Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Thirty-Six
Kane headed to the office, taking in the constant changes to Main Street. Few weeks went by between a celebration of one thing or another. After suffering weeks of sleet, the townsfolk had replaced most of the hail-ruined decorations for Halloween. He’d noticed how Black Rock Falls embraced the celebration for well over two weeks prior to the day, although the jack-o’-lanterns didn’t come out until the last minute, when they lit up Main with eerie golden smiles during the trick-or-treat procession of kids collecting candy. He’d enjoyed patrolling with Jenna and seeing the happy faces and outrageous costumes. He hoped the current murders wouldn’t prevent the kids’ fun.
As they arrived at the sheriff’s department, he turned to Jenna. She hadn’t said too much to him since leaving Aunt Betty’s. “I believe you’re right about Carter. He has a good reputation of getting the job done; we can use his input same as Jo’s.”
“He sees things differently to the way we do.” Jenna rubbed her temples. “I admit, I prefer the team approach to solving crimes. Sure, I lead the case, but I rely on your profiling skills and Wolfe’s determination on the crime scene. Together, we consider all possibilities and go from there.” She puffed out a breath that lifted her bangs. “Carter looks at the whole picture at once and makes a snap determination. He came up with a different scenario than we did in about fifteen seconds.”
Kane rubbed his chin. “That doesn’t make him right. Considering all aspects before jumping to conclusions is a sound strategy. Using all your resources is a mark of a good leader. You shouldn’t doubt yourself. He’s a lone wolf. I think Jo is going to have her hands full with him.”
“The problem is, this time, everything he said made perfect sense.” Jenna met his gaze. “Wolfe didn’t mention he’d noticed the victim had his shoes on the wrong feet.” She explained her conversation with Wolfe, and Carter’s take on the murder at the Old Mitcham Ranch. “What Carter says is more than possible—he’s probably right.”
“Wolfe noticed the boots and will add it to his conclusions because he takes into account all the evidence.” Kane shrugged. “If he said it could’ve happened because the men rushed to dress, then he’s offering you reasonable doubt. Knowing him as I do, he’ll be testing those boots for any foreign DNA and search for proof the killer removed the man’s footwear. He doesn’t jump to conclusions. He wants his evidence to be rock solid in court.”
“Okay.” Jenna gave him a direct stare. “We have to live and work with them for a few days, and from what Jo said, she will be our go-to local FBI branch, so getting on good terms with them now will be to our advantage.” She smiled. “I kind of like Jo, and it’s nice to have someone close my own age to talk to.”
Bemused, Kane frowned. “I’m close to your age, Jenna.”
“Oh, Dave, you are so funny.” Jenna chuckled. “I mean girl talk. I’ve missed it, and Emily Wolfe is a great companion, but it was refreshing talking to Jo.” She reached for the door handle. “I’m taking the cruiser for half an hour. Jo needs to pick up a few things. If you could collate all the info we have to date, we’ll all meet up in my office when we get back.”
Kane stared at her in disbelief. “Can’t Carter take her?”
“No, I’m going with her. We’ll need to show them the murder scenes and Jo doesn’t have a decent coat or hiking boots. I know where to go, Carter doesn’t. It will take no time at all.” She slid out the truck and poked her head back inside and grinned at him. “Promise.”
Kane scratched his head. “Uh-huh.”
He waited for Carter and Zorro on the sidewalk and they walked into the sheriff’s department. After introducing him to Maggie and Walters, he went straight to Jenna’s office and pulled down the whiteboard. He stared for a few moments at the faces of the victims depicted in life beside the gruesome images of their deaths. It was as if they pleaded with him to find and stop their killer. “I’ll print the images from the crime scene and get them up.” He used his phone to access the file and sent them to the printer.
As the printer hummed and churned out the images, Ty Carter instructed Zorro to lie down on the mat and then walked up and down, staring at the whiteboard, stopping to examine photographs before moving on.
Kane rested one hip on the edge of the desk and looked at the dog. “There’s not much for Zorro to do in this case. If he gets on okay with Duke, you’re welcome to leave him at my cottage. I have an enclosed area out back they can access from the mudroom.”
“Yeah, I might take you up on that offer. He doesn’t like being cooped up inside.”
Kane nodded. “Jenna mentioned your theory about the footprints.”
“Not a theory, an observation.” Carter chewed on his toothpick. “Wolfe will find blood on the victim’s socks. From the blood spatter pattern around his feet, he wasn’t wearing his boots when the killer severed his hand. “Did you find shell casings at any of the scenes?”
Kane shook his head. “No.”
“Hmm that sure ties in with what Jo told me about the Baltimore murders.” Carter turned and looked at him. “What do you think we have here?”
Kane collected up the photographs and then went to the whiteboard and attached them. “I figure we have to look into the victims’ backgrounds to catch this killer.” He stood back to admire his work. “The feather links them but apart from that, I’d say Robinson was a paid hit. The Stanton Forest murders don’t resemble a random shooting. They’re clean, like the Robinson case. It’s as if something these two men did, triggered the killer to run them off the road and kill them.” He moved along to the Old Mitcham Ranch killings. “This is completely different. It’s messy and dangerous. I mean, how did a waitress from Aunt Betty’s end up dead here? If the killer abducted her and brought her here with the intent of using her as bait, to kill the men, he’s changed his MO again. Jo believes this indicates a particularly nasty personality disorder.”
“Holy cow, are you suggesting he has a split personality and both sides are serial killers?” Carter dropped into a chair and scrubbed both hands down his face. “I’m going to need coffee intravenously to wrap my head around this one.”
Kane waved a hand to the two coffee machines on the counter at the back of Jenna’s office. “Well, make yourself useful and put on a couple of pots.”
“Sure.” Carter removed his coat and hung it on one of the pegs behind Jenna’s door. “This is the first time I’ve worked in an office that smelled of honeysuckle.” He chuckled and went about refilling the coffee machines. “Most times it’s bad breath and body odor.” He glanced at Kane. “I take it you’re close to Jenna. I had her all wrong and wasn’t expecting her to break my balls.”
Kane didn’t bite. “She has the respect of everyone under her command. The sheriff is professional all the way. I suggest you don’t underestimate her.”
“Hmm, I was warned the same about Jo, but at the time I’d assumed she was a guy.” Carter moved the toothpick across his lips and sighed. “I haven’t worked with many women.”
“Not even in the service?” Kane narrowed his gaze. “Or in DC?”
“Nope.” Carter shrugged. “I led my team and kept my head down.” He gave Kane a long look. “You’re wasting your talent here. Ever thought about applying to the FBI?”
Biting back a grin, Kane stood, turned away, and made notes on the whiteboard. “Nah, here I have one boss and I live on her ranch rent-free. I have wide-open spaces, fishing, and hunting on my doorstep. I’m a happy man.”
“I have that too.” Carter hit the switches on the coffee pots. “Well, I do now. Unless they call me back to DC. If they do, I might vanish again.”
“I bet Jo would put up a fight if they do. There’s no way she’ll be able to run the Snakeskin Gully office alone. She needs a chopper pilot and a detective, so I figure you’re safe.” Kane turned at a knock on the door to find Rowley. “Oh, good, you’re back. Is there anything to report?”
“No, all quiet at the Old Mitcham Ranch. I covered the entrance with crime scene tape, and the trailers and ranch house.” Rowley dropped a takeout bag on the desk and pulled an evidence bag from under his arm and handed it to Kane. “The wallets from the victims. It seems they’re all out of Wyoming. Wolfe checked the male victims against their driver’s licenses and they all fit. He’s taken prints as well and added the information to our case files. The girl we’ve identified as Ruby Evans, who worked at Aunt Betty’s Café. You recognized her and so did I, so that’s two for two, but Wolfe requires a positive ID. I spoke to Susie Hartwig and got Ruby’s details. She lived with her aunt out on Elk Creek.” He stared longingly at the coffee dripping into the pots. “It’s been a long day.”
Kane nodded. “I guess from the bag of takeout you haven’t eaten yet? Grab a coffee and take a seat. Jenna will be back soon and we’ll discuss the case.”
“Thanks.” Rowley pulled off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. “This is the worst so far, isn’t it?”
Kane’s attention drifted to the images on the whiteboard. “Yeah, this is a twisted, unpredictable mind and he’s charging down victims like a mad bull.”