Cross My Heart (Detectives Kane and Alton)

If only he knew. Kane took a casual pose and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “He’s Black Rock Falls’ first medical examiner; we had the undertaker examining the bodies before Wolfe arrived, but then the murders were few and very far between. Wolfe was waiting for his license to be approved. He came from a different state and then of course he had to set up shop. In the meantime, he worked here. That’s why we’re all such a tight knit team—we’ve all known each other from the get-go.”

“I see.” Rio looked at the papers in his hands. “I’d better get going, I’m meeting Wolfe on Stanton, in ten minutes.” He looked at Kane. “Will Jenna be waiting for my report?”

“Yeah.” Kane straightened. “We’ll be here. I have a feeling Adams might be staying overnight, at least for questioning. It seems an open-and-shut case right now.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you later.” Rio hurried down the hallway.

Kane waited outside the interview room. He could watch through the two-way mirror but had no idea how the interview was going. The desk was set to allow lawyers and their clients to have their backs to the mirror. The idea of observing was a safety issue. With the number of serial killers he’d dealt with since arriving in town, standing outside the interview room was a priority. Surprisingly, Sam Cross didn’t take long at all and pressed the button on the table to notify Kane he was ready to either leave or allow him to interview his client.

After scanning his card, Kane opened the door and looked at Cross. “Is your client ready to talk?”

“Yeah.” Cross leaned back in his chair and tipped back his Stetson. “Mr. Adams doesn’t have anything to hide. Ask away.”

Kane picked up his iPad from a hall table and went inside the room. He sat down, pulled a book out of the desk drawer, and then started the recorder. After announcing the date, time, and who was present, he took out his pen and looked at Adams. “From our previous chat at the Sunset Valley nursing home, where you work as a nurse, you mentioned you’d met June and Payton Harris. Could you explain how you met them and how you came to be with them in Stanton Forest the day Payton Harris was murdered.”

“One moment.” Cross leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. “The time of death of the victim has been established as Thursday night to the early hours of Friday morning. Is that correct?”

Kane scrolled through Wolfe’s findings from Payton Harris’ autopsy and nodded. “Yeah, the TOD is always an estimate. I’m sure you know that?”

“I do indeed, but from the information you gave me about the previous… ah… as you put it ‘chat’ with my client, you would be aware he left Stanton Forest before dark on Thursday night, so he couldn’t have been in the forest at the time Payton Harris was murdered.”

Wanting to roll his eyes, Kane leaned back in his chair and called on his patience. “The question was, ‘How did your client come to be with June and Payton Harris in Stanton Forest the day Payton Harris was murdered?’ I didn’t specify the time.”

“Okay, go on.” Cross turned to Adams. “Just tell him what you told me.”

“Like I told the sheriff. I overheard them saying they were heading for the falls out of Bear Peak and needed a guide. I told them I wasn’t a guide and official guides around these parts are licensed, but I told them I planned to head up that way and would be happy for them to tag along.” He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and linked his fingers. “I took them the most straightforward way and even gave them a map so they didn’t get lost on the way back.”

The crime scene tumbled through Kane’s mind. They’d searched all over and they never found a map of any description. “What kind of map did you give them? Was it a handwritten one?”

“Yeah, and they followed it just fine on the way to the clearing.” Adams shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to them after I left them in the forest.”

“Do you own a crossbow?” Kane stared at his notes. He expected a pause or something, but Adams owned up immediately.

“Yeah, I own a couple of them and I’m a darn good shot too.” Adams gave him a smug smile. “I like the stealth of it in the forest. It’s great for hunting. Why?”

Kane looked up at him but ignored his question. He wanted to see a reaction. “Do you know or have you heard of James Stone?”

He caught a flicker in Adams’ eyes, but then he steepled his fingers and stared at Kane in a display of overconfidence. He noticed the frown on Cross’ face. He hadn’t missed his client’s action. Like investigators, lawyers used body language to select jurors, and steepling fingers signaled a person was not only overconfident but believed they had the upper hand.

Kane held Adams’ gaze. “Well?”

“Anyone from Black Rock Falls would know the name James Stone. He was the lawyer in town for some years before he went bad.” Adams’ lips twitched into a smirk. “I’m sure if you asked anyone living here at the time, they’d have heard of him, too.”

“Stone is in the county jail and you spent time in the same prison.” Kane eyeballed him. “I hear he has quite a reputation in there.”

“Does he now?” Adams barked a laugh. “Have you ever visited county? They keep the maximum-security inmates in a different building to the general population. Same with the kid killers and the freaks. They have their own space where they can discuss all the nasty details and relive the kills. They love it in there, don’t you know?”

“Really? I’ll have to tell the warden.” After glancing at his notes, Kane took the questioning in a different direction in an effort to un

settle Adams. “Tell me about Jonathan Lamb. How did that incident go down?”

“My client isn’t here to discuss a case that has already been dealt with by the courts.” Cross moved papers around in his file. “Find another question.”

Unable to resist, Kane leaned forward. “It’s a relevant question.” He turned his attention to Adams. “You shot and killed Mr. Lamb with a crossbow. Did you accidently shoot Payton Harris as well?”

“Payton was shot with a crossbow?” Adams opened his hands wide again, demonstrating he had nothing to hide. “I didn’t shoot him accidentally, like I did Johnny. I wasn’t in the forest at the time Payton was killed. I came down before sunset.”

“Yet nobody saw you and you met no one in town, when it’s close to Halloween and the streets are busy. You didn’t drop by the forest warden’s station either.” Kane stared at him. “For a seasoned hunter, you don’t seem to be following the rules. Is your hunting permit up to date?”