Page 29 of Tears on Her Grave

“Her brutal death would be a warning to the others to remain silent.” Wolfe nodded. “That makes sense. What else have you got?”

“That’s assuming that the person or persons responsible for Cole’s and Abby’s murders are involved.” Kane adjusted his mask. “Since college, the group on the mountain that night has drifted apart. We know Marissa, Josie, and Lily kept in touch. Twotrees and Wasser became business partners. They did mention running into their old college buddies at reunions but that’s it. It’s as if they’re consciously trying to avoid each other.”

“If I recall, you mentioned that they were all members of the same fraternity.” Wolfe covered the body and removed his gloves. “I’m sure y’all are aware a fraternity is a brotherhood and those guys usually remain close friends, especially if they live in the same town. Perhaps you should hunt down some of the other members. Maybe they can give you some insight into why these guys drifted apart?”

Nodding, Jenna removed her gloves and rolled them into a ball. “That’s an angle I hadn’t considered. Right now every time we ask about what happened that night on the mountain we get the same story. It’s as if they’ve discussed it beforehand to make sure they all tell us exactly the same version. That’s suspicious on its own and when you add the fact that they seem to be deliberately avoiding each other, it makes me believe they’re hiding something.”

“The avoidance and the verbatim stories point to collusion.” Wolfe nodded.

“Agreed. Especially if the decision to take out Marissa was, as you said, a warning to the others.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “We’ve seen how a psychopath can control people in other cases. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that this is the same type of situation.” He looked at Wolfe. “If a close friend murdered Marissa and the killer is male, it certainly points to this group. Apart from Josie and Lily, she doesn’t appear to have any other close friends at all. She was a loner.”

Absorbing the information, Jenna thought for a beat. “So if this is a longtime conspiracy to cover up the murders of Cole and Abby, the group could be meeting in secret. This would account for the burner phone. In this case, Marissa would have trusted the others in the group and relied on them for years to keep their secret. Then the bodies show up and they all panic. They purchase burners to keep the group together and all on the same track.”

“A psychopath would be influencing the others.” Kane shrugged. “That wouldn’t be too difficult, not when Norrell revealed Cole and Abby had been buried alive. Now it’s not just the killer responsible for their deaths.” He looked at Wolfe. “We have four possible suspects and they’re all squeaky clean.”

“I’ve gone over the body with a fine-tooth comb. If the killer left any trace evidence whatsoever, y’all know I’ll find it.” Wolfe led them to the door. “Norrell found traces of skin under the nails of Abby. We have only Cole’s DNA to compare it to, and as the sample is degraded, it will take some time to process. There is also the fraternity pin. One of the people you’re interviewing will be missing theirs. Likely that is the person who killed Abby. Who murdered Cole is a mystery, but after seeing the results of the attack on Marissa, the pattern of ax marks on her back are similar. The depth and angle change direction. They remind me of the way a wood chopper wields an ax during competition. They swing one way and then the other.” He indicated with hishand as if chopping a V shape. It could be the same person, and I’d wager he has a woodcutting background.”

Intrigued, Jenna stared at Wolfe in disbelief. “If it’s the same person, it would certainly prove my theory that the killer murdered Marissa to prevent her from revealing who murdered Cole and Abby. Once their bodies were discovered and Norrell revealed we had leads, the killer needed to keep her quiet. Now we just have to untangle this group of friends and find him.”

THIRTY-SIX

Rowley turned his truck into the Big H Ranch and headed along the impressive sweeping blacktop to the house set on the top of a hill. The ranch spread out in endless grasslands, and he recognized herds of Black Angus beef cattle. Safe from the wide areas of flooding, they grazed in lush green pastures on high ground. Well-maintained outbuildings, barns, and ranch hands’ cabins made up part of a huge business. Another large ranch house sat at the end of a separate driveway with a massive garage on one side. He whistled and glanced at Rio. “Wow! This spread is impressive.”

“This would be a beef cattle ranch?” Rio turned in his seat. “It’s huge.”

Grinning, Rowley headed for the barn with theofficesign above a side door. “You’re in Montana now.”

“Hmm, well I figured the cattle ranches in Texas were big too until I visited Australia.” Rio chuckled. “I’ll give you a comparison. In Texas the biggest cattle ranch is 830,000 acres; in Australia it’s 5,831,000 acres.” He shrugged. “I guess they sure love their steaks Down Under.”

Always amused by Rio’s retentive memory and his wealth of useless information, Rowley swung out of the truck and headedto the office. The smell of cows washed over him, and flies buzzed around his head. The white painted office door stood open and a broad-shouldered man sat behind the desk working on a computer. He knocked and waited for him to look up. “Hi there. Deputy Rowley and Rio, we’re looking for Jess Hallon.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me that one of our hands has gotten himself into trouble again?” The man leaned back in his office chair making it squeak. “I’m Jess Hallon and I run things around here.”

Rowley shook his head. “I don’t recall us having anyone in the cells overnight. We need to speak with you on a different matter.”

“Do you own this spread?” Rio rested one hand on his weapon and waved his other one as if encompassing the entire ranch.

“I’m partners in the business with my pa.” Hallon shrugged. “He’s getting on in years. After a fall from his horse last spring, he’s been taking it easy. So, what brings you here today?”

“If you’d watched the news over the last few days, you’d be aware that the bodies of two of your friends were discovered in the river.” Rio was taking a casual pose. “We’ve hunted down who was with Cole and Abby over Halloween the night they went missing and your name came up. As there’s no statute of limitations on murder and it’s evident from the injuries on the bodies that we’re looking at a homicide, Sheriff Alton has reopened the case. We’re speaking to every member of the group who was with them on the night they died.”

“Yeah, I have to admit it was quite a shock.” Hallon leaned back in his chair crossing his legs to rest one boot on his opposite knee. “We all figured they’d run away together.” He shook his head slowly. “One news report said they’d been buried alive. How so? I don’t recall any landslides or anything that night. It was cold and clear with a heavy mist on the ground.”

Surprised by the man’s casual attitude, Rowley took out his phone. He needed to record this interview. He held up the phone. “Mind if I record the interview? If I forget to tell the boss something, I’ll be back again tomorrow.”

“Sure, I’ve got nothing to hide.” Hallon’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Ask away.”

After hitting the record button, Rowley placed the phone on the desk. “Persons unknown attacked Cole and Abby with an ax and then buried them alive in a cave. We’ve established the location of this cave. The sand was washed out due to seismic activity, but the ensuing flood from the melt distributed the evidence in the same vicinity. Only the bodies were washed into the river and that’s because they were mummified.”

“Mummified, how on earth could that have happened?” A stunned expression crossed Hallon’s face. “You mean like Egyptian mummies?”

“Yeah, much the same. When bodies are submerged in very dry sand, the normal decomposition process doesn’t happen.” Rio glanced at Rowley and gave him a “what the heck” shrug. “Most of the bugs that aid decomposition can’t live in dry sand. The bodies just dehydrate. Without the weight of water in the tissues, they floated like dead leaves on top of the river.”

“I see.” Hallon cleared his throat. “Do you have any suspects for their murders?”

Rowley narrowed his gaze. There was no way he’d allow Hallon to take control of the interview. Right now the suspect was making excuses not to tell them about the night he’d spent with Cole and Abby. “If you could just tell us what you can recall about that night, we can be on our way.”

The monotone description of Halloween night was given without any embellishment and was exactly the same as the others they’d received. He exchanged a meaningful glance with Rio and moved on to Marissa Kendrick’s murder. “I’m sureyou’re aware that one of your friends was found murdered at the Old Mitcham Ranch on Thursday morning. Her name was Marissa Kendrick. Do you recall her?”

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