Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Oh, I went to the range.” Kane cleared his throat. “I know if my eye is in after a few shots. I don’t need to use a box of ammo to correct my aim so I decided to use the time to improve my other skills. I’ve been worried about my agility since my knee surgery. You want me in top shape, don’t you?”

“I sure do.” Jenna pushed to her feet and offered him her hand. “I need to be in shape too and I could do with a few new moves. Teach me.”

After breakfast they headed into the office. Jenna wiped the condensation off the frost covered window and took in the landscape. The spray from the snowplow had created a wall of gray glistening ice alongside the highway. All around, trees bent under the weight of the continuous snowfalls. The houses too had become white lumps in the scenery, with smoking chimneys and lacy gutters. Icicles hung from everything, signposts and mailboxes had transformed overnight and blended into the sidewalk. She frowned at the sight. Snow had come early this year and arrived with unprecedented force. She looked at Kane, who was humming along to a tune on the radio. “As Deputy Walters came up empty from the hotline calls about chainsaws and we have zip on the tattoos, I’m going to follow Carter’s suggestion and show the photographs of the tattoos around the homeless shelters and soup kitchen today. If Rowley had hunted down a vehicle on the CCTV footage, we’d have had something to work with but from what he said, the snowfall was so dense, he had trouble making out anything at all. Without any leads, we really have no other place to start. I could put out another media report and see what happens.”

“Yeah, some people wouldn’t have seen the news and others wouldn’t want to get involved.” Kane pulled into his parking space outside the s

heriff’s department.

Jenna nodded. “I guess.” She looked at Duke hiding under his blanket. “Duke doesn’t look too keen to be out today.”

“I think I’ll leave him with Maggie.” Kane frowned. “He was shivering so bad this morning when I was clearing the driveway his teeth were chattering.”

“That new coat should be warm enough, maybe he needs boots?” Jenna chuckled at his aghast expression and followed him up the front steps and after giving Maggie a wave, hurried into the warmth of her office. Her phone chimed as she sat down at her desk. It was Wolfe. “Morning. Do you have an update on the snowman?”

“No. I’ll do an autopsy tomorrow. It takes time to thaw out a corpse. I can’t use heat or the body will desiccate. Before you ask, it’s covered with a wet sheet to avoid that problem and it also must be kept in a sterile environment or I won’t be able to trust the trace evidence.”

Jenna stared at the wall, thinking. “I don’t like your chances after finding it in the park. What about the limbs, any results at all?”

“It was fortunate it was covered by snow, that would’ve helped.” Wolfe tapped at his keyboard. “Yeah, I do have a few results for you. The snowman, as you call the victim, is female and I noticed a small hole under the hair at the base of the neck. It may or may not be a bullet wound but it’s possible as there is a matching one just above the clavicle. It might be a through and through from a rifle, perhaps but I can’t be sure until I’ve autopsied the body. If it is, it’s likely the cause of death.”

Jenna made notes. “Dave was saying about how killers often freeze their victims to confuse the time of death. Is this the case with these victims?”

“It’s doubtful I’ll be able to determine TOD at all. Although—” Wolfe brightened “—I do have some information gathered from the limbs. We know we have two different women but we also know they died at different times by the rate of decomposition in their cells. The samples I’ve taken indicate the killer froze them soon after death and thawed them at least once before he froze them again. The decomposition during the period of defrosting isn’t the same. The cell damage isn’t the same either. These women could have died at least a year apart.”

Seventeen

The sound of a woman’s laughter in the hallway dragged Jenna away from making notes on the whiteboard. Since the first snow, the usual stream of people visiting the front counter had slowed to a trickle and rarely any of them laughed. Inquisitive, she walked into the main office and took in the scene. Kim Strickland, the woman Kane had rescued from the kidnappers, tossed her long red hair and looked up at Kane through her eyelashes. She had one hand resting on his forearm, and leaned toward him in an attitude of possession. Kane had his back against the counter with his arms crossed but gave the impression he was listening with interest to the woman’s constant babbling. So, this is the woman, Susie told me was hanging all over Kane at Aunt Betty’s? Jenna turned her attention to Rowley, who stood behind the counter, mouth open and watching the interaction between the pair goggle-eyed. Jenna frowned. Rowley had taken the woman’s statement on the night of the incident and as far as she and the DA were concerned the case was in the hands of the court. Why is she here?

As she moved closer, she noticed a large gift basket on the counter and Maggie staring at it with distaste as if it contained poison. She ignored the couple and walked to the other end of the counter. “Where did this come from, Maggie?”

“Her.” Maggie tipped her head toward Kim. “Said she’d sit right down here and wait until Deputy Kane would see her.” She lowered her voice. “I told her, we don’t allow none of the deputies to accept gifts but would she listen? No, she wouldn’t. When she seen him coming out your office, she told me if I didn’t go get him, she’d march right down and get him herself.”

Astonished, Jenna patted Maggie’s hand. “Next time come get me.”

Jenna picked up the basket and walked toward Kane. In her periphery, she noticed Rowley move down the desk toward Maggie and busy himself with some paperwork. She plastered a smile on her face and looked at Kane’s bemused expression. “Ah, Miss Strickland?” She held out the basket. “I believe this belongs to you?”

“No.” Kim gave Jenna an exasperated glare, and not taking her hand from Kane’s arm, turned to face her. “That’s a little gift for Dave. He was so brave, fighting six men to save me. I owe him my life.”

Dave? Jenna pushed the basket toward her. “That’s very kind of you but I’m sure Deputy Kane has explained to you he isn’t allowed to accept gifts for doing his job. That’s what we pay him to do, Miss Strickland.” She ignored the woman’s haughty expression and turned to Kane. “My office, now!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Kane’s gaze searched her face for a second before turning to Kim. “I told you, I was just doing my job.” He ushered her toward the front door.

“Dinner then or at least let me buy you a drink?” Kim pouted. “When you’re off-duty and not under the glare of Dragon Lady.”

“I have to go.” Kane stepped away. “Thanks for dropping by.”

“I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer, Dave. I’ll call you, tonight.” She gave him a sweet smile, dropped the basket on a chair inside the door, and walked out into the snow.

The wave of jealousy at seeing Kane with another woman rushed over Jenna. She fought to keep it under control and went inside her office. She picked up the pen and added Wolfe’s findings to the whiteboard alongside the notes from the files Jo had sent her. She’d set the other cases up as parallels to what they had so far. She’d been surprised at the wealth of information Jo and Carter had supplied. If this killer was The Sculptor, they would have the chance to take down a notorious murderer. When she placed the pen back in its holder and turned around, Kane was watching her with a puzzled expression. She grabbed her coat and shrugged it on. “We’re going to visit the homeless shelters and show the photographs around, or did it slip your mind?”

“No, it didn’t and I’ve printed up a pile of images of the tattoos to circulate.” Kane crossed his arms. “Do we have a problem, Jenna?”

After waiting so long for him, the thought that he’d found someone else and not said a word had hurt her. Jenna couldn’t meet his eyes. “We won’t as long as you keep your personal life out of the office.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe it’s time for you to find your own place. I think we both need some space.”

“If that’s what you want.” Kane turned to go.

Jenna watched him leave without a word of protest and gave herself a mental shake. She had a killer to catch and her personal feelings would have to be put on hold. After slipping a new statement book inside a waterproof folder, Jenna wrapped a scarf around her face, put on her shades, and pulled on her hat. She collected her things and headed out to Kane’s truck, snagging the gift basket on the way. She’d drop it at the first homeless shelter. They’d appreciate the donation. Slipping and sliding through the snow, she waited for Kane to unlock the Beast and then climbed inside. Kane glanced at her as if gauging her mood and then started the engine but didn’t drive away. She looked at him. “What’s the hold up?”