well shut up shop. She’s finding her own way home.” He showed Rowley the messages.

“Okay.” Rowley’s eyebrows rose and he cleared his throat. “You know her better than I do but she’s never nasty.” He turned off his computer and stood. “You sure she’s okay? There’s not a cry for help in those messages, is there?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m sure this has to do with Kim Strickland.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “There was a dead rat waiting for Jenna when we got back, and she was convinced Kim had sent it to her. She went to Kim’s apartment to straighten out a few things.”

“Alone?” Rowley’s eyes opened wide. “Why didn’t you go with her?”

“It’s complicated.” Kane leaned one hip on the edge of his desk. “Jenna insisted I stay away from Kim, she wanted to handle her alone. I don’t believe she considers Kim a threat and we both know Jenna can take care of herself.”

“Why would Kim hurt Jenna?”

Kane threw both hands in the air. “The woman is harassing me and Jenna would arrest her in a heartbeat but because I walked Kim back to her room after we had a drink the night of the drug bust, Carter’s advice is to work it out. He believes her defense would make her out to be a spurned lover, especially after they call witnesses from Aunt Betty’s and view the CCTV footage from the ski resort.” He sighed. “I can only imagine what trash talking she’s doing to Jenna. I can’t rush down there and see what’s happening. Kim will take it to mean I’m protecting Jenna and Jenna will figure I’m being overprotective. I can’t win either way.”

“Hmm, it must be a bad situation for Jenna not to talk it out with you.” Rowley frowned. “Give her some time before you message her again.” He pulled on his coat. “Give me Kim’s address and I’ll drop by her apartment before I head home and see if Jenna is still there. If not, I’ll drive by Aunt Betty’s. She’s on foot and can’t have gotten far.” He glanced out the window. “Snow’s stopped and at least the road will be clear for you for a time.”

Concern gnawed at Kane’s guts but he straightened. “Call me if you see her. I’ll send Maggie home and go and feed the horses. I’ll come back when I’m done and see if I can locate Jenna.” He sighed. “She has her keys if she needs to get back in here.”

All the way back to the ranch, Kane allowed the messages to run through his mind. Although Jenna hadn’t added a hidden message to say she was in trouble, her attitude toward him gnawed at him. It was so uncharacteristic for Jenna to be rude. Something was up and he needed to check on her fast. He did his chores with speed and, taking Duke with him, headed back into town. He hadn’t heard from Rowley and called Wolfe to bring him up to date with the situation. “Can you ask Em if Jenna’s called her?”

“Sure.” Wolfe’s voice came through the car radio via the Bluetooth phone connection. He came back immediately. “Nope. Which is unusual. Jenna usually calls Em when she needs some girl talk, and this problem sounds like something they’d discuss. Maybe she called Jo but if she did you won’t get much out of her—Jo, I mean. She keeps confidences. Jenna might just be dealing with the problem. If she hadn’t replied to your messages, I’d be worried.”

Unconvinced, Kane drove into the night. “I can’t help feeling something is wrong. I upset Jenna by not explaining the situation about Kim earlier but we’re good now. What if the killer has kidnapped her or Kim is working with the killer and using this to distract us all, so he can kill again? Or to give him time to set up another display?”

“Jenna would press her tracker ring if she was in trouble.” Wolfe said nothing for a beat as if thinking. “If you’re concerned this Kim person or the killer has Jenna, why not send her a fake message? In the meantime, I’ll track her phone—but that’s between us, I don’t want to be hauled over the coals by her if she finds out.”

“Thanks, man.” Kane pulled to the side of the road and messaged Jenna a blatant lie.

I figure you need to check on your foal. I think it has a fever. It could die in this weather. I’m not experienced enough with horses to know what to do. Please advise.

Kane waited and nothing happened. No reply came. He pulled back onto the road and turned into Main, scanning the stores and all around. His phone chimed and he pressed the green phone button on his car’s screen. It was Rowley. “Did you locate Jenna?”

“No, I went by Kim’s apartment and no one is home, her parking space is empty. I’ve been hanging out at Aunt Betty’s with Sandy. We both thought Jenna would come by for a meal but she’s a no show. She hasn’t been by at all and as its after seven now, I’m thinking she could be at the Cattleman’s Hotel?” He heaved a sigh. “We’ve both tried calling her and she’s not picking up.”

“Okay thanks.” Kane pulled up outside the sheriff’s department but the place was in darkness. “She’s not at the office either. I’ll call the Cattleman’s Hotel and ask if she’s there. Someone would have noticed her in uniform. If she’s not, I’ll come by Aunt Betty’s. If Jenna sees my truck outside, she might drop by.”

“Okay.” Rowley seemed concerned. “I’ll call the cab company and see if she took a ride anywhere. She might be at home.”

“Not likely, she hasn’t got the control to open the gate and if she triggered the boundary alarm, I’d get a notification on my phone.” Kane drummed his fingertips on the steering wheel. “I’m worried about her.”