Page 32 of Fear for Her Life

Needing to address every angle, Jenna paused a beat to consider the evidence. “I’m keeping an open mind on a fourth serial killer for now. We’ll need to contact the victims’ next of kin to find out if Elaine and Maya followed the same routine each day, but I agree with you, it sounds more like both women were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Jenna gathered her things and took her shoulder holster from a hook behind the door. Her M18 pistol was in a locked drawer beside her bed, and she collected it before waving them out of the room. She looked at Jo. “We’ll need to get into the office. I was going to ask you and Carter to stay here today to protect Tauri, but I need boots on the ground in town. If the prisoners are keeping to the forest, they’ll still need to eat and gather supplies. We have facial recognition programs available and believe they’re driving a silver GMC.”

“I’ll stay.” Beth paused in the passageway. “I can liaise with Kalo and we can keep the town under surveillance. I can work from your office and be on hand if anyone decides to drop by.”

Nodding, Jenna smiled at her. “I’ll contact the DOC command center and bring them up to speed. They’ll need to concentrate their search closer to town.”

“Don’t forget”—Beth walked backward into the kitchen—“serial killers are very good at slipping into society without being noticed. You could have one right beside you and not know. They’ll have changed their appearance, so be aware of their eyes. It’s one part of the body that’s the most difficult to disguise and these men wouldn’t have access to contact lenses or wigs.” She looked from one to the other. “After this long, they won’t look the same as their mug shots anyway. This was a well-planned escape, so assume they have beards and badly fitting clothes, and are dirty and smelling bad from living in the forest.”

The door to Nanny Raya’s apartment opened and Tauri bolted through. Jenna opened her arms to hug him. “There you are. Mommy’s going to work now. Do you want Duke with you again today?”

“Yes.” He looked shyly at Beth. “Is Aunty Beth staying today? She said she would teach me how to play games on the computer.”

Jenna raised both eyebrows. “Really?”

“The games require math skills and recognition.” Beth lifted her chin. “They switch on the parts of the brain that understand technology. The younger the better, but if you disapprove, I’ll understand.”

As Beth was an IT genius, Jenna wouldn’t miss the chance to have her tutor her son. She nodded in agreement. “I think that would be a great idea.” She looked at Tauri. “Beth has to work as well, so don’t be a pest.”

“I’ll be good.” Tauri grinned broadly.

“Don’t worry, we have a few things to do as well today.” Nanny Raya walked into the kitchen. “I’ll check in during the day, so you can be sure everything’s okay.”

Jenna’s phone chimed. She looked at the caller ID and smiled. “The guys are waiting outside for us.” She bent and kissed Tauri on the cheek and ruffled his hair. “I’ll see you later. Be a good boy.” She turned as Duke came toward her and rested his head against her leg. He obviously missed Kane. “Stay and look after Tauri for me.” Duke gave her his doggy smile and wagged his tail.

As Tauri disappeared through the connecting door with Duke on his heels, Jenna shrugged into her jacket, picked up her things, and headed for the door. She peered into the sky, searching for a helicopter. Apart from the murders, everything had been quiet on the home front. Perhaps Kane was keeping Souza busy. She sent up a silent prayer to keep him safe and climbed into the Beast.Let this be over. I need you here with me.

THIRTY-SEVEN

HELENA

Stuck inside a cabin on the outskirts of Helena, Kane stood from the table and paced up and down. With each step, the old cabin creaked under the weight of years, its wooden beams darkened by time and the elements. He inhaled air thick with the scent of pine and the faint, lingering aroma of woodsmoke. A small fire crackled in the stone hearth, casting flickering shadows on the rough-hewn walls. He stared into the flames. His retentive memory for faces and names had proved useful. Since arriving he’d scanned so many files his eyes hurt. Along with Wolfe, he’d discussed different plans of action, and Wolfe had quizzed him repeatedly on faces and names he might come in contact with during the mission. Knowing the difference between a potentially brutal killer and a gofer was vital information. In a shootout, he didn’t intend to take down innocents. Souza was his main target, but he’d been given the green light on other key members of his new team. When told they’d be expecting collateral damage, it was a nice way to say “kill them all” without giving a specific order. He took only specific orders.

He’d been deployed into some of the harshest places on earth and there’d always been one or two friendlies. This time they were throwing him into a nest of mercenaries—men paid by Souza to do his bidding. Many of these men were trained military who’d placed wealth over their country. This was the problem with allowing a cartel kingpin to escape prison. They always had a supply of money hidden somewhere, or more likely, supplies of money. Enough to rebuild an empire of death and destruction. Even though the FBI and DEA had literally destroyed Souza’s organization, he had enough gullible people to start up again in seconds. Mercenaries were plentiful as the riches were great, and in this mission were an unknown quantity he’d need to deal with face-to-face. This regurgitating of an empire happened almost overnight. So many people were willing to sell their souls to distribute drugs or sell woman and children into slavery. Money had a dreadful allure. In the right hands it could do great things, and in the wrong hands it could ruin lives. The choice was a frightening one, and poor people trying to feed their families would take the risk. These were the people Souza recruited, expendable and replaceable couriers and distributors to move his product. The only way to stop Souza was to remove him permanently. However, getting to him would be another matter.

At the sound of an engine approaching and wheels on gravel, Kane pulled his weapon and pressed his back to the wall to peer out of the window. It was the height of the tourist season in Helena and their arrival hadn’t caused as much as a ripple, butcautionhad become his middle name. He peered through the net curtain without moving as Wolfe climbed from the truck, carrying pizza boxes, a six-pack of beer, and a bottle of red wine under one arm. Kane opened the door and stood to one side. His stomach growled as the pizza’s cheesy aroma mingled with the earthy scent of the cabin, creating a comforting, homey atmosphere. Food was a comfort he indulged in and as he grasped the bottle of red wine he grinned at Wolfe. “Pinot noir, you sure know the way to a man’s heart.”

“Well, we don’t know what kind of food we’ll be getting when we hit the next town. From the intel coming in, most of the places Souza has visited are dives.” Wolfe dropped the boxes on the table alongside the beer and went to the sink to wash his hands. “The eggs and bread we brought with us will do for breakfast. They’ll send me the meeting place coordinates first thing in the morning. I figure it’s going to be a cloak-and-dagger mission. I’m to leave my chopper here. One will be supplied for me to fly to the meeting. What happens next, we’ll find out on the day. Do you figure you’re ready?”

Kane washed his hands and then went to the table, lifted a slice of pizza, folded it, and took a bite. He hummed in delight and then fixed his gaze on Wolfe. “I’m always ready.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

BLACK ROCK FALLS

The office hummed with activity. Jenna gathered everyone into the conference room and her first priority was contacting the next of kin of the two victims. She sent Rio and Rowley with the bad news and asked them to inquire if both women followed a pattern. Did Maya run at the same time each morning and did Elaine close the library and walk the same way home every night of the week? This information was imperative if they discovered that there was a fourth serial killer in town. Once Rio and Rowley had set out, she placed her phone on speaker and called the DOC command post to notify them about the current murder. “I don’t have the manpower to send out our drones, so I’ll need your teams moving closer to town and checking all the outlying cabins in the immediate area. We know what vehicle they have available to them and we have BOLOs out on them. We have had no sightings of either the prisoners or the vehicle in the vicinity of Stanton Forest.”

“We’ve found various camps with hikers and guys fishing. All of these left their vehicles in the parking lot on the edge of Stanton by the hiking trail and walked to their destinations.”The coordinator let out a long sigh.“Although we haven’t seen any drones in the area, and the forest is vast. It seems real strange that we haven’t encountered any sign of the prisoners since they left the last cabin. I figure that someone is giving them the heads-up about where we are, and they are taking evasive action. We have fresh boots on the ground this morning and they are moving slowly toward town along the eastern side of the river. If one of the prisoners did commit the murder this morning, then we have no reason to believe they’re moving in a westerly direction. I will notify you immediately if we come across any evidence.”

Twirling her pen in her fingers, Jenna looked at her team. None of them had any questions and she gave them a small nod. “We’ll be searching empty buildings around the perimeter of town. I’ve released another immediate report this morning, and I expect the townsfolk to call in on the hotline if they see anyone suspicious hanging around. Thank you for your assistance. I hope to hear from you soon.” She disconnected.

The moment she placed her phone on the table it chimed. The caller ID told her it was Norrell calling from the medical examiner’s office. “Good morning. Do you have an update?”

“I recall Wolfe mentioning that you preferred to have the preliminary findings on murder victims ASAP. I went ahead and examined the two female victims. I believe my findings are conclusive, but I will be completing both autopsies today. Just as a side note, I worked late last night to complete the autopsy on Robert Moore, the second forest victim. Time of death concurs with the timeline in Amy Clark’s statement. Death was from sharp force trauma to the neck. I’ll send you a detailed report later today.”

“Do you believe that Moore’s and both of the female murders were committed by the same person?” Jo leaned forward in her chair. “As we have three serial killers on the loose, it would be interesting to know if they are all killing.”

“The sharp force trauma in three of the murders appears to be inflicted by the same knife but I’ll need to wait until the DNA evidence is processed. We’ll have the murder weapon, but who wielded it in the women’s murders is inconclusive at this stage. I have taken swabs, but if these men were wearing gloves, it will be difficult to find any trace evidence.”Norrell tapped away on her keyboard.“The first female victim, who we are assuming is Elaine Harper, sustained twenty-five sharp force trauma injuries. Most of them were used to inflict pain. It was a vicious attack by someone who knew what they were doing, so I surmised this was the work of one of the serial killers as it fits the MO of Carl Romero.When he was done, the final blow was an upward thrust under the sternum to slice the heart in two. This was the kill shot.”

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