Page 15 of Tears on Her Grave

“That’s good to know.” Jenna pulled a receipt book out of her pocket and made a list of the items they had taken. “We should show the picture to Mrs. Peters and ask her if she can identify the others in the photograph with Cole. I wouldn’t mind betting that they’re the same men who Rowley and Rio hunted down.”

They headed downstairs, and Mrs. Peters came out of the kitchen to greet them. Kane handed her the photograph. “Do you recognize any of these young men with Cole?”

“I do. They were his best friends in college.” She pointed to each of them in turn. “Wyatt Twotrees, Jess Hallon, ClintWasser, and Dustin Crawley.” She smiled. “We used to enjoy watching them play football together.”

“Do you recall if Cole mentioned going with them as a group to the forest on Halloween?” Jenna leaned forward. “It would be a great help if we knew who was with him on that evening so we can talk to them.”

“No, he never mentioned it to me.” Mrs. Peters’ eyes filled with tears again. “I’m sure if they had been with him, he would have been okay, but as far as I know, that evening he was going out with Abby. He didn’t even mention the forest, so I assumed they were going through town like everyone else does on Halloween. I know he’d purchased a Halloween mask, but at the last minute he left it behind.”

Kane straightened. “You wouldn’t by any chance still have it, would you?”

“Yes, in fact I do. Do you believe it will make any difference?” Mrs. Peters hurried off and returned a few minutes later with a horrific Halloween mask. “I recall, he believed it was too scary for Abby as she really wasn’t into all the graphic Halloween costumes.”

Kane held out his hand. “It might make a whole lot of difference. Do you mind if we add it to the list of things that we need to take with us?”

“If it would help find my son’s killer, you can take the entire house.” Mrs. Peters folded her arms across her ample chest. “When will we be able to bury our boy?”

“The medical examiner, Dr. Shane Wolfe, will contact you.” Jenna handed Mrs. Peters the receipt. “You must understand that because it’s been twelve years, these things take time, but I can assure you that Dr. Wolfe’s team gives everyone who goes through his hands the utmost care and dignity. His fiancée, Norrell, is the forensic anthropologist working on the case with her entire team and Emily his daughter is a medical examinerin training. Cole and Abby couldn’t be in more caring or better hands. You have my word.”

“Thank you, that eases my mind some.” Mrs. Peters took the receipt and followed them to the mudroom. “Are you going to search his truck? It’s unlocked.”

They pushed their feet back into their boots and pulled on their slickers. Kane had the phone and laptop along with the photograph and mask in one large plastic evidence bag. He turned to Mrs. Peters. “Yes, we’ll go and check out his truck and then leave. We’ll keep you up to date with the investigation, and as before, if you can think of anything unusual about that night or if you heard anything that people were saying that might be of interest, please give us a call.”

FIFTEEN

Heart sore for Mrs. Peters and her husband, Jenna stood in the garage and waited for Kane to search Cole’s truck. Hunger gnawed at her, and she wished she could have a nice cup of hot chocolate overloaded with marshmallows. The thought made her stomach rumble just as Kane backed out of the truck. She smiled at him. “If my stomach is making noises along with yours by the time we get to Aunt Betty’s Café, we’ll sound like a choir.”

“We can delay dropping by Marissa Kendrick’s until after lunch if you would prefer.” Kane shut the door of the truck and shrugged. “There’s nothing of interest in there. I’d say his parents cleaned it out, or someone did. There’s only the license and registration in the glove box. Nothing to indicate it belonged to a kid in college at all. If it wasn’t for the college parking sticker on the windshield, I’d say it belonged to someone else.”

Frowning, Jenna shook her head. “How strange.” She headed back to the Beast, splashing through the deepening puddles. “We need to keep moving. As much as I’d like to go and eat lunch now, I’d rather go and see Marissa Kendrick and get it out of the way so that we can spend the rest of the afternoon in the office. I’m exhausted. I had no idea being pregnant used so much energy.”

“You’ll need to use the footstool I placed under your desk.” Kane headed out of the driveway and along Main to Maple. “Walking around is fine but resting is good too, and keeping your feet up will prevent swollen ankles.”

Jenna smiled at him. “So will rubbing my toes when we snuggle in front of the fire. The other day, I rubbed Pumpkin’s toes. She purred like mad and stretched out her paws. She’s a lovely cat. I’m so glad she found us, and she keeps Duke company as well.”

“I like her too.” Kane slowed outside a log-built house with a large porch, turned into the driveway, and stopped out front. “I hope she’s home. It will save time if we don’t need to keep coming back here.”

Pulling her slicker over her head, Jenna dashed to the porch with the rain hammering on her hood and pounded on the front door. The net curtain beside the window moved and she caught sight of a shadow looking out at them. As Jenna’s slicker hadsheriffacross the front and back, the hesitancy of the woman coming to open the door wasn’t because she didn’t know who was waiting outside. It never ceased to amaze her how people didn’t recognize her even when they voted for her in the last election. They were a prominent couple around town, easily approachable, and yet she still found townsfolk reluctant to speak to her. The door opened slowly, restricted by a heavy chain, and a woman with dark straight hair wearing a thick sweater and jeans peered at them with wide-open brown eyes. Jenna met her gaze with a pleasant expression. “I’m Sheriff Alton. I’m here to speak to Marissa Kendrick.”

“I’m Marissa.” The woman hadn’t moved to open the door. “Why do you want to speak to me? Has someone died?”

“No, we’re investigating the murders of two of your friends from twelve years past.” Kane removed his hat and shook off theraindrops. “Do you figure we could come inside and speak to you. It’s wet and cold out here.”

“I guess. You’ll need to leave your slickers and boots in the mudroom. I don’t want you tracking dirt all through my house.” Marissa closed the door to unhook the chain and then opened it wide and waved a hand toward a small vestibule on the left. “Through there.” She waited for them to remove their things and then led the way along a passageway and into a typical country kitchen. “It’s warmer in here than any other room. Please take a seat and tell me what this is all about.”

Jenna took out her notebook and placed it on the table alongside her pen. The woman sat at the table with an agitated expression on her face and it was obvious that she didn’t want to speak to them about her old friends. Jenna needed to take a different approach with this woman by letting her know they had information about that evening. It might push her into telling the truth. “We are aware that you were close friends with Abby Jaye and Cole Peters during your time at college. We also believe you were with them the night they went missing, on Halloween twelve years ago. What I’d like you to tell us is your recollection of that night and who were the other people on the mountain.”

“There would have been over twenty students from Black Rock Falls College, maybe more, spread out all over as it was set up as a dare. You recall the legend of the Whispering Caves Axman? Well, the dare was to stay on the mountain by the caves past midnight to see his ghost. It was really just a party, nobody camped near the caves. I couldn’t possibly tell you everybody’s names because I don’t know. Yes, I was there with Abby and Cole, but I don’t recall seeing them for very long. They were there when we were sitting around the fire toasting marshmallows and then they got up and walked away. That was the last time I saw them.”

“Who else was in your group around the fire that night?” Kane leaned on the table and gave her a direct stare. “It was a memorable night as your friends never returned.”

“I’m not exactly sure. There were people coming and going all the time.” Marissa’s eyes shifted from side to side and she refused to make direct eye contact.

It was obvious to Jenna that Marissa had something to hide. She tapped her pen on her notebook and sighed. “I have a few names that might jog your memory. Do the names Wyatt Twotrees, Clint Wasser, Dustin Crawley, and Jess Hallon ring a bell?”

“We have numerous photographs from yearbooks and other sources that put you all together as a group of friends, so please don’t deny that you know these people.” Kane leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“It’s a lifetime ago, Deputy. I recall them, yes, but there were a ton of other kids on the mountain that night.” Marissa looked aghast. “You don’t think we had anything to do with them disappearing, do you? Heck, I didn’t even know that they’d died until I watched it on the news.”

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