Promises in the Dark (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“The heat of the trunk confuses the body temperature reading.” Emily looked at her. “From the state of rigor, she was dead inside the trunk at least overnight. Which would mean he kept her alive for at least the first night she went missing. We estimate the time of death to be sometime on Friday morning.”

“There is indication of forced sexual activity.” Wolfe’s eyes held a deep sorrow. “You have your hands full with this murderer.”

“I wonder exactly what happened to him to trigger another violence spree.” Jo shook her head. “If this is the DC bomber, to him it’s history repeating itself but, before, the clean way he killed made it almost impersonal. More of a payback. This time, the raping and torture of his victims, means someone else is involved. Someone was taken from him of great value and revenge is the only motive I have for this twist in his MO.”

Mind reeling with the implications, Jenna’s mind wandered during the rest of the autopsy. The findings would arrive neatly in a report but what Jo had said concerned her. Both of their main suspects had very personal reasons as motives but had the killing of Sheriff Stuart been the end of the vendetta? She allowed the evidence to filter through her mind. What did social workers, sheriffs, lawyers, and magistrates have in common? She turned to Jo and gripped her by the arms. “I have it! I’ve been thinking this guy must have done time, got out of jail, and wanted revenge on the people who put him there but apart from Cleaves spending three months in jail, the social worker part of the puzzle doesn’t add up. Okay, they might assist an ex-con but where are they most active? Child protection.”

“So, you think one of our suspects was placed in the system and they went batshit crazy and decided to killed everyone involved?” Jo looked astonished. “That should be easy enough to hunt down but why go off on a killing rampage now? This doesn’t look like the work of an eighteen-year-old?”

Excited, Jenna shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe dealing with the Woods triggered an old memory or something. We need to get back to the office and find out if any of our suspects were in foster care.” She whirled around and looked at Wolfe. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah.” Wolfe’s eyes sparkled over the top of his mask. “Go get ’em, Jenna.”

Fifty-Three

Julie Wolfe checked the time. She didn’t want to be late at the Colemans’ house. Now she had her own vehicle, a rather tattered but sound SUV her father and Kane had practically built from scratch, and a shiny new driver’s license, she could do odd jobs at the weekend. Her sister Anna had a friend at school, Lucy Coleman, and Julie had met her mother a few times. When Lucy’s mother asked if she could babysit Lucy and her baby brother, Peter, for three hours on Saturday night, she’d jumped at the chance. The Colemans wanted to celebrate their wedding anniversary at the new tavern in town. Her father had agreed, as Mr. Coleman was the local magistrate, although she expected him to run a background check on the entire family. She went to look in on Anna. With her dad and Emily at the morgue playing with dead people, Anna would be happy with the housekeeper, Mrs. Mills, who’d become almost like a grandma since they’d arrived in Black Rock Falls. She headed into the family room and smiled, recognizing the songs to a popular movie. Mrs. Mills and Anna were engrossed staring at the screen. Julie raised her voice. “I’ll see you later. Tell Dad I should be home by ten and if not, I’ll call.”

She headed for the front door, swinging her car keys. The new freedom was a curse as well as an advantage. In the last week or so, she’d taken on all Emily’s driving chores, and her phone was filled with messages to stop by stores to buy groceries or pick up or drop off dry cleaning. It was as if she’d suddenly become an adult and although it kind of felt good, she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to give up her childhood just yet. Would her dad still throw hoops with her now or was his catchphrase of “Where are you going?” becoming the new normal in her life?

The workouts in the gym her dad and Uncle Dave had built in their downtime, had made her aware of the dangers of living in Black Rock Falls. Her dad had trained them like a drill sergeant, even little Anna had been given instructions on how to run away from a threat. Then Uncle Dave had had a long talk with them, telling them that bad people look just like everyone else, and all the ways a bad person might try to lure young women into bad situations. She understood more than they gave her credit for, most kids of sixteen knew the way of things and she’d heard Emily discussing cases with her dad and Uncle Dave. Unlike some, she didn’t spend all her time gazing at her phone or on social media. She had plans and they included becoming a pediatrician, which meant good grades and hopefully a scholarship to a good medical college. She’d promised her mom she’d work hard at school, and she never broke her word.

The drive to the Colemans would take twenty-five minutes. They lived in one of the ranches recently built out of Glacial Heights. It was a secluded area for the more affluent people in town and not far from the new ski-resort. She drove a little slower than necessary, not risking the possibility of having an accident the first time she’d traveled this far alone. It was dusk and the forest loomed on one side of the road, hiding the trails in deep shadows. This far from town the streetlights were non-existent and the idea of getting a flat or being stranded alone sent shivers up her spine. She pushed the thought away; her car was mechanically sound and her dad, Uncle Dave, or Jake Rowley were not far away if she needed help. By the time she arrived at the Colman’s ranch, she’d gained more confidence and negotiated the treelined driveway with precision. Small lights led the way to the front of the house, a huge redbrick, with a riot of flowers in garden beds.

She parked beside the magistrate’s silver SUV and climbed out. A cool breeze brushed her legs and rustled the leaves on the trees. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the shriek of an owl and the flapping of wings. Looking over one shoulder into the darkening night, she shook off the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, collected her bag, and headed for the steps. The idea to bring her laptop to complete her school assignments had been Emily’s. Once the kids went to sleep, she’d have a nice peaceful place to study. She didn’t have time to ring the doorbell before the door flew open and Lucy stood in the doorway, dressed in PJs with a broad grin on her face. She smiled at the little girl. “Hello, Lucy.”

“Come in, Mommy’s getting dressed.” Lucy hurried along the passageway. “She said to wait in the family room and she’d be down soon.”

A wonderful aroma of fresh baked cookies wafted on the air. The house was modern and a polished floor she could see her face in ran the length of the hallway. The family room was huge with a fireplace big enough to roast a pig. Overstuffed leather sofas sat around a coffee table and a flat screen above the mantel was the biggest she’d ever seen. An elk’s head stared at her from another wall and on a bookcase, pictures of the family, wedding photos, fun holiday times and baby photos all in silver frames. A box of toys sat in one corner, piled up high and spilling onto the carpet. She looked at Lucy. “What would you like to do tonight?”

“Well, Mommy said I have to be in bed by seven-thirty so could you read me a story?” Lucy looked at her expectantly. “Daddy doesn’t like me watching TV before bedtime but I like bedtime stories.”

Relieved she would be easy to care for, Julie nodded. “I’d like that fine.”

When Mrs. Coleman came into the room, bringing with her the scent of perfume, she smiled at her. “Is there anything special I have to do for John tonight?”

“No, he’ll sleep right through now.” Mrs. Coleman patted her hair. “Just check on him every hour or so, Lucy will go straight to sleep. She has a routine and falls asleep without a fuss. You have my number and my husband’s but if anything bad should happen, call 911 first and then us but I’m sure with a medical examiner for a father, you know the drill.”

Wondering what could possibly go wrong for her to call 911, Julie nodded. “I have all the sheriff’s department’s numbers if necessary but is there a problem I should be aware of?”

“No, not at all.” Mr. Coleman came into the room. “It’s a precaution is all. The children will be asleep, you can watch TV, help yourself to whatever you need.”

“I baked cookies and they’re still cooling on the counter.” Mrs. Coleman smiled. “We’ll be about two to three hours is all.”

She turned to kiss Lucy on the cheek. “Off to bed with you.”

“Julie is going to read me a story.” Lucy blinked up at her parents.

“Just the one.” Mrs. Coleman smiled at Julie. “Then she’ll go straight to sleep.” She followed her husband to the front door.

Julie stood for a moment, watching the Colemans drive away. She closed the door and stared out the window. It was almost full dark now and the trees seemed to close in around her. All alone, with two children to care for and for some reason the gnawing feeling of someone watching her just wouldn’t go away.

Fifty-Four

Exhausted, Jenna rested one hip on the edge of the table and stared at the notations on the whiteboard. No matter which way she looked at the circumstantial evidence, she couldn’t find enough to put forward a solid case against a suspect. She took the pen and swiped a line through two names on the board and then turned and looked at her team. “Taking all the evidence, I think we can remove, Dexter and Haralson from the suspects list. We already discounted Peter Huntley, the other person who had a problem with Wood, earlier on, so I figure we need to concentrate on Cleaves and Suffolk.”

“With the suggested link between social services, cops, magistrates, and lawyers, I’d keep Peter Huntley on the list.” Kane collected the scattered statements and tapped them into a neat pile. “He might appear to be living quietly here in town but we don’t know what’s going on inside his head and we don’t know if he was in DC at the time of the bombings. In fact, we don’t know anything about him.”

“My head is spinning.” Jo rubbed her temples. “Instead of going around in circles, and going over these files again, could we just make a list of the main points we have on each suspect?”