Kane shook his head. “Nope, what about a road closure sign with flashing lights halfway across the access to the highway?”
He watched her closely as she considered his question. The Department of Transport had erected the sign close to midnight. “What time did you leave with Doug to search for Sky?”
“It was going on eleven.” Ella wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked back and forth. “I remember going to meet a guy named Jim. I met him on Facebook, he said he was a medical student but when I went to look for him again, his page had vanished. All our messages are gone as well, as if he didn’t exist.”
Kane exchanged a meaningful look with Jenna. “If he kidnapped Doug and Olivia, she’s the girl missing from the wreck; it’s likely he deleted his account.” He met Ella’s gaze. “Take it slow and try to remember what happened. Did you meet Jim on the highway?”
“I remember seeing his white pickup on the side of the road and his headlights were all cloudy, like there was smoke in the air around him or close by.” Ella closed her eyes. “I remember Doug asking me what Jim looked like but when Jim got out of his pickup, he wrapped a scarf around his face.” Her eyes sprang open. “He was wearing a cowboy hat over a hoodie.”
Kane made notes, then smiled at her. “That’s good. How big was he? Could he have been the man who chased you?”
“Maybe, but it was difficult to say with the hat and all.” She shuddered and gripped the edge of the counter. “When Doug drove a bit closer, the headlights picked up the wreck and that poor woman hanging out the windshield.”
“Was the door to the wreck open?” Jenna leaned forward on the counter. “Did you see the passenger?”
“Yeah, leaning back in the seat with blankets tucked in around her.” Ella’s eyes brightened. “I saw her move her head. Doug got out and helped Jim carry her into the back of his pickup.”
Kane frowned. “In the cargo bed or in the back seat? Did it have four doors or two? Tell me exactly what you saw, step by step.”
“They carried the woman to Jim’s pickup. It was big, four doors, it looked like my brother’s with a big grille at the front so maybe a GMC. Doug slid
inside the back seat carrying the woman’s shoulders and Jim held the legs. Then Jim shut the door and went around the other side, opened the door and bent in to talk to Doug, then he came to speak to me.”
“You didn’t go to help?” Kane looked at her and she shook her head.
“No, Doug told me to stay in his truck with the shotgun in case anything went wrong.” Ella swallowed hard, then shook her head. “I remember Jim opening the door to speak to me, then the next thing I remember is waking up wrapped in Doug’s thermal blankets and seeing the wreck. I was freezing. I’m not sure how I survived.” She made a sobbing sound. “Then you arrived. That’s all.”
When Jenna’s cellphone signaled a message, Kane waited for her to glance at the screen. They were expecting an update from Rowley. She gave him a slight nod and he turned his attention back to Ella. “Do you know a man by the name of Levi Holt?”
“No.” Ella gave him a long, confused look. “You know I’m not from these parts. How would I know anyone from here?”
Surprised, Kane leaned back in the chair. “I didn’t mention he was from here. He is out of Blackwater.”
“I still don’t know him.” Ella gave Jenna a desperate look. “I’m doing my best to remember.”
“You’re doing great.” Jenna smiled at her. “The blood we took from you is being tested. We believe Jim may have injected you with a drug that causes temporary amnesia. The fact you remember what happened now makes me believe this is what happened.” She sighed. “What I don’t understand is why he took the others and not you. Do you know why?”
“No but right now, I wish he had taken me as well.” Tears streamed down Ella’s cheeks. “I see the way people look at me as if I did something wrong. Sure I argued with Sky at the roadhouse but we made up in the car before that asshole hit her with the ax—” She looked at Kane. “—hatchet or whatever, but I would never hurt her or Doug. I cared for Doug. Sky and me are like sisters.”
Kane scribbled in his notebook. “Yet this is the first time you came for a vacation here?”
“Yeah but I share a room with Sky at school.” Ella wiped her eyes on a tissue. “Is that all?”
At a signal from Jenna, Kane closed his notebook. “Okay, I think that’s enough for today.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.” Jenna stood and smiled at Ella. “We’ll let you know the results of the blood test and I can assure you we’re doing everything possible to find Sky and Doug.”
Outside in his truck, Kane stared at the message from Rowley on Jenna’s cellphone.
Holt’s story is much the same as Ella Tate’s. Checked his whereabouts at the time of the disappearances and he has sound alibis. Will obtain statement and email. Jeff Knox lives in room twenty-six at the Blackwater Motel.
Kane handed back the phone, then started the engine and turned to Jenna. “That rules Holt out of any involvement in the kidnappings and I have a theory why the Axman left Ella behind. He is convinced he is in the clear but is concerned about our investigation. I figure he believes if we catch him, an unstable young woman with convenient memory loss would create reasonable doubt at his trial.”
“He’s as slippery as an eel and trying to outsmart us.” Jenna sighed. “And right now he’s doing a great job.”
Forty-Five
After making a few enquiries, Rowley drove to the new bakery owned by Ty Aitken and to his relief found the store open. He turned to Webber. “You don’t see many stores like this anymore. It’s like Aunt Betty’s Café. They make everything fresh on site and it’s not from a factory like most stores around here. The smell of fresh-baked bread reminds me of my grandma.”