The Crying Season (Detectives Kane and Alton)

If he could convince them to explore a secluded spot of his choice, he would have all Saturday to set up his trail cams. Excitement surged through him and he forced his voice to remain calm and disinterested. “If I remember, the bus stops at the mouth of a trail to the waterfall around eight on a Sunday. If you get off there, you can hike across the face of the mountain. It drops down to a secluded trail that runs along the edge of the reservation. It’s worth the walk to see the rock pool. It will take you an hour or so to get there but you’ll be able to hike back in time to catch the afternoon bus back to town.”

“Yeah, and the bus home doesn’t leave until late. We’ll have time for dinner before we head home.” Colter grinned. “Thanks, man.”

“It sounds perfect.” Lilly glanced at him and her long, black lashes dropped to cover cornflower-blue eyes.

He smiled at her, imagining her eyes filled with terror as she ran from him. Yes, you are perfect—I can’t wait.

26

Saturday

It had been an exhausting week but then murder cases took priority over little things like eating and sleeping. Kane dropped into the chair in Jenna’s kitchen, grateful for the chance of a hot breakfast. Since the start of the investigation into Bailey Canavar’s murder and the mysterious John Doe, Jenna had the sheriff’s department working around the clock. He reached for the cup of hot coffee Jenna had set before him and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Ham and eggs okay?” Jenna turned back to the stove. “Oh, and will toast do? I didn’t have time to make hotcakes this morning.”

“I love toast.” He eyed her over the rim of his cup. “Are you coming into the office today, seeing as it’s your day off?”

“Of course I am. Do you think I’d take personal time in the middle of a murder case?” She loaded up two plates and placed them on the table.

Kane shrugged and stared at his plate for a few seconds then lifted his chin and looked at the dark circles under her eyes. “I wish I could convince you to grab a couple of hours as we are in a lull at the moment. Until we have more information we have nothing to investigate.” He forked eggs into his mouth and chewed.

“That lull could change in a second.” Jenna’s forehead creased into a deep frown.

He ate slowly, watching her expressions change, then put down his fork. She thought of everyone else’s welfare but not her own. Kane cleared his throat. “When we have the autopsy report, we may have more information. Someone will report John Doe as missing and if he is not local, we’ll be able to look into why he was in Black Rock Falls.” He sipped his coffee, enjoying the rich brew spilling over his tongue. “Jim Canavar hasn’t been seen and we have had the hunters, hikers, and rangers on the lookout for him in case he is lying injured somewhere in the forest. The problem is, if he is bundled up in camo hunting gear he’ll blend in like the hundreds of other men in town for the hunting season.”

“Blackhawk took a few trackers out with him as well but after searching until dark yesterday they found no trace of him. Wherever Canavar is, he isn’t injured or Blackhawk would have found a blood trail. I think he got clean away or has plenty of cash with him and is holed up somewhere.” She gave him a long look and stifled a yawn. “Blackhawk called me just before you arrived, said he would expand the search this morning, but if Canavar used the more popular trails, tracking him would be difficult.”

Kane’s cellphone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. “I’d better take this, I’m the 911 contact this weekend.” He accepted the call and put his phone on speaker. “Deputy Kane, what is your emergency?”

“This is not an emergency. This is Joe from Avis at the airport. You asked me to inform you when Mr. Canavar returned his vehicle?”

“Yeah, when did he arrive?”

“Well, that’s the strange thing. We found his car out front. He left it with the keys inside. He has six more days paid up on his rental as well.”

Kane flicked a glance at Jenna. “Don’t touch the vehicle, leave it where it is, it could have been used in a crime.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Deputy, I didn’t know. I had it steam-cleaned inside and washed. It went out about ten minutes ago with another client.”

“Were there any personal possessions inside?”

“No.”

“Okay, thank you for letting me know.” He disconnected and looked at Jenna. “Well, I guess we can check the airport and see if he took a flight.”

“I’ve had the airport on alert since we found him missing.” Jenna lifted her cup. “The security there would have picked him up if he tried to board a flight. He must be in the area or he got a ride with an accomplice.”

“With an all-points bulletin out on him and state-wide media splashing his picture all over the news, someone will see him.” Kane finished his coffee. “I hope.”

She sat at the table and refilled their cups. “Right now, we have Canavar as our main suspect, but for all we know, he had a domestic with Bailey and she took off with John Doe. We have no blood evidence, in fact nothing to prove Jim Canavar was even on scene. He could have hitched a ride with anyone leaving the area. We have people coming and going all the time and he could be anywhere between here and Kansas by now. The timing bothers me as well. It’s been one year since the cold case murders. Is it a coincidence or the same killer? I figure we need to expand our search for possible suspects.”

Kane nodded in agreement. “So do I.”

“Do you have a profile on the killer?” Jenna spooned sugar into her cup and stirred. “If we consider the same person is responsible for both the cold case and the two recent victims?”

Kane poured cream into his coffee. “Yeah, as I said before, I figure the male victims were collateral damage. He murdered Dawson without mutilating him. He was likely paralyzed when he was tied him to a tree. Maybe he made him watch while he mutilated Paige. The killer centers his attention on the female. He wants to inflict as much damage on her as possible

.”