Cross My Heart (Detectives Kane and Alton)

He grinned as a little before eleven-thirty Emmett and Patti Howard drove into the deserted parking lot at Bear Peak and pulled up alongside him. He jumped down from his truck and pulled his backpack, crossbow, and quiver from the back. “Right on time.”

“Morning, Mr. Bolt.” Patti Howard wriggled into a backpack.

He’d almost forgotten his alias and turned to her. “Call me Jerry.”

“And we’re Patti and Emmett.” She ran her fingers through her long black hair and then pulled out a bright-orange knitted cap and scarf from the truck and put them on. “I want to stick out in the forest. Emmett has a hunting jacket with an orange stripe all around. We don’t plan on any accidents happening.”

Jerry nodded, but his head was making a pleasant buzzing sound and the need to get going became overwhelming. He took a deep breath; he wanted to savor the kill, enjoy every tantalizing second, but time was against him. His gaze moved over her face—her dark brown eyes, so alive now, would rest on him before she died. The thought made him tremble. Each time he killed it was as if he collected their energy deep inside him. “That’s great. I wouldn’t want you to get shot by a stray bullet.”

He waved them ahead down a steep trail that led from the parking lot and snaked around the mountain. It went past the famous cave where many bodies had been found wrapped in plastic some years ago, and weaved around before it came to a fork. One way led right past the cocoon cave, the place chosen and rigged to enjoy the last moments of a kill. Part of him wanted to go there and look inside, but he pushed down the urge and kept going. They’d walked for ten minutes, with Patti in the lead and Emmett hanging back taking in the scenery. It was so close to perfect Jerry couldn’t believe his luck. “Take the left fork, Patti. That’s great, keep going.”

As Patti disappeared into the forest, he pulled out his hunting knife and walked up behind Emmett. He knew just where to strike. Closer, closer, and the second Emmett stopped and turned to say something, he grabbed him by the shoulder and slid the knife in to his spine. Apart from a gasp, Emmett didn’t make a sound. When Emmett’s legs gave way, Jerry whispered in his ear. “There that didn’t hurt for long, did it?”

Tingling with anticipation, he sheathed the knife, dragged his kill to a tree, and sat him upright. The wound had paralyzed him from the waist down and the shock had rendered him speechless. It happened many a time: some screamed for their lives, but most had a surprised expression. Their brains wouldn’t allow them to believe what had happened. He pulled out a roll of duct tape and wrapped it around Emmett’s mouth and head and then wrapped it around the pine tree. He needed him to watch his wife’s final performance, and what a performance it would

be. He’d choreographed it in his head, every move, each mouth-watering cut. Sweat ran down his back in an urgent need to get started, sticking his shirt to his skin. When Emmett’s eyes lifted to his face, Jerry smiled at him. “I’m going to find Patti and then I’m going to make you both famous.”

Twenty-One

After grabbing two to-go cups of coffee from Wolfe’s office, Kane followed Jenna to the Beast. She’d appeared to be off-kilter since the home invasion, and as pale as a ghost. He placed the coffee on the console and waited for Duke to come out of the bushes adjacent to the ME’s office. His dog was happy to wait in Wolfe’s office for as long as necessary, especially since Wolfe had added a doggy bed and food and water receptacles, but before another trip he needed to stretch his legs. Kane looked at Jenna as she added notes to the files and cleared his throat. “Is everything okay?”

“Apart from another murder victim in our town, just peachy.” Jenna went back to her iPad.

Kane shrugged off her snappy reply and slipped behind the wheel. “I know that, Jenna. Do your back and head still ache? Are you okay? You’re pale and the autopsy was brutal.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “Here, I guess you won’t feel like eating for a while?”

“Thanks. No, I couldn’t look at food right now.” Jenna sipped the coffee and looked at him. “I’d be fine if I could just shake the feeling that Stone is going to creep up on me.” She sighed. “Even if they finish up early on the repairs, do you mind if I stay in the cottage until we catch this killer? I don’t want to be in the house alone right now. I feel like my privacy has been invaded and I don’t feel like shopping to replace what the intruder destroyed.”

Kane pushed a strand of hair behind Jenna’s ear and cupped her cheek. “You can stay as long as you like, or I’ll move into the ranch house—whatever makes you feel safe. When this is over and this killer is behind bars, we’ll go on a shopping trip to Helena or wherever you like and pick out some things together. I think we need to make nice memories to cover the disturbing ones.”

“So, you think my house needs a man’s touch, huh?” Jenna grinned at him. “You’ll be wanting a man cave in the basement beside the gym next.”

Kane chuckled and got out the truck to lift Duke into the back seat. “That sounds like a plan.” He got behind the wheel. “Practice range first?”

“Yeah.” Jenna sipped her coffee. “Then we hunt down a few suspects.” She gave him a long look and then raised one eyebrow. “We should make Aunt Betty’s by one. Can you survive that long?”

Kane started the engine, backed out of the parking space, and headed for the practice range. “Sure.”

“Good. I’ll call the office and get an update.” Jenna made the call.

The drive through town was interesting. After the storm, the high wind had scattered many of the Halloween decorations into mounds of weirdness. He slowed to negotiate a pile of plastic pumpkins entangled with skeletons and a ghost piled up against the curb. A small group of townsfolk were trying unsuccessfully to drag the pile onto the sidewalk. He pulled over, jumped out, and with some effort pulled the decorations from the blacktop before returning to the truck. “That must have been some storm.”

“It was noisy and windy but not a drop of rain.” Jenna turned in her seat. “Even with the wind howling and lightning flashing, the intruder still managed to hit his target on my front porch. He barely missed my head a couple of times. We’re looking for someone highly skilled.”

Kane looked up at the sky. “From the speed those clouds are moving, I figure we’re in for more bad weather. He turned to her. “We’ll find him. Like you say, a man with that skill doesn’t go unnoticed.”

They headed out to the range. The grasslands resembled an angry sea moving restless under the swirling wind. Dust devils rose up high in the air, mimicking mini tornadoes, and crossed the highway, leaving a coating of seeds and other particles clinging to the windshield and dulling the glossy black paint job on the Beast. In the distance the sky had darkened to a threatening line of dark gray clouds. Kane took the sideroad with the signpost directing them to the practice range. The gates sat wide open and on each side notices had been posted to direct people to the office and warn against roaming onto the ranges. If an enthusiast shot bolts or arrows, this range catered to them.

Kane pulled up outside the office, which appeared to contain a store that sold everything a person could need to join the sport. He turned to Jenna, who’d finished her call. “Any updates?”

“They haven’t found June Harris, but they had a phone call from the new assistant manager at Aunt Betty’s. Her name is Wendy. She recalls seeing June and Payton Harris talking to a man but can’t recall the exact day. It’s lucky Susie Hartwig is the manager there. She’s offered to look at the CCTV tapes with her to pinpoint the time and to identify the other person.” Her lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “So, darn it, Dave, we have to drop by Aunt Betty’s to check it out.”

Kane frowned. “So Atohi found no trace of her either?”

“Nope, and there have been hunters in the area of Bear Peak all weekend.” Jenna pushed two hands through her hair and secured it with a band from around her wrist. “A woman running for her life would scream the place down. How come nobody heard her or came across her?”

“The forest is vast and the vegetation around Bear Peak is dense. Sound echoes and cats can sound like screams.” Kane shrugged. “Most of the hunters out for the weekend might not have seen the news yet. Then again, some people don’t like to get involved if they believe it’s a domestic.” He pushed open his door. “Maybe someone here can give us a lead.”

“I hope so.” Jenna followed him into the office.