Cross My Heart (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Is Jenna okay?” Blackhawk’s face filled with concern. “Why didn’t she call someone?”

“She’s fine.” Kane straightened. “She couldn’t call anyone. Her phone was out, and so was the power. I didn’t find out until this morning when Rowley dropped by to check on her.” He indicated with his chin toward Main. “Why don’t you head out to the ranch and hand the remains over to Wolfe. He’ll decide what to do once he confirms it’s human. If he does, I figure I’ll start at the res and follow Duke on horseback.”

“It’s human. No animal I know has a tattoo on their leg. You take the remains to Wolfe, and I’ll arrange for horses from the res to save time.” Blackhawk stared into space for a beat. “Four and a packhorse should be enough for your team. I’ll come along too. I wouldn’t want you getting lost up there. The forest is very dense, and there are many glacial ravines around Bear Peak.”

Kane slapped him on the back. “Great, thanks. I’ll grab the supplies.”

“This is bad business.” Blackhawk’s face held an expression of sorrow. “Too many use our forest for murder and the spirits will not rest easy until you find this menace.” He handed the remains to Kane, climbed into his truck, and, shaking his head, drove away.

Unsettled, Kane stared after him. He had great respect for the beliefs of Blackhawk’s people, and as he turned and stared at the pines marching up the side of the mountain to disappear into the morning mist, a great sadness fell over him. He considered the forest, mountains, and falls an incredible gift that too many people abused. Just absorbing the beauty of them had kept him going, especially in the beginning. After losing his wife, he’d left behind his time in the White House protecting POTUS and his years as a sniper to arrive in Black Rock Falls to start a life created in fiction, with a new face and name. He carried a ton of hurt and anger, but this town had soothed his soul. The forest and mountains seemed to know he needed solitude, and then he’d met Jenna. A sheriff new to the job, a little unorganized at first and fiercely independent. He’d picked her as a special agent from the get-go and believed her to be a plant. Jenna, on the other hand, was convinced he’d been sent by the cartel to take her out. It had been an interesting few months but he wouldn’t change anything about his job as deputy sheriff or working with the people who’d become his surrogate family.

He made his way back inside the office and gave Maggie an update. She bustled around making coffee and filling Thermos flasks. It was cold in the mountains and anything could happen. Kane made a quick call to Aunt Betty’s Café for supplies and then pulled out the saddlebags. He packed everything they’d need and hauled them out to his truck. Ten minutes later, he’d made his way through the bouncing plastic pumpkins strung up along Main and sidestepped the grinning skeletons and ghosts adorning the storefronts to get back to his truck. The townsfolk were going all out this year and were out in droves repairing and decorating the town after the storm.

He drove slowly through town and turned onto the highway heading for the ranch. Lights flashing, he accelerated, enjoying the roar of the engine and the wind blowing in his face. The smells and sights of late fall surrounded him on his journey in peaceful normality, but as he turned into the ranch the hairs on the back of his neck bristled with a primal instinct that warned him someone was watching. He slowed and reversed back to the gate and then moved forward slowly, scanning

the trees. Many criminals returned to a crime scene, but this one would have to be pretty dumb to hang around with the entire team on the premises… but then there was no reason to a psychopath’s mindset and if someone was killing people in the forest and nailing ears to Jenna’s house, anything was possible.

Thirteen

He’d decided he liked the name: Jerry Bolt, and he could almost see himself signing his name in blood on the face of Patti Howard. He lifted his fingers to his lips and licked across them, almost tasting the metallic tang of blood. The anticipation was rebellious now, screaming at him to forget the sheriff and concentrate on Patti. He chuckled. Patti’s name would become redundant the moment he issued the order to run. He had such plans for her, but soon she would just be another part of his collection. What would he keep of hers? He liked a small remembrance, a token of their time together. He couldn’t explain why the names faded as the light went from their eyes, but the moment he touched their belongings it brought back the intense rush of the moment they’d died. It was not like any other memory. He could see himself as if he watched from outside his body. It was like an exciting movie. It made his heart race, and knowing it was him taking their lives made it surreal, like an incredible dream. The scent and feel gave him a rush of sensation so intense it took his breath away, but then the craving started again. It became so powerful he couldn’t function. The planning helped some, it occupied his mind, but doing was so much better than thinking, and right now he needed to move to the next hunt.

He took one more look at the ranch and then dropped the binoculars. He’d seen enough of the sheriff’s team to recognize them all on sight. The last one to arrive in the black truck had almost blown his cover. That one was astute, and he’d need to be more careful dealing with him. He shimmied backward down the hill overlooking the ranch, and once out of view headed back to his truck. The old road was still carved out of the land as he remembered. The barbed wire that once divided the prime cattle grazing had been left to rust. One thing for sure, the sheriff wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. He’d learned everything about her and she was as smart as a whip. The night’s effort would keep her busy for a day or so and give him time to enjoy himself in the forest. He ambled to his pickup and pulled off the cover and stowed it in the back, and then climbed behind the wheel. He’d hidden his white truck under a camouflage tarpaulin just in case the chopper he’d seen leaving decided to return. He’d used the cover many a time to avoid detection, and it was worth its weight in gold.

Fourteen

For some reason, whenever Jenna fell asleep totally exhausted, she dreamed of the beach. A sunny day, not hot but just nice, and walking on wet sand on the edge of a blue ocean that went on forever. Of late, she hadn’t been alone. Dave had been there, walking just behind her. She couldn’t see him but kind of sensed he was there. He gave her a wonderful feeling of security, and when she lifted her face to the sun a peace came over her, leaving all her worries behind.

“Jenna.”

It was Kane’s voice dragging her away from her idyllic Shangri-La. She squeezed her eyes tight shut, not ready to leave yet. “Do we have to leave so soon?”

“Well, you can stay, but I figure you’ll want to be involved in the search.” Kane’s fingers closed around her arm and gave her a little shake. “Atohi’s dog found human remains in the forest. We’re heading out to the res to track down the rest of the body. Are you coming?”

Reality came crashing down like an avalanche, and Jenna opened her eyes and looked at him. Dressed to travel, with his Kevlar vest under a thick winter jacket and a woolen cap pulled down over his ears. “What time is it?”

“Almost ten.” Kane glanced at his watch. “We’re meeting Blackhawk at eleven. We need to move along.”

She swallowed hard. “What did the dog find?”

“A part of the lower leg, just above the ankle and some ways up. It was chewed up some. The bears or the dogs had gotten to it before Blackhawk noticed it.”

“Oh, so we’re assuming this is the owner of the ear?” Jenna yawned and pushed her hair from her face.

“Maybe.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “It was pretty hairy and had a part of a tattoo. It could be male. Wolfe has already confirmed the ear is from a female, so we may be looking for two different people.” He held out a cup of coffee. “Get this into you. If you’re hungry there are sandwiches and coffee in the truck and I’ve packed the saddlebags with supplies.”

“Thanks.” The implications of two people dying over Halloween week again this year seemed too bizarre. “I hope Halloween isn’t going to be spoiled every year by murders.”

“It might trigger some people.” Kane shrugged. “Anything is possible.”

Jenna sat up, swung her legs off the bed, and searched for her boots. “Is Wolfe coming with us?”

“Yeah, he’s leaving Webber to run the office and Em is coming with us. They’ve headed back to town to get their gear. Atohi said it was below freezing at the base of the mountain, so rug up and after what happened last night, a vest would be sensible.”

Pulling on her hiking boots, Jenna nodded. “Sure. I assume we’re taking the horses?”

“Nope.” Kane leaned against the doorframe. “I’ve settled them in the barn, Atohi is supplying horses and a packhorse just in case we need to bring down a body.”

“Okay.” Jenna sipped her coffee and sighed as the rich aroma filled her nostrils. “We’ll need vests for Blackhawk and Em. I don’t want to put them in danger.”