He moved along the trail with a bag of trail cams slung over one shoulder. Preparation was the key to a good hunt and he prided himself on being well ahead of the game. He smiled, feeling satisfied he had found the perfect place.
He spent time preparing the trail by moving a few logs here and there to block an escape and clearing the old pathway to encourage the prey to run in the right direction. He wanted full view of Bailey at all times via the trail cams. Best of all, if a hunter or anyone else wandered along and stumbled over the cameras, they would not give them a second glance. So many people used them, from nature studies to tracking game movement.
Humming as he worked, he stopped to attach a trail cam to a tree. He set it up and checked to make sure it worked. Run on a motion sensor, each camera sent an image to his cellphone and he could access a live feed and upload it to the net or anywhere else he chose. By using live feeds, he would know exactly where to find the women. He loved to watch the reruns; the chase was different every time, and the pleading and begging in the moments before he finished them gave him an adrenaline rush. He had so much entertainment stored on backup drives he could relive his kills at any time. This was the second part of his preparation; next he would construct blinds along the way to conceal his presence before the kill.
He checked the images on his cellphone to make sure no one could recognize him from any angle. It was not worth risking his identity even in the preparation. After making his way back up the pathway, he turned and walked slowly, scanning the areas where he had attached the trail cams. Satisfied he had hidden them all out of sight, he collected his bag then headed back to his camp to collect the necessary equipment to build the blinds.
He had found the cave years ago and it served him well. A rock formation and a line of trees concealed the entrance, but to be sure, he had constructed a sturdy gate and a portable electric fence to dissuade bears. Exhilaration and power tingled through him the moment he slipped into the cave. He inhaled, enjoying the thrill of the stale odor, and turned on the lantern hanging from the wall. “Almost done. Maybe you’ll have a new friend to keep you company soon.”
He scrutinized the skeletons wrapped in plastic sitting propped up against the wall of the cave. It excited him to visit them and he often returned to relive the moment they had become part of his family. He had chosen each one of them and not all his kills made it into his collection. Here in the cave, the memories of watching them die with a mixture of surprise and shock filled his mind in brilliant clarity. He sucked in the thrill like a drug and lived off the high for weeks but regarded these kills as priceless and a testament to his ingenuity. He made his inspection, walking along the row, and bent to push a tuft of hair back inside the plastic. “That’s better.”
Some of them leaned over as if whispering a secret to another, and dark, soulless eyes followed his every move, but they liked it here. Every one of them returned his smile.
12
Aching muscles plagued Jenna with each step through the unforgiving terrain. She assumed that by pushing her body during the early-morning workouts with Kane, her muscles would have accepted horse riding, but they had plotted revenge and the climb uphill had done her stiff legs no favors at all. What made it worse was Kane rarely showed any signs of fatigue, although he suffered cruel headaches from the plate in his head and often hid his discomfort from her. In truth, he never complained. She had swallowed a couple of paracetamol with her lunch and would keep going no matt
er what. Showing weakness in front of her deputies was not an option. Sometimes being sheriff sucks.
“I think I’ve found something.” Bradford pointed to something metal peeking out from under the forest floor. “I’ll take a few pictures.”
Jenna gave herself a mental shake. “It looks like a belt buckle.” She pulled out a pair of gloves and pulled them on with a snap. “I’ll take a look. Get an evidence bag ready.”
After taking a pen from her pocket, she bent down and lifted a few leaves from the end of the buckle then stopped. The buckle shone through the debris but it was not the leather belt attached that had halted her movements. The belt was in a tight loop with one long end disappearing into the undergrowth, and in between, she made out bones. She had seen enough skeletons to recognize them as human forearms. “Stay back.” She stood, waving Bradford away, then took a roll of crime scene tape out of her pocket and wrapped it around the tree to mark the area.
“Are they human?” The color drained from Bradford’s face.
“Yeah, pretty sure. From what I can make out, these are more bones belong to the female skull the Canavars found. Wolfe will confirm but I figure we have two bodies in total. The male tied to the tree and the partial remains of a female, spread out over this area.” Jenna opened the mic on her earpiece. “Kane, I’ve found more remains. I’ll secure the scene.”
“Roger that.” Kane’s voice came into her earpiece.
Jenna pushed back the revulsion of what her find implied. “Looks like two forearms secured with a leather belt. They are small, so it could be the missing parts of the woman Wolfe and Blackhawk found.” She sighed. “I only lifted a few leaves. I don’t know how much is under there but it is close to a tree. Maybe he had her tied up here. Ask Wolfe what he wants me to do.”
It seemed to take ages for Kane to get back to her and then when a voice came in her ear it was Wolfe.
“From the evidence collected and until proved otherwise, I’m assuming we have the remains of Dawson Sanders and Paige Allen. Of course, this is just for our own reference, until I can verify the identities by the dental records and DNA. We have Sanders’ remains in a body bag. I have taken soil samples, so I’m pretty well done here. Once we have stowed these onto the horse, I’ll come to your position.”
“Roger that. I’ll send Kane the coordinates.”
Jenna contacted Rowley and Blackhawk, and a few minutes later they came through the trees toward them. She noted how Blackhawk guided Rowley well away from the path she had taken. When they reached her side, Blackhawk peered at the remains. She moved to his side. “Did you find anything?”
“Not yet but those bones have been carried here. Can you make out the marks on the bone and the leather belt? They’re animal teeth marks and it likely dropped them here to feed its young. See the marks are different sizes?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, I can make that out.” In an effort to keep the image of the poor woman being some animal’s dinner well and truly out of her mind, she turned to him. “I’m waiting here for Wolfe. As we have the position of the skull and now this, will you be able to work out which way she ran?”
“Nope but we’ll keep to this animal trail. It’s more likely if the killer had a woman with her hands tied, it would be easier to drag her along a path rather than through the forest.” Blackhawk turned without another word and headed into the trees.
“Do you want me to go with him, ma’am?” Rowley’s dark eyes rested on the remains for a few seconds before moving to her face.
“Yeah, stay with him and let me know if you find anything.” Jenna pulled out her GPS and sent her coordinates to Kane. She waved Bradford to a fallen tree. “We might as well sit down and rest up until they get here.”
Jenna shrugged off her backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. She removed her hat and tossed her hair, glad of the cool breeze. The weather, although sunny, was getting colder by the day and yet hikers came from all over to trek through the forest. She had noticed how Bradford moved with ease over the rough terrain and seemed to have unlimited energy. The rookie was settling in well; she listened and, from what Rowley had told her, was becoming very good at martial arts. “Homicides are difficult. How are you coping? Any problems?”
“No, not at all, ma’am.” Bradford removed her hat and set it on the log beside her. “I like Rowley as a partner as well. He is very easy to get along with. I’m doing okay with the unarmed combat side of things but I’ll never match Deputy Kane’s skill on the shooting range.”
She hid her smile. “Not many can, I’m afraid.”
“I asked him to give me some advice and he was very helpful but he said I should be able to strip down a Glock and reassemble it with my eyes closed.” Bradford gave her an “is he for real?” look and shrugged. “He told me I should be able to do that with any weapon I own.”