Page 29 of Fear for Her Life

“Yeah, sure I’ll wake Raven for you, but I’m coming too.”Carter cleared his throat.“Dave was concerned Souza might come after you to get back at him. I know you’re not mentioning where Kane and Wolfe vanished to and I don’t expect you to, but I’m not stupid. If Dave has decided to go after Souza, he should have taken me with him. I don’t figure a medical examiner is going to watch his back like I would.”He sighed.“Right this moment, we don’t know if this murder is a setup to get you out of the house—do we? I mean, Souza did escape with three serial killers and he doesn’t do anything without a good reason. We know someone is in contact with the prisoners, which means Souza could be directing traffic. Are you sure you don’t want to stay home and leave this one to us? I mean, being pregnant and all?”

Jenna lifted her chin and stared out of the kitchen window into the darkness. She’d faced many dangers in her lifetime and never shown weakness. Pregnant or not, she could do her job well and bring down serial killers. “Don’t worry about me, Ty. I can assure you, I might not be able to take a perp down in a fistfight right this moment, but I can darn well shoot straight.”

“That’s good to know.”Carter sighed.“But I’m here if you need me. Don’t hesitate to call if you need assistance when the baby arrives.”

Getting Thermoses out of the cabinet, Jenna cleared her throat. “My job as sheriff is very important to me and I can assure you I will still give a hundred percent to any case that I’m on. I have already made provisions for my children that allow me to do this without interrupting their care. If I can’t do my job to the fullest extent, that is the day I walk away from this town forever.”

“I understand.”Carter blew out a breath.“Can you tell Jo and Beth what’s happening? I don’t want to be accused of not including them in the case. I’ll go and wake Raven now.”He disconnected.

Suddenly missing Kane, Jenna stared at the phone. Had she been too harsh with Carter?

THIRTY-THREE

It didn’t matter that summer was fast approaching in the alpine town. The nights were still cool, and as Jenna stepped from the truck, an icy chill bit through her clothes. As she walked toward the alleyway, crime scene tape fluttered in a breeze carrying the scent of blood and death. Voices came from deep within and floodlights lit up the filthy alleyway so brightly Jenna needed to shield her eyes after being in the dark street. With Carter on one side and Raven on the other, she made her way along the alleyway to the crime scene. Norrell was bending over the victim. She lifted the young woman’s shirt and took the temperature of the victim’s liver to determine the approximate time of death. Beside Norrell, Colt Webber was videoing the scene and recording her dictation.

Scanning the scene, Jenna turned a full circle, she couldn’t imagine why anyone would take this particular alleyway as a shortcut to Maple when there was a laneway with a streetlight right next door. She glanced at Carter. “Do you think that she was dragged in here and murdered?”

“It’s hard to say until we have a look at the other end of the alleyway.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips, staring unblinking at the scene. He motioned to Rio, who came forward to speak to them. “Any sign of a struggle?”

“I figured the attack happened beside the dumpster.” Rio indicated behind him with his thumb. “There’s a lot of garbage at the other end of the alleyway and it doesn’t look like anyone’s been dragged through it. Maybe she ran there to hide, which would indicate this guy was either stalking or chasing her.”

The moment Norrell stopped speaking, Jenna moved forward. “What have you got for me, Norrell?”

“I haven’t confirmed the identity of the victim yet, but we did find a purse and inside was a driver’s license for Elaine Harper. She resembles the image, but her face has been so badly damaged I’ll need fingerprints or a DNA match to verify her identity.” Norrell bent and gently lifted up one of the victim’s arms. “As you can see, she tried to defend herself against her attacker, but confined within this small area, she didn’t have a chance. Her clothes appear to be intact, so I don’t anticipate any sexual abuse.” She turned to wave a hand toward the entrance of the alleyway. “There are no bloody footprints, apart from the dog’s. The witness who was walking her dog and found the body mentioned that she believed there was someone lurking in the shadows, but I have searched every corner of this alleyway and have found nothing unusual. In other words, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t here; it does mean that they left no trace DNA behind.”

Peering at the poor woman spread out on the ground, sliced up, and left to bleed to death, with her eyes pleading for Jenna to discover a murderer, saddened her. Seeing someone cut down in the prime of their life sickened and horrified her. She moved closer and a jolt of familiarity hit her. “I know her. She’s a librarian. I spoke to her when I took Tauri there to show him the books. She was very helpful and directed us to a bookcase filled with interesting reading for his age. Why would anyone want to murder her?”

“Likely a random thrill kill.” Raven crouched down beside the body, keeping outside the pool of blood. “This couldn’t have happened too long ago. Rigor is just setting in now. Taking the coolness of tonight into consideration, I would say she’d been dead for approximately two to three hours.”

Jenna’s gaze shifted over the body, searching for evidence. The crime scene itself usually gave away many secrets. Garbage littered the ground and would disguise and likely eliminate any trace evidence. “Did you find a phone? Was there one inside her purse?”

“No, there wasn’t one inside her purse and we haven’t found one anywhere near the body but there was one in the alleyway. It was the one the witness, Fatima Hagerstrom, dropped after she found the body. She has already identified it as hers.” Rio met Jenna’s gaze. “I walked with Rowley around the immediate area, including a short way along Main and Maple, searching for the victim’s phone and found nothing.”

“Personal effects?” Carter came to Jenna’s side. “What was inside her purse?”

“House keys, a small pack of tissues, a pen, makeup, and some feminine products. I don’t figure she had a vehicle.” Rio held up an evidence bag containing a woman’s purse. “She lives in that group of houses about half a mile from here on Maple. It would have been an easy walk from the library. It’s probably one she does every day. Perhaps the killer waited for her to pass and then chased her down here.”

As Norrell and Emily went about placing the victim into a body bag, Jenna took out her flashlight to search underneath the dumpsters but found nothing interesting. She groaned as she straightened and Raven leaned in close to her.

“If you need to look under dumpsters or anything else, why don’t you ask me?” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “How long has the backache been worrying you?”

Jenna narrowed her gaze at him. “For months. I’m getting used to it now, but I sure as heck won’t miss it once the baby is born.”

“Is it a constant ache?” Raven frowned and his gaze moved over her face filled with concern. “If it is, please ask your obstetrician to check you out in case it’s the first stages of labor.”

Trying to keep her mind on the case, but not wanting to snap at Raven like she did with Carter, she smiled at him. “If it becomes a problem, I’ll be sure to call her but right now we have a dead woman lying brutally murdered in an alleyway and a serial killer or maybe three of them loose in town. I figure we need to keep our minds on the priorities.”

After Emily and Webber loaded the body into the back of Wolfe’s van, Jenna went to Norrell’s side. “Will you be conducting the autopsy or are we waiting for Wolfe to return?”

“The deputies from Blackwater delivered the remains of Robert Moore late yesterday afternoon. He was the man the prisoners murdered at the second cabin.” Norrell peeled off her examination gloves, rolled them into a ball, and tossed them into a dumpster. “He has sharp force trauma to his neck, but I will need to conduct an autopsy to determine cause of death. With multiple murders, I have no choice but to take them in order. I’ll try and get to her on Friday.” She sighed and removed her mask and then led Jenna deeper into the alleyway. “Wolfe didn’t give me any details of where he was going or when he would be back. He explained to me when we decided to marry that there was a side of him I couldn’t ask about and it concerned his time in the military. He said, when he needs to go away for a time, he prefers having Dave with him.” She gave Jenna a long searching look. “Do you know what’s behind it? Should I be worried?”

Jenna looked over one shoulder glad to see Carter and Rio discussing something just outside the alleyway. They wouldn’t be overheard. It wasn’t her decision to explain anything to Norrell and obviously Wolfe wasn’t going to risk it either. There was too much at stake to tell anyone about Kane’s secret past. “I don’t know but I do know it’s something we shouldn’t discuss. I’m sure if there was anything they could tell us about, they would. They don’t go away very often, so it’s not something you should be worrying about.” She searched her face. “They both served in the military under fire. Maybe it’s something they need to do to keep their heads straight? I know for sure Emily and the girls know nothing either.”

“So we never ask?” Norrell folded her arms across her chest. “Doesn’t it worry you that your husband keeps secrets from you?”

Barking a laugh, she met her annoyed expression. “Everyone has secrets. Wolfe has explained that he can’t discuss his with you. I’m sure you will find him open and honest about everything else in his life. It’s the same with Dave. He tells me everything apart from what he does with Wolfe when they’re away. I believe everyone deserves to keep one special secret, so I never ask.” She smiled at Norrell. “One thing’s for darn sure, it doesn’t involve women.”

THIRTY-FOUR

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