“Maybe.” He glanced at her before returning his attention to the road. “It could be a copycat. We had little choice but to give the information about Bailey Canavar’s murder to the media. It was the only chance to discover the whereabouts of her husband and the identity of John Doe.”
“I only gave them basic information, no details.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “I guess we’ll know more after speaking to Colter Barry.”
“Problem is, when people go through this type of trauma, some of them block things out.” Kane pulled into the hospital parking lot and drove into their reserved slot. “It’s not intentional. I think our brains shut off the memory because we can’t cope.” He glanced at her. “If we believe the killer waited twelve months between murders, why would he suddenly start a killing spree now?” He scratched his cheek. “Unless something or someone triggered him.”
Jenna snorted. “You’re assuming he hasn’t been killing all over the state. I’ve found similar unsolved cases and heaps of missing people going back four or five years.”
“Yeah but if this injured guy is lucid and someone did murder his girlfriend… If she is the same type as the other two victims, then we have another serial killer in Black Rock Falls.”
* * *
The strong, distinctive smell of hospitals wafted over Jenna as she waited in the hall outside the ER of Black Rock Falls’ hospital. After making inquiries at the nurses’ counter about Colter Barry and discovering zero information, she waited for a doctor to step out from the ER and marched straight up to him, flashing her badge. “I’m Sheriff Alton, and this is my deputy, David Kane. It is imperative we speak with Colter Barry, a gunshot victim brought in by the rangers earlier. It’s concerning the apparent attack on his girlfriend.”
“I’ll take you through.” The doctor slid his card through the scanner and opened the door for her. “He is in the room on the right, my colleague is with him now and there is a ranger guarding him; is he the man responsible?”
“We don’t have any details; this is why we need to speak with him.” Jenna moved inside with Kane close behind. After scanning the room, she found a ranger standing guard outside a bed surrounded by white drapes. She turned to the doctor. “Thanks, while I’m waiting for the doctor, I’ll speak to the ranger.”
The ranger looked relieved to see her and stepped forward to meet them. At least he recognizes me. She led him out into the hallway. “What have we got?”
“Colter Barry, twenty-six, out of Blackwater. He has a gunshot wound to the head and a knife wound in the back. Looks like someone gave him a beating and he is rambling about murder and blood. He keeps saying, ‘Lilly has been murdered.’” The ranger straightened. “We have a search party in the area with two wardens and at least a dozen volunteers. The doc is with him now; he said something about doing an MRI.”
Jenna pulled out her notepad and pen. “Thank you for waiting for us. We can take it from here.”
“Not a problem, ma’am. We had worries if the same man who killed the other couple is responsible, Mr. Barry might be in danger, getting away and all.” The ranger’s eyes held deep sorrow. “Seems our beautiful forest is being used as a killing ground of late. I don’t envy your job of apprehending this man.” He gave Kane a nod and headed down the hallway.
Jenna stared after him with admiration then turned to Kane. “I’m starting to believe the park rangers are a different breed to us.”
“They have to obtain a bachelor’s degree before they start training. So yeah, they are very committed to their work.” Kane shrugged. “ I figure we are lucky they are so willing to help us when necessary.”
She tugged at the curtain around Colter Barry’s bed. “Doctor, this is the sheriff. May I have a word with Mr. Barry?”
A balding man in his fifties wearing surgery scrubs and a stethoscope hanging around his neck peered through the gap. “Yes, Mr. Barry has been anxious to speak with you, although due to his injuries, he has been lapsing into unconsciousness and I’m not confident whether his recollections are fact or fantasy.” He stood to one side to allow them to pass. “I have scheduled an MRI. He has significant head injuries and suffered paralysis for some time after his attacker stuck him with a knife in the lumbar region. I would ask that you keep your questioning to a minimum. I’ll wait outside.”
Jenna took note of the doctor’s name on his ID. “Thank you, Dr. Ross.”
She scanned the battered face of the man lying flat on the bed, his bloodshot eyes swollen to slits and blond hair matted with blood. She moved to the bedside and remained standing. Kane stood beside her, his expression serious, notebook in one hand and pen poised.
Jenna touched Colter’s hand. “Mr. Barry, I’m Sheriff Jenna Alton and this is Deputy Kane. Can you explain what happened to you?”
The story, broken with sobs and tears, made her skin crawl. She asked him many times if he wanted to continue and he insisted. He appeared to be lucid and not raving, as the ranger had suggested. “Okay, now I need you to try and give me as much information as you can about the man who did this to you and Lilly.”
Colter closed his eyes as if drifting off then looked up at her. His mouth turned down in disgust. “He was covered from head to foot in the camouflage gear the army wears and had one of those skull bandana things the bikers wear around his face. His head was covered with a woolen hat much like yours. He was white; I could see the strip of skin above his eyes, between his hat and sunglasses.”
Barry looked at Kane. “He wasn’t as big as you, maybe five or six inches shorter and not as heavy but he was in good shape.” He dragged in a ragged breath. “He threw me around as if I weighed nothing. I couldn’t do a thing to help Lilly.”
“I’m sure you did everything you could, Colter.” Jenna squeezed his arm. “What about his voice, did he have an accent?”
“His voice was weird, like distorted or something.” Colter made a strange gurgling sound in his throat then coughed and moaned. “Oh, God, I can’t get him out of my head.”
“Take a minute and look at him.” Kane leaned closer to the bed. “He can’t hurt you now and we need every scrap of information to catch this animal.”
“Okay, okay.” Colter seemed to fight a demon and his breath came in pants. “He had an earbud and one of those cop things on his chest.”
Jenna glanced at Kane. “A com pack?”
“Yeah, and the other thing was a body cam.” Colter seemed to get braver. “He kept asking questions like, ‘What do you want me to do to her next?’ but I was gagged, he knew I couldn’t speak.”
Jenna squeezed his arm gently. “Okay, we have everything we need for now. We’ll be back to speak to you again. I’m having you moved upstairs into the restricted ward for your own safety and I’ll have a deputy on duty twenty-four hours a day. I’ll notify your parents; they’ll be able to visit you there.”