“Nope, it sits on bedrock.” Joseph turned to go.
“Where did you find the backpacks? And your father mentioned a thigh bone. Human, was it?”
“We found them bags all over. I found the bone some years ago and I’m no doctor, it could have belonged to an elk. He would have told you about Charlie.” Joseph gave him a curious glare. “I wasn’t imagining seeing Charlie up the mountain last week. Two of them in camo, one turned and looked at me, so I hightailed it back here, zigzaggin’ all the way. The old man might be crazy but I seen them with my own two eyes.”
Kane took in his concerned expression. He saw genuine fear in his eyes. “Are you sure there were two men? Not just hunters moving through the area? The majority of them wear camouflage—why are these men different?”
“Nope, it was Charlie. I saw one of their faces clear as I’m seein’ you now. He was Asian.”
When Joseph walked into the house, Kane glanced up at Jenna. “You good?”
“Yeah, he was a fountain of non-information.” She gave a sarcastic snort. “Find anything interesting?”
/> “Oh, yeah.” He gave Jenna the details. “The backpacks are crucial evidence, especially if we can identify the owners. If the killer has been active in this area for some time, he has covered his tracks well. Choosing a time before bears go into hibernation and eating everything available would be the perfect time to leave bodies for the wildlife to scatter. So far, his victims have been visitors, mostly on hiking holidays, who move around. Some could be foreign backpackers, and when they go missing they might not come up on our radar, or we haven’t found a body, so we dismiss the report.”
“Then we start finding bodies because the sudden increase in tourism and hunting has made it more likely for someone to stumble over the remains.” Jenna wrinkled her nose. “I hate to say it but you stink.”
“I hope it washes off and doesn’t follow me around.” He bent to pat Duke, and the bloodhound sniffed him then sneezed but remained close by. “Now there’s devotion.” He swung up into his saddle. “He doesn’t care.”
“Just stay downwind.” Jenna lowered her voice. “Do you think Joseph is involved?”
Kane gathered up his reins. “I’m not certain. He is smaller than the man who attacked Barry, but with army boots and a hat, he would look taller. They have an arsenal in the house but one thing was missing—a crossbow, and I doubt they have the cash to buy the type of bolts used in the homicides.”
“One thing is for sure.” Jenna pushed a lock of black hair from her face and tucked it inside her woolen cap. “We have localized the killing field. If what the Blythes said is true, this maniac is running riot the entire length of Bear Peak.”
41
Tuesday, Week two
“I’m fine, stop fussing.” Kane pushed the wrapped package of frozen peas against his temple and closed his eyes against the throbbing pain.
“I’m so sorry.” Jenna’s voice sounded very loud. “I’ll pour you another coffee.”
Kane opened one eye and blinked at her. “It wasn’t your fault. Duke distracted me by barking just as you aimed the kick at my head. I turned into the blow, so it’s my bad.” He sighed. “I’d love another coffee but I need to take my meds. They help me keep my balance if the pain gets bad.”
“I’ll go get them.” Jenna pushed the cup toward him then examined his face closely. “Your eyes crossed when I hit you. Is that significant?”
His sight had been blurry since she’d kicked him in the temple, but he squeezed her arm to reassure her. “No, I don’t think so. The meds are in the bathroom over the sink.” He fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. “Thanks.”
The moment she stepped out the front door, Kane’s cellphone vibrated in his pocket. This is all I need. He squinted at the caller ID and, seeing it was Wolfe, accepted the call. “What has you up so early? Great play last night. Your daughter has talent and we really enjoyed watching her.”
“Thanks, Anna was over the moon when she heard you and Jenna were there. I really appreciate the support; well, we all do. It means a lot.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “I called Jenna but she didn’t pick up.”
Kane glanced out the kitchen door. “She’ll be back soon. Can I help?”
“The reason I called is that Rowley got a call from the FBI’s Cyber Division and gave them my number as I understand the technical side of things. They intercepted a fragment of a transmission on the dark web involving human hunting.”
Kane put down the frozen peas and went for his coffee. “Why contact us?”
“They are contacting a number of law enforcement agencies across a wide area. They had a botanist examine the trees and shrubs in the footage and believe it is an alpine region. Any of Montana’s mountain ranges through to Colorado. From the description they gave me, the location could easily be Stanton Forest. After the current murders, it was a head’s up.”
Kane frowned and instantly regretted it then pressed the frozen peas against his temple. “Yeah, from what Barry Colter said, the killer was acting as if he was hunting them, and we know he used a body cam. Do you figure he could be uploading images to the dark web? The technology is available to just about anyone now.”
“From what I understand he could be streaming video from the murder scene. We could be looking at a killer who is running a member’s only club online or something similar with a paying audience. You’d be surprised what is available on the dark web.”
“You mean a pay-per-view murder? Holy cow, I’ve heard everything now.” Kane allowed the information to permeate into his brain. “I need to think on this one. If this is our killer, we have a new breed of psychopath in the area.”
“If anyone can profile him, you can.” Wolfe sighed. “Whoever he is, he is brutal, and from Barry Colter’s statement, he gets a great deal of pleasure out of making his victims suffer.”