Page 25 of Their Wicked Games

Interested, Carter narrowed his gaze. This information was crucial. “What time was this and do you recall what she was wearing?”

“Oh, around noon, I guess.” Davis shrugged. “She wasn’t dressed for hunting, now I come to think on it. She was wearing white, like she does at the dentist. Maybe she’d stopped by the diner for lunch. I don’t know.”

Knowing Aunt Betty’s had CCTV cameras, Carter smiled. “Was she alone?”

“Yeah, I was held up in traffic or I wouldn’t have noticed her.” Davis frowned. “She climbed into that old Jeep of hers, but I’d gone by before she pulled out. I don’t know which way she was heading.”

“How did she appear?” Jo lifted her pen from her notebook and looked at him. “Happy? Sad? In a hurry?”

“Dang! I don’t know. She looked normal, I guess. Whatever that is for her.” Davis shook his head and then rolled his eyes skyward. “I didn’t take that much notice.” He gave Carter a direct stare. “Just how did she die?”

Feeling the interview slipping away and Davis getting annoyed by their questions, Carter straightened. “The cause of death is undetermined at this time. I haven’t been on scene. I’m just conducting inquiries about her next of kin.”

“Just one more thing. Do you know the rock pool alongside the falls. On Stanton opposite Pine?” Jo exchanged a glance with Carter and raised one eyebrow. “Is that a place she’d go to hunt?”

“No way.” Davis stared at them. “It’s dangerous, the edge of the falls is deceptive and overgrown. The ground is unstable.” He looked from one to the other. “Oh my God, don’t tell me she fell over the falls. Did you find her in Dead Man’s Drop?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. The rock pool, does it have a name?” Jo’s expression had turned to stone.

“I don’t figure it has.” Davis stared into space for a time as if he was thinking. “Nope, can’t think of a name. It’s above Dead Man’s Drop, like twenty feet above it and cut into the side of the mountain beside the falls. It’s steep and animals fall over the edge all the time and into the fishing hole below. That pool runs directly into the river, forming its own mini falls. The Native Americans say it holds the souls of the dead, so most people leave it be.”

Sure he’d covered every angle with Davis, Carter nodded and tried a bluff. “So, you wouldn’t have been seen in the area this afternoon?”

“Me? Nope. I grabbed a pizza and then came home. I fixed some fences on the northern pasture, then got a call about one of my men hurting his knee.” Davis pulled out a strand of wheat grass and chewed on the end. “Is there anything else I can do for you? I have calls to make.”

“Can anyone verify the time you got back from town?” Jo raised one eyebrow.

“I don’t need to check in with anyone, ma’am.” Davis snorted. “I come and go as I please. That’s the pleasure of being the owner.” He gave her a long look. “You’ll just have to take my word for it, unless you can persuade one of the steers to talk.”

Carter glanced at Jo, who shook her head slightly, signifying she had no other questions. “Would you be willing to drop by the morgue to identify the body?”

“Me?” Davis shook his head. “No way. Ask the dentist. He’ll know her by her teeth.”

“Okay.” Jo handed him her card. “If you think of anything else, call me. Thank you for your time.”

Carter walked slowly back to the cruiser. He waited for Zorro to jump into the back seat and slipped behind the wheel. “What do you make of him?”

“Smooth, confident, and sure of himself.” Jo stared at Davis as he headed toward the house. “Like you, I noticed he didn’t ask about her cause of death, which if a friend had died is usual. However, I’m not really surprised that he assumed she fell into the falls as it is a common occurrence. In his favor, he didn’t have to admit being the last person to see Alicia alive, did he?” She pushed a hand through her hair. “What makes him a possible suspect is that no one can give us the time he returned to the ranch and he admitted to being in town around the time of death. He had time to kill her and then return to the ranch.”

Carter pulled out his phone. “Everyone is heading for the rock pool. They figure we’ll have time before dusk. I’ll call Jenna and let her know we’ll meet them there.” He added the coordinates to the GPS and stared at the screen. “It’s easy walking distance from Stanton.” He looked at Jo. “Just as well you’re wearing hiking boots.”

“I never leave home without them.” Jo smiled at him. “Not in Black Rock Falls.”

TWENTY-THREE

Jenna and Kane returned to the office briefly to collect Duke and then hurried back to Stanton to meet up with Wolfe and the others. Carter and Jo had brought her up to date and were in transit. Rowley had gone ahead with Rio to send them the coordinates to the rock pool. Wolfe would be waiting on Stanton and then go with them to the rock pool and send Webber back to the morgue with the body. Everything should run smoothly unless they ran into a bear.

After allowing Duke to sniff the body of Alicia Palmer, they set off at a brisk walk along animal trails that wound through the trees. It was about ten minutes before the roar of the falls and cold clouds of water vapor surrounded them. She looked over one shoulder at Kane. “It can’t be much farther.”

“Nope.” Kane held up his phone to check the coordinates. “Duke is still on the scent. I’ve scanned all over. It’s impossible to make out prints along these trails. There’s too many pine needles. It’s difficult to tell if she was alone.”

The forest didn’t end, rather boulders had invaded the forest to create a small clearing. In the center, dangerously close to the raging falls was a small swirling pool, fed by a constant stream of water from the falls. It overflowed into the raging torrent cascading down the mountainside. As Jenna stepped into the sunshine, Duke barked and sat down beside a pile of clothes carefully laid out on a boulder some ways from the pool. “We have something.”

“Coming on scene, Sheriff.” Rowley stepped out of the trees with Rio close behind. “We’ve searched the perimeter and found nothing unusual. It doesn’t look like anyone else was here.”

“We’ll need to take a closer look.” Wolfe came into the clearing and stood hands on hips scanning the area. “Someone killed her. He’s left a trace behind somewhere. We just have to find it, is all.”

Taking charge, Jenna ran through procedure in her mind. She had a memorized list and it helped especially when confronted by horrific murders. “Okay, spread out and search everything withing a five-yard area of the pool. Look for hair strands on tree branches, fibers, anything at all. Leave the rock pool and clothes to us.” As the deputies spread out, Jenna pulled on examination gloves and went to examine the pile of clothes. She kneeled down beside them and examined each item before sliding it into the evidence bag that Kane was holding open for her. She looked up at him. “She removed these herself. No buttons ripped off or tears, everything is neat and tidy. I smell perfume as well. This isn’t a uniform. She was meeting someone special, so must have gone home to change before coming here.”

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