“Good.” Kane nodded and prepared hot chocolate. “Jenna, we’ll get the paramedics here to triage you, and then you’re going to the ER and so is Julie. I want Grayson out of here and locked up in a cell. I’ll call out snowplows to cut a path through the back road. That’s the most logical way to go. It has some cover from the forest and it hasn’t snowed since lunchtime. I’ll get through with the Beast, and Rio can follow us with the prisoner.” He looked at Julie. “I’ll call Em and tell her what’s happened. She’ll be able to help you pack. I’m sorry about cutting your time here short, but leaving with us is nonnegotiable.”
“It’s okay. I miss my dad.” Julie rubbed her neck. “He’ll be so angry. I placed every one of you in danger.”
“No, you didn’t.” Jenna took a cup from Kane and blew across the steaming beverage. “In fact, you helped us catch him. We didn’t have enough people to watch the suspects twenty-four/seven. This guy is an anomaly. We may never have caught him.”
After calling the ski resort’s paramedic team to Jenna’s room, Kane arranged for the snowplows and then called Wolfe and explained. “We had Julie covered. Rio was watching her on the CCTV camera, in a crowd.”
“I’m seriously wondering if I should move the girls to Helena. I could still work on your cases, but they wouldn’t be in constant danger.” Wolfe sounded calm, but Kane could hear the anger just below the surface. “Have you asked her why she took the stairs?”
Kane reeled at the idea of Wolfe moving but refused to comment. “No.” Kane headed toward the front desk. “She’s traumatized enough as it is without me badgering her with questions. She fought well, and if she’d flipped the switch on the stun gun, she’d have taken him down unaided.” He sighed. “I’m arranging for the freezer to be loaded on a trailer. I’ll bring it down the mountain and drop it at your office. You’ll need a forklift to unload it.”
“Nothing is going to defrost in this weather. Drop the trailer and get the girls to the hospital. Delay with a fracture could be life-threatening.”
Fully aware of the problem, Kane cleared his throat. “The ski lodge does have a team here for emergencies. I’d figure broken limbs would be the most common. I’m sure they can stabilize Jenna for transporting and check Julie, but she seems to be okay.” He sighed. “I’m getting the road cleared as fast as possible. I’ll get back to you when we leave. Call Julie, she needs her dad right now.”
“I wish her mother was still with us. She’d know what to do.” Wolfe paused for a beat. “I want to wrap them up and prevent things happening, but in truth I’m powerless to do anything. It is so much easier with Anna, but when kids become adults, it’s sure hard to protect them.”
Unable to keep his concern from spilling out, Kane bit the bullet. “Maybe, but here you have Jenna and me. In fact, you have the entire darn team to protect them.” He dashed a hand through his hair. He’d had Wolfe around for so many years, it would be like losing a brother. “Trouble can come from anywhere and we’re a family. I don’t figure moving away is the answer. Staying and facing the problems together is the key.”
“Yeah, maybe it is.” Wolfe suddenly chuckled. “Good advice. Maybe you should take some of it for yourself.”
Kane frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, nothing. I just remember the best part of arguing with my wife was the making up. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Drive safe.” Wolfe disconnected.
Fifty-Seven
Traveling down the mountain at a snail’s pace behind the snowplow in the dark, with her arm throbbing, was an experience Jenna never wanted to go through again. She’d refused pain meds from the paramedics as she needed to have her head in the game. With one arm in a sling, she could feel every bump on the uneven service road. They had Julie and Emily with Duke between them in the back seat and gave Rio the responsibility of transporting their prisoner. In a convoy with Kane following behind Rio, she kept a vigilant eye on the back of Rio’s vehicle. Although his vehicle was equipped to carry prisoners, Kane had insisted on securing Grayson in the back seat, behind the bullet proof divider, by tethering him hand and foot to metal rings. Due to the frequent occurrence of serial killers to their quiet town, all the sheriff’s department vehicles had been similarly equipped. Only Kane’s Beast, being his private vehicle, was not able to carry prisoners. His was more a team survival vehicle, built for speed and protection.
Jenna handed her phone to Emily in the back seat. “Can you get Jo on the phone for me, please?”
“Here you go. It’s ringing.” Emily handed back the phone.
Jenna waited. It was after office hours and she had called Special Agent Jo Wells on her cellphone. “Hi, Jo. What’s the weather like there? We have a situation.”
“The snow is thick on the ground, but we’ve had clear skies all day, no snow forecast.” Jo sounded enthusiastic. “I’ll call Carter, but he was out in the chopper this afternoon. I’m pretty sure we can get to you. What’s been happening? Did you arrest the killer?”
After explaining, Jenna sighed. “Kane’s dropping the girls and me to the hospital and then following Rio to the office. Wolfe will meet us there. Grayson is dangerous. He needs guarding around the clock, and shipping him off to county before we get the chance to interview him will depend on his lawyer. We have him dead to rights for the attempted murder of Julie. Three law enforcement officers as witnesses means he won’t walk.”
“What else do you have?” Jo sounded interested.
Jenna glanced at Kane. “He admitted to killing his mother… well, when I confronted him with it, he said he’d killed a demon. If the DNA is a match, he’s the missing kid Paul Tate. If he killed his mother, there’s reason to believe he murdered the men in the forest as well.”
“Hmm. He could have been a victim of abuse. If you call us in officially, as you have at least four homicides and one attempted, over two states, he is a suspected serial killer. It’s obvious from reliable witnesses that a crime was committed and a suspect identified. In this case, we can hold the prisoner for seventy-two hours and delay moving him to county in order to obtain additional evidence proving the suspect’s guilt.” Jo paused a beat. “I’ll confront him with his crimes and, as he’s been Mirandized, he’ll either call for a lawyer or not. In either case, there’s no doubt he’s guilty of at least one crime, and likely the four at the ski lodge. He is a danger to society. I’m sure his lawyer will allow us to question him. It’s essential we gather as much information from him during his heightened state. As they calm down, they become more cunning.”
Relieved, Jenna leaned back in her seat. “Okay, yes, please, come and help us. You’ll have to use one of the helipads at the hospital. Wolfe keeps his chopper on top of the ME’s office now. We’ll meet you there.”
“Not a problem. I’ll call Ty and get right back to you with an ETA.” Jo disconnected.
“They’ll probably arrive before us the time this is taking.” Kane flicked her a glance. “How are you holding up?” He glanced in his mirror at Julie. “Julie, you okay back there?”
“I’m okay. My throat is sore is all and I have a headache.” Julie snuggled with Duke under a blanket.
Jenna smiled at her. “We’ll both be fine although I’m not too excited about seeing your dad. He won’t be too happy with me.”
To her surprise, Wolfe was the opposite of mad. He thanked Jenna for saving Julie. It was a relief when the ER doctor sent Julie home after a few tests and a surprise when Wolfe returned to check on her. She glanced up and smiled at him, as a nurse adjusted a sling on her arm. “It’s a clean break. Six weeks in plaster. I’m just happy it’s my left hand.”
“Carter and Jo have arrived.” Wolfe indicated with a thumb behind him. “They’re loading their bags into my truck. The roads are clear to Louan, and Kane has organized deputies to watch over the prisoner toni