Twelve
Kane dropped by the office to explain the break in at Jenna’s ranch to the receptionist, Magnolia Brewster, known as Maggie to everyone around. Nothing had come in about missing persons, and he gave Maggie the task of contacting the hospital and local doctors to find out if anyone had sought medical attention for a missing ear. Hoping Jenna would be resting, he took the opportunity to shower and change into his uniform. Well, if you could call black jeans, and T-shirt plus his sheriff’s department jacket, a uniform. He kept several sets of clothes and boots in the locker room, often not having time to drive back to the ranch to change. He collected his belt and holster from the gun locker and strapped it on as he walked into Jenna’s new office. He wore his weapon low on his thigh, to allow him freedom of movement and the fast draw of a gunslinger. Over the weekend of the conference, he’d opted for a shoulder holster. He never went anywhere unarmed, and hadn’t for many years.
The fragrance of the honeysuckle shampoo Jenna used still lingered in the room. He’d caught the same scent in the hallway outside his room the previous night and had walked from one end of the hotel to the other looking for her. He’d wanted to call her but it was late and for a man who could fall asleep standing up if necessary, he’d lain awake a long time. If he’d been a superstitious man, he’d have believed she’d been trying to send him a message. He laughed. A few years in Black Rock Falls and the spookiness of Halloween was creeping into his life. Pushing away fanciful notions, he sat at Jenna’s desk and opened her computer to search for reported missing persons across the local counties. He scanned the page as the reports came in and sent them to the printer. As an afterthought, he scanned the list of the convicted killers they’d sent to county. All were locked up and accounted for. He rubbed his chin as concern for Jenna’s safety crawled over him like a swarm of ants. Whoever broke into Jenna’s ranch knew too much about her. He must be someone very close to know such intimate details of her private life. She hadn’t advertised the fact she’d be alone over the weekend. Nobody knew unless…
He pulled out his phone and called Bobby Kalo at the FBI field office at Snakeskin Gully. The young man had been recruited after an arrest as a black hat hacker. The kid was a genius with anything to do with IT. Kalo didn’t have a dishonest bone in his body but playing with fire and hacking top-secret government databases for fun had almost landed him in federal prison for life. “Hey, Bobby, Dave Kane here.”
“I’ll have the new phones to you first thing in the morning, Wolfe can update the security protocol once the new system at the ranch is installed.” Kalo tapped away at his computer and Kane could hear music in the background.
He’s playing games. “I didn’t call about the phones but I’ll pass on the message.” Kane cleared his throat. “So, you know about the attack on Jenna?”
“Yeah, anything else I can do?” Kalo sounded genuinely concerned.
Kane leaned back in the office chair. “Yeah, check out the conference we attended over the weekend. I noticed reporters there. Jo was of interest to them and did a number of interviews. I’m wondering if anything showed in the media about me being there?”
“Looking for five minutes of fame, huh?” Kalo barked a laugh. “I’ll look. Anything else?”
Shaking his head, Kane rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Nope. Trust me, that’s the last thing I
want, but if I was mentioned then someone would know Jenna was alone over the weekend. Anyone who knows Jenna wouldn’t risk attacking the ranch with both of us there. In fact, I’m surprised anyone tried taking on Jenna with a crossbow. She is quite capable of defending her home, but having me out of the way as well made his odds better.”
“Okay, let me see.” Kalo hummed a tune as he searched. “Ah-huh, yeah, you’re here in a photograph with Jo. Nice suit. Italian? You’re doing okay for a deputy.”
Kane rubbed between his eyebrows and sighed. “Did they name me?”
“Sure did…. Special Agent Jo Wells and her companion Deputy Sheriff David Kane from Black Rock Falls.” Kalo tapped on his keyboard. “The story went out on the wire. It would have made the local newspapers just about everywhere. The convention was a big deal for this state.”
“Okay, thanks.” Kane thought for a beat. “We’re hunting down a woman with a missing ear. Well, we’re assuming it’s a woman. Can you keep a watch on any missing persons or people seeking medical attention at hospitals with an ear injury?”
“You mean hack into hospital files over what time frame?” Kalo didn’t seem at all fazed by the request.
Kane wrinkled his nose recalling the fresh meat smell of the ear. “From Thursday. We found the ear this morning but the perp could have kept it refrigerated for all I know. Wolfe will be able to tell us more later.”
“Okay.” Kalo sounded serious and the background music had stopped. “Leave it with me. If I come across anything, I’ll contact you.”
“Thanks.” Kane disconnected and stood. He collected the printouts and slid them into a folder and then headed for the door.
He paused at the counter and waited for Maggie to finish speaking to one of the townsfolk. He gave the man a nod and turned to her. “Rowley and Rio will be back soon. Jenna will be working from home today at least. I’m heading back to the ranch now.”
Before Kane reached the front door Atohi Blackhawk arrived looking agitated. He nodded to Maggie and grabbed Kane’s arm. “We have to talk.”
Kane stared at the hand on his arm and then back to Blackhawk’s expression of deep concern. He was a close friend and although not officially on the team, the Native American tracker had given his time freely to assist them and was a good friend. “Sure, come into Jenna’s office.”
“No, outside.” Blackhawk practically dragged him to the door.
“Now just wait up a second.” Kane dug in his heels. “What’s so darn important? You’re acting crazy.”
“You’ll see soon enough.” Blackhawk dropped his hand. “In my truck. I went to see Shane but the ME’s office is closed. I called Jenna and got the answering machine, so I came here.” He walked up to his pickup and pulled back the canvas cover. “Take a look. I figure it’s human. One of the dogs brought it into the res. I bagged it and put it on ice.” He pulled a cooler toward him and lifted the lid.
Kane leaned into the tray of the pickup and examined the fleshy bone with numerous teeth marks. The end had been crushed, but what resembled a part of a tattoo remained on the flesh. “Yeah, it sure looks like part of the lower leg.” He turned to Blackhawk. “Bear attack?”
“There’s not been a grizzly attack in years in these parts. This looks more like a black bear came across a body and chewed it up some.” Blackhawk looked at him. “Has anyone gone missing?”
Kane shook his head. “Not that we know of yet, no, but perhaps this person hasn’t been missed yet.” He leaned in closer to the body part and sniffed. “Can you smell gas?”
“Yeah.” Blackhawk dragged the cover back over the tray. “It was all over the limb. The dog’s mouth was blistered from it and we had to wash it out. I haven’t tracked this back to the source. I figured you’d want to be involved. The bears are feasting before hibernation, but they won’t eat anything tainted with oil or gasoline.” He frowned. “This is man’s doing. Bears don’t carry gas around with them. Whoever killed this person didn’t want the wildlife spreading it around. I’ve seen this before. Do you recall the last time something like this happened?”
Vivid memories of finding bodies soaked in gas pinned to trees with a crossbow bolt rammed into Kane’s mind like a cannonball. The nightmare that followed a gunshot to the head had been harrowing. The man responsible was locked up, but the attack on Jenna, the ear attached to the house with a crossbow bolt, and now a dismembered body part soaked in gas. The scenario was getting way too familiar. Concern gripped him. He composed his features and turned to Blackhawk. “Wolfe is out at Jenna’s ranch. Someone trashed the house last night when I was away. She was alone too.”