Page 23 of Their Haunted Hearts
“I had absolutely no luck at all getting into her laptop. I even tried her fingerprint, but as you know, most times a dead person’s finger won’t work.” Wolfe indicated to Raven. “Raven was good enough to fly the laptop to Kalo. It took him an hour to break the password, which makes us believe she had something to hide. It’s back in my office now. The password protection has been removed, so you can scroll to your heart’s content.”
Glancing at Raven, Jenna smiled. “Thank you. I didn’t know you were flying full-time again?”
“I’ve kept my license up to date and Wolfe took me out to get all the other requirements I needed. It’s all good now. I’ve been flying alone for over a year now.” He indicated to Emily. “Emily came with me this morning. We left at first light.”
Jenna nodded, realizing how much she’d missed being at home with her boys. Life had gone on without them and they hadn’t missed her at work at all. The team had performed like clockwork but it was different now—they had a murder to solve.
“That’s why none of us has had time to look at the laptop.” Wolfe had opened the chest of the victim. “See, everything is the same. The killer has this down to a fine art. Have you discovered any similar crimes elsewhere?”
“Not yet.” Kane leaned closer and peered into the cavity. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. We’re trying to get a timeline of the victim, well both of them. It’s sketchy. We discovered a bus ticket and a key. It’s likely from a locker. Maybe an airport or bus station. If we can narrow it down, we might discover why this poor woman ended up in Black Rock Falls.”
“Kalo is your man for that job.” Wolfe removed organs and weighed them. “He has access to so many databases. Does the key have any markings, numbers, or similar?”
“Yeah, it does, a number four.” Kane rubbed his chin. “Nothing else I recognized, no name. I’ll take photos and send them to him.”
“Women run because they’re in trouble.” Emily moved closer to the body. “Her prints aren’t on file, so she isn’t running from the law. Maybe a violent relationship?” She went to the screen array and flicked it on to display X-rays. “This woman looks fine on the outside but she suffered numerous injuries in the past. Broken wrists, fingers, her cheekbone, more than once. Look at her face. Her nose isn’t straight. It was broken at one time and she has a small scar on her eyebrow. I’ve seen examples of domestic abuse that look the same. It’s something you should consider.”
Jenna had thought much the same. “I agree. It’s unusual for women to just take off and run to a place like this with no set place to go. It’s like they took a bus ride to anywhere just to get away.”
“They might have heard of Her Broken Wings Foundation.” Raven moved to lean on the counter beside her. “Maybe that’s where they were heading.”
Shaking her head, Jenna looked at the pale face of the victim. “I never want these women to become faceless victims. I need to know who they were and what happened in their lives to send them here.”
“Find out what you can about them, Jenna, and I’ll speak for them in court.” Wolfe turned to look at her. “We all do this to bring victims of crime the justice they deserve. What have you got so far?”
Determined to know exactly what happened, Jenna nodded. “Although Bunny Watkins somehow found a job and a place to stay, she became a victim. Why? I figure she must have had a little spare cash. She has worn-down nails and her dry skin and hair tells me she didn’t spend anything on herself.” She glanced at Kane. “Bunny is the opposite of the first victim, Darlene Travis. She lived a privileged life and left after an argument. It must have been a shock to be stranded without money.” She sighed. “I figure she took a ride with the killer because she had no other option as she was being hassled by cowboys at the roadhouse.”
“So, the killer must look okay.” Emily looked from one to the other. “I mean he must have been a nice guy on the outside. No one is that desperate to get into a vehicle with someone who looks or acts rough.”
Swallowing hard, Jenna stared at her. “Do you really believe a young woman would get into a truck with a total stranger because he’s handsome or talks nice?”
“I do.” Kane shrugged. “Look at Ted Bundy. He could charm the skin off a snake. He had women carrying his books and helping him. He charmed the jury until they saw what he’d done.” He looked at Emily. “This is the problem with serial killers: they could be standing next to you and you’d never know until it’s too late.”
Twenty-Three
Rio organized the volunteers who arrived to answer the hotline phones and walked out from behind the counter and went to Rowley’s desk. “Did you find any more information on Bryce Withers?”
“Yeah, he seems of good standing in the community.” Rowley leaned back in his office chair twirling a pen in his fingers. “I can’t imagine why he hangs out at the Triple Z Bar, unless he prefers the company of his ranch hands.”
Rio hung his forearms over the edge of Rowley’s booth. “I guess we’ll find out, but we’ll need to tread carefully with Withers. Without a criminal background we don’t have the leverage to push hard. We’ll head out to his ranch. I’ll take the lead as I know how to deal with someone like this.”
“Sure.” Rowley stood and grabbed his coat from behind his chair. “The BW Ranch isn’t far from the Triple Z Bar. Want me to drive?”
Rio nodded. “I’ll grab my coat.”
The weather was getting wild as they stepped through the doors of the sheriff’s office and down the steps to Rowley’s truck. Leaves and candy wrappers smacked into his legs as he reached the door and the cold wind bit into his cheeks. Rio glanced toward the mountains. A band of thick clouds was heading their way. He climbed into the passenger seat and Rowley headed along Main and onto Stanton in the direction of the Triple Z Bar.
When they arrived at the BW Ranch a flatbed truck was in the process of unloading palletized feed bags. Men were moving back and forth as two forklift drivers took the pallets and disappeared into a huge barn. Rio frowned at the rifles the onlookers carried. “That seems an unusual amount of security for horse pellets.”
“Maybe we need a closer look.” Rowley was scanning the photograph of Withers. “I figure that’s him there in the sheepskin jacket. The guy beside the one with the clipboard. It looks like they’re doing an inventory.”
It was about that time that Withers noticed them driving toward the barn. “He’s spotted us. Pull up here alongside the fence. It will give the truck room to get past us on the way out.”
They stepped out as Withers came walking toward them. At about six-two with broad shoulders, he carried a Glock in a holster at his waist. His open jacket displayed a blue plaid shirt buttoned to the neck and tucked into blue jeans over a pair of dusty boots. In his forties, he fit the description Jenna had added to the case file of the man seen in the roadhouse with Darlene Travis, victim number one. Rio headed toward him. “Mr. Withers?” He indicated toward Rowley. “I’m Chief Deputy Rio and this is Deputy Rowley. We’re making a few routine inquiries regarding the murders of Darlene Travis and Bunny Watkins.”
“Why come to speak to me? I don’t know them.” Withers folded his arms across his chest and stood feet apart glaring at them. “If that’s all, I have the winter feed to attend to.” He glanced over one shoulder at the truck. “We’ve had pallets of feed go missing and we’re looking at a loss of hundreds of dollars.”
“If something has been stolen, you should report it.” Rowley leaned against his truck. “We will be able to get to the bottom of it and you can make an insurance claim if something’s missing.”
