Page 10 of A Song for the Dead

A wave of comfort swept over her and she nodded. “It’s just I thought I’d seen someone staring at me just before.”

“You’re the sheriff. They probably caught you looking at them and figured they’d done something wrong.” Kane smiled at her and turned her toward the door. “You know, you’re like this every Halloween.”

Jenna looked at him. “That’s because every darn year something bad happens. That’s not an overactive imagination. It’s a fact. It’s like some crazy is putting up a challenge to see if we can catch them. If this really is the Halloween Slasher, where’s he been for the past seven years?”

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Kane pushed open the door and ushered her inside. “In the meantime, trust me to have your back.”

She turned and held open the door for Duke. “I always do.”

Heading toward the counter, she smiled at Maggie. “Any calls on the hotline?’

“I’ve had a few, not many.” Maggie took a book from the desk behind the counter. “Two were from reporters wanting more on the missing persons case. I informed them we’d send out a media release when we had more information. We had an interesting call from Hank Maxwell. He lives out at Twisted Limbs Trail in a cabin. He was on his way home and spotted a white van moving fast around midnight on Friday. He’d been on his way home from Antlers after having dinner with a friend.” She lifted her head and looked at Jenna. “I’ve added his details to your files.”

Glad to have any snippet of information, Jenna thanked her and took the stairs to her office, pleased to see Rio and Rowley waiting for her.

Kane was at his desk scrolling through files and glanced up as she arrived. “The judge refused the warrant to track Freya Richardson’s phone. He quoted privacy laws and warned us, if she isn’t dead, we’re not to proceed.”

Jenna pushed her hands through her hair. “Did you make it clear we believe she’s dead, but this is a chance to track her killer, who we assume has her phone?”

“Yeah, I made a list of probable causes, including the slim chances of her being alive and that it was our duty of care to find her.” Kane shook his head. “It’s the proof of death that’s the problem and Wolfe’s note about the amount of blood on scene didn’t cut it. Dead people don’t have privacy rights and we wouldn’t need a warrant. The fact we can’t locate her is the problem. He stated that she could be somewhere alive, without the phone. This being the case, issuing a warrant would be an invasion of her privacy.”

Rubbing her temples in dismay, Jenna stared at him. “Well, I hope Kalo bends the rules this time. We need to catch this guy.” She turned to Rio and Rowley and gave them the details of the call from Hank Maxwell. She turned to Rio. “Hunt down what you can find out about Maxwell. Where he works would be a start, and if he has any priors.”

“Why do we need to do a background check on him?” Rowley frowned. “He called in information. Seems to me like he’s just trying to help out.”

Jenna sat down and nodded. “Yeah, but there’s always a maybe with people volunteering information. Agreed, most are honest and just trying to assist, but then we have the criminals who insert themselves into the investigation to discover what we know. You see, it’s been a time since Freya went missing and we haven’t found a body. It could be the killer. Some of them like to see their crimes on the news. If we get more hints from this guy, we’ll need to look closer.”

“So we add him to the potential suspect’s list?” Rowley nodded slowly.

Standing, Jenna went to the whiteboard and added Hank Maxwell’s name. She’d headed the first third of the board with Freya Richardson’s name. “Okay, that’s one possible. What else have you got for me?”

THIRTEEN

Jenna sat down and looked expectantly at her deputies. “Rio?”

“Yeah. I looked a little deeper into Freya’s timeline.” Rio stared at her across the desk. He never looked at a note, everything was in his head. “She left work at the beauty parlor around eleven, at the same time the owner of the pizzeria noticed one of his customers hanging back, maybe urinating in the alleyway opposite. He gave his name as Frank Stark. He watched him for a time. He’d been sitting in the window eating his pie and staring at Freya as she cleaned the beauty parlor. The beauty parlor had all the lights blazing and Freya was on display through the storefront for at least two hours.”

Noting the man’s name on her legal pad, Jenna lifted her head to look at him again. “Did he mention what type of vehicle he drove?”

“Yeah, well, I asked him the same question.” Rio stretched his long legs. “Seems he drives a white van, but it wasn’t in sight that night. He noticed that Freya usually parked her truck out front, but she’d dropped by before work for a slice and mentioned it was in the shop. She was on foot, and as she lived on Elm, it would have taken her half an hour, maybe a little more, to walk home.” He scratched his chin. “The owner said that he didn’t see Stark’s vehicle, not until later, but he did see him heading off in her direction. He said his vehicle came by fast a little after twelve when he was locking up. This would match the hotline call we received from Maxwell. He reported seeing a white vehicle driving fast around the same time.” He met her gaze. “The pizzeria stays open late on Friday and Saturday nights and stops baking at eleven unless there’s a crowd, like over the festivals. They open at ten each morning. It’s always busy.”

“It’s strange he knows this particular guy.” Kane twirled a pen in his fingers. “Did you ask him?”

“Yeah, he said he was a regular, in most nights and sits for hours. The owner figured Stark has no one to go home to.”

Considering the implications of Stark following Freya home, Jenna nodded. “It would tie in with the report about a speeding white truck on Saturday night, but is the speeding vehicle relevant to Stark? If he followed her home and then murdered her, he’d have a long walk back to his truck if he parked it somewhere along Main, especially if he planned on taking her body. Would he risk going back for his truck and then breaking back into the apartment to take her with him?”

“That’s not logical.” Kane shook his head. “This guy appears to plan everything. Maybe he parked his truck near Freya’s apartment and then walked to the pizzeria. He followed her home, murdered her, and then drove away with the body.” He shrugged. “Perhaps the following and terrifying is all part of his thrill?”

Jenna stood again and went to the whiteboard. “I’ll add him to our list of suspects.” She dropped the pen back in its holder and sat down before moving her attention to Rowley. “Have you contacted the Louan sheriff’s office and informed them about the remains of Lydia Ellis?”

“Yes, ma’am. They are hunting down her next of kin and will notify them.” Rowley glanced at his notes. “I did find Freya’s grandmother. She’s in a care facility in Helena. I’ve spoken to the person in charge and explained that she’s missing. They insisted that unless we can verify Freya is deceased, they’re not going to concern her grandmother due to her failing health.” He sighed. “No other family members at all.”

“That’s sad.” Kane pushed a hand through his hair and then glanced at his watch. “I suggest we hunt down the two men we have, as in find out where they work and when they’re likely to be at home.”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah, work on that for now. I’m going with Dave to Bear Peak first thing. If you find any more details on these men, call it in and then go and interview them. If not, keep looking and I’ll drop by in the morning before we head to the burial site to see what you’ve discovered. I figure Maxwell won’t be expecting a visit but Stark will. Whenever you decide to interview them, watch their body language and attitude. You know the attributes of a serial killer. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you to remain outside their houses or places of employment at all times and never turn your backs on them.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley stood and led the way out of the office with Rio close behind.

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