In all the years Jenna had been in law enforcement, she’d never given up, not once – but seeing Sara die in front of her had shaken her to the core. She wanted to scream, cry out in frustration, hit something, but she was too damn tired. After checking Joe again, she propped her sore and battered body against a tree and let out a long sigh in desperation. “He’s winning.”
Fifty-One
The sun had long set by the time Kane had gotten Jenna back to his truck. The streetlights along Stanton Road were a welcome sight as they drove out of the dark forest. He’d taken the lead, with Rowley doubling with Blackhawk. They’d managed to process the crime scene in good time but removing the injured man and Sara’s body had taken longer than expected. The narrow trail was barely wide enough for the gurneys and they’d needed to use the headlights on the dirt bikes to illuminate the way for Wolfe and the paramedics. With Joe safely on his way to the hospital, awake and insisting he’d be fine, he’d waited until Sara’s body was in Wolfe’s van before helping Jenna into his truck; she was pale and likely in shock. “I’ll just be a minute, I’ve gotta help load Joe’s bike into the back of Rowley’s pickup then we can go home.”
“I’ll be okay.” Jenna buckled her seatbelt. “I figured you’d be more worried about Duke. He’ll be howling the place down by now.”
Kane smiled at her. With all that was going on, she was worried about his dog. “He’ll be fast asleep by now. He uses the dog flap to go out to do his business and I filled his food and water feeders before I left home.”
After heaving the dirt bike into the back of Rowley’s pickup and securing it, he gave Rowley a slap on the back and turned to walk back to his truck. “See you in the morning.” He waved at Blackhawk. “Thanks for your help, Atohi.”
“Before you go.” Wolfe pulled him to one side and lowered his voice to a whisper. “This murder is different. From the brief examination at the scene, I figure Sara was sexually assaulted. I’ve found nothing similar in either of the other victims. If we add the other inconsistences, we could be dealing with a copycat. If not, and this is the work of the same killer, he’s becoming a sadist.”
Kane stared at Wolfe under the dim streetlight and growled in frustration. “You telling me there’re two killers in town? Because as sure as hell, we already have one locked up.”
“You have the autopsy reports of both girls on file. I’ll do this one directly and send it through. If I find conclusive evidence it’s the same killer, I’ll call you.” Wolfe sighed and stared at his van. “I’ll need a positive ID but from the images he sent, it’s Sara Nelson. I’ll have Webber prepare her for a viewing and go see the parents.” He glanced back at Kane’s truck. “You need to get Jenna home. Everything else can wait until morning.”
Kane walked with him back to Wolfe’s van. “Sure, I’ll call Walters. He can give our suspects the good news they’ll be spending the night in the cells.” He cleared his throat. “Sam Cross is representing them and he’s a no-show until the morning. Last I heard he was chasing down the DA for a deal for Matt Miller.”
“I’ll call you later.” Wolfe waved at Webber to join him and climbed into the van.
Kane’s truck was the last vehicle remaining on the dimly lit street. An owl hooted and his attention moved to the dark forest. It changed at night, as if the day shift had gone home and the night stalkers taken over. The wind rustled the pine needles, making the trees seem to move in a wave as if they dared anyone to step into their midst. A shiver lifted goosebumps on his flesh and he hustled back to his truck.
* * *
By the time Kane pulled up outside Jenna’s house, she’d fallen asleep. Her breathing was deep and even. He touched her face and called her name but she didn’t wake. He slid from behind the wheel and heard an excited bark as Duke shot out of the dark to greet him. “I figured you’d be asleep by now.” He scratched the dog on the head. “Be quiet now.”
He jogged up the front steps, used the code to open the front door and disabled the alarm. He went back to his truck and opened the passenger-side door. “Jenna, we’re home.”
When she didn’t stir, he unbuckled her seatbelt, carried her into the house and laid her down on her bed. After removing her weapon and boots, he covered her with a blanket and then slipped silently from the house. He had steaks in the refrigerator and the fixings for dinner. The thought made his belly growl in anticipation. After placing the potatoes in the oven, he headed for the shower.
Later, as he cooked, his mind centered on the case. He’d processed the crime scene with Wolfe and found a number of similarities in the method of killing. Maybe not in the crime scene itself but Sara’s death had added a different dimension to the killer. Deployed on a number of missions during active duty, he’d witnessed the ingenuity of man’s ability to kill or maim, but the way the killer had mixed it up was pure genius. The Shadow Man had a number of skills not common to most men – skills like his own. In fact, if he’d chosen the criminal path, breaking into houses or killing would’ve been a walk in the park – he doubted anyone would’ve been able to catch him or come close to discovering his identity. So who did he have locked up with those skills? He ran possibilities through his mind. Neither Packer nor Anderson had shown any anger toward Jenna but the jury was still out on Kittredge. His cellphone ringtone told him Jenna was awake. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Sore but I’ll live.” He heard a splash of water. “I’m in the hot tub. I won’t stay long.” She sighed. “We need to discuss the case and I really need to eat something. I can’t take pain meds on a
n empty stomach. Can you drive into town and grab some takeout from Aunt Betty’s?”
Kane checked the food in the oven and went to the counter to toss the salad. “No need, I’ll have dinner ready soon. Just need to toss the steaks into the pan.”
“One of these days I’m going to wake up and find out you’re just a dream.” Jenna yawned. “I’ll be there in ten.”
Fifty-Two
After finishing her meal, Jenna sipped her glass of juice and listened with interest to Kane’s insight into the case. “So you wouldn’t consider Wolfe’s theory that Sara’s murder was a copycat?”
“Nope, its planning and execution—” Kane frowned. “Sorry that’s a bad choice of words, but the way the Shadow Man is changing up the game all the time is consistent in a way. Think about it – if you’re playing a video game, you’d face a variety of challenges and in each one, you have the chance to lose a life. I figure he’s doing the same thing. He doesn’t want to kill you, just knock you down for a time, but then you’ll be back to play the next level.”
Incredulous, Jenna stared at him. “Just how many lives will I have?”
“I figure until he grows tired of playing with you. We know he’s started to enjoy killing the girls.” Kane got up from the table to collect the plates. “Wolfe believes Sara suffered sexual abuse.”
Horrified, Jenna sucked in a breath. “So he’s no longer killing them to get to me, he’s killing them for fun?” She drained her glass. “Well, he won’t be having any fun tonight, will he?”
“I just hope we’ll have enough evidence to hold the suspects until we discover which one of them is the Shadow Man.” Kane shrugged. “We’ll have a problem with Sam Cross. He’ll likely put a case to the DA to have them released in the morning.”
Suddenly exhausted, Jenna rubbed her temples and looked at him. “Surely if he figures one of them is guilty and another girl’s life is at risk, he won’t, will he?”
“From what I can make of Cross, he follows the letter of the law.” Kane filled two cups from the coffee maker and gave one to Jenna. “Innocent until proven guilty and right now we’re skating on thin ice with the way we conducted the interviews.”