Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Jenna took back her phone. “Let’s go see if Reed is there. As far as we know he’s the last person to have seen Zoe alive. He could easily be our man but Em isn’t the killer’s usual type so maybe we’re worrying about nothing.” She peered out the window at the swirling snow. “The soup kitchen isn’t far and we could walk from here.”

“Nah.” Kane looked over one shoulder and then moved the truck onto Main. “I can’t leave Duke in the truck without the heat on. We’ll get closer and take him with us.” He smiled at her. “The great thing about being with the sheriff is that I can park anywhere and never get a ticket.”

They drove about a hundred yards down Main and Kane pulled into a service alleyway beside the building. Jenna pulled up her hood and ducked outside into the cold, pulling on her gloves. The sidewalk was dusted with snow and although a good coating of salt had been scattered around, the blizzard-like conditions were making the slippery pavers treacherous underfoot. Narrowly avoiding a collision with two women carrying overflowing shopping bags, she reached the soup kitchen and pushed open the door. Duke sped inside past her. The dog shook himself vigorously, ears spinning like a windmill and sending snow flying in all directions.

It seemed that no matter what time of day she walked into the place, there was a line of people waiting to be fed. The food smelled delicious and made her stomach growl. Soup kitchen was a misnomer for this charity. Hot meals were available from six in the morning until eleven at night. They included soup, a hearty chili or casserole made from donated meat, usually from elk or deer hunters, a selection of vegetables, pies, and cookies from the Women’s Association. She stamped her feet on the hessian sacks at the front door and turned to Kane. “I’ll speak to Axel Reed. You go and talk to everyone. See if anyone recognized Zoe. She had to be staying around here somewhere.”

“Or the killer had her holed up in his house.” Kane shrugged. “I hope not.” He turned away.

Jenna scanned the cafeteria for one of the supervisors. Noticing a woman she recognized, she eased her way through the people milling around or sitting at the rows of tables. “Hey, Jenny, nice to see you.” She pulled out her phone. “Have you seen this girl?”

“No, I don’t think so but with everyone bundled up against the cold, everyone looks the same of late.” She smiled at Jenna.

“Do you keep a list of who works here or helps out?” Jenna pulled out her notebook. “I assume you work in shifts?”

“I can tell you who is on salary but not the volunteers, they sometimes come for an hour or two and leave. They’re in and out all the time. Do you have a day in mind? I could ask the office to email you a copy.”

Behind her, she could hear Kane asking in a clear loud voice if anyone had seen Zoe. She nodded. “Yes please. Last Wednesday evening between say nine and closing would help.” Jenna kept her voice conversational. “Is Axel Reed in today?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem?” Jenny frowned. “He is employed here and a good worker.”

Jenna shook her head. “He’s not in any trouble. What does he do here?”

“He collects food donations and enters them into our stock list. He’ll be in the storeroom out back.” She turned to a man carrying a large steaming pot to the people serving. “Josiah, when you’ve put that down, can you take the sheriff back and introduce her to Axel?”

“Sure.” Josiah placed the pot into the serving area, wiped his hands on his apron and smiled. “He came in just before, he’s out back.”

The man’s name, seemed familiar and then dropped into place. He was the driver working for the trucking company out of Blackwater. She couldn’t believe her luck. “Are you Josiah Brock?”

“That’s me.” Josiah gave her a slow smile. “Am I in trouble, Sheriff?”

“Not at all but you can clear up something for me.” Jenna took out her notebook. “I know you work out of Blackwater but do you recall driving a rig with Claude Grady any time in the last year?”

“Maybe, I’d have to check the logs. We have driven to Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, so it’s hard to remember. I’ve driven with him in the past a few times but I own my own rig now, so I go where they pay me the best rates.” He glanced away for a beat and then turned his attention back to her. “Why?”

Jenna stared at him. “We have been looking into truckers who drive to all those places regularly, and with refrigerated trucks. Your name came up in a conversation.”

“I don’t know why. I don’t own a reefer.” Josiah pushed a hand through his hair. “Claude drives one regular but he’ll be on downtime like me at the moment until the roads clear.”

Jenna made a few notes and then looked back at him. “Are you employed here too?”

“Nope, I just help out from time to time.” Josiah shrugged. “I like the company.”

Jenna showed him the image of Zoe on her phone and watched his face carefully. “Do you know her or have you seen her in here at any time?”

“Can’t say that I have but we have a ton of young people in here lately. I could’ve missed her.” He lifted his gaze back to her. “Do you want me to take you to Axel now?”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah thanks.” She had another thought. “Where do you live?”

“I have a cabin out Snowberry Way. It’s only a small place but it’s home.” Josiah led the way through the kitchen to a storeroom, where a man was checking boxes and making notes on a clipboard. “Axel, the sheriff wants a word with you.” He turned to leave. “Nice to meet you.” He gave them a wave and went back to the kitchen.

When Axel turned around, he tried unsuccessfully to hide his concerned expression at the sight of her and leaned casually against the wall. Jenna lifted her chin and took in the tall, lean, muscular man wearing a leather jacket with his MC’s colors on the back. “Axel Reed? I’m Sheriff Alton. I spoke to Mr. Morgan this morning and he mentioned last Wednesday night you were at the Triple Z Bar. You gave a ride to a young woman by the name of Zoe Henderson. Do you remember her?” She took out her phone and accessed the file with Zoe’s photograph and showed it to him.

“Yeah, I gave her a ride.” He swiped the back of his hand over his nose. “She was hitchhiking with a trucker who planned to stay overnight. I figure he wanted her to stay with him and stepped in to offer her an alternative.”

“And exactly what was your alternative?” Jenna eyeballed him. “We’d like to know where she’s been living since last Wednesday night.”

“I dropped her here at the service alleyway and told her to go inside and ask one of the supervisors to call the women’s shelter, so she’d have a bed for the night.” Axel frowned. “I haven’t seen her since. She hasn’t been by for a meal so I assumed she’d moved in there.”