Promises in the Dark (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Don’t drag me into this.” Kane held up both hands.

Concerned by the friction Carter’s attitude was causing, Jo moved between them to face Jenna. “This is why there was a delay in searching for Sophie Wood.” She met Jenna’s annoyed gaze. “There was the chance of a secondary explosive device and Wolfe refused entry until we arrived to clear the scene. It was hours after the explosion by the time we arrived. It wasn’t until we counted the bodies that I discovered Sophie was missing.”

“But how do you know she’s missing?” Agitated, Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “She might have been trapped upstairs. Dammit, Carter, you sayin’ the fire chief sent out a finalized report without checking the entire building?” He stormed off toward the barn muttering under his breath.

Thirteen

During her time as a DEA agent, Jenna had often attended the aftermath of a meth lab explosion and taken the lead in investigations far more complex and dangerous than this one. Mistakes and miscommunication happened when cases moved between agencies but this one was becoming a nightmare. She looked at Jo’s apologetic expression and sighed. “I told you Sheriff Crenshaw was a jerk.” Jenna shook her head. “Although, Wolfe is usually on his game. I’ve no idea why he didn’t question the sheriff or the firefighters about clearing the second floor.” She tried to ignore the acrid smell that hung around a housefire and clung to anyone passing close by. She tucked her tablet under one arm and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call Wolfe and find out what the hell happened here. I’ll put it on speaker.” She made the call.

“Dad is in the middle of an autopsy and he hasn’t gotten out to look at the car yet. He’s rushed off his feet, Jenna, is it urgent?” Emily Wolfe’s voice came through the speaker.

Jenna bit back a sigh of frustration. “Yeah, it is. We’re out at the Louan fire scene and I need clarification. Can you disturb him. It won’t take long.”

“Okay.”

The familiar swish of the examination room doors opening at the morgue came through the speaker and then Wolfe’s voice.

“Shane here. Is this sensitive? I have Emily and Colt with me”

“No.” Jenna flicked a glance at Carter. “I’m at the Louan fire scene. Did anyone clear the upper floor for bodies? It’s not in the report from the fire chief.”

“From what I understand, the firetruck was able to extend a ladder to the upper front window, and extinguished the blaze. Crenshaw informed me the upstairs was empty. So, one of the firefighters must have done a walk through.” Wolfe sighed. “I pulled everyone away from the building and called Jo and the fire chief in case there was a secondary explosive device on the ground floor, which there was and Carter cleared it. I didn’t go upstairs personally as the stairs were consumed by the fire but I will, once I’ve discovered the cause of death of the victims. The crime scene is being protected, isn’t it? I did leave instructions with Crenshaw to leave a deputy out there.”

Jenna exchanged an exasperated look with Jo. “No deputies here and Kane is heading up a ladder to look inside now. I figure the youngest girl would’ve been in bed when the bomber arrived. He must have used inducement to make them come downstairs. Most kids would hide if they thought they were in danger.” She sighed. “We have no proof anyone went inside. What if the missing girl is still up there?”

“I hope not.” Shane sucked air through his teeth in an agitated whistle. “I’m used to working with professionals. I don’t usually have to question anyone on their reports, especially the fire chief. He should’ve been on the ball.”

“I guess it depends if he took the word of Sheriff Crenshaw and the local firefighters. In my opinion, as it was his responsibility to clear the building, he should have gone up there himself or at least make mention of not being able to inspect the second floor in his report.”

“I agree and I’ll be talking to him about his report as soon as I’m through here. He needs to up his game if he wants to keep his job. Do you want me to come out and do another forensics sweep today?” Wolfe cleared his throat. “I’m almost done here. Thanks to the Blackwater dentist, I have positive IDs on Isaac, Connie, and Jody Wood. It was fortunate Bobby Kalo traced the family to Blackwater, the Louan dentist had zip. You can go ahead and notify next-of-kin. Something you should know, Mrs. Wood was raped and suffered head trauma before the fire. Her nose was broken and she had teeth missing. I’ll give you more details after the autopsy but this is the most staged and brutal explosion I’ve seen.”

Jo stepped closer and her mouth turned down. “Jo here. Yes, this changes everything about his profile. The girl, Jody Wood, did he hurt her?”

“From the toxicology tests I did on the gasses in her lungs, she died before the fire got to her and from the X-rays, I couldn’t find any major signs of trauma. She wasn’t raped. I believe the blast wave from the explosion rendered her unconscious, so that’s a small mercy.” Wolfe paused a beat. “I haven’t completed the examination of Mr. Wood but he has a skull fracture, consistent with blunt force trauma. We need to meet up and discuss my findings. This is one twisted SOB.”

Jenna nodded and her gaze drifted to Carter climbing the ladder after Kane. “Okay, we’ll leave it until all the autopsies are complete. We have a ton of things to do here yet.”

“Okay, I’ll call you when I’m through here and I’ve gone over the vehicle at the impound yard.” Wolfe disconnected.

Jenna pushed her phone inside her pocket and stared up at the house. The sodden blackened mess before her had once been a family home, filled with happiness and laughter. From the lovingly tended garden and the ashes of a climbing rose bush hanging from what was left of a trellis, the occupants had enjoyed gardening. “I wouldn’t like to be in the fire chief’s shoes. I figure he’s never seen Wolfe angry before.” She glanced at Jo and caught the tiny twitch of a smile. “What?”

“Matt Thompson is his name and he’s good-looking and uses his firefighter allure for all it’s worth.” Jo rolled her eyes. “He might as well have ‘Player’ tattooed on his forehead.”

“Good to know.” Concerned for Kane and Carter’s safety, Jenna kept her attention on the second-floor window. When Kane stuck his head out and waved to her, she hurried forward. “Did you find her?”

“Nah. It’s pretty much untouched up here.” Kane pulled down his facemask. “I found a smear of blood on the doorframe of the girls’ bedroom and along one wall in the hallway. I took a few swabs. The room has smoke damage but that’s all. All the rooms look undisturbed. No sign of a struggle but I’ve bagged the sheets from all the rooms, emptied the laundry basket in case we need the girl’s scent, and Carter’s taken photographs. I’ll throw the evidence bags down.”

After Kane and Carter had finished, Jenna pulled up the files. She examined the diagrams of the crime scene from Carter’s comprehensive documentation. She had to admit it was faultless. He’d recorded the time of inspection, the approximate time of the explosion, weather conditions, odors, and structural damage along with his observations. There was so much more but she wanted to hear it from him. She waved a hand toward the house. “Carter, give us the tour.”

“Okay.” Carter led the way and skirted a crater in what used to be the family room. “The method of bomb delivery was C-4, in a primary and secondary explosion set a few seconds apart. The blast effects as you can see are projected out and not toward the victims. In fact, they would have been protected to some degree by being in the kitchen. The crater and burn pattern suggest the bomber used an accelerant. The thermal effects, the bend in the metal furniture frames, and melting of the kitchen utensils show the fire reached a higher temperature than I’d have thought normal for a housefire.” He looked at Jenna. “I’ve sent a report to all the appropriate agencies to hunt down any other cases or incident reports.” He walked through a gap in the wall and into the kitchen. “The can of gas was found in here and Wolfe took samples as did the fire chief but from the smell it was gasoline. The victims were placed around the kitchen table,

all secured to chairs. The chairs were knocked over due to the blast wave but the victim closest to the open doorway would have taken the force of the blaze. As you can see from the burn pattern over the ceiling and stairs there was a flashover, the fire went over the victims like a wave and down the walls.”

Dismayed at the complete destruction before her, Jenna allowed her gaze to settle on the distinct outline of a small figure on the charred wooden floor. An overwhelming sadness engulfed her. The person who did this had taken the older girl and she could only imagine what horrific torture he could inflict on her. After no sightings of Sophie Wood, the chances of her surviving a monster like this killer were minimal. She looked at Jo. “We need to move faster on this case, someone like this is going to strike again, isn’t he?”

“That’s very likely, if he’s acting out a vendetta.” Jo shook her head. “It’s well planned. From what I’m seeing here, we have a serial killer on our hands.”

Jenna dragged her gaze away from the floor, scanned the room, and then walked out to the destroyed stairs. It was tragic and oppressive being inside so much destruction, she could almost feel the hate from the man who’d caused it. Ahead, the way to the backdoor was clear. “They would have been able to exit by the backdoor if they hadn’t been restrained.”