Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Jenna stepped into his arms and they moved together with ease. Although Kane’s eyes never left the crowd, he kept up an easy conversation with her. After the third song, she discovered the Texas two-step might well be her favorite dance. She smiled up at him. “I’m beat and I’m not attempting the boot-scooting. I need to take a look around.”

“Sure.” Kane closed his long fingers around her hand and led her toward the tables set around the hall. “There’s Wolfe. I’ll go get some drinks and see who is at the bar.”

She took a seat at the table and smiled at Wolfe. “Everything okay? Where’s Emily?”

“On the dance floor.” Wolfe gave her a look of despair. “You hav

e no idea how difficult it is raising three daughters without their mother.”

“You are doing a great job.”

“Nah, I mess up more times than you imagine.” Wolfe huffed out a miserable sigh. “For instance, Emily asks my opinion on what she is wearing. She wants a man’s opinion. Now, I see her as my little girl, so I put my foot down on allowing her to wear short shorts and have a bare midriff.” He shook his head slowly. “She is growing up way too fast.” His attention had not left the dance floor.

Jenna followed his gaze to see Emily dancing with a young man. All smiles but respectfully dressed in blue jeans and a western shirt with sparkles. “She looks great, what are you worrying about?”

“She is impulsive and I’m sure she lacks the fear gene.” His mouth flattened to a thin line. “I’m frankly scared to buy her a car, although she has her license. She is too much like me. The other girls take after their mother.”

Feeling sorry for Emily, she patted him on the arm. “Lighten up, she’s been through a hard time, she needs a night to have some fun.”

“I’m trying.”

Not long after Kane came back with a pitcher of cola and glasses, Emily came to the table with Julia, one of Aimee’s friends. Jenna smiled at her. “Having fun?”

“Well not really but I’m glad Emily dragged me out, I couldn’t stop crying. My parents are here as well for extra safety. Have you noticed the ring of men standing around the dance floor? It looks like the townsfolk are on full alert waiting for someone to make the wrong move.”

“It’s safe, there are deputies everywhere.” Emily tossed her long blonde hair over one shoulder and turned to her father. “I’m going to the bathroom with Julia and then getting a hot dog. We’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll walk over with you.” Wolfe’s cheek twitched.

“Dad, please. I’m seventeen not seven.” Emily’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be a few feet away and make sure I’m in a crowd. Okay? Watch my things. I’ll be back in five.” She pulled a bill out of her wallet then dropped it with her cellphone on the table.

“Don’t you think you should take your phone?”

“I’m hardly going to be making calls while I’m peeing and I have my brooch as a backup if anything happens. Stop worrying.” Emily flounced off with her friend and disappeared into the throng of noisy people.

They sat in awkward silence for some time and Jenna noticed the way Wolfe checked his watch then his cellphone every few minutes. She cleared her throat. “Why don’t you ask Rowley if he can see her? He is at the bar to watching Provine. He should be able to see the refreshments stand from there.”

She waited, listening to the conversation in her earbud. Apparently, Rowley had not seen Emily buying hot dogs at all but there was a long line. Her attention fixed on Wolfe, who was drumming his fingers on the table in agitation. “Can’t you locate her via her tracker?”

“Yeah.” Wolfe’s brow furrowed as he held up his cellphone to display the screen. “It gives her location as the fairgrounds. As this area isn’t in the maps, it comes up as a single location. It doesn’t tell me exactly where she is in the area at this moment.”

“Would you like me to check the ladies’ room? No doubt there will be quite a wait there as well.”

“Yeah, thanks. I wish she had taken her phone with her.” Wolfe offered her a weak smile. “I know I’m overprotective but after what’s happened this week, I have cause.”

“Not a problem.” Jenna strolled toward the door.

Fifty

He mingled with the crowd, enjoying a hot dog and commiserating with everyone’s complaints and worries about the murders of the young girls, but deep inside he reveled in their distress. The constant chatter and suspicious glances from everyone brought the reward of the last images of his dead girls. They would never see the pale skin and staring eyes of his girls or watch the life slip away like the snuffing of a candle. Those memories belonged only to him.

After joining a group of parents huddled protectively around their children, he scanned the area. Of course, most young girls had adults protecting them but not all the girls listened to the warnings of their parents. His attention moved to Deputy Wolfe’s daughter, Emily, and her new friend Julia as they made their way, unescorted, from the hall. Arousal hit him in a rush. He wanted Julia. He smiled inwardly, how trusting she was; in fact, he could have plucked her from the street a number of times during the week and not a soul would have known, but the idea of an easy kill had not interested him. Here under the noses of everyone would mean his crimes would be infamous and he would live forever.

He eased his way through the crowd and out the door, nodding congenially at everyone he passed then caught sight of the girls making for the ladies’ room. Thrills ran through him at the idea of killing both of them but doing so would be difficult with so many people strolling the fairgrounds and with more deputies on duty than ever before. One girl will have to do for now.

To avoid anyone seeing him near Julia, he turned away and headed for a suitable hiding place. A cool breeze had dried the slick of sweat on his brow by the time he reached the dark entrance to a hay barn. From his position, he could view the people coming in and out of the dance. He touched the knife at his waist, the leather sheath well concealed by his long shirt. Time would be of the essence; he could not linger to enjoy cutting his girl. He grinned. Although the one in the forest had whet his appetite for more quick kills. The startled look in her eyes and the way she trembled as the life flowed from her would remain with him for a long time.

He stared at the ladies’ room door then checked his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed. His cellphone slipped into his hand and he wet his lips. Excitement curled in his belly. In his dark hiding place, she would not see him. He chuckled and watched the deputies patrolling the other end of the fairgrounds.