Page 26 of Fear for Her Life

“Where do we go from here?” Jo had walked up behind her. “What about the girl? Who is interviewing her?”

Jenna indicated toward Beth and Styles, who were chatting to Raven beside the Beast. “You and Jo come with me and Raven. Styles and Beth can take the other truck. I figured the best thing we can do is to head out to the DOC’s command center. They’ve set up at the forest warden’s station out at Bear Peak. We’ll find out what’s happening with the search and have them go and investigate the cabins where the murders took place. They will have plenty of capable deputies available to secure the scene. In emergencies like this, I give them blanket jurisdiction to act on my behalf. It will be necessary for them to bring out any remains and take them to the morgue. Norrell will perform the preliminary autopsies.” She walked slowly toward the others. “Once we’re done there, we’ll head out to the res. I’ll call Blackhawk. I have no idea if he’s contacted the girl’s parents. Everything seems to be happening at once.”

“Then what?” Carter walked beside her.

As her mind made plans and then dismissed them, Jenna turned to him. “Hopefully, by that time Rowley and Rio will be rested enough to take over the office. There’s not much we can do until we get a sighting of the prisoners. I figure we head back to the ranch and get Kalo and Beth onto the CCTV footage in real time, just in case they make it into town. They can run the facial recognition programs continuously. Kalo has done it before and I’ll release another media report to have all the townsfolk aware they could be heading this way.” She reached the others and brought them up to date. “Then I want everyone well fed and rested. We need to be ready to take down three serial killers.”

Climbing into the Beast was getting more difficult by the day. She glanced at Raven as he slid behind the wheel. First Carter and now Raven, Kane had never allowed anyone to drive his truck. Did he believe he wouldn’t be coming back this time? The thought of him out there somewhere risking his life made her heart ache and she clutched her chest.

“Are you feeling okay?” Raven turned to look at her. “I’m a doctor. I know you’re a strong and determined woman, but you’re also in your third trimester. Delivery at any time could be imminent. If you’re experiencing any pain, you need to tell me.”

Shaking her head, Jenna stared straight ahead. “Don’t worry, I’m not having this baby without Dave.” She flicked him a glance. “Think you can handle the Beast?”

“I figure we’ll find out soon enough.” He started the engine. “Is it true that you or Dave don’t need a key to start the vehicle?”

Waving her tracker ring at him. “Yeah, it’s the same as carrying the smart key I guess. We have the technology on us at all times. If someone gets into the vehicle, it locks and then the alarm sounds. The engine immobilizes. Trust me, without the key you’d need a crane to move it without either of us.”

“Don’t stamp your foot on the gas.” Carter chuckled from behind him. “It takes off like a rocket.”

To her surprise, Raven handled the Beast as if he’d been driving it all his life. They headed out of town and after passing through a roadblock on the highway, they drove along Stanton. As they headed alongside the forest, Jenna made out groups of people wearing jackets with wide bands of yellow. She indicated to the forest. “That must be the DOC search parties.”

“They’re just starting off, by the look of it.” Raven pulled the truck to a halt outside the forest warden’s station. “I’ll leave the dogs in the back.” He looked at Carter. “You okay with that?”

“Yeah, sure.” Carter closed his hand around Jenna’s arm as she climbed down. “Take the assistance. I’m concerned you’ll fall flat on your face.”

Carter had taken some time to regain his filter once he decided to join civilization again, but this sudden show of concern for her well-being surprised Jenna. “Thank you. Carrying all this extra weight makes it difficult to move around sometimes.” She headed to the door of the forest warden’s station and pushed inside.

A heavy scent of sweat filled the humid room, with people moving around, collecting backpacks, maps, and radios before moving away in groups. Raven, being able to see over the heads of most of the men in the room, took her by the elbow and guided her to the command center. Which turned out to be four men surrounding a map pinned to a whiteboard. “Who is in charge here?”

“That would be me.” A man in his mid-sixties, rotund and wearing glasses, turned to look at her. He held out a hand. “You must be Sheriff Alton. I’m Peter Angle, head of the taskforce.”

Shaking his hand, Jenna peered at the map. “Any signs of the prisoners?”

“Not yet, but we haven’t given up looking.” Angle indicated to two red pins on the map. “Those are the cabins they ransacked. Deputies from Louan and Blackwater are there processing the scenes. There are no remains at the first cabin. All they discovered were a pair of boots in the pigpen. At the second cabin there were remains of a male, but they had been disturbed by wildlife. They are bringing out the remains as we speak. I’ve notified the medical examiner’s office and they will be sending a van to collect them.” He searched her face. “I’m aware that your team has been on the job since the escape. We can handle it from here, but I do need to know there’s a team in town on alert in case they slip through the net.”

Jenna nodded. “Okay, thanks.” She turned to the others. “I need to go and speak to Serena.” She turned to Styles and Beth. “Can you head back to the office? Rio and Rowley will be back later and I need a team there. If the prisoners found a vehicle, they could be in town now.” She turned to Carter. “I’d like you to go as well. There’s a couch in the conference room. Try and get a couple of hours shut-eye. We’re going to need to be alert overnight.” She thought for a beat. “Maggie will order meals from Aunt Betty’s Café or pizza for you. Just tell her what you need and they’ll deliver.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.” Carter shook his head. “I’m an extra gun and Raven will be driving.”

“Hello!” Jo glared at him. “I’m standing right here. Are you suggesting I can’t shoot straight?”

“Nope.” Carter held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, I’ll go.” He spat out his toothpick and strode to the Beast and opened the door for Zorro to jump down and they headed for the other truck.

Jenna stared after him. “Is he always this temperamental?” She walked toward the Beast with Jo at her side.

“Not always, no.” Jo stared after him. “If you really want my honest opinion, all the men are concerned about you. With Kane away, they all believe it’s their responsibility to keep you safe.” She waved a hand absently toward Raven, who was watching the byplay with a smile. “Dave was thinking on his feet when he chose Raven. Apart from being mistaken for him, he made sure you had a doctor with you.”

Wishing Kane were with her, her stomach gave a jolt. What would he be doing right now? Was he risking his life? She forced a smile. “Yes, he thinks of everything. Come on, let’s head to the res before anything else happens.” She turned to look at Raven, who was staring into the forest. “You coming?”

“Sure.” Raven hurried after them. “I didn’t figure the bears came this close to the highway, with the eighteen-wheelers thundering by so often.”

Jenna stopped and turned to look at him. “They can be anywhere, especially here at Bear Peak.” She shook her head. “You live in the forest and you’re not bear aware? How did you survive so long?”

“I often ask myself the same question.” Raven shrugged. “Just lucky, I guess.”

TWENTY-NINE

Jenna called ahead to tell Blackhawk they were on their way. The security on the res would be on high alert because of the escaped prisoners. The tribal police were evident as they drove across the bridge and entered the res. They knew Jenna and the Beast by sight and waved her through. She buzzed down her window to speak to the officer on duty. “Any sign of any strangers?”

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