Be Mine Forever (Detectives Kane and Alton)
Overcome by grief, Jenna stared at Kane’s sheet-white face. The last time Kane was injured Wolfe flew him to a military hospital. “You’re not taking him to Walter Reed, are you?”
“No, there’s not enough time.” Wolfe motioned to Emily. “Bring the girl.” Without another word, they headed back to the chopper.
Desperately wanting to be with Kane, Jenna stared after them in dismay. Trembling, she watched the chopper lift off the ground and disappear above the trees. Beside her, Duke let out a howl to wake the dead but she had no words to comfort him. She looked down at Kane’s blood drying on her hands. The sticky slicks appeared black in the moonlight. Unable to stop the tears overflowing, she sunk to her knees and stared at the heavens. It was as if someone had ripped out her heart. “Don’t you dare take that good man away from me.”
Fifty-Nine
Rowley spotted the Beast on the side of the road and urged Rio on. “There. Ahead I can see lights.”
The headlights of Rio’s SUV picked up Jenna leaning against the barn, her head turned away from the glare. He leapt from the vehicle and ran toward her surprised when his usually cool and calm sheriff fell into his arms sobbing on his shoulder. “Hey, Jenna. It’s okay, backup has arrived.”
“Dave’s real bad. He might not make it.” Jenna looked up at him, her cheeks showing wet in the moonlight. “Stabbed twice. Lord, the knife was still in his chest.” She sucked in a breath. “Have you heard anything?”
“He’s critical and went straight into surgery. Wolfe is in there observing, he wouldn’t leave him.” Rio rounded the hood and stood hands on hips. “Carter called just before, he’s at the hospital and will keep us updated but if it’s good news, it’s going to be hours.”
“Okay.” Jenna straightened, gave her head a shake and seemed to pull herself together. “These are youth offenders and must be treated as such. They’re both over sixteen and will likely be charged as adults but for now we stick to protocol. We can’t hold them for more than twenty-four hours so we’ll be waking up a youth court judge and the DA. I have enough evidence to charge them both and we have a witness. Vicky Perez is alive, cut and burned but she’ll be okay physically. I’ve notified her father. The poor man was still waiting with Deputy Walters at Aunt Betty’s. He’s heading to the hospital now.”
Rowley smiled at her. “I knew you’d crack the case.” He followed her inside the barn and his flashlight hit the row of pompoms on the shelf. “Did you notice the pompoms?”
“No.” Jenna stared at them. “Bag them before we leave. The prisoners are through there.” She indicated toward a glowing light.
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Rowley winced at the pool of blood in the stall. “Is there any other evidence you need from here?”
“Not now. We’ll tape the front and leave it. Wolfe will need to do a forensics sweep. The red pickup Collins used to transport the victim is outside but I’ve been in it and contaminated any evidence.” Jenna pushed her hair from her face with bloodstained hands. “Get the prisoners loaded and give me and Duke a ride back to the Beast.”
Concerned by Jenna’s pale face and big wide eyes, Rowley escorted Moore and Collins out to the SUV and secured them in the back seat. After bagging the pompoms, he went to the red pickup and shut down the engine and then walked back to Jenna. “I figure I should drive the Beast. You don’t look so good.”
“Sure.” She gave him a sideways glance. “Just don’t tell Dave I allowed you to drive his baby.”
Rowley laughed. “Okay.” He lifted Duke into the back and patted him. “Good dog.”
After he slid in beside Jenna they bounced back to the Beast and changed vehicles. He had to admit to himself the idea of driving Kane’s pride and joy was daunting but he found the Beast handled better than expected and they were soon on the highway. He turned to Jenna. “I have some information to tie up a loose end in the case.”
“Go on.” Jenna leaned back. “I need cheering up.”
“We couldn’t figure out how come different vehicles were seen on the nights the victims went missing.” He looked at her. “When Rio and Carter realized it had to be Dale Collins and Marlene Moore, they looked a little deeper. Dale Collins’ father owns the car yard in town and Dale goes there every morning to clean the cars with a couple of other kids. But his father allows him to take any car off the lot to drive for the day. He used the vehicles to throw us a red herring and when he took them back, the vehicles went through a car wash and the interior was steam cleaned. No evidence.”
“So, if we go through the inventory, we’ll likely find the vehicles used in the murders.” Jenna had come to life. “That’s brilliant.”
Rowley nodded. “Yeah and the kids were pretty smart too. They knew how to conceal evidence but I’d like to know if Collins was involved in Mrs. Turner’s murder.”
“Not the murder, no.” Jenna sighed. “I have a confession on video. Collins admitted to being patient 124 and assisting Dr. Turner with his wife’s body. The doctor is going down for his wife’s murder and this evidence will seal his fate.”
Rowley headed down Main. “What about Laurie, Becky, and the assault on my wife?”
“No, he claims innocence.” Jenna shrugged. “Kane believed Collins was a subordinate to a dominant killer, he went along to appease a girl he loved. I’ll ask Jo to interview him, he’s waived his rights. She’ll know the right questions to ask. I don’t believe he’s a psychopath. He seemed genuinely remorseful about Kane getting hurt. Marlene was the opposite.” She glanced at him. “She won’t break, I figure our only way to find out the truth is to hope Jo can persuade Collins to roll over on Marlene. If the DA offers a deal, he might comply but he’s not going to walk. He kidnapped three girls, that’s enough on its own for jail time.”
Rowley pulled up outside the sheriff’s department. “You’ll need a statement from Vicky Perez. Do you want me to go to the hospital and see if I can speak to her?”
“Not tonight.” Jenna jumped down from the truck and collected Duke. “She’s traumatized. If the doctor says it’s okay, we’ll talk to her in the morning.” She held her hands out for the keys to the truck. “Start the paperwork on the prisoners, notify the DA and the kids’ parents. Maybe just call Collins’ father, he doesn’t want his mom involved. The prisoners can stay in the cells overnight. We’ll deal with them in the morning. Call in a couple of the Blackwater deputies to stay here in shifts. I’m going to take a shower and change. I can’t sit here waiting for news.”
“I’ll drive you to the hospital.” Rio jumped out of his cruiser. “We can manage here.”
“Thanks, but I’ll drive the Beast.” Jenna nodded. “I need to be there whatever the outcome.” She looked at Rowley. “See if you can contact Atohi, he needs to know about Kane.”
“I’m on it.” Rowley watched her walk through the doors, head held high, Duke on her heels, and then he walked to Rio’s cruiser to assist with the prisoners.