Page 47 of Their Haunted Hearts
As Wolfe needed to recuse himself from the forensic sweep of the killer’s home and vehicle, a team from Helena was arriving at ten. She’d made sure the transcript of the interview with John Dimock and all the forensic evidence Wolfe had logged prior to Julie being kidnapped was in the hands of the DA. At the time Wolfe performed the autopsies and gathered the evidence, there was no conflict of interest. The date stamp when he uploaded the information to the server would prove that Julie was in Helena at the time. From the moment Julie became involved, all of Wolfe’s team stood down.
Not having his eagle eye on scene and obtaining firsthand information would be difficult but she’d go along with Kane to execute the warrant. She had no idea if Dimock lived with anyone but doubted it. Most serial killers were loners. Once the Helena team had finished, she would hand everything over to the DA. Months, maybe years, later, the case would come to court and they’d testify. With luck, knowing that this killer and his father had been murdering and burying bodies all over, the local law enforcement departments where young women had gone missing without a trace at least had a starting point and maybe some of the missing women could be located. She hadn’t ruled out the possibility that after confessing to previous murders, John Dimock might just divulge where he’d buried them.
Jenna’s phone chimed and she was glad to see it was Julie. “Hey, how are you doing?”
“Believe it or not, I’m fine.” Julie chuckled. “Although Dad insists that I stay in bed all day. I have a bruise on my cheek and a few scrapes from being thrown onto the ground, but apart from that, I feel good. I’m not mentally damaged in any way. Last night I slept like the dead and then discovered that’s perfectly normal after a date rape drug. To be perfectly honest, I can only remember bits and pieces. I recall running out of gas and walking to the roadhouse but after that it gets a little foggy. Dad figures I shouldn’t try and remember what happened, but he did ask me why I took a ride with a stranger.” She sighed. “I recall buying a can of gas and some guy asking me if I’d like a ride back to my truck. The only thing I can remember is being so tired I could hardly move my legs, but I must have fought like a wildcat from the bruises all over me.”
Jenna smiled at Kane, who was listening. “That’s good to know. I’m sure you can remember your trip to Helena. Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, I did and I met some interesting people.” Julie lowered her voice. “I met a student from MU who has the same interests as I do and he’s coming to Black Rock Falls in May after he graduates. I’m hoping to show him around. His family lived here when he was a little boy. They died in a plane crash and he was tossed around in the foster system, so now wants to spend his time making sure that kids have good representation. I figure that’s the same career path that I want to follow. So, I’m setting my cap toward becoming a children’s advocate. I can complete two courses by graduation in May and an internship that will give me extra credits and experience and then I hope to apply for a position at Her Broken Wings Foundation. I’m not asking for any favors, Jenna. I know you are heavily involved with the foundation, but I figure I have the qualifications to work there and so does my friend, Rhett.”
Trying to sound serious but grinning broadly, Jenna punched the air. “Well, I don’t decide on the hiring and firing. I leave that to people qualified to decide who is best. I just make sure the shelters and foster families never become breeding grounds for abuse.” She leaned back in her chair. “Dave, your dad, and I are on the committee to raise extra funds, but the foundation does receive a very generous payment from the government that will ensure we continue to expand.”
“Oh, I understand completely.” Julie sighed. “I’ve noticed several positions available, so hopefully they won’t have found anyone by May. I’m banking on the fact that no one will want to come to Black Rock Falls in winter and I’ll have my application in way before I graduate.”
Jenna snorted with laughter. “It didn’t stop Dave. I met him on a backroad covered with snow. I was spinning upside down in my cruiser at the time.”
“Is Dave there?” Julie’s voice sounded very young.
“Yeah, I’m here, Julie. What’s up?” Kane moved closer to Jenna’s phone.
“I met a nice boy called Rhett. Well not a boy, he’s almost twenty-five. He goes to MU and he’s very smart. The thing is, he has a snake tattoo up one arm and he rides a Harley. When he comes to town, can you make sure Dad doesn’t kill him?”
“I’ll do my best.” Kane burst out laughing. “I’ll tell him not to judge a book by its cover.”
“Thanks.” Julie cleared her throat. “I’ll see you at the ball. I’ll be the wallflower wearing a devil’s costume. Bye.” She disconnected.
Footsteps on the stairs heralded the arrival of Rio waving the search warrants. Jenna stood and held out her hand. “Oh, good.”
“The forensic team have arrived. Wolfe’s given them his van for the day. They’re waiting outside for you.” Rio handed Jenna the papers. “Maybe you can show them the way?”
Jenna scanned the documents. “That’s brilliant. Thanks.” She looked at Kane. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to see what John Dimock has hidden in his house.”
They met the forensic team, led by Don Mandel. He seemed professional and was very quick to insist on the boundaries he required to complete the search. It was nothing unusual for Jenna and Kane, as they were used to wearing gloves and booties during a forensic investigation. Jenna suggested starting with the shed as Dimock had mentioned it during the investigation. What they found inside surprised and disgusted her. Shelves covered three of the walls and on one of them, tall glass bottles of what could only be blood sat as a stark reminder of what the killer had done. On another shelf, clothes had been neatly folded in piles. Beside each one a plastic bag containing personal items, jewelry, earrings, and necklaces, along with driver’s licenses. There was no doubt that John Dimock was the killer.
Jenna stood beside Kane as Don Mandel examined a piece of equipment that Wolfe had described in his autopsy notes. It was a two-pronged bloodletting device attached to a plastic hose that dripped into a large glass bottle. The shed had been made ready for the next victim. Realizing how close Julie had become to being the next person strapped to the table made Jenna sick to her stomach, and she needed to step outside for some fresh air. When the forensic crew went inside the house, they found little of interest. It would seem that John Dimock kept his extracurricular activities to the shed, the same as his father. The team searched for trace evidence and collected hair and fibers as well as the bottles of blood and clothes. All these items would prove the case against him. There were no signs that he lived with anyone. The house was a typical bachelor pad.
When they moved to the vehicle, which had been delivered to the premises, they discovered duct tape, rope, hunting knives, and a small bottle of medication, the same type as Raven had discovered during the body search. The vehicle was particularly clean as if he kept it that way to offer a good impression. With the scene processed, the case would be able to proceed. The killer hadn’t been on their initial list and knowing he’d been right there under her nose disturbed Jenna. If only she’d done a background check earlier, but before Kane had spoken to him, she really had no cause to doubt his credibility. She climbed into the Beast and they headed back to the office. She glanced at Kane. “How did I miss him? Thinking back, he was overnice, tried to become involved in the case. He wanted to see the first body. I should have been suspicious and run a background check on him earlier.”
“I figure his guise as a pastor was a brilliant cover.” Kane slid behind the wheel. “Him being interested and wanting to pray over the body didn’t send up red flags because in the back of your mind you’d have believed him. This is the art of a psychopathic serial killer’s deception. They are very good at making people believe in their character and they adapt to the situation. You needed people to answer phones and he made himself useful, when in fact all he wanted was information. It was a thrill for him watching us trying to catch him. Don’t beat yourself up about it. He fooled everyone and had been for years.” He smiled at her. “But you took him down. You gotta be happy about that?”
Jenna sighed. “Yeah, he won’t be able to kill again.” She glanced at the house. “Sometimes I wish we could raze murder houses to the ground.”
“It’s over, Jenna.” Kane headed back to the office. “The DA can take it from here.”
* * *
When they arrived back at the office, Rio wanted to speak to Jenna and followed them upstairs. She sat behind her desk. “Is there a problem?”
“I’m not sure.” Rio sat down in a chair opposite. “We set up trail cams as you ordered and I added one for the horse breeder, Bryce Withers.”
Jenna frowned. “I thought we’d all decided he didn’t fit the profile.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve never been one hundred percent wrong before. John Dimock’s behavior is a lesson to us all.”
“I added the camera for a reason and it wasn’t because of the murders.” Rio leaned forward, his expression earnest. “It’s aimed at the road leading to his property, so it doesn’t break any laws. The thing is, when we interviewed him we disturbed a shipment of horse pellets. That’s not unusual but he had armed guards around the truck, which made me suspicious. I questioned him about the guards and he told me he’d had shipments stolen before.” He met Jenna’s gaze. “I went back in the files and couldn’t find one mention of him calling us about missing horse pellets and he’d need us to make a report for his insurance claim.”
“So, you figure something else is happening there?” Kane dropped into a chair and looked at him. “Have you watched any of the footage from his ranch?”
“Yeah, and it’s just normal stuff, no big shipments of feed, but I guess he’d receive a delivery only every few weeks. We collected the trail cams today, but I was reluctant to take down the one at the Withers ranch until I’d spoken to you.”
