Where Angels Fear (Detectives Kane and Alton)

He enjoyed the “no questions” agreement he had with his anonymous partner. All he had to do was to pick up a vehicle, strip it then crush it. The man wanted nothing in return but his silence and the deal had become lucrative but since the deputies started sniffing around his yard, he smelled a rat. He heaved a sigh of relief as the black truck drove away, and found the man’s number on his phone. The only time he called was to confirm a pick up and the man had made the rules quite clear. He hit the call button and waited.

“Yeah.” The voice at the other end was as calm as usual.

“I’ve had the sheriff here checkin’ out my yard twice this week. I figure they’re lookin’ for that yellow car.”

“You should have crushed it by now.” The man’s annoyance came down the line. “Our deal was to strip the vehicles and crush them as soon as possible.”

Burns cleared his throat. “Yeah well, I would if the deputies hadn’t arrived and searched my yard. I stripped it down but I haven’t been able to crush it in case someone sees me. It’s all over the news, don’t you know?”

“When did the sheriff drop by?”

Burns rubbed the back of his neck. “’Bout five minutes ago. I overheard them talkin’ about Blackwater and they took the highway south.”

“Get rid of that damn car and leave the sheriff to me.” The line went dead.

Fifty-One

A cloud of condensation formed around Jenna, Kane and Blake as they crunched through the salt-laden parking lot of the Blackwater Motel to reach room twenty-six. She stood to one side with one hand on her weapon as Kane knocked on the door. The sound of a man cursing came through the thin walls and the door opened. A wave of unwashed male and stale food wafted out around him in a miasma of nasty. The man who stood before them had mussed-up brown hair, and dark blue circles hung under puffy eyes. He straightened to about six feet tall and glared at them. A noisy truck went by on the main street and Jenna raised her voice. “Mr. Knox?”

“You know darn well who I am. Leastways he does.” Knox pointed a finger at Blake. “What you doin’ wakin’ a man at this hour? I work nights and you’re disturbin’ my rest. Sunday is my only day off.” He attempted to close the door and gaped as Kane’s large hand pushed the door wide open. “What do you think you’re doin’?”

“We have a warrant to search your room.” Blake pressed the warrant into Knox’s chest and pushed his way into the room. “Stand over against the wall. Do you have any weapons you want to tell us about?”

“Yeah, my rifle and a Ruger LCP.” Knox paled. “I ain’t done nothin’. It ain’t illegal to own a gun in these parts.”

As Kane placed the forensics kit on the table inside the door, Jenna exchanged her thick leather gloves for latex and moved inside the room. She covered her face with a surgical mask, not willing to breathe in the toxic air. “Any knives?”

“Yeah.” Knox gave a bark of laughter. “You kiddin’ me, Sheriff? This is Blackwater. Maybe you’ve mistaken the motel for an apartment on Fifth Avenue.”

She made her way into the middle of the room and Kane moved to her side. She lowered her voice. “You start in here, I’ll see if I can sweet-talk him into giving up a DNA sample and ask him a few questions.”

“Roger that.” Kane snapped on gloves and went to work.

After pulling out her notebook and pen, she approached Knox. He gave her a long salacious look that made her skin crawl. Although she was aware Knox owned a white van and a pickup, she wanted confirmation. “Mr. Knox, I’m Sheriff Alton from Black Rock Falls. I would like to ask you a few questions, so Deputy Blake will read you your rights.” Jenna waited a moment, then lifted her chin. “Do you wish to have a lawyer present for questioning?”

“Nope.” Knox grinned at her. “Unless bein’ a stud is a crime.”

“Mr. Knox, this involves you being implicated in a kidnapping.” Jenna raised her eyebrows. “It is a serious crime.”

“I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about.” Knox chuckled. “I don’t have to kidnap women to get them in my bed.”

Jenna glanced at the grubby sheets and suppressed a shudder. She couldn’t imagine any woman walking into his room willingly. “You mentioned working nights. Do you have an employer?”

“Yeah, I work for Brightways as a delivery driver. They’re a wholesale distributors. Groceries mostly. I deliver them late at night.” Knox shrugged. “My run is from here to Deep Valley and back through Black Rock Falls.”

Jenna made notes, surprised he’d offered so much information. “What do you drive?”

“The vehicles outside.” Knox indicated with his thumb toward the parking lot. “I drive the van unless the roads are bad or it’s a small delivery, then I take my truck.”

Jenna lifted her gaze. “Why at night and can you give me an idea of the times you’re on the highway?”

“Ah, because that’s when the stores want to restock their shelves with fresh produce for the mornin’.” Knox gave her a long stare as if she was an idiot. “I leave Brightways around ten-thirty ’n’ get back here sometimes as late as six. It depends on how many stops I have to make. If it’s just a few deliveries into Black Rock Falls I can do the trip in an hour or so in good weather.”

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“I gather you would have been traveling on the highway around midnight the Friday before last?” Jenna attempted to gauge his reaction but he just looked at her with the same contemptuous expression.

“Yeah, that would be right.” Knox rubbed his chin, then frowned. “It was an early run. I’d gotten back here around two, maybe three, I don’t rightly recall.”