Pray for Mercy (Detectives Kane and Alton)

They headed out into the cool spring afternoon and Jenna listened in awe at the poor woman’s encounter with the truck. “How on earth did she manage to get away? What do you figure, road rage or something more sinister?”

“It could be a problem.” Kane nodded at a woman pushing a stroller who’d given him a wave. “More so the raid on her food locker. I’ve seen bear raids and they rarely walk away from a chicken coop. From what she said, the bear broke the lock on her door. Now that would be a first. A bear would smash through a door, but they don’t have the skill to break a lock, and her preserves were missing as well and she didn’t mention any broken jars. If a bear had torn up the place, it would be a mess. It’s all too neat.”

Jenna pulled her hat down over her ears, the wind was picking up again and blowing tendrils of hair into her eyes. “Like the murder the other night?”

“It sure makes me suspicious, but I doubt the robbery, if it is one, and the road rage are connected. As they took everything, the chances of them returning would be minimal. No one is that stupid.” Kane raised one shoulder. “Old folks sometimes drive slowly and if the truck driver was the impatient kind, he might have lost his temper. I’m not sayin’ that’s an excuse, but if they’d wanted to kill her, they’d have pushed her into the ravine.” He glanced at Jenna. “I’ll drop by Mrs. Darvish’s place in the morning and fix the food locker door unless you have suspects to hunt down?”

Jenna shrugged. “I have names of people who worked for Agnes. We’ll need to speak to them, but by all accounts, most of the quilting club has used them for some time and no one has been murdered before now.” She pushed open the door to Aunt Betty’s Café and the delicious aromas of a myriad of dishes wafted over her. Her attention went to the specials board and she moved to the counter and waited for the manager to finish serving a customer. “Hi, Susie, I’ll have the BBQ pork belly burger with onion rings, sweet potato fries, and coffee.” She rubbed her belly and sniffed. “Oh, is that peach pie I smell?”

“It sure is and just out the oven.” Susie grinned. “À la mode?”

“Is there any other way?” Kane chuckled. “I’ll have the same but add a loaded baked potato to my order. I’m kinda hungry.” Beside him Duke whined. “Oh, and if you have any leftovers for Duke, I’d appreciate it or he’ll take a hotdog hold the bun.”

“I always have something for Duke out back.” Susie beamed at him. “Take a seat. I’ll be right along with the coffee.”

The diner hummed with low conversation, even at close to three the place was still busy with a line at the counter and people hanging around waiting for takeout. Jenna had never found the diner empty. Aunt Betty’s Café was a goldmine. She led the way to the table reserved for the sheriff’s department, next to the window at the back of the diner. As Kane liked to keep his back to the wall, he took the seat opposite her. Susie arrived, placed a plate of leftovers on the floor for Duke and then straightened to pour the coffee leaving the pot on the table as usual before leaving. Jenna leaned toward Kane. “One thing of interest. The women mentioned a new plumber, a young man, they said, in his thirties.” She smiled. “They mentioned that he asked a lot of questions, like did they live alone and things like that. He seemed very nice.”

“Well, that’s a double-edged sword.” Kane leaned back in his chair and pulled off his gloves. “He might well be a kindhearted guy or he might be a murdering psychopath. It’s hard to tell the difference until they kill someone.” He shrugged. “I figure we add him to our list of maybe suspects. If they all have alibis for the time of Agnes’ death, perhaps one of them at least might have seen someone hanging around.”

Considering his words, Jenna nodded. “We have to start somewhere. I’ll hunt down their details once we get back to the office, and I’ll send Rio and Rowley to interview them in the morning.” She smiled at him. “I’ll have another chat with Jolene while you’re busy mending her door. I might be able to get some more information from her after she’s had time to sleep on it.”

“Good idea.” Kane’s attention moved from her to Susie as she walked toward them with a laden tray. “Ah…” He helped unload the tray and grinned at Jenna. “Good choice. I could eat a horse.” He bit into the burger, licked sauce from the corner of his mouth, and sighed. “Maybe I should have ordered two of these.”

Jenna giggled at the look of rapture on his face. “I’m wondering when you’re going to ask Susie if you can live here.”

“Uh-huh.” The corner of Kane’s mouth twitched into a smile as he looked at her. “They do say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but you know darn well my heart is already taken.”

ELEVEN

After a very pleasant time catching up with her friends, Jolene Darvish walked back to her battered old pickup with Mrs. Mills. “I like Deputy Kane. He told me I reminded him of his grandma and ordered me a ton of supplies. He really didn’t give me the choice to refuse.” She smiled. “He insisted on dropping by in the morning to fix my door and gave me his card. He said I could call him day or night if I heard anyone around my cabin and he’d have someone drop by and check on me.”

“He’s a nice man. He was injured—shot in the head, you know.” Mrs. Mills leaned closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “He has a metal plate in his head, but it doesn’t slow him down. Dr. Wolfe thinks the world of him and so do the girls. Both the sheriff and Deputy Kane are like family.”

Jolene nodded. “I had the feeling he was all alone in the world. I saw sadness in his eyes when he spoke of his grandma, that’s why I agreed to allow him to pay for my groceries. I think if I’d refused, I would have hurt his feelings.”

“He’d be a hard person to refuse.” Mrs. Mills chuckled. “He has that look in his eyes that stops any argument.” She squeezed Jolene’s arm affectionately. “I’ll see you next week. Call me for a chat.”

With a wave, Jolene climbed slowly into her pickup, placed her basket on the seat beside her, and started the engine. It had been a really nice afternoon and seeing all her friends had made up for the fright earlier. She headed through town and out onto Stanton, enjoying the views. The forest in all its spring glory had changed dramatically each day, and although small patches of gray snow still sat in piles alongside the highway, beyond, the new buds on bushes and trees had exploded into every shade of green and wildflowers had popped up their heads, dotting the woodlands with color.

She turned onto Rocky Road, the old pickup crunching over the gravel smeared across the blacktop from the constant flow of melting snow. The road went from blacktop to packed dirt mixed with rocks, and the numerous potholes made for a bumpy ride. Moving slowly up the twisty mountain road, she caught a flash of light from behind h

er, the reflected sunlight blinding her for a second and then it was gone. She turned off her radio and wound down her window. Her heart picked up a beat at the sound of a powerful engine and she pressed the gas, willing her old vehicle to move faster. Rounding the next bend, she hit the straightaway and pushed the accelerator to the floor.

In an instant her rearview mirror suddenly filled with the massive grille and grinning bull bar. The truck was gaining fast, eating away the distance between them rapidly. Panic had her by the throat and she looked wildly ahead for an open gate but most folks had abandoned their cabins or secured them. She had no escape from the roaring monster gaining on her. The road was too narrow to pull over and hope it would pass by. Fumbling for her phone, she pressed the side to turn it on, but before the screen lit up, the truck was on her. The jolt from behind knocked the phone from her hand and it fell under her feet.

Crying out in terror, she gripped the wheel as the truck propelled her faster and faster up the mountain. The front wheels of her pickup dropped into potholes throwing her about in all directions. Behind her the roaring engine dropped down a gear and shunted her forward at a greater speed. The long grass at the side of the road flashed by. She wrestled with the wheel trying to keep on the road, but ahead a tight bend was coming up fast—too fast. Hitting the brakes, she swung the wheel hard to the right, but instead of making the corner, her pickup slid sideways and shuddered to a halt in a cloud of dust and burning rubber. Trembling all over, she gaped through the passenger window at the big GMC truck just sitting there as if contemplating its next move. The tinted windows stared back at her like a giant insect, reflecting her old truck. Hand shaking, she turned the key, willing the engine to turn over. The starter whined but the motor refused to engage and then nothing. Her pickup rolled backward toward the gaping maw above the ravine. Standing on the brakes she tried to turn the wheel, but without the engine running, the steering had locked.

She had to get out and unfastened her seat belt and was reaching for the door handle when a huge roar came from the truck. Frozen in terror, she stared as it came for her, moving slowly as if daring her to jump clear. Tormenting her by slowing and then dashing so close she could smell the heat of its engine. Sobbing with terror, she held up both hands. “What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?”

The big truck edged closer, the bull bars touching her door in a kiss of metal. A loud grinding filled the cab as the passenger door crumpled. The window shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering diamonds of glass all over her. As if her pickup weighed nothing, the truck pushed her sideways. The tires screamed as her vehicle inched closer and closer to the ravine. Scrambling to get out, Jolene pushed at the door, it opened a crack, but the wind rushing down the mountain slammed it shut again. The next second the pickup rolled over the edge and the noise stopped. The pickup spun slowly in the air and then made a nosedive for the sparkling blue river. Thrown onto the roof, Jolene’s thoughts went to her husband and then the sun blinked out.

TWELVE

WEDNESDAY

Deputy Jake Rowley paced the kitchen with his baby girl, Vannah, over one shoulder. He patted her back and talked to her. His wife, Sandy, was feeding Cooper, the other twin, and his daughter refused to settle. He glanced at his watch. He needed to leave for work soon and walked into the family room and smiled at his wife. “I wish I didn’t have to go into the office but I have suspects to interview this morning, or I’d grab an hour of personal time.”

“I’ll be fine. Cooper is just about done and he’ll go straight to sleep.” Sandy looked up at him. “I figure she just likes being with her daddy.”