The Crying Season (Detectives Kane and Alton)

20

Thursday

The following morning, Kane ducked a kick to the head, twisted his hips, and swept Jenna’s feet from under her. He stepped to the side and aimed a kick at her head. When Jenna’s foot brushed his thigh, missing his groin by the width of a hair, he grabbed her ankle and dropped to the mat. He had taken a few direct hits from her this morning but drew the line at permanent damage and pinned her to the floor. She squirmed under him like a crazy woman.

“Hey, Jenna, cool it. What’s wrong with you this morning?”

“That’s better.” She relaxed and smiled at him. “I don’t want you to go easy on me. I thought if I hit you a few times, you’d start to get rough.”

His attention drifted to a drip of perspiration running down her cheek then he shrugged. “I never go easy on you. Have you forgotten your training? Learning the moves and keeping fit is the key. If you want to punch something, attack the bag.”

“Oh, I punch the bag more than you know.” She rolled onto her back and gave him a long, considering look then blew her bangs from her face. “You just seem distracted of late.”

He flopped onto his back and pushed a hand through his damp hair. “You think?”

“Yeah. You’ve hardly said a word to me all morning.” She rose up on one elbow and squinted her eyes at him. “In fact, you spoke to the horses more than me. That’s not like you, Dave. We always discuss things in our downtime. Is your head hurting?”

He mirrored her position and shook his head. “My head is fine. I’ve had a few things on my mind is all.”

“Anything you need to discuss?” She looked at him with an expression of interest.

Oh, he had things to discuss, but the outcome could ruin their work relationship. He shook his head. “Now is not the time.” He rolled to his feet and offered his hand.

“I think it is, Dave.” She took his hand, and when he pulled her to her feet, her blue eyes locked on his.

His mind whirled. How could he discuss the tension between them the other night? For heaven’s sake, he could have easily kissed her. She was his boss and he lived on her property. Dammit, he still loved his late wife, and now he felt as if he was being unfaithful to consider such a thing. It’s not going to happen. He shook his head. “I just wanted to say how much I value our friendship and I hope going away together won’t spoil it. I’m still very much in love with my wife and I’m not ready for anything else just yet.”

“Oh, I know that, Dave.” She smiled at him. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had and you won’t ever try to steal my boyfriends… not that I plan on having anyone in my life at the moment either.”

“Okay.” Kane gave her a quizzical stare. “So are we good?”

“Sure we are.” She danced away from him, grinning. “Now maybe we can get our lives back to normal.” She headed for the door without a backward glance.

* * *

It hadn’t taken long for Kane to realize that hunting season of one type or another seemed to go on all year in Montana, but late fall attracted visitors from all over the state to Black Rock Falls to hunt elk and deer. They packed the motel to capacity and many people welcomed relatives into their homes. Most times the sheriff’s department handled minor disturbances and had nothing to do with the hunting side of things, because the Fish, Wildlife and Parks enforcement officers were diligent.

Local squabbles seemed to be taking up his entire day when he would rather be working on the cold case with Jenna. It was days like these he craved to be involved in a decent investigation. Hopefully Wolfe had come up with some new evidence he could get his teeth into, he walked into Jenna’s office. When she issued him with orders to head out again, he gaped at her in astonishment. “You want me to do what?”

“Take Bradford and go and sort out a complaint about some puppies.” Jenna handed him a sheet of paper. “Here are the details.”

He stared at the paperwork in disbelief. It wasn’t like Jenna to give him all the grunt work. “Can’t Webber or Rowley handle this one?”

“Kane, Webber is an expert on crossbows and I’ve sent him out to all the stores in town that sell the bolt used on Dawson Sanders.” She leaned back in her chair and raised one dark eyebrow. “This case requires a negotiator and Bradford needs the experience. Seeing you in action will be a good training exercise for her.”

I’ve been training her all damn week. “Okay, but—”

“No ‘buts,’ Kane.” She lifted her chin and her mouth formed a stubborn line. “I’m snowed under, and with Wolfe occupied at the morgue, you’re the only deputy available. I don’t have an option.”

He let out a long sigh. “Copy that.”

21

He merged the footage from all the trail cams and his body cam into one movie and savored the footage of the exquisite death of Bailey. His heart pounded with the memory, so vivid it was, as if he still had the bloody knife in his hand. The scent of her lingered in the T-shirt he held to his nose. The sight of confused blue eyes and her soft dying pleas made him want more; he could not wait. The snow will be here soon. I need to act now.

After entering his username, he uploaded a small clip to his site on the dark web and waited to find another client. They never took long to bite. On this encrypted site, the signal pinged across the entire world and was untraceable. Here, hidden from sight, people advertised their extraordinary tastes and desires. A buyer could obtain anything from drugs to people. He leaned back in his seat and yawned.

As if on cue, his messenger pinged. He read the offer and sat back in his seat, shaking his head in amazement. Someone had suggested a dangerous but thrilling idea he had not thought of before. He looked over the details and grinned. “I’ll need a very special couple for this one.”