Page 38 of Their Wicked Games

“Maybe.” Jo ran her finger through a scattering of sugar on the table. “I’ve run a few profiles using other cases but this killer is so diverse it’s difficult to produce a solid profile. I’d say, if he is leading others, he’s charismatic, a strong alpha male, easily liked and trusted. I’d say maybe around thirty. He’d mix easily with a group or is happy alone.”

“That kinda fits all our suspects apart from Bill Ripley. He’s the complete opposite.” Carter added cream to his cup and shrugged. “I’m finding it hard to believe he competes in competitions. He’s introverted. Being a friend or in a group doesn’t make him a serial killer, or even a thrill killer.”

Not wanting to waste time, Kane checked the lists again, going down the most recent, and lifted his head. “Well, maybe he’s playing a character. A psychopath can change on a dime if needs be. I have found a phone call to Stafford from someone called Bill made last week. He is another of Stafford’s pen pals. What if this is Bill Ripley? Think over what we know about him. A loner, likes violent video games, and moves around unnoticed as he is just about the only person living on campus. He knows the victims, well at least four of them, and is a crossbow sharpshooter.”

“Okay.” Jenna washed her food down with coffee and nodded. “We zone in on him. Find out what he’s been doing.” She looked at Kane. “We could ask Kalo to cross-match our suspects with anyone serving time in the same prison as Stafford. Although that won’t help us, as we can’t prove Stafford sent a message to his followers through them. In fact, it could be any one of the prisoner’s visitors passing on information. I was so excited we’d figured it out, but now we’ve hit another brick wall.”

Kane shook his head. “Not necessarily. I’m convinced Bill Ripley is involved. There are too many coincidences. When we consider Jo’s profile, he appears to be an unlikely suspect, but then we’ve proved over and over that no one serial killer fits a certain profile—they’re all different. We’ll lean on him some more. Maybe drag him down to the office and see if he cracks.”

“Okay, we’ll head out to the campus and question him again.” Jenna turned the salt cellar around with her fingertips. “If he’s the Bill who called Stafford, we’ll have the missing link.”

THIRTY-FIVE

Rowley headed into town on a hunch and drove to Alicia Palmer’s house out at Fallen Rock Crescent. The local animal protection had collected her dog and discovered he wasn’t angry at all, just protecting his owner’s property. When he’d called to ask about the dog he was relieved to hear they’d easily find him a new home. Rowley had been sitting in the office all day chasing down leads and coming up empty. Was Alicia Palmer involved in the forest murders? She’d certainly been on the list of suspects prior to her death. This part of the investigation had been halted when Miles Nolan was discovered butchered in an alleyway.

He turned the key in the lock and peered through the open door of the small house. It smelled of wet dog and the acrid stench of dried pee. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he stepped inside, as if Alicia were there watching him intrude on her privacy. He shook off the memory of seeing her mutilated body and, leaving the door open, searched the house. The family room was covered with trophies. It seemed she hunted everything and liked to brag about it. On every available surface she’d displayed gruesome photographs of her kills in silver frames. Disturbed by the unnecessary portrayal of carnage, he shook his head. The field-dressing of a kill was necessary, but taking selfies during the process defied logic. He hunted for the table, with any elk or deer going straight to the meat-processing plant. If he wanted sport, he fired his crossbow or guns at targets to beat a score. It seemed Alicia enjoyed the blood sport side of hunting—did she enjoying killing people as well?

The idea simmered in his mind, and although Alicia had died, he could feel her in the house. The slight smell of perfume in the bedroom, the half-filled coffee cup withtoday will be greatwritten on one side left beside the bed. The house was untidy, the dog had chewed up most of the furniture, and dishes piled up in the sink. The place would become a health hazard if they couldn’t locate her next of kin and get someone to clean the place. Alicia had converted a bedroom especially for her crossbows and she’d mounted them on the wall. He moved along them, recognizing them as her competition crossbows and quivers. A specially made chest of drawers held a variety of bolts, trackers, and fletching. A shelf held silver cups from her competition wins. The crossbows had been noted on the list from the last search, but that one had concentrated on her involvement in the forest murders, as in trophies or anything they could find to link her to the people under suspicion. Rowley had another angle and it would take someone skilled in crossbows to find the anomaly.

After checking each bow and quiver, he moved through the house, concentrating on closets large enough to hang a bow and quiver. Alicia was untidy and lived a life split in two. At work she’d be expected to maintain a sterile environment. At home, the opposite, like two sides to a coin. This information was key to his hunch. When he found a crossbow and a quiver of bolts hanging in a closet under the stairs, he wanted to punch the air. A hunting crossbow, well-worn with use, and a quiver filled with EVO-X Center Punch premium carbon arrows. Just as he hoped to find. Perhaps she made a habit of dumping her hunting gear in a closet without cleaning it. She didn’t hunt for the table, so maybe didn’t care if her bolts were caked with dry blood.

With care, he dropped the quiver into a large evidence bag and, using his flashlight, searched all around the closet. From what he could see, Alicia came home from hunting and left her boots, jacket, and crossbow in the same closet. He collected her boots and clothes, bagged them, and then left the house.

Rowley drove to Wolfe’s office and went round back. He used his card across the scanner to gain entrance and headed for Wolfe’s office. Finding the office empty, he made his way to the lab and found Wolfe with Emily bent over a microscope. He smiled at them. “We’ve all wondered if Alicia Palmer was involved with the forest murders. I’ve been thinking on it and figure I have a way of proving it.” He held up the evidence bags. “Some hunters clean their bolts, others maybe wipe them. They all retrieve them. Well, everyone I know does. So I figured if she was involved, there’d be a good chance of the victim’s DNA being on the bolts. Or one of them at least. I went to her house and got her quiver. These eight bolts would be what she last used. They’re all EVO-X Center Punch premium carbon arrows. I grabbed her boots and jacket as well. I thought maybe there’d be some blood on them or something?”

“They should have been included in the evidence from the first search, but I guess they were looking for something to connect her to the other shooters. I’ll process them and we’ll see what evidence they carry. Hopefully, they won’t be contaminated with animal blood.” Wolfe smiled at him. “That’s thinking outside the box. Jenna will be over the moon if we can link her to the murders.”

Pleased, Rowley nodded. “Yeah, it was prompted by a message from Kane informing us that Alicia was a pen pal-type girlfriend to Jimmy Two Cents. It made me wonder if there was a link. I hope you find something.”

“Leave it with me.” Wolfe collected the evidence bags and took them to a bench. “I’ll get at it. I’ll call you the moment I get any news. Probably in the morning.”

Grinning, Rowley held up his hands. “Call Jenna. Tomorrow I’m rostered off and I’m going hunting first thing in the morning. Sandy is going out and the twins are at playgroup, so we’re all having ameday.”

“Out hunting alone when there’s a killer on the loose?” Emily frowned. “That’s dangerous.”

Rowley shook his head. “Nope, I’m going with another crossbow hunter. We chatted at the range early this morning. I went by to find out who buys EVO-X Center Punch premium carbon arrows. Seems a ton of us use them, so no joy there, and they don’t keep records. I’ll be fine. Catch you later.” Satisfaction of a job well done filled him, as he gave them a wave and headed back to his truck.

THIRTY-SIX

A few clouds scattered lazily across a brilliant blue sky, and as the wind picked up, remnants of last year’s fall blew golden leaves across Stanton on the ride to the college. The grounds, usually bursting with noise and people, appeared desolate as they drove through the main gates and onto the staff parking lot. The college spread out in all directions, the windows of its empty rooms black like rows of missing teeth in the smile of usually welcoming buildings. Only a few vehicles sat bunched together like sheep at one end, as if trying to avoid the dry sandy soil blowing across the blacktop. A shiver trickled down Jenna’s back, and although she’d never admit it, interviewing Jimmy Two Cents had unsettled her. She slid out of the truck and checked her weapon. She caught Kane’s concerned expression and her stomach flip-flopped. Kane rarely showed emotion. It was an inbuilt mechanism but since they’d married he sometimes dropped his guard for just a second. Could they be knocking on the door of a brutal murderer? What would Ripley do if cornered? She turned to Kane. “Ripley is an unknown quantity. We’ll need to be on our guard for the unexpected.”

“He’s one man.” Kane shrugged. “We’re armed. He’d need a grenade or AK-47 to take us down.” He grinned at her. “Why so worried?”

Serious, Jenna stared at him. “You look worried. You never look worried. Now I’m worried.”

“Me? Concerned about a kid?” Kane stared up at the sky and then back to her. “You watched me take down five men without any problems.”

Jenna frowned. “Yeah, but you’re black and blue. If the vest hadn’t taken the shot, you might be dead. I know how much that hurts, but you just wave it off like it doesn’t matter.”

“That’s because it doesn’t impede me.” He shrugged. “Yeah, it hurt at the time, but I still fired my weapon with accuracy. I’m not losing my edge, Jenna. I’ll retire if that happens. Like I said, he’d need to have an explosive device to take me down and I check for all possibilities before I walk into a situation.” He sighed. “Truth is, I was thinking about Duke and the puppies you want to see. I’m concerned he might be jealous. It’s difficult introducing a puppy into a house with an old dog. Duke is kinda territorial. Even with Zorro around, he tends to lean against my leg as if needing reassurance. I don’t think he’s forgotten his past owner.”

Relieved, Jenna nodded. “I’d still like to go and see the pups. We don’t have to take one.”

“Exactly.” Kane indicated with his chin toward the college. “We’ll bypass the office. I don’t want them to warn him we’re on our way.”

“If we decide to bring Ripley in for questioning, we’ll need a cruiser. We should have asked Jo and Carter to follow us.”

“Oh, dang, I forgot to tell you.” Kane looked abashed. “The enhancements I worked on with Wolfe and Carter over winter included a Perspex screen.” He leaned into the Beast and flicked a switch. “It slides up when we need it. I got the idea from a limo privacy screen, and we managed to get one made for the Beast.” He shrugged. “I can’t imagine how it slipped my mind. I guess I was focused on something else.”

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