Jenna nodded. “Okay, well, take a week or whatever you need, Zac, and get better. Call me if you need anything at all.” She headed for the door and took the elevator to the secure floor.
At the front counter, Jo and Carter were speaking to Sam Cross, the attorney. After exchanging pleasantries, they were taken through security and into the ward. Both Kara and her sister had separate rooms. They went to speak to Kara first. Outside the door, Jenna looked at Jo. “You take the lead and we’ll jump in when necessary. I don’t want to make her any more upset than she is right now.”
“Sure.” Jo pushed through the door, briefcase in hand, and took a seat beside the bed. “Good morning, Miss Judd. I’m Special Agent Jo Wells and this is Agent Carter. You know Sheriff Alton.”
“I’m your attorney, Samuel J. Cross.” Cross took a seat on the other side of the bed. “I’ve agreed to this interview, but you don’t have to say anything. However, there is substantial evidence against you for the charges. Do you want to speak to Agent Wells?”
“Why not? I just wanted you here so they didn’t railroad me.” Kara looked smug. “I don’t see Deputy Kane with you? Is he part of the mountain now?” She chuckled.
Keeping her expression neutral, Jenna pulled up a chair and sat down noticing the zip tie securing Kara’s ankle to the bed, not that she could do much. One arm was in a cast, the other in a sling. “He’s right outside. I figure he’ll be interviewing your sister. He has a few words to say to her about her driving skills.” She turned on her recording device and waited for Jo to take over.
“Moving right along.” Jo exchanged a look with Jenna. “We know about your time with Mrs. Jefferson. We know she locked kids in her closets. What else happened to make you want to go on a killing spree?”
“You don’t have to answer. This information isn’t pertinent to the case.” Cross made notes in his book.
“She does.” Jo met his gaze with a frown. “It might explain why Kara felt the need to get revenge on old ladies.”
“Revenge is a good word.” Kara nodded. “Being locked for hours in a dark closet with spiders was one thing, but the beatings she gave us were sadistic. She enjoyed hurting us. She got this look in her eyes, wild like. Then she’d sing like she was saving our souls or something. She was a crazy old woman, but she hid it well. When the quilting circle came to the house, she was like a different person, all sunshine and flowers.” She gave a shudder and stared into space. “She’d drag me from the closet and take me downstairs, bend me over a chair, and beat me with a leather strap, all the while singing hymns. She told me she needed to beat the bad out of me.” She dropped her gaze to Jenna. “She was always watching us and I wanted to kill her. I wanted to kill her from the first time she shut me in the dark. Problem is, time distorts memory and everyone seems to look alike. I figured I’d just work my way through the quilting circle. I remember the house had land around it, so I picked the members who lived in isolated houses. It was easy.”
“You couldn’t have managed that alone.” Jo looked up from her notes with a disinterested expression. “The messenger, the messages on the sheriff’s office door, none of those were your doing. We know Amber was there for all of them. She helped you by laying down towels so you didn’t leave footprints, and from the way she rammed the GMC into the retaining wall, she’s probably responsible for pushing Jolene Darvish over the ravine.” She smiled. “You prefer to kill hands-on, don’t you?”
“I like it bloody. Amber is just a kid but, yeah, she helped me by dressing up like a boy and, yeah, she rammed old lady Darvish over the ravine. I told her she could drive home and we came across the old lady. It was Amber’s idea to scare her, but when she saw her that night, she started laughing and, the next thing, the truck went over the ravine. We laughed all the way home. You should have seen her trying to get out. It was classic.”
“I think that’s enough.” Sam Cross cleared his throat. “Maybe we should talk in private before we proceed.”
“Nah.” Kara flicked him a dismissive glance. “They have me and you know it. I messed up trying to set up Zac Rio. I’ve done what I came here to do. I’ll plead guilty and spend my life in a nice comfy prison for the criminally insane.” She shrugged and then winced in pain. “Amber is a kid. They’ll go easy on her.”
Jenna lifted her chin. “Okay, let’s go through the murders one by one.”
They spent hours talking and taking statements. The brief time they spent with Amber Judd only confirmed her sister’s account. They both seemed resigned to their fate. Black Rock Falls had its own penitentiary. The county being so large, and with so many felons, it had built a prison to rival any state pen. Locally known as County, it housed Black Rock Falls’ notorious killers. After writing up the paperwork, Jenna met the DA at his office, which on a Sunday was quite an achievement. He arranged for Kara Judd to be taken to County and her sister to a secure juvenile facility, although he had recommended she be tried as an adult.
It was over. Taking a few deep breaths of fresh mountain air, Jenna walked back to her office. She spotted the Beast outside in its usual space and the familiar tall man in black leaning casually against it, with a bloodhound at his feet. She grinned and hurried across the road. “There you are.” She moved her gaze all over him and Duke. “You look in better shape than the last time I saw you. Is Duke okay?”
“Yeah, he’s a little clingy, but he’s doing just fine.” Kane chuckled. “I got your message about our catch-22 phone call situation. We’ve gotta stop tiptoeing around each other, Jenna. I like you checking up on me. It’s nice.” He met her gaze. “Are you done here? We need to talk.”
Have you changed your mind about marrying me? Jenna’s stomach tightened into knots. “Yeah, the Granny Killer case is solved and wrapped up neatly. The media has already caught wind of the arrest and Rowley has put out a statement. Now it’s in the hands of the courts. At last, we have some downtime. I sure need the rest. Where have you been all day? I tried to call you.”
“Oh, I’ve been kinda busy.” Kane smiled down at her. “I needed my hat cleaned and I had to strip down my rifle to get the mud out of it. When I’d finished, I had to pick up a few things and get me some pie.” He cupped her cheek. “I figured you needed some space to get things sorted. You didn’t need me at the hospital and, as the Judd sisters tried their best to kill me, I figured being there might have caused a conflict of interest.” He stared into her eyes. “Do you remember what we talked about on the mountain?”
Suddenly very vulnerable, Jenna nodded. “Of course, I do, Dave. It wasn’t the proposal I’d expected. You know, dinner and flowers, you on one knee. It’s every woman’s dream, but that ideal flew out of the window the moment you asked me. I’ll never forget it or the look in your eyes. It was perfect.” She swallowed hard. “Have you changed your mind?”
“My mind was made up a long time ago.” Kane pulled her close. “When we went to Helena, I had Wolfe pick up something special for me. It was an opal I purchased from a place called Lightning Ridge in Australia. It reminded me of all the stars in the sky here in Black Rock Falls, and when it moves under the light, it resembles the sun on a green and blue ocean. All these things are part of us, Jenna, and represent what we love. Atohi told me his people believe they are from the Goddess of Rainbows. The ancient Greeks say they are the happy tears of Zeus and bring prosperity and luck.” He smiled. “It took some doing, trying to hide the calls back and forth from the designer, but Wolfe collected it for me before all hell broke loose here.” He pulled a box out of his pocket and flipped it open. “I don’t have flowers or dinner, Jenna. It’s just me, Duke, and the Beast, but I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” He slipped the ring on her finger.
Breathless, Jenna stared at the incredible stone, surrounded by diamonds, and lifted her gaze to his face. She could see uncertainty in his eyes and smiled, blinking back unshed happy tears. “It’s beautiful, Dave. So beautiful.”
“When?” Kane’s intense gaze flitted over her shoulder. “Dammit. I so want to kiss you. Do we have to keep this a secret?”
Jenna’s gaze went to Susie Hartwig and Wendy, who were heading to the office to deliver a pile of takeout. They were standing transfixed on the sidewalk staring at them. “Just one thing: I’ll be keeping my professional name as Sheriff Alton to avoid confusion.”
“Fine by me. We wouldn’t want people being confused now, would we?” Kane grinned broadly.
Laughing, Jenna looked at him. “But—I’ll be Mrs. Jenna Kane when we check into hotels. You being so straitlaced and all.”
“Well, I do have a reputation to uphold.” Kane’s mouth twitched up into a smile.
Jenna leaned back and indicated with her chin to Susie and smiled at him. “You sure do. The townsfolk respect you and now you’ve got them talking.”
“Uh-huh.” Kane’s attention moved back to her. “We’re getting an audience.”