Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

She leaned back in her seat and pushed her phone back inside her pocket. “Oliver Morgan served time for rape of a minor. Apparently, he found God in prison and joined the Devout Sons six years ago and worked his way up to president. As far as we know, he hasn’t offended again.”

“More like he’s not been caught.” Kane returned his concentration to the highway. “We have investigated pedophiles and a leopard doesn’t usually change his spots. Rather he’d join a like-minded pack to keep his activities secret and share his trophies.”

Jenna nodded. “That might be why it was so hard to track them down. So if you’re correct, we’re unlikely to get any cooperation from him at all?”

“On the contrary, he’ll be as nice as pie.” Kane’s mouth turned down. “Don’t forget they can’t see anything wrong with what they do, they ‘love’ children.” He snorted. “He’ll likely give us a name but will make sure the guy knows we’re coming and provide him with a rock-solid alibi. It’s what they do.”

“Will you be able to read him?” Jenna had faith in his skill as a profiler, he hadn’t failed her yet. “You usually know if someone is lying.”

“Maybe but as I said, they believe they do no harm, so the usual body language I use to tell when they’re lying doesn’t apply. They’re not psychopaths, well, not usually. A psychopath’s type of deception is different and they usually run to certain types so are easier for me to understand. Pedophiles have so many faces of evil, they can be loners, run in groups, or any number of small cells. There are some that fall into certain categories but the number of possibilities is endless.” Kane flicked her a glance. “I studied the old case files and notes Jo sent me to hone my skills but I have watched her in action. The way she manipulated our last killer to get answers was incredible. She has skills I could only dream about but then she is one of the top FBI behavioral analysts in the country. She’d be able to tear someone like him to shreds.”

Jenna sighed. “Then if we believe this biker is a suspect, we pray for a break in the weather. I’m sure the moment it’s possible, she’ll come and help out.”

They turned into the roadhouse and Jenna headed inside as Kane took the opportunity to fill the truck with gas. The parking lot was encircled by a wall of snow and crammed with a variety of vehicles including a bus. Inside the place smelled of hot donuts and coffee. Booth-type seating lined one wall and regular tables and plastic chairs filled the rest of the room. It was surprisingly busy with a variety of people all talking at once. She walked up to the counter and smiled at the gum-chewing sixteen-year-old. “Morning, is Oliver Morgan here today?”

“Yeah, he’s in the office.” She pointed to a door marked “Private” on the other side of the eating area.

“Thanks.” Jenna waited for Kane to walk through the door with Duke on his heels. “He’s in the office.” She rolled her eyes as she noticed him sniffing the air. The bitter cold had stimulated his appetite to another level of unbelievable and she’d been finding cookies squirrelled away everywhere in the office of late. “We really don’t have time to stop to eat here. We’ll go by Aunt Betty’s for takeout on the way back to the office. We don’t know how long the road will be open.”

“Sure.” Kane shrugged. “I get hungry more often in winter, but with the workouts and the cold weather, I need to eat or I burn muscle.”

Jenna stopped in the middle of the restaurant and looked at him. Six-five and at least two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle without one ounce of fat. She’d become so accustomed to his size, and working alongside Wolfe at six-three and Rowley six-two, he seemed normal to her. Until she’d seen him in action at the ski-resort she’d almost forgotten she had a man capable of unarmed deadly force working beside her. She cleared her throat. “Well then, I guess we’d better grab something to go?”

She knocked on the office door and then turned the doorknob, only to find it locked. She heard a gruff voice from inside and long moments passed before the door flew open and a man in his forties, with a tattoo of barbed wire around his neck, glared at them.

“I’m interviewing here.” The man seemed to register the “sheriff” logo emblazoned across the front of Jenna’s winter jacket and swung his gaze to Kane and then back to her. “Ah… Sheriff, is there a problem?”

Jenna peered past the man to the young girl sitting in a chair before his desk, her face beet-red. Beside her, Kane tensed and she turned to the man. “Oliver Morgan?”

“Yeah. I own this place.” Morgan turned to the girl. “Wait outside. Tell Sally to give you a drink. I’ll finish the interview when I have spoken to the cops.”

The girl hurried out the door and Jenna exchanged a meaningful look with Kane. “Why don’t you go and order some takeout? I won’t be long.”

“Sure.” Kane turned slowly and followed the girl toward the counter.

The urge to ask Morgan why he thought it necessary to interview an underage girl with the door locked raged in Jenna, but that could wait. She needed information and alienating him at the get-go would get her nowhere. “I believe your MC was at the Triple Z the other evening and one of your members gave a ride to a young woman? I need to speak to him.”

“What makes you think it was one of my boys?” Morgan leaned against his desk and folded his arms across his chest in a typical defensive move.

Jenna shook her head. “I didn’t just pluck the name of your MC out of my imagination, Mr. Morgan. We have a ton of witnesses who saw him leave with the girl.” She lifted her chin. “I need to know where he set her down. She turned up dead.” She sighed. “As the last people to see her alive, you automatically come under my radar. I want a name or I’ll have to take you and your boys downtown. I’ll do such thorough background checks on the lot of you, I’ll know what you ate for breakfast this morning.”

“Okay, okay.” Morgan held up his hands. “I don’t know where he took her. He didn’t say, probably the soup kitchen or the shelter. He left then came back sometime later.”

Jenna took out her notepad. “What’s his name and where do I find him?”

“Axel Reed.” He smiled. “He’s our minister. Holds a service in our clubhouse every Sunday like clockwork. He lives in Black Rock Falls.” He gave out Reed’s details. “He’s at the soup kitchen today. He works for the charity that runs the place, tomorrow you’ll find him hauling donations from the local stores.”

“Okay, thanks for your cooperation. There is just one other thing.” Jenna made notes and then looked back at him. “The girl is underage. It’s inappropriate to have her inside a locked office with you for an interview, especially with your record. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Morgan?”

“You have indeed, Sheriff.” Morgan gave her a hard, almost threatening stare. “Perfectly clear.”

Jenna pocketed her notebook and turned as Kane moved to her side. “Are we good to go?”

“Yeah. I ordered.” Kane was wearing his combat face again. “I need to have a private word with Mad Dog here while the girl is filling my order. Will you take Duke and meet me at the counter?”

“Sure.” Jenna turned and noticed the girl from the interview sipping a soda and looking at a business card. She wanted to see what Kane had to discuss with Morgan but he’d stepped inside and the door shut in her face.

She heard a scuffle and a screech as the desk scraped across the floor. Morgan’s voice sounded alarmed and Kane’s low and deadly. She moved closer and listened.