The Crying Season (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“We do have similarities.” Jenna narrowed her gaze. “Always couples, dark-haired women, and hikers who prefer the old trails.” She stared into space for some moments. “He has displayed knowledge of disabling people by injuring the spine and has used the same practice each time. I would say he is an excellent shot, but so are hundreds of men around here; both these abilities could be linked to the military, then add the camouflage gear. We assume he uses trail cams, which is pretty individual to him, and if he needs trophies, what better than a video of the kill?”

Kane smiled at her. “You have a point, and Canavar and Woods fit the profile and description given by Colter Barry. Woods has priors and Canavar’s ex-girlfriend is missing. They were both in the vicinity at the time of Bailey’s murder. It would be hard to split them when it comes to circumstantial evidence.”

“There is little doubt the same killer murdered at least Bailey Canavar and Lilly Coppersmith.” Jenna got to her feet and leaned back on the kitchen counter. “At the moment neither tie in with Lilly Coppersmith’s death.”

“Then we need to chase down some more clues.” Kane stood and stared at her. “The problem with assuming Canavar was involved in Lilly Coppersmith’s murder is that no one has seen him since the day of Bailey’s and John Doe’s murders.”

“I figure we had it right about him before. He’ll be living rough, and dressed in camouflage he would blend into the forest and no one would give him a second glance.” Jenna collected the breakfast dishes and rinsed then in the sink before loading the dishwasher. “We need to check out where Woods was yesterday.”

Kane nodded in agreement. “We sure do.”

37

The wind had picked up again, and as Jenna climbed from her vehicle, icy fingers buffeted her, lifting the edges of her jacket. She glanced skyward expecting to see rainclouds, but a clear blue sky stretched out for miles in all directions. People moved along the sidewalk without thick clothing, seemingly oblivious to the first hint of winter. The rosy cheeks and runny nose on a toddler grinning at her from over his mother’s shoulder reminded her to get to the doctor’s for a flu shot. She sidestepped a group of kids, heads down peering at their cellphones as they waited at the bus stop, and headed for the front door of the sheriff’s department. The streets of Black Rock Falls had been unusually busy for this time of morning, then she remembered it was Monday and local charities set up in the community hall selling everything from preserves to antiques.

Her stomach knotted with worry over the people living in her town and the hordes of visitors arriving daily to enjoy the scenery or hunt in the forest. It was hard to believe violence had visited this beautiful town again. It seemed as if danger lurked on every corner and she could do nothing to stop it. How many more would die on her watch? She swallowed the lump in her throat. Isolated with vast forests and plains, Black Rock Falls hid many secrets, and now it seemed serial killers had picked it as their hunting ground of choice.

She took one last look at the majest

ic mountains, shook her head, and strolled into the building. As usual, Rowley was at the counter chatting to Maggie. “Morning. Anything to report?”

“There have been a few local unsubstantiated sightings of Jim Canavar, and two in Butte, but that’s about all. The Butte office will get back to us once they have spoken to the people who called them in.” Rowley pushed a hand through his unruly hair. “I’ve been reading the murder book on the Lilly Coppersmith case and your interview with Mr. Barry. I think I might have something to add.”

Jenna removed her thick jacket and headed for her office. “Grab Kane and come to my office.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After updating the whiteboard in her office, Jenna sat down and checked the duty roster for the week. Most of her deputies had pulled double shifts since the murders. She would prefer to take Kane with her to the Coppersmith autopsy but wanted to keep everyone in the loop. Bradford would arrive by eleven but would be too late to relieve Rowley, and Walters did not arrive until after lunch. She glanced up as Kane and Rowley ambled into the room. “Take a seat. What have you found?”

“Not found as such.” Rowley placed one of the cups of coffee in his hand before her then sat down, cup in hand. “It’s just Mr. Barry mentioned the killer was wearing camouflage gear and a com pack. I’ve heard of a crazy old Vietnam vet and his son who live up that way, Brayden and Joseph Blythe. They dress like that and use a com pack to keep in touch with each other. Their land is well signposted and they are unpredictable. Rumor has it they live on squirrels but they have a few goats as well.”

“Are they out of Bear Peak?” Kane placed his steaming brew on the desk and dropped into a seat.

“Yeah, some ways from the Finches’ cabin, I figure their place is about ten minutes’ walk down the mountain from the firebreak.” Rowley glanced up at Jenna with an expectant look on his face. “I could show you.”

Jenna glanced over at Kane, who shrugged almost unperceivably. “We have to attend the Coppersmith autopsy in a few minutes but we’ll head up there after lunch.” She made a few notes in her daybook then glanced at him again. “While we’re away, check up on the whereabouts of Mr. Woods. I want to know where he was at the time of Lilly Coppersmith’s murder. Bradford and Walters will both be on duty by then and you can show us where to find the Blythe property.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She glanced at her deputies. “I’ll release another media statement warning people we have an armed and dangerous man in the forest. I’ll give a brief description and ask them to call in on the crime information hotline if they see anyone acting suspiciously.” She pushed both hands through her hair. “I’m not banking on getting much response when ninety percent of the men in town carry weapons in the forest and wear camo.”

“It would save time if you attended to the autopsy and I collected the horses.” Kane’s eyebrows rose. “We can easily pick up Rowley’s mount on the way.” He pushed to his feet and swung the cup from the handle.

Jenna’s day was getting more complicated by the second but Kane did have a point. “Sure, that works for me. I’ll grab some lunch and we can eat along the way to Bear Peak.” She looked up at Kane. “Bring Duke along, he’ll enjoy the run.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Kane smiled at her in a flash of white teeth then headed for the door.

38

He gaped at the breaking news story splashed across his TV screen in disbelief. The sheriff was giving a stern warning about hiking with a killer on the loose. Photographs of the faces of his latest kills were out there for all to see. This had never happened before, but then no one had found one alive until now. I must be losing my edge.

He listened in morbid fascination as the newscaster gave details of Colter Barry’s scrape with death. The whimpering piece of shit was alive. Dammit, he had shot him in the head, near sliced his spine through, and he had lived. He picked a glass of bourbon from the table and hurled it against the wall. The pungent liquid spilled down the flock wallpaper and spread over the beige wool carpet in an ugly brown stain. Glass fragments mixed with the ice from the glass and glistened in the stream of light from the window, triggering a memory of sunbeams on crimson blood. He touched his lips, still cool from the drink, and could feel Lilly’s mouth again, cold against his flesh.

He had enjoyed killing her.

He wished he could kill her again.

The voice from the TV dragged his attention to the screen, and anger bubbled back to the surface. He stood and paced the room listening to advice to avoid the less popular mountain trails until the sheriff had investigated Colter Barry’s claims. How dare she get involved?