Page 27 of Tears on Her Grave

“Nope, why would I do that? I had no idea what they were doing.” Twotrees’ mouth twitched into a grin. “Well, I did have some idea, but it wasn’t for me to go and disturb them or hunt them down to find out where they were. As consenting adults, it was none of my business. They drove to the mountain in Cole’s truck, as far as I’m aware, so I guess I figured they’d just left. I know that Abby wasn’t happy about going into the mountains over Halloween. She wouldn’t allow Cole to wear his Halloween mask either because it frightened her.”

Jenna made a few quick notes and then lifted her head to look at him. “Did that cause a problem between them? Did you hear this disagreement and how was Abby when she came to the mountain? Did she seem upset at all?”

“No, no, and no.” Twotrees rolled his eyes. “Cole mentioned it before we went to the mountain. I believe it was in the dressing room after practice but I can’t be sure. It was a long time ago. Trust me, he would have done anything for that girl—not wearing a Halloween mask wasn’t an issue between them. When we walked up the mountain together, they acted normal. There’s nothing else I can say. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. We were all just out having a good time. It was a big shock to discover that someone murdered them.”

Unconvinced, Jenna kept her expression neutral. “Can you account for your whereabouts between two on Wednesday afternoon and eleven on Thursday morning?”

“Why would you want to know that?” Twotrees’ eyes narrowed and he placed his hands flat on the table.

“That would be the estimated time of death of Marissa Kendrick, and as a friend of hers, we need to know where you were and who can collaborate your movements around that time.” Kane leaned forward eyeballing him. “I’m sure as a businessman you would be able to account for your movements during the day.”

“Let me see.” Twotrees’ fingers ran over his keyboard. I believe I was in the office on Wednesday. I don’t recall doing anything else but going home on Wednesday night and coming back to work on Thursday morning. I had orders to process. I don’t have a personal secretary. We all use the same administrative assistant.”

“So if I check the GPS system on your vehicle, it will confirm that you remained in the office all day, or did you go out for a bite to eat for lunch?” Kane’s attention hadn’t moved from Twotrees’ face.

“It’s very possible. I went out for lunch. I go out for lunch most of the time.” Twotrees’ mouth formed a straight line. “It’s not something I plan and it depends on what I’ve decided to eat.” Annoyance shimmered off him. “I don’t remember because it wasn’t significant. Now, if that’s all, I’ve got work to do.”

Jenna slowly took a card from her pocket and slid it across the table toward him. “If you do have any memories of the night Cole and Abby went missing, or if you remember where you were on Wednesday, I would advise you strongly to contact me.”

“Okay, I will but I can’t remember anything now and I don’t think that’s going to change.” Twotrees ran a hand down his face. “It’s terrible what happened to Marissa but I haven’tseen her for many years. I don’t even recall seeing her in the street and whatever happened to Cole and Abby is a mystery I’ve struggled with for many years. Cole was my best friend and he never mentioned running away with Abby, and that was the general consensus when they didn’t show. As time went by, I stopped thinking about them, until this week when their faces were all over the news. I believe that trying to tie in the two incidents is a mistake because we rarely see each other now. In fact, I don’t ever recall any of us getting together apart from the college reunions. The only person I speak to from back then is my business partner, Clint Wasser. His office is next door and he’s in today. Feel free to go and speak to him, but you’ll get the same information as I gave you.” He waved a hand toward the door.

Unable to think of anything else to ask, Jenna stood and leaned on the table to stare into his eyes. “Unlike the sheriff who was in charge when Abby and Cole went missing, I will get to the bottom of this. We have evidence that will lead to the person who murdered Abby and Cole. We’ve discovered the burial site and have a leading forensic anthropologist on the case. She will find evidence to convict. There’s no statute of limitations for murder and I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that Marissa was murdered the same week as their bodies were found in the river. I figure she was planning on letting me know what had happened that night in the mountains and someone murdered her to keep her quiet.”

Pausing long enough to take in the surprise expression on Twotrees’ face, Jenna straightened and headed out of the door. As Kane came up beside her, she turned and smiled at him. “I figure I got his attention.”

“Yeah, you sure shook his tree.” He indicated to a room farther down the passageway with Wasser’s name on a metallicstrip on the door. He knocked and pushed it open. “Mr. Wasser? The sheriff would like a word with you.”

THIRTY-THREE

Heading into an interview with a person who could be a violent criminal was never easy. Keeping a casual and unthreatening attitude was pivotal to getting information from people. After witnessing what had happened in the root cellar at the Old Mitcham Ranch, any of the men they were interviewing could be a monster. After speaking with Twotrees, the hairs on the back of Jenna’s neck had stood to attention. She’d interviewed so many nice serial killers hiding in plain sight that she often relied on her own intuition to bring these people to justice. Both these men were close friends and up until this moment she’d never considered the possibility of two monsters.

Her attention moved to the man behind the desk. Steel-gray eyes met her gaze from a sharp face. He had a pencil tucked behind one ear and in front of him was a legal pad covered with notes and numbers. Long shirt sleeves had been rolled up to display muscular arms that ran to wide shoulders. Both men had a familiarity about them in their build, and she had no doubt they’d been a force to be recognized when playing football. She introduced herself and Kane, and Wasser surprised her by smiling good-naturedly and waving her to a seat.

“You both look very serious. May I offer you a cup of coffee or a soda?” Wasser moved to get up.

“We’re good, thanks.” Kane waited for Jenna to sit down and then took the seat beside her.

Jenna set her things out on the table. “Mr. Wasser, you’ll be aware that the bodies of your friends Cole and Abby were discovered in the river this week.”

“Yeah, it’s a terrible thing. I saw it on the news.” He clasped his hands on the table, covering the notes on the legal pad. “We always wondered what had happened to them. Did they get lost in the caves or something?”

Jenna shook her head. “No, they were murdered and now we’re investigating the case. I’m conducting interviews with the members of the group of friends who went to the mountain on the night they went missing. We’ve already interviewed Josie and Marissa, as well as your business partner, Mr. Twotrees. If you could start from the beginning, as in when you arrived at the mountain, and go on until you returned to your vehicles, I would appreciate it.”

When Wasser gave a facsimile of Twotrees’ account of the night, Jenna looked at Kane and rolled her eyes. The story was so well rehearsed he even chuckled in the same place. “That story is word for word from everyone we’ve spoken to so far. Surely, there must have been something else that happened that night. A detail we can check up on. Right now we have only the group of you to prove you were together at the riverside camp. What I need are witnesses to confirm you were in a certain place at a certain time.”

“Hmm.” Wasser rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s such a long time ago but hearing about Abby and Cole has stirred a few memories. Two of the players on our football team got into a fight over a girl, they stumbled through our firepit, and weneeded to stamp out the flames. Is that the type of thing you’re looking for?”

Surprised by the extra information, Jenna lifted her pen and nodded. “Yeah, that’s perfect. What were their names?”

“Cory Dunn and Alan Clarke. I don’t recall the name of the girl they were fighting over. It was all over in a few seconds.” Wasser stared into space for a beat. “I know Cory moved to LA with his parents just after he graduated, but Alan still lives in town here somewhere. I did see him at one of our last reunions.”

Relieved to get more information about the night Cole and Abby were murdered, Jenna made notes and then lifted her head to look at him. “You’ll be aware that Marissa Kendrick was found murdered on Thursday. Can you account for your movements from lunchtime on Wednesday to approximately eleven on Thursday morning?”

“I move around a fair bit in my job, making sure that consignments are sent and parts ordered. Many garages across the county rely on getting their parts without delay. I do believe I was in the office most of that day. I went home around seven o’clock that night. I stayed home and watched TV and then came back to work the following morning. I live alone, so I don’t have anyone to corroborate my story, but I’ll be happy to submit my GPS records in my vehicle and on my phone, if that’s necessary. I have nothing to hide. My life is an open book.”

“When did you last see Marissa Kendrick?” Kane leaned forward in his chair.

“Oh, last year around tax time.” Wasser opened his hands wide. “It’s no secret she was my tax agent. Someone from your office called me late on Wednesday to ask if I’d seen her and does she come to my office or do I go and see her, but you’d know that, right?” He sat back in his chair. “Marissa was very efficient. I’ll miss her.”

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