Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Nine
The wind had kept up all night and by morning had brought with it a rush of sleet to wet Kane’s cheeks as he dashed to his truck. He’d fallen into bed a couple of hours ago but hadn’t slept, his mind wouldn’t allow him to let go of the murder scene. He’d gotten up and went about his chores making sure the horses were comfortable. They’d be remaining in the barn today and would be fine inside. Working with the horses helped him clear his head. As a military sniper in his last life, the scene last night at the Robinsons’ house was much the same as he’d left behind after hitting a target. It brought back memories of people he’d seen through his scope more times than he’d care to remember. He had little doubt in his mind Lucas Robinson had been the victim of a hit. Although Jenna was convinced, the victim’s wife, Carol was responsible he had his doubts. The shooting did point to her. The wife was the only other person in the house the night of the murder. They’d found no other fingerprints, and the footprints in the dust under the cellar window could’ve been from the victim as he’d worked down there before his death. He hoisted Duke, his bloodhound, into the back seat, secured his harness, and then climbed behind the wheel. He pulled out his cellphone and called Wolfe. “Hey, morning, Shane. Did you do a gunshot residue test on Mrs. Robinson last night?”
“Yeah, it came up negative. She didn’t kill her husband. At the hospital, I checked through her hair too—she had fragments of his skull in her hair. She was beside him, as she said, when the shooting occurred.”
Kane cleared his throat. “Okay, thanks, I’ll let Jenna know.”
“I’m doing the autopsy on Lucas Robinson this morning around eleven if you’re planning on dropping by. Although cause of death seems apparent, I need to be sure.” Wolfe yawned. “I need some sleep. Can you keep the crime rate down for the rest of the week, do you think?”
Kane chuckled. “I’ll do my best. We’re heading for the office now, catch you later.” He disconnected, backed out of the garage, and headed down the driveway to Jenna’s front porch.
As usual, the moment he drove up, she came out the door and hurried to get inside. “Morning.”
“I noticed you left out the ‘good,’ and from the dark circles under your eyes, you didn’t sleep either.” She handed him two to-go cups of coffee in a holder. “I think I’ll need this in a drip if I’m going to make it through today.”
Kane placed the coffee in the console and waited for her to buckle up before heading for the highway. “Yeah, seeing a crime scene like that triggers a flight or fight response and it takes a while for our bodies to come down from the adrenalin boost.”
“Yeah and then we feel like this.” She pulled an exhausted expression and then laughed. “Hey, you figure Duke feels like this all the time?”
“Maybe, everything seems an effort for him of late.” Kane turned onto the highway, the wiper blades swishing back and forth pushing the ice particles across the windshield. “It might be the cold weather.”
“You’ve had him checked out by the vet, what did he say?” Jenna turned in her seat to peer at the dog. “He’s okay, isn’t he?”
Behind them, Duke let out a mournful howl and buried his nose in the blanket.
“What was that for, Duke?” Jenna leaned over the seat to rub the dog’s ears.
Kane glanced at her. “You’ll have to spell the word ‘v-e-t’. It gets the same panic reaction as ‘b-a-t-h’.” He snorted. “I can’t believe I have to spell words in front of him. I didn’t know dogs understood language and it was more of a hand gesture type of communication. Anyway, he’s fine. A little overweight but nothing to worry about and its usual for this breed to conserve energy so they can keep going when we need them.” He grinned at her. “You should have seen him at the ‘v-e-t-s’. I couldn’t get him to walk through the door. He sat down and refused to move and I ended up carrying him inside. Soon as he saw the poor guy load the vaccination, he let out this blood-curdling howl and tried to escape.”
“He was okay when we took him the first time. What’s happened since?” Jenna gave him a concerned look. “The v-e-t didn’t hurt him, did he?”
Kane chuckled. “Nope. The first time he was so ill, he’d just about given up apart from being skin and bones. He had an ear infection and the animal practitioner clipped his claws. He had a ton of needles that day and remembers the v-e-t hurting him, I guess.” He glanced at her. “He has a very good memory.” He turned onto the highway and stared into the bleak morning. “I spoke to Wolfe before. The gunshot residue test on Mrs. Robinson came back negative.”
“So, we’re back to square one.” Jenna sighed. “My gut tells me she’s involved.” She shivered. “Mind if I turn up the heat?”
Kane smiled at her. “Go right ahead, it’s going to be a long, cold day.”
“It sure is.” Jenna remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the sheriff’s office, sipping her coffee and staring out the window.
Kane pulled into his parking space next to Rowley’s cruiser and slid out the door. He opened the back door and lifted the very reluctant Duke onto the sidewalk. Without a backward glance, the bloodhound scampered up the steps and nosed his way inside the glass doors. Kane collected his coffee and waited for Jenna. “You’re quiet this morning. Something on your mind?”
“Yeah.” She headed up the steps and inside the warm building. “We’ll go back to the Robinsons’ house this morning and hunt down points of entry.” Handing him her coffee, she pulled off her gloves and then turned to greet the receptionist. “Hey, Maggie, anything urgent this morning?”
“Not so far.” Maggie gave her a bright smile. “Maybe we’ll have an early day and be able to get home in front of the fire.”
“That sounds good to me.” Jenna turned to Kane, took back her coffee, and then headed for her office. “Grab Rowley and we’ll go over the Robinson case.”
Kane cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What?” Jenna paused in the doorway to stare at him. “I miss eating breakfast with you for one morning and we’re back to you calling me ‘ma’am’?” She narrowed her gaze. “Or do you have something on your mind?”
“Me?” Kane shrugged. “Nope. Only the case, it’s a strange one for sure.”
“Okay.” Jenna shook her head and disappeared into her office.
Kane placed his coffee on the desk, removed his coat, and looked at Rowley. “Morning.” He indicated with his chin toward the office door. “She wants us for a meeting.”
“I guessed as much.” Rowley smiled and slapped him on the back. “Another day in paradise.”
Kane picked up his to-go cup, led the way into Jenna’s office, and sat down. “Is there something we missed last night?”
“No, we did a thorough crime scene investigation, and from Wolfe’s preliminary verbal report on scene and the gunshot residue test coming up negative, it seems clear now this murder was a home invasion or a planned hit.” She glanced at Rowley. “I’ve read your report and I’m surprised Mrs. Robinson was uncooperative when you arrived on scene. When I spoke to her, she appeared to be quite lucid. Are you sure she didn’t say anything?”
“I figured she was in shock or had just murdered her husband.” Rowley frowned. “When she called, maybe the realization of what had happened hadn’t hit her yet. I’m not a doctor but I guess shock can creep up on a person.”
“Did you hear or see anything at all around the house, another vehicle, anything?” Jenna folded her hands on the table. “You didn’t pass anyone on the highway?”
“Nope, I didn’t see anyone, but if someone was thumping around the house, I wouldn’t have been able to hear them with the wind blowing and all.” Rowley swallowed hard, making his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “I couldn’t see more than a few yards in the dark, leaves blowing up all around, tree branches scraping the windows. I was expecting someone to jump me at any moment.”
Kane chuckled. “Oh boy, as soon as we get close to Halloween, everyone gets the jitters.”
“Yeah, well, when I caught sight of the victim, I wished I’d called for backup at the get-go.” Rowley looked at Jenna. “But I searched the house and found Mrs. Robinson.”
“Okay. From our initial walk-through, I couldn’t find anything disturbed, so I’m going to rule out robbery as a motive.” Jenna glanced down at her notes and then looked at Kane. “I agree it was a hit.”
Kane nodded. “Yeah, it’s too neat.” He sipped his coffee and peered at her over the rim.
“So, we have a professional hitman in town?” Jenna pushed both hands through her hair. “Life just gets better by the second.”