Page 7 of Tears on Her Grave

Overwhelmed by the mountain of information that the woman had given them, Jenna glanced at Kane and then back to Elizabeth. “You’ve been extremely helpful. If you do think of anything else or if you discuss it with anyone and they have any other information, please contact me.” She handed her a card.

As she walked back to the Beast beside Kane, she turned to look at him. “We’d better hunt down the next of kin of thevictims right away to forewarn them that we may have found the bodies of their children.”

“With luck, they might still be living in town.” Kane slid behind the wheel. “We could access the birth records for the names we have and see what comes up.”

The small breakthrough lifted Jenna’s spirits. “I’ll get Kalo onto it, but first I’ll call Wolfe and give him the names. He can get the dental records.”

SEVEN

Jenna eased onto the towel-covered front seat of the Beast and reached for a box of tissues to dry her face. The constant rain and being wet all the time annoyed her. The wet slicker seemed to cling to her all over and it concerned her that the constant wet might damage the Beast’s pristine leather seats. After drying her hands, she waited for Kane to start the engine and then entered Kalo’s number into the onboard computer. Using the FBI whiz kid out at Rattlesnake Creek would be the best way to get information fast. She needed the current addresses of the families of both the victims and passed on their information the moment he picked up.

“Give me a few moments. This shouldn’t take long.”Kalo tapped away on his keyboard.“Yeah, I have it. They’re still living at the same place, have lived there for twenty years or so.”He gave Jenna the details.“While you’re heading that way, I’ll do a background check on both sets of parents and see if I can discover where they’re working now or if they’re working. If they’re not at home, you’ll be able to hunt them down there.”

Jenna heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks.” She added the coordinates to the GPS and waited for it to find a signal. Sheturned her attention to Kane. “They’re close by. One is on School and the other on Pine.”

“Okay.” Kane backed out of the parking space and headed in the direction of Pine.

Pine Road had been named well. Tall pines lined the blacktop along both sides. The houses, all red bricks, built almost one hundred years ago and set back from the road, had long driveways meandering through what was once part of Stanton Forest. The picturesque houses appeared welcoming during the day, but at night the long closed-in dark driveways became threatening. She recalled a few murders that had happened on Pine over the time that she’d lived in Black Rock Falls. “The Peters’ residence is first. I do hope someone is at home. There is nothing worse than going to a person’s place of work and giving them bad news.” She glanced at Kane. “I believe that most families would still be holding out hope that their children would walk in the front door one day.”

“I figure I would be the same.” Kane turned the Beast into a driveway that was little more than a tunnel of green vegetation. “At least the driveway is hard-packed gravel, some of them along Pine have deep ruts that fill with water and become quagmires.”

The trees closed in around Jenna as they moved deeper into the tunneled driveway. The driving rain had been diminished to large spots of water splashing on the windshield. Here, the steaming forest was dark and foreboding even in the daylight. The hairs on the back of Jenna’s neck rose as if in warning and yet she could see nothing to fear. As she turned to face forward, the Beast’s lights lit up the way ahead and everything appeared normal again. At the end of the driveway stood an impressive house, which she imagined would have at least six bedrooms, reception rooms, a library, and an office. No lights shone from the upstairs windows and they stood out like the black sockets in the skulls of the two victims they’d discovered. Two of theground-floor windows glowed with light that spread out over a small covered entrance with steps leading up on both sides. The pillars on each side of the steps made the house look very regal and an unusual design for a small town in Montana. She wondered if it had been owned by one of the town’s forefathers or perhaps a banker. They stopped outside and Jenna pulled her slicker hood over her head and dashed to the front door. When Kane walked up beside her, she pressed the bell. Footsteps echoed from inside and the door opened to reveal an older woman. Her hair was dark brown, short, and stylish, but a few silver hairs were evident. “Mrs. Peters?”

“Sheriff Alton and Deputy Kane.” Mrs. Peters looked from her to Kane and then back. She pressed one hand against her chest. “Oh my goodness, is this something about Cole?”

“May we come inside?” Kane gave her a sympathetic stare.

“Yes, yes, of course you can.” Mrs. Peters stood to one side and waved them toward a mudroom. “Please leave your wet things in there and come into the family room. I have a nice warm fire in there and you both look frozen to the bone.” She sighed. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee?”

Although Jenna would have loved a hot drink, she shook her head. “That’s very kind of you, but no thank you. We have other people to visit this morning.” She removed her slicker and wiped her boots on the thick mat and then followed the woman into the family room.

The room smelled of polish and wood smoke. Everything about the room spelled opulence, from the large stuffed sofas to the bronzes sitting on the mantelpiece. Artwork of scenery around Black Rock Falls covered the walls. As she walked to the sofa, her feet sunk into the deep pile carpet covering the floor. She sat down and waited for Kane to join her before turning her attention to Mrs. Peters, seated in a chair beside the fireplace. “I’m sorry to inform you that this morning we found two bodiesin the river. We have reason to believe one of them might be your son.”

“That’s impossible. My son went missing twelve years ago.” Mrs. Peters raised both eyebrows and stared at them with an incredulous expression.

“We have reason to believe that the bodies were mummified by being buried in sand approximately twelve years ago.” Kane frowned. “Do you recall what Cole was wearing the night he went missing?”

“Vividly.” Mrs. Peters met Jenna’s gaze as her fingers busied with the folds of her pleated skirt. “As he was planning to go into Stanton Forest and camp for the night in the mountains, I insisted that he wore extra clothing. So he would have been wearing thermal underwear. Maybe one or two sweaters and his college jacket over the top.”

“Did he wear a watch or a ring or anything else that could identify him?” Kane’s pen paused over his notebook.

“He didn’t wear a ring—he was hoping to get one after the football finals—but he did wear a watch and a fraternity pin on his jacket. He was a member of Alpha Pi.” Mrs. Peters shook as she pushed a strand of hair behind one ear. “Do you believe it’s my son? What happened to him? How did he die?”

Overwhelming empathy flooded Jenna. As a mother now, she completely understood what it would be like to lose a son. Having to deliver this type of news was soul destroying. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm her nerves. “We don’t have a positive identification yet or cause of death. He’s with the medical examiner now and he’ll be checking dental records. We’re following up on anyone who went missing around Halloween the same year as your son. There was no watch found with the body, but he was wearing a college jacket and an Alpha Pi fraternity pin. Would you consent to a DNA test to confirm?”

“Yes, of course. Where would you like me to go?” Mrs. Peters stood wringing her hands. “I’ll go at once.”

“That’s not necessary.” Kane pulled a DNA collection kit from inside his pocket. “All I need to do is swab the inside of your mouth. The medical examiner has a DNA sequencing machine in his laboratory and will be able to give you an answer by tomorrow.” He handed the kit to Jenna and then pulled on examination gloves. “I’ll do the test and the sheriff will give you some paperwork to sign.”

“If this is Cole, can I see him?” Mrs. Peters stood and opened her mouth for Kane to swab the inside of her cheek.

Swallowing the lump in her throat at the woman’s overwhelming sadness, Jenna shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good thing to do. It would be better that you remember him as he was when he left that night.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus.” Mrs. Peters covered her face and sat down abruptly. “He was murdered, wasn’t he?”

“Like we said before, we don’t have a cause of death at this time.” Kane raised both eyebrows at Jenna. “Do you want us to contact your husband or a family relative who can stay with you for a time?”

“No, I’ll tell him when he gets home.” Mrs. Peters lifted a tear-stained face to Jenna. “I can’t give him this terrible news and expect him to drive home in this weather. It’s too dangerous.”

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