“Did they have a problem with their grandma?” Kane added cream and sugar to a cup and stirred slowly.
“Yeah, she has a tendency to run down my folks and believes everyone is useless.” Rio sighed. “That’s water under the bridge now. They are happy at Black Rock Falls High School and have settled in well. I was expecting it to take longer but I figure they appreciate the chance to start fresh.”
“That’s good to know.” Jenna smiled as Kane pushed the cup toward her and then tended to his own. “But this girl broke up with her boyfriend, we’ve spoken to him and the other guy she apparently liked was—”
“Cory Hughes.” Rio waved a hand at the board. “He had her phone but wasn’t the last person to see her alive.”
“Yeah and he doesn’t drive a Chrysler sedan, his ride is a GMC pickup.” Kane thumbed through statements Wolfe had taken the previous evening. “He was very cooperative. Wolfe has the phone, and he’ll be able to check the phone records and we’ll have a list of her contacts.”
“Hmm.” Rio looked at Kane. “So. Someone unknown bumped into her, she dropped her phone, took it to Hughes and when she came out someone had tampered with her car.” He narrowed his gaze. “I know zip about engines. How long would it have taken someone to disable her truck?”
“If the person knew how to lift the hood, no time at all, but how many people would know the technique? I only know because I worked on one as a boy.” Kane looked thoughtful. “Assuming people were still leaving when Laurie returned to the gym, no one noticed anyone tampering with her pickup.”
Jenna’s mind was working overtime, and she’d replayed the scene in her head repeatedly. “I figure Laurie’s abduction was planned.” She looked from one deputy to the other. “The tampering happened during the training session. Her friend Vicky stated that someone in the crowd bumped into Laurie and knocked the phone out of her hand. That could’ve been a set-up. It was common knowledge she had the hots for Hughes, so who else would she go to for help? They all said he fixes everything including phones.”
“Yeah that makes sense.” Kane sipped his coffee.
Jenna could see it as clear as day. “Laurie goes to speak to Hughes. He can’t fix her phone so she heads back to her pickup. During this time Hughes leaves so when Laurie realizes her vehicle won’t start, she’s stuck. Hughes has gone, she has no phone so she heads home on foot. Whoever picked her up must have followed her and then driven up and offered her a ride home.” She stood and added notes to the whiteboard. “She knows the person driving the Chrysler and climbed in without fear. What we need to find out, is what happened next.”
A knock came on her door. It was Emily. “We have a body!”
Ten
A sinking feeling dropped over Jenna and she stared at Emily in disbelief. “Female?”
“Yeah. A linesman found her out at the old mine. She’s naked and cut up some from what the man said. Here are the coordinates. The guy is still on scene. His name is Al Watson.” Emily’s face showed no emotion as she passed Jenna a slip of paper. She had mastered the concealment an ME must have to cover their inner emotions. “I’ll call Dad.” She turned in a toss of her long blonde hair and vanished down the hallway.
“Is she the trainee medical examiner?” Rio looked after Emily with obvious interest. “She doesn’t seem old enough.”
“Well, like you, she’s some years ahead of her time.” Kane smiled. “She still has years of study ahead of her, but with Wolfe to guide her, she’ll make a fine medical examiner.” Kane swallowed his coffee and stood. “I’ll call Rowley and let him know we’ll be locking the office.” He strolled out the door with Duke on his heels.
Jenna stood. “Sure, thanks.” She looked at Rio. “Do you have your cameras with you?”
“Yeah they’re always in my truck.” Rio smiled at her. “It’s a hobby.”
Jenna nodded. “Great, then follow us to the location. You’ll be recording the scene.”
“Sure, but what about Rowley?” Rio looked genuinely concerned. “He’s my superior and I don’t want to be treading on anyone’s toes.”
Astonished by his concern, Jenna met his gaze. “I’m your superior, Kane is deputy sheriff but we work as a team. I need Rowley here to hold the fort while we are recovering the body and I’ll need you to record the scene.” She smiled. “It’s horses for courses, Zac, and that’s how we roll around here.”
“Okay.” Rio finished his coffee and smoothed down his hair before pushing his Stetson on his head. “I figure I’m going to enjoy working here.”
They headed out in a convoy, moving through town trying hard not to attract too much attention. The last thing Jenna needed was the media destroying evidence at a crime scene. As the media’s attention was on the search parties, by the time they left town and headed for the industrial lowlands that spread out between Black Rock Falls and Blackwater they’d left the media vans far behind. The GPS led them along an old uneven road. Mounds of dirt and rocks long covered by weeds dotted the surrounding grasslands. Cabins long deserted had plants growing from the gutters and sat in general disarray. The exhausted gold mines had recently been sold to a mining company, who’d returned favorable assays and planned to reopen the lucrative industry. New mines meant prosperity for the town and work for a ton of people. A good source of energy was vital and new electricity lines had been erected over the last six months.
The white paint of a vehicle sparkled under the morning sun and Jenna made out the lineman’s truck parked beside one of the new electricity posts. “That must be our guy.”
“If he’s working alone it would have been a shock finding a body way out here.” Kane pulled up beside the truck. “I wonder what he was doing over by the mine shaft, it looks like it’s some ways from here?”
After scanning the area, Jenna unclipped her seatbelt. “I guess we’re going to find out.”
Behind her, Rio slowed his vehicle and stopped but like Wolfe, he remained inside. Jenna smiled to herself. It was a sign of a good detective to wait and not enter the crime scene before invited. Once they approached the body, Wolfe would take the lead. An ME’s investigation took priority at the crime scene and she valued his knowledge. She opened the door and her boots hit the hard soil. By the time she rounded the hood, Kane had coaxed the man out of the cabin of his truck. She walked up to him. “Al Watson?” She made the introductions. “Where did you find the body?”
“Over there.” Watson pointed to the right. “I was making repairs to the connection and seen something so I drove over to look.”
Jenna nodded. “Did you get out the truck or touch anything?”
“No, ma’am.” Watson’s faced paled. “I turned right around and hightailed it back here and called 911.”