Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Forty-Six
At last Jenna believed she’d made some headway in the case. She walked into her office and found Carter sitting opposite her desk, working on his laptop. “How did you go? Any luck with the search warrant for Mrs. Robinson’s bank accounts?”
“Oh yeah.” Carter grinned at her. “Obtained and served.”
Jenna smiled. “Great. We’re just waiting for Rowley and we can bring everyone up to speed.”
“I’m here.” Rowley walked into her office, followed by Kane and Jo.
Suddenly filled with a new burst of enthusiasm, Jenna dropped into her chair. “Okay, let’s get the show on the road.” She explained Wolfe’s conclusions and what had happened at the Triple Z Bar. “We’ll need statements from Kane and Jo to verify the origin of the DNA samples. Wolfe is running them now.”
“I have something interesting in the Lucas Robinson case.” Carter stood and went to the printer. He collected documents and handed them out. “Mrs. Robinson made two substantial withdrawals in cash about two weeks prior to her husband’s death. If she can’t account for the money, it’s possible she paid for a hit.”
Amazed, Jenna stared at the bank statement. The account was in Carol Robinson’s name and the withdrawals had almost drained it. “I gather her husband was insured and she would have something to gain from his death.”
“Yeah.” Carter smiled. “Five million.”
Kane whistled. “That’s a motive, and she knew he was having an affair.” He looked at Jenna. “How does someone find a hitman in Black Rock Falls?”
“Did you know she was big in IT before she married?” Carter stretched his legs out in front of him. “She probably found him on the dark web. She’ll have covered up all trace on her computer as well, so we’ll find nothing.”
“It would’ve helped if the kid they’d sent me as a computer whizz had shown.” Jo shook her head. “He might have been able to hunt down the hitman.”
“I doubt it.” Kane shrugged. “Wolfe is our go-to guy when it comes to IT, and he’s found a few traces of websites in his time, but if Carol Robinson has a solid background in programming, she’ll have wiped every trace clean.”
“Then when we find her husband’s killer, we might be able to find a money trail. If she paid him in cash and he’s still in town, he’ll have the money stashed somewhere.” Carter looked at Jenna. “Don’t you agree, Jenna?”
“Yeah, a hit is a distinct possibility, and we’ll certainly be looking for a money trail.” Jenna checked her notes. “Moving on. Rowley, any luck finding out where Kyler Hall and Cliff Young were at the times of the murders?”
“Only hearsay and vague memories.” Rowley met her gaze. “Their neighbors recall seeing their truck outside as usual most nights. The only morning one of the neighbors noticed it missing was the morning of the Stanton Forest murders. They’ve already admitted to leaving early that morning.” He leaned forward in his seat. “No one is prepared to give them an alibi for any of the times of death.”
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Jenna frowned at him. “Oh, you had Tom Dickson cleaning out your garage today, and I’ve kept you back. You’d better leave now.”
“It’s fine.” Rowley smiled at her. “I dropped by earlier and fixed him up. He’s a very reliable worker. My garage is as neat as a pin.”
“That’s good to hear.” Jenna pushed to her feet, went to the whiteboard, and brought it up to date. She turned to look at Walters. “How did you go with Mrs. Robinson?”
“I haven’t gotten in to see her as yet.” Walters scratched his thinning gray hair. “I went down to speak to Weems at the funeral parlor. He told me Mrs. Robinson called him and told him to cremate her husband’s body the moment he arrives at the parlor. Weems showed me all the documents he’d taken to the hospital for her signature. He also told me Parker Louis and Timothy Addams, from the Stanton Forest murders, will be laid to rest next week.”
“Okay, thanks.”
The landline rang and Jenna held up a hand to quiet the chatter in the room. “Sheriff Alton.”
It was the forensic anthropologist, Jill Bates. Her cheery voice came down the line and Jenna put the phone on speaker. “Jill, great to hear from you. Have you found anything?”
“Yeah, from the dental records, the remains we found in Stanton Forest belong to Luitl Kelly. I’ve finished my examination and will be passing the case to Wolfe. I’ve stepped up the search for her son Scott. He has to be close by but so far we’ve found nothing but a kid’s shoe.”She took a deep breath. “Seems to me the story Brad Kelly told me about what happened is accurate. The skeletal remains we unearthed are complete. The head trauma is consistent with his memories. Another thing of note. This woman suffered constant trauma over several years. I found evidence of broken bones, in different stages of healing.”
Anger and remorse for Brad’s mother swept over Jenna. “From all accounts, she tried to leave her husband. This should never have happened. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live with a monster like that.”
“It’s more common than you think, I’m afraid.”Jill cleared her throat. “At least he’s dead now and not hurting anyone else.”
Jenna’s mind flashed to Brad Kelly. He’d seen and likely suffered terrible abuse as a child. Like father, like son played in her head like an earwig. She hoped with all her heart they’d made a mistake and Brad Kelly hadn’t turned out worse than his father. She sighed and looked at the faces of the people in the room; all had expressions of concern. “Thanks, Jill, I appreciate your call. Let me know if your team finds Scott Kelly’s remains. It will sure put his brother’s mind at rest.”
“I sure will, bye.”The line went dead.
Jenna replaced the receiver and blew the bangs from her forehead. “We’re at a stage in the investigation when all we can do is wait. All the evidence we have is circumstantial at best. The only thing we can do is wait for the DNA results. With luck, Wolfe will have them soon. It’s after six, go home, and as it’s Sunday tomorrow, stay there and I’ll call if I hear any news. I’ll take the 911 calls. I want everyone to rest up until needed.”
She waited for her deputies to leave but Jo and Carter remained. Although she wanted to go home, soak in the hot tub and forget about mass murder for an hour or so, she had guests. “I suggest we head back to the ranch and then go out for dinner. I’m too tuckered out to cook tonight.”
“Where can we get a good steak?” Carter removed his toothpick and flicked it into the trash can under Jenna’s desk.
“There’s a steakhouse in town, surf and turf mainly.” Kane stood and looked at Jenna and Jo. “That okay with you?”
“It’s fine with me and I have a generous expense account.” Jo grinned. “It’s one of the perks of being in charge of the field office.”
Jenna smiled. “Great, I’ll book a table on the way home.” She stood and walked over to the pegs behind the door to grab her coat.
As they walked to the front door, Carter smiled at her. “You’re sure not what I expected.” He tossed another toothpick into his mouth. “I’ve met plenty of sheriffs in my time and not one of them could run a string of complicated investigations like you do. How do you cope with so many murders?”
Jenna gave Maggie a wave at the counter. “Go home, it’s late. See you on Monday.” She turned to Carter. “It’s never just me, Carter, it’s the team.”
As they walked outside into the cold, crisp evening, Jenna inhaled the fresh pine breeze and alpine scents. A movement caught her attention and Brad Kelly, tiger eyes blazing, seemed to appear from nowhere. Caught off-guard, she instinctively took a step back. Kane and Carter must have reacted instantaneously as the next moment all she could see was Kane’s wide shoulders. She glanced to her right to see Carter pushing Jo back inside the bulletproof office doors. She prodded Kane in the back. “For Heaven’s sake, Kane, he’s not armed.”
When Kane moved slightly, Jenna stepped out from behind him and looked at Brad’s angry face. “Honestly, Brad, it’s not a good idea to jump out at me when we have a serial killer in town.” She looked up at Kane but he had his combat face on and would not move his attention from the perceivable threat. Instead, she turned back to Brad Kelly. “Did you want to speak to me?”
“Jill Bates has confirmed the remains are my mother and now she has loaded her into a coffin and is sending her somewhere else.” Brad was about to burst with rage. “Where are they taking her?” He moved closer to Jenna, looking like a trapped wild animal.
Jenna lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “I’m sorry you haven’t been informed. Jill called me a few minutes ago. She is handing the case over to Wolfe. Your mother’s remains will be at the morgue. Wolfe will review the findings and then release her body to you.”
“I don’t want her going back to the funeral parlor.” Brad shook his head. “My people will take care of her now.”
“You can be assured that Wolfe will treat her with the respect he gives every victim that comes into his office.” Jenna could almost cut the emotionally charged air around Brad. Could the killer be standing right in front of her? Seeing him like this, it was very possible.
“Respect, huh?” Brad shook his head. “You act like you care. Nobody cared. I told my teachers when my pa bashed my mom but they did nothing. When my mom and brother went missing, did anyone care? Not one law officer came to the res looking for us. The sheriff allowed my pa to get away with murder.”
Jenna gaped at him, wanting to explain. “I—”
“Save it, lady.” Brad stormed off toward his truck, climbed in, and sped down Main.
“Oh, boy.” Jo came out to stand beside her. “I’m sleeping with the lights on tonight.”
Shaken, Jenna slid into Kane’s truck. “That is one angry man.”
“Yeah, he has reason, I guess.” Kane started the engine and backed out onto Main.
Jenna’s phone chimed and she sighed and checked the caller ID. “It’s Wolfe.” She answered the call. “Hi, Shane.”
“I have the results of the DNA tests.” Wolfe sounded bemused. “I ran them twice to make sure, that’s what caused the delay. The DNA I found under Ruby Evans’ nails is a match for Brad Kelly.”