The Crying Season (Detectives Kane and Alton)

She could hear people crashing through the bushes in the distance behind her, but was it her team or the lunatic’s accomplices? Taking action was her only choice. “Drop the knife. I’m Sheriff Jenna Alton and I’m not alone.”

The killer stopped mid-stride then, to her surprise, chuckled. “Ah, the ultimate prize. So, I gather I took Deputy Kane out earlier. Well, you had me fooled but then you resemble most of my victims, don’t you? There is no one here to save you, Jenna. I have eyes everywhere and if that cute blonde was part of your team, well, I’m afraid she lost her heart to someone else.” He stalked toward her in measured steps. “No one will get to you in time. It’s just you and me, like it should be.”

Worry for Bradford’s safety flitted through her mind. How could he have gotten to her with three deputies watching her back? She lifted her chin. He did not know she carried a weapon under her jacket, and from what she could make out, he only had a knife plus a degree of insanity on his side. Reasoning with him might still be an option. “You didn’t kill Kane. I’ll give you one more chance to surrender peacefully.”

“Are you crazy?” He tilted his head to one side. “I would die before I surrendered to a woman, especially you.” His pace quickened as he moved toward her down the trail.

Without taking her eyes off him, Jenna unzipped her jacket and reached for her weapon. Holding it in both hands, she took aim. “Halt or I will shoot.”

The killer laughed maniacally and kept on coming. Jenna squeezed the trigger, aiming for his right arm. The man staggered under the force of the bullet but held onto the knife as if he was impervious to pain, and his steps did not falter. He was less than ten yards away and closing fast.

“Bad, Jenna. Head or heart, sweetie.” He shook his head like a dog then increased his speed. “Or did you miss? Not so confident now, are you, bitch?” He lunged toward her, knife raised.

Without a second thought, Jenna stood her ground, took aim, and fired. His kneecap exploded and he howled in pain, hitting the ground with a massive thud. She waited a beat, hoping he would give up. If she killed him, they would never know how many people he had murdered. When he roared in anger and waved the knife at her, fear trembled her hands and she gaped at him in terror. As if with superhuman strength, he gave her a satanic grin and dragged himself toward her.

“You’re next, Jenna.”

Jenna’s finger dropped to the trigger of her Glock once more. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

“Hold your fire.” Wolfe came crashing through the forest and onto the trail with Rowley and Webber close on his heels.

Before Jenna had a chance to issue orders, Wolfe kicked the knife from the killer’s hand and cuffed him. She stared at the deputies. “You took your time. Where’s Bradford?”

“She’s dead.” Rowley’s eyes filled with sorrow. “By him, I figure.”

Grief rolled over Jenna but she swallowed it and nodded. “He admitted as much to me. Get a rescue chopper out here. Kane is in the canyon and needs urgent medical attention. This asshole can wait.”

“Leave the chopper to me. Where is he? I’ll go down to him.” Wolfe turned his attention to Jenna and waited for directions. “Webber can tend to the prisoner’s injuries.”

Jenna gripped Wolfe’s arm and led him to one side. “Kane has been shot in the head and is suffering partial memory loss. He didn’t recognize me. You’ll need to be careful approaching him. He’ll shoot first then ask questions later. He’s gone back to just after the accident.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “The car bombing.”

“He’ll recognize me.” Wolfe turned away and headed down the canyon.

Jenna walked back to stare down at the prisoner.

“You should have killed me.” The killer lifted his head.

“I wouldn’t have given you the satisfaction. I hope they keep you in jail for the rest of your life; lethal injection is too good for you.” Jenna bent over the killer and ripped off his disguise then gaped at him. It was not Ethan Woods as she had expected. She blinked, confused at the face staring back at her. “James Stone.”

Epilogue

So many things had happened to Jenna in the weeks since a military rescue helicopter winched Kane out of the canyon. Instead of flying him to Black Rock Falls Hospital, they went to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. When Wolfe had informed her Kane required a secure environment to recover, she figured he would not be returning to Black Rock Falls anytime soon, if at all.

So the call from the hospital came as a surprise. Kane wanted to see her. Worried what he would say to her, she chewed on her fingernails, figuring out what to do. The person who called informed her she could visit him a few days after his next round of surgery, but she wanted to be there for him and could not wait another second. She had to know if he intended to return to Black Rock Falls.

The flight to Washington gave her time to think how close she had come to being a victim of James Stone. She had been on dates with the man. Who would have thought a person who defended people for a living could murder in cold blood? She stared out the window at the clouds and allowed the case to settle in her mind. Kane would want all the details.

The days following the capture of James Stone had been harrowing. Without information on Kane’s condition, other than that he was alive, her nerves had shattered. She called the hospital daily with the same result. Not being a relative, they refused to give out any information. Rowley and Wolfe had supported her the best they could, and Emily spent the weekends telling her gory tales to keep up her spirits.

She had shipped Bradford’s body back to her family in Helena then thrown her team into unraveling the dark side of James Stone. After sifting through hours of horrific video footage of his murders, they discovered his cave at Bear Peak. Inside they found the body of Jim Canavar. Stone had documented Jim Canavar’s death, clearing him of any involvement in the crimes. Jim sat alongside a line of unknown victims. Jim Canavar’s ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend were not amongst the bodies in the cave, nor were the owners of the backpacks, but they found footage of the murder of cold case victims Paige and Dawson. It was a relief to close the

cold case file and to know their killer would be behind bars for a very long time.

After tracking down missing Asian tourists, the FBI identified John Doe as Lee Pu, a Chinese national who had transferred huge amounts of cash from his bank account on the day before he left China. The FBI could find no trace of the off-shore account but assumed it was a payment to Stone to be involved in the murder of Bailey Canavar. Even though the payment for the new rig Stone owned came from an overseas bank account, Stone denied knowing Mr. Pu.

With Wolfe working alongside the FBI’s Cyber Division on Stone’s computer, they located and shut down Stone’s site on the dark web. The details of his scheme had horrified her. Stone spent his vacations murdering all over the state and driven home with one special corpse as a souvenir but offered no names of his victims. He admitted to moving the body of his suitable friend through the forest on horseback to join the others in his cave. As Mr. Pu was obviously a client, the FBI were looking overseas for possible DNA matches for the other victims and hunting down possible cold cases throughout the state. Stone obviously derived a thrill out of taking his client’s cash then killing them and once identified, the victims’ bank details would be investigated by the FBI for any huge withdrawals from their accounts just prior to their disappearances. Even with all the FBI’s expertise, they were still unable to trace his co-conspirator for the pay-per-view, or any of his online clients.

The extensive interviews with Stone carried out by an FBI profiler revealed that after Stone’s family died in a house fire, a couple had adopted him. Not six months later Stone claimed to have discovered the couple bludgeoned to death in their bed. The police never considered Stone a suspect at twelve years old but the kill had whetted his appetite for more.