Whisper in the Night (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Same as before.” Kittredge settled his shoulders against the tree. “In the Triple Z as always. I eat and sleep there.” His mouth curved into a smile. “I bed my women there.”

Impatient to get to the other suspects, Jenna lifted her chin. “Give me the name of one person you spoke to last night.”

“The barman, and I met a biker chick. She had a tattoo of a snake on one thigh, dark hair. Her name might have been Deidra or something close.” Kittredge wet his lips. “She was in my room when I left this morning.”

Jenna made a note in her book. “What do you drive?”

“The Green Thumb pickup right now. My own vehicle needs a repair. It’s out back of the Triple Z. He shrugged. “It’s a red GMC truck.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Kane moved closer.

“I don’t have the spare cash to have it hauled down to Miller’s to find out.” Kittredge shrugged. “Don’t need it no how when I’ve the company’s vehicle to drive.”

Jenna closed her notebook. “Very well, thank you for your time.”

“I’ll leave the invitation open if you want that drink, Sheriff.” Kittredge chuckled. “I’ll be finishing up here soon and you know where to find me.”

Jenna ignored him and hustled to the truck. In your dreams.

Thirty-Three

Riled by Kittredge’s disrespect for Jenna, Kane left rubber on the driveway as he pointed his truck toward Stanton Road and headed for the high school. It had taken one heck of a lot of willpower not to grab Kittredge by the scruff of his neck and shake him. He’d admired the way Jenna handled the jerk but standing by and saying nothing stuck in his craw. It came down to two things: his upbringing and his time in the marines; both had instilled in him respect for and the need to protect women. Old-fashioned to some, but inside he was an old-fashioned guy and when men disrespected Jenna, it made his blood boil. He turned onto the highway and accelerated. His temper dissipated slightly as the roar of the powerful engine filled the cabin.

“Do you know you’ve a tell when you’re angry?” Jenna’s voice seemed to cut through his wall of mad.

Kane didn’t take his eyes off the road. He’d engaged lights and sirens because he needed to drive hard to clear his mind. Aware it was a juvenile outlet to his temper, he slowed down some. “And what is it?”

“The nerve in your cheek twitches.” Jenna cleared her throat. “But the driving like a man possessed is new.”

“I don’t enjoy men disrespecting women is all.” Kane flicked her a glance.

Jenna chuckled. “I felt your eyes boring into my back like laser beams, so I could only imagine the look you were giving him. I know you respect women and I like that but I’m glad you s

topped calling me ‘ma’am’; it made me feel like your grandma.”

Kane laughed and the anger slipped away like rain down a gutter. “Okay, talk to me about Lancaster. He’s the football player all the teenage girls are goo-goo-eyed over, right?”

“Yeah, and his alibi about being at his girlfriend’s until six in the morning of the day Lindy Rosen went missing is a lie. We need to ask him where he was in the missing hours and find out his whereabouts last night. Maybe with a little persuasion, he’ll let us take a look at his vehicle.”

“Yeah, it would be good to find some evidence to link one of our suspects to the crime. Everything we’ve gotten so far is circumstantial.” Kane turned onto the road leading to the school. It was strange seeing the place without the usual groups of people milling around. “It’s like a ghost town. When do the kids finish spring break?”

“They go back Monday.” Jenna was flipping through her notes. “It’s not always deserted. A few of the clubs hold meetings here during vacations and then there’s summer school. The drama club is here this afternoon and I know the prom committee has meetings here as well. They’ve teachers who volunteer to supervise and the janitor opens a room for them to use.”

Kane rubbed his chin. “I hope they have someone to fill in for McLeod.” He pulled into a staff parking lot beside a white pickup.

“I guess we’re going to find out soon enough.” Jenna’s mouth turned down as she slid from the seat. “I hope Lancaster isn’t going to be a jerk. I’ve had enough of his type for one day.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kane opened the door and Duke jumped down, wagging his tail.

They headed for the janitor’s office and found an athletic guy who looked in his thirties, tipped back in a chair. Thick arms, bronzed from long hours of working outside, crossed his chest. A battered Stetson covered his eyes and his dirty boots rested on the desk. From the snoring, he was sound asleep. Kane slammed his fist on the desk and watched with some amusement as the man woke with a start and gawked at him, wide-eyed. “Sorry to disturb your siesta but we need to speak to the janitor.”

“Ah… why?” The man gathered himself, dropped his feet from the desk and slowly looked up at Jenna. “Afternoon, Sheriff.” He stared down at Duke. “That’s a fine-looking dog you have there.”

“And you are?” Jenna stared at him and wrinkled her nose.

“Mason Lancaster, acting janitor.” He smirked at Kane. “A deputy dropped by and hauled McLeod out of here. Big guy, looks like Thor – one of your men, Sheriff?”

“Yeah.” Jenna pulled out her notebook. “You’re just the man we’re looking for. We need you to answer a few questions.”