“I guess not.” Miller lifted both his arms and then dropped them to his sides in a gesture of disbelief. “My boy wouldn’t harm anyone. He’s under suspicion for the abduction of Amanda Braxton? Look at him – you figure he needs to abduct women?”
Jenna liked George Miller – he’d always treated people right – and arresting his son left a nasty taste in her mouth, but the evidence was there. Circumstantial maybe but right now, it was all she had.
Twenty-Nine
He pulled a chair up close and examined Amanda’s face. The changes in a person’s face after near strangulation intrigued him. The broken blood vessels in the eyes and the way the red line around her neck was turning a distinct shade of blue. He enjoyed this part of the game, the fear when she eventually opened her eyes to find him there, watching her and knowing he hadn’t quite finished the job.
Her eyelids flickered for the second time and he adjusted the light so she could see him. “Did you enjoy your near-death experience?”
“N-no.” Her voice came out in a raspy breathless whisper and her bloodshot eyes lifted to his face. “Why are you doing this to me?”
He leaned closer so they were almost nose-to-nose. “Because I can.” He smiled at her. “Tell me what you saw. Did a white light come to snatch you away from life or was there only darkness?”
When she refused to reply, he soared to his feet, tipping back his chair. It clattered to the ground and he savored the way his sudden movement made her tremble again. He walked behind her, trailing his fingers over her shoulders. “I can make this stop but I need an answer.”
He gave the cord around her neck a tug, just enough to let her know his intentions. Then he righted his chair and sat down, waiting for the gagging to subside. “Well?”
“You’ll kill me if I answer you or not.” Amanda had a defiant look in her eyes. “One thing for sure, you’ll rot in hell for eternity.”
“Don’t you figure I’d enjoy discussing my work with like-minded souls?” He chuckled. “What could be better?”
“That’s not what I saw.” Amanda’s puffy lids closed and a small smile curled her lips. “But I’ll never tell you.”
He often wondered why some of the women gained bravado when they knew the odds were stacked against them. Amanda couldn’t win and yet she chose to anger him. Did she want her end to be brutal? As he sat back in his chair and stared at her, his mind conjured the face of Sheriff Alton. He could almost see her sitting tied to the chair before him. Strangulation would be too quick for her. He needed to eliminate the women who wanted to change a man’s world into a matriarchal society. The alpha female belonged in comic books or games. When he took the sheriff to his new hideout, he’d make her death slow and enjoy every bloody second.
Thirty
Kane escorted Matt Miller to the interview room, gave him a cup of coffee and turned on the camera. The CCTV fed into the computer system and anyone on duty could view the live feed. It was a simple method of doing two jobs at once. Of course, they disconnected the feed during prisoner/lawyer interviews. He closed the door and went to the kitchenette, collected two cups of coffee and went to Jenna’s office.
“The lawyer’s on his way.” Jenna took the cup with a smile. “Thanks.”
Kane sat opposite her and placed one booted foot on the other knee. “Do you want me here while you deal with him?”
“Yeah, if we get to question Miller, I want your take on his body language. Although, I’m not convinced he’s our guy.” Jenna raised both eyebrows. “Why, do you have a lead?”
“No, a hunch maybe. I figured I’d go search the areas around where Matt stopped last night and see if I can find out where he took Amanda.” Kane frowned. “She could be in the forest, injured or worse.”
“Wolfe’s heading out there now and I’m keeping the search and rescue going for as long as possible. Amanda’s our prime concern right now and I aim to find her.” Jenna leaned back in her chair. “When we arrived, Rowley informed me that Blackhawk’s team is out with dogs scouring Stanton Forest along all the points where Matt stopped. He made him aware of the dangers of potential booby traps and the people with him are experienced trackers.”
“I sure like having Blackhawk around. You thought of making him a deputy?” Kane placed his cup on the desk. “We need more on the team; we’re stretched to the limit right now.”
“He won’t join the team.” Jenna pushed hair from her eyes. “We pay him for his time but he doesn’t want a badge.” She sighed. “I hate sitting here doing nothing – I feel like I’m wasting precious time. Amanda is out there all alone and we’re her only hope.”
Kane took in her hopeless expression. She’d done everything by the bo
ok: organized a search, set up a command station, had deputies at the Braxtons’ house monitoring calls and hunting down suspects. “I feel the same but we’re doing everything humanly possible to find her. Right now, we’ll have to hope Matt has some information to give us or we have the same problem we had with Lindy. If Matt isn’t involved in Amanda’s abduction, she could be anywhere – even out of the county by now. We know someone carried her from the woods, so we have to assume he rendered her unconscious or someone would’ve heard her screaming.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “The ranch is about a mile from Stanton Road, so her abductor must have stashed a vehicle close by. He wouldn’t risk someone noticing his vehicle if he left it parked alongside the forest. If it was Matt, we know from his GPS where he stopped and if Amanda’s anywhere close by Blackhawk’s team will find her.”
“I hope so.” Jenna lifted the lawyer’s card George Miller had given her and peered at it. “I haven’t met Samuel J. Cross. He’s a returned local working out of an office over the bank. Maggie says the townsfolk like him just fine.”
Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “I figure he’ll have Miller out within the hour. We don’t have enough evidence to charge him.”
“Yeah, it’s circumstantial at best but I’d like the chance to question him some more.” Jenna sipped her drink. “If he walks we’ll need to dig deeper. Once the lawyer has spoken to Miller, I want to hunt down Amanda’s friend, Lucy. She might have something we could use – they’re best friends and girls discuss boys, maybe there’s more to the friendship between her and Matt than he’s leading us to believe.”
“Don’t forget the stalker friend from school, Peter English.” Kane took a long drink of his coffee. “He ticks a few of our boxes as well. With no contact from Amanda’s abductor and no sign of her anywhere, I figure we’ll have to speak to all the people on our list again and see where they were last night.”
“Okay, while we’re waiting for Mr. Samuel J. Cross to arrive, might as well make a few calls.” Jenna made some notes and handed the list to Kane. “Chase down the whereabouts of Kittredge, Packer and Lancaster. I’ll do the rest.”
Kane stood and glanced down at the list, then at his watch. “We need more help.”