Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)
The Triple Z lights flashed in the distance turning the stark white patches of snow to red. The parking lot was clear and a line of trucks sat in a neat row at the far end of the lot. Many had no doubt stopped for a meal. Kane parked close to the entrance and Jenna followed him inside. The usual smell of food, beer, and sweat crawled up her nostrils. As they walked through the tables and made their way to the bar, people nudged each other and conversations stopped. She glanced at Kane. “We’ll need to blend in slow here and not charge in and start asking questions. The chili is pretty good. We could eat and then speak to people as we leave and make it look like an afterthought. We might get more answers that way and seem less aggressive?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice. I’ll order.” Kane leaned on the bar as the barkeeper came toward them looking anxious. “Coffee and we’ll take the chili. We’ll sit at the bar.”
“Sure.” The man relayed the order returning with mugs, cream, and sugar. “It won’t be long.” He gave them a wary stare. “Anything else I can help you with, Sheriff?”
Jenna slid onto a barstool and pulled off her gloves and hat. “Well, yes there is.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Have you seen this girl?”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, scanned the files, and laid the phone down inconspicuously on the counter facing him. “I’ll be honest with you. She’s the dead girl they found outside the Black Rock Falls newspaper office. She arrived here from Colorado and we’d like to know how she got here. If you’ve seen her or know who gave her a ride, we need to speak to them. Her killer is a very dangerous man and has been murdering people all over the country.” She looked him dead in the eye. “Do the right thing and we’ll keep your name out of it.”
“I’ve seen her. She came with a trucker but left with someone else.” The barkeeper’s eyes flicked from side to side as he wiped the bar. A bell rung and he turned and walked away.
Jenna looked at Kane. “Think we’ll get anything else out of him?”
“Maybe, he just doesn’t want to be seen talking to us.” Kane poured them both a glass of water from a jug on the bar. “Wait and see.”
When the barkeeper returned with a tray containing their food and a full coffee pot, Jenna noticed writing on one of the paper napkins. She pulled the small pile toward her and then slid the napkin into her pocket. They ate their meal. It was filling but not as good as Aunt Betty’s. She surveyed the room, picking out a table with men conversing over a meal. She turned to Kane. “Those guys look like truckers. We’ll go over nice and casual and show them the photo before we leave.”
“That was the plan unless you came all this way to eat chili?” Kane chuckled. “Not that I’m complaining but at Aunt Betty’s I can have the apple pie as well.” He finished his coffee and sighed.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “I’ll buy you a whole pie on the way home.” She slipped from the seat and pulled bills out of her pocket and dropped them on the counter. “My treat.”
She glanced at the men staring at her. “What’s wrong now?”
“Now they’ll think I’m a very lucky man.” Kane grinned at her. “A meal with the boss and she pays. Promise of a pie as well. Now that will make the gossips’ tongues wag.”
Ignoring Kane’s chuckle, she headed for the truckers and pulled out her phone to display the image. “We’re looking for anyone who gave a ride to this woman from Colorado. We’re not here to arrest anyone, we just need some background on why she was here and where she was heading. Please take a look.”
She moved from man to man showing them the image. They shook their heads and then one man shrugged and asked for another look. “I gave her a ride. She said her name was Zoe and she was heading into Black Rock Falls to the women’s shelter. She planned to get a job and work there.”
Jenna didn’t ask for his name in case she spooked him. The company he worked for and his first name were on his jacket. “Did you give her a ride into town?” She pulled out her notebook and took down the details.
“Nope. It was getting late and I was heading to Blackwater and not due in until the morning.” The man scratched his head. “I took a room here for the night and bought her a meal but when I headed for the bathroom she’d gone when I returned.” He cleared his throat. “She was young, maybe too young to be in here.”
“So, you don’t know what happened to her?” Kane moved beside Jenna.
“Nope.”
He shrugged again. “I spent the rest of the evening with one of the boys here and then went to bed.”
“He was with me.” One of the other men with the name Jerry on his jacket looked at Jenna. “I’m Jerry Tonks, we work over at Blackwater. I didn’t see the girl but I saw Pete here sitting alone at the bar.”
Jenna made notes. “Okay thanks.” She handed them both a card. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call.”
“The girl, is she in trouble?” Pete looked up at her. “She seemed to be running from something.”
After exchanging a glance with Kane, Jenna sighed. “We found her dead this morning. We’re trying to trace her next of kin.”
She watched the man’s surprised expression and then led the way out to Kane’s truck. She climbed inside and pulled the napkin from her pocket. She stared at the message. “She left with a member of Devout Sons.”
“The motorcycle club out of Blackwater?” Kane started the engine. “They sound like a Christian MC. Maybe she asked them for help?”
Jenna looked at him in disbelief. “Do you honestly believe an eighteen-year-old girl would go up to a gang of bikers and ask for help? In Black Rock Falls—where no one is who he seems? I don’t think so.”
Forty-Four
Tuesday, Week 2
After an exhausting evening hunting down the clubhouse of the elusive Devout Sons MC, Jenna, Kane and Duke set out for the roadhouse on the highway toward Blackwater. After making a few calls they discovered the president of the club owned the roadhouse. Concerned the club president would close in around his members, Jenna spent the time on the road checking into the background of Oliver Morgan, known as Mad Dog Morgan and everything she could find on the Devout Sons.