Page 14 of Their Haunted Hearts
“I do. If it were just the two of us, they’d split us up and we’d go through what we did before.” He glanced at her and then moved his gaze back to the highway. “Not having me near you would keep you safe. As a couple, you’d be the liability they’d exploit to get to me. That’s not my opinion; that’s a fact.” He shook his head. “It would be tough but we’d be alive and we wouldn’t really have a choice. The thing is, now we’re a family unit we’d be harder to relocate. We could move overseas but I’d be inclined to stand my ground and fight it out. Think about it. We take on serial killers all the time. We have a specialist team and a fortified home. The team wouldn’t need to know who the threat is… as in wanting me for the bounty, they’d just see a threat. We’d take them down and a cleanup crew would be all over it. There would be no one to report back.”
Pushing both hands through her hair, Jenna looked at him. “Someone would have sent them here. None of them work alone.”
“That’s what a cleanup crew is for, Jenna.” He sighed. “They have their ways. Maybe they use the assassin’s phone to message his boss, saying the sighting here wasn’t me but he’s tracked me to another town miles from here. Then his body shows in a different town. Things like that.” He cleared his throat. “Please stop worrying about this. If there had been any suspicious movements, I’d know. Right now, I need you to focus on the case. This killer is nasty and the team is relying on you.”
Shaking the disturbing scenarios from her mind, Jenna nodded. “I’ll be fine. I hope Wolfe is there by now.” She looked at him. “We’ll process the scene, and when we’re done, I’m taking a break. I figure Raven will be needing one too. We can discuss our findings over lunch.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Kane pulled the Beast’s nose in to the curb outside the haunted house. “It looks like the gang’s all here.”
Fourteen
Leaves blew around Jenna’s legs as she climbed from the truck and a dust devil danced along the sidewalk as if playing with the decorations and making the skeletons hanging to the light posts dance. Rowley stood outside the shattered open door to the haunted house and she made out movement inside. As she stepped onto the sidewalk, Raven, with Ben bounding beside him, pushed through the gathering crowd and met Kane. She walked up to Rowley. “What’s it like inside?”
“I haven’t been in yet.” Rowley pushed back his Stetson and shuffled his feet. “Wolfe wanted us all outside. If you’re going in, he left booties and gloves here for you.” He indicated to the bench. “He wasn’t happy that Raven walked all through a puddle of blood.”
Sighing, Jenna sat on the bench and pulled on booties and gloved up. She looked up when Kane sat beside her. She handed him the protective gear and looked up at Raven. “You were first on scene?”
“Yeah.” He indicated to the door. “I heard screaming and kicked in the door. Someone is on their way to repair it. I didn’t see anyone, no vehicles apart from what you see here now. Rio took the witnesses back to the office to get their statements.” He took Duke’s leash from Kane. “I’ll take the dogs to the park. I’ll be back before you miss me.” He headed across the road.
Jenna smiled. “He looks happy.”
“Emily is working the case.” Kane snapped on gloves. “He likes her and she’s finished her studies but he’s taking it slow.” He chuckled. “He reminds me of me… without the baggage.”
Jenna stood and stared after Raven. “That’s good. Maybe he won’t keep her waiting for four long years.” She chuckled, headed for the door and peered inside. “Can we come in?”
“There y’all are.” Wolfe came toward them. “The blood patch on the floor isn’t blood. It’s a synthetic blood used in movies. The victim is female around the same age as the first one, and I’m seeing complete exsanguination. I couldn’t get a sample of her blood and took one from the liver. Same stake through the heart. The tip is buried in the table, so I’d say he used a mallet to push it through.”
“Does she have marks on her neck as well?” Kane peered behind Wolfe.
“Exactly the same as the first victim.” Wolfe looked from one to the other. “This is without doubt the same killer.” He stepped back to allow them inside. “We did a sweep for trace evidence and fingerprints and the place is covered with so many different prints, they’ll be impossible to match. However, we’ll send them to Kalo, along with the victim’s and see if he can speed up the process.”
Wrinkling her nose at the smell, Jenna swept her gaze over the room. The scene had been staged—the body laid out, hair draped over the table, and the victim’s long nightgown hanging down one side. That was it, no clothes. The body was naked under the thin muslin nightgown. “Seems to me this guy wanted her to remain in the display. He wanted people to see his work.”
“Take a walk-through, and when you’re done, I’ll remove the body.” Wolfe shook his head. “If this is another out-of-towner, this guy is hitting on high-risk women. Catching him will be a nightmare. I’ll send a message to Helena to ask if this has been happening anywhere else in the state.”
“Yeah, this guy is slick. He’s been around the block a few times.” Kane went to examine the body. “I’m assuming there was a mannequin here before?”
“That I don’t know, but the owner is on his way.” Wolfe indicated to the way they’d come in. “He needed to grab supplies to fix the door.” He looked at Jenna. “You’ll likely get a bill.”
Jenna stared at the victim’s sheet-white face and took in the two puncture marks on her neck and then turned to the stake plunged into her heart. The lack of blood surprised her. She’d seen so many bloody crime scenes this one appeared to be almost peaceful. “There’s no signs of a struggle.” She looked at Wolfe. “We’ve checked all the places a person could have obtained a body and found none missing.”
A man poked his head inside the door and Jenna held up a hand. “Don’t come inside. This is a crime scene.”
“I’m Pastor John Dimock.” His gaze moved over the prone body and he pressed his hand over his nose. “May I come in and say a prayer for her?”
“Absolutely not.” Kane stepped in front of him. “Why are you here?”
“I watched the news about the other young woman. They said she was last seen at the roadhouse on Sunday night.” He turned the Stetson in his hands with his fingers. “I was there and I did notice a young woman. So I figured I’d come and tell you. I was on my way to your office and spotted you here.”
“Go on.” Kane remained in the doorway.
“She was sitting with a man, and when he left, she followed him outside.” The pastor looked at Kane. “I figured you should know.”
“Okay. Wait here.” Kane glanced over his shoulder. “Jenna.”
An eyewitness was just what they needed. Jenna waved him to the door. “I heard. I’ll speak to you outside.” She glanced at Kane. “Do a walk-through and I’ll speak to the pastor.”
Kane held her gaze for a long second and then nodded, but before he turned away, Emily moved to Jenna’s side.
