Cross My Heart (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“I can’t answer that, sorry.” Jo closed her notebook. “I think that’s enough for today. Thank you for the chat. I’d love to talk with you another time.”

“Next time, come alone. I like the way you smell. Chanel Number Five, I believe.” Stone turned his gaze slowly toward Jenna. “Am I making you jealous, Jenna?”

Jenna ignored him.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Jo pressed a buzzer on the table and stood.

The guard came in and shackled Stone, and Jo headed for the door. Jenna wanted to leave, but her legs had turned to Jell-O. When Stone shuffled closer and bent over the table not a foot away from her, his expression had changed and the psychopath had risen to the surface. The guard was just watching with an amused look on his face and hadn’t attempted to stop him. A wave of dread hit Jenna full force and, vulnerable, trapped between chair and table, she leaned back, getting her feet under her, and stared into Stone’s dead eyes. She could smell him; rancid sweat and his onion breath washed over her.

“I’d have killed you slowly, and made you suffer.” He ran his tongue slowly over his bottom lip. “It’s not over, Jenna. You’ll never be safe from me. You should have put a bullet in me on the mountain.”

Jenna snorted. “Trust me, I wanted to, but seeing you locked up in here like a rabid dog is much better.”

“Next time we meet, I’ll win and you’ll be dead. I don’t lose twice.” He chuckled deep in his chest. “Mmm, I can almost taste your blood on my hands. I’m coming for you, Jenna. Don’t close your eyes, because when you do, I’ll be right behind you.”

Thirty-Nine

Rigid, Jenna stared at the retreating back of James Stone. His words seemed to echo in her mind on a loop of insanity. She sucked in a deep breath, tasting the smell of him on her tongue, and moved away from the chair. The blinking light on the recorder caught her eye, and she pressed the button to turn it off and then just stood there staring at it. Seeing him again and hearing his threats had shaken her to the bone.

The door behind her opened and Kane’s voice seemed loud in the small room.

“Jenna. Are you okay?” He touched her arm. “What did he say to you?”

Jenna picked up the recorder and handed it to him. “I’m fine. I was expecting him to threaten me. It’s on here.” She ignored the rising panic and forced herself to act nonchalantly. She had no need to be afraid of Stone. He had no way to escape and hurt her. It was all smoke and shadows, nothing more. “He’s crazy is all.” She led the way outside and looked at Jo. “I think we should speak to the warden. I’d like to see for myself how they contain Stone. He needs to be informed we have a copycat killer and we suspect Stone is somehow involved.”

“Sure, but I played to his ego. Most psychopaths can’t resist boasting they have the power over people to make them kill for them.” Jo shrugged. “I’ll go over the tape and listen again to his replies, but he gave me no indication of being involved. He’d like to be, but he’s not.”

“Sorry, but I disagree.” Kane pulled an earpiece from the voice recorder and placed the device on the desk. “Listen to this.”

Jenna stared at the wall as Stone’s last words to

her filled the room. She swallowed hard. “Open threats, nothing more. The ravings of a lunatic.”

“Maybe not.” Jo frowned and looked at Kane. “You may have something there.”

“It sure as hell sounds like he’s planning something, to me.” Carter rested one hip on the corner of the desk. “But how? Without contact with the outside world, it would be impossible.”

“Did you see the way the guard smiled when he went close to Jenna?” Kane straightened. “He did nothing. Guards can be bought—hell, many people have their price. Stone has millions, cash no one but he knows about is hidden in bank accounts worldwide. He’d still have people in his employ just waiting for the chance to break him out of jail.”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah, what Wolfe found on the dark web would indicate he had a network of people moving money for him.”

“How come you didn’t call in the FBI to track it down?” Carter looked amused. “Wolfe is a medical examiner. You needed someone like Bobby Kalo.”

Annoyed, Jenna turned to him. “Wolfe is an IT specialist as well, but by the time we uncovered what Stone was doing, a fail-safe was used to eradicate everything on the dark web. Trust me, Wolfe did everything to uncover details but he only found fragments. Stone used the best in the business to build his page and to hide his money.” She sighed. “We’re getting way off track here. We have murders to solve and June Harris is still missing. Right now, all I want to do is make sure they have Stone under surveillance day and night.” She looked at Kane. “Let’s go. The guard outside the door will take us to see the warden. Let’s hope we’re not paraded in front of the inmates again.”

“Don’t listen to them.” Jo moved to her side. “Here.” She pulled sets of earplugs from her pocket in neat plastic bags. “Shove these in your ears and hum. It blocks out the obscenities and they don’t get the reaction they’re expecting.”

“I don’t need them.” Kane grinned at Carter. “Do you?”

“Hell no.” Carter laughed. “I don’t think the kissy sounds were aimed at me.”

Jenna pushed the plugs in her ears. “Okay, stop messing around. I want to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible and take a shower. I figure we’ll carry this stink on us for weeks.” She pulled open the door and beckoned the guard. “We’d like to see the warden before we leave. Can you take us to him, please?”

“This way.” The guard walked beside her. “You might have to wait for a time. He don’t stay in his office all day.”

“Just let him know we want to speak to him.” Kane moved behind Jenna. “We won’t hold him up for long.”

The guard took them through an outside area and they moved through more exercise yards, but the abuse had become background noise behind the humming. As they moved into a different, more modern area the layout of the prison changed as they climbed a staircase to another floor. The same concrete and tiles, but offices replaced the interview rooms and the noise of the inmates came from below them. Luckily, the warden was in his office and waved them all inside. After removing the earplugs, Jenna explained her concerns and the warden dismissed them with a wave of his hand.