Page 28 of A Song for the Dead

“Sheriff, men do that all the time.” Linda shook her head. “They figure because we work in this dump, we’re easy. Yeah, she complained about one guy. I’ve seen him a few times in here. He sits for a time, like he’s waiting for her to clean close by so he can talk to her. He’s a postal worker—you know, a courier or driver. I saw him getting out of his vehicle after he filled up with gas.”

Jenna’s mind immediately went to Stark. “Did Daisy mention him at all?”

“Yeah, he asked her out like three times.” Linda rolled her eyes. “She was with her friend at the pizzeria in line and he just started chatting with her. Then when he saw she worked here, he hung around.” She shrugged. “I said I’d handle the tables when he came by, and she took over the counter after he ordered. I figure he’d gotten the message. I haven’t seen him for a week or so.”

Jenna nodded. “Okay, thanks.” She handed the woman one of her cards. “If you think of anything else, let me know, and please ask anyone else who works here. We need to find Daisy.” She smiled. “Do you mind giving the manager a card? What’s their name so I know who it is if they call?”

“Sure, the manager is Karen Clifton. I’ll go speak to her and the kitchen staff now.” The woman walked away.

Outside, Kane and Duke had gone missing. Jenna scanned the area and then walked to the back of the roadhouse. She found Kane speaking to a driver of a white van. She moved to his side and listened to the conversation.

“Are you the same company that launders the towels from the beauty parlor?” Kane was standing with one hand rested on the butt of his weapon, slung low on one hip.

“That’s us.” The driver smiled.

Jenna stepped closer. “What areas do you cover and how many drivers are there?”

“We cover Black Rock Falls, Louan, and Blackwater.” The driver turned to her. “There are four drivers. We collect the laundry from all over. The Cattleman’s Hotel owns the company. They opened up when times were tough as a second enterprise a few years back. It made sense as they have their own laundry. They launder linen from motels, restaurants, hotels, beauty parlors, and now some locals use the service as well. Since the town became a tourist destination, the Cattleman’s Laundry Service has expanded their building and staff.”

Interested, Jenna nodded. “So how does it work? Do you collect the soiled laundry and deliver it back in a couple of days?”

“I deliver.” The man rested his back against the side of the van. “Duane picks up on our route. We don’t mix clean and dirty laundry in the same truck. Even though it’s all in bags, some of the soiled linen stinks. We check the labels all the time to make sure nothing is mixed up when it gets to the depot.”

“What’s your route? Where do you go to regularly?” Kane inclined his head.

“Here at the roadhouse, the Black Rock Falls Motel, the ski resort, and the Blackwater Motel, beauty parlor here and in Louan and Blackwater. We handle the large orders. The other guys do pickups and deliveries for smaller venues or private homes.”

Jenna pulled out her notebook. “I’ll need your details and the name of your coworker. Do you know where he lives?”

“I’m Christopher Wills and the guy who does the deliveries is Duane Warner. He mentioned he lives on Stanton, on the other side of town, down near the river. He said he walks across the road to go fishing.” He gave Jenna his details.

“Can you describe him?” Kane’s gaze narrowed. “Height, weight, age?”

“Not your size, but taller than me. He’s around my age, late thirties. I’m not good at judging a person’s weight but he’s not fat. The dirty laundry is heavier than the clean and he hauls those bags around without any trouble.”

“Is he married?” Kane exchanged a glance with Jenna. “Or does he live alone?”

“He’s never mentioned a wife and I talk about my wife and kids all the time.” Wills scratched his beard. “Not that I see much of him. We sometimes see each other in passing, is all. Sometimes in the diner or Aunt Betty’s between deliveries.”

Running everything through her mind, Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “So do you work regular hours?”

“Most times. We have the usual route, but sometimes we get called out to collect or deliver a rush job or pick up from a new client. The work is regular and we get overtime. We could be anywhere within the three counties in the same day.” Wills looked from one to the other. “If that’s all, I need to keep going.”

“Not a problem.” Kane handed him a card. “If anything else comes to mind, give me a call.”

As Jenna led the way back to the Beast, Duke ran around her legs, sniffing her hands. “What’s up with Duke?”

“Well, you went into a place that sells food, gave me something, and I guess he figures he deserved a snack too.” Kane dropped one arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side. “Don’t worry, I have you covered.” He pulled a doggy treat from his pocket and slipped it into hers. “Best you give it to him before he gets into my truck.”

Laughing, Jenna pulled out the treat and unwrapped it. She looked at Duke. “What do you say?”

Duke sat down and barked, his mouth forming a doggy smile, his eyes fixed on the treat. Jenna tossed it to him. “There you go. Good boy.” She looked at Kane. “We’ll head to Aunt Betty’s now and wait for Jo and Carter. We’ll discuss the case then, it’s pointless going over everything twice.”

“Maybe check in with Rio and Rowley to see if they’ve found any gravesites?” Kane lifted Duke into the back seat and clipped in his harness. “We haven’t heard anything from Wolfe either. That’s not a good sign.”

Jenna swung into the passenger seat. “I was hoping for an update from Norrell about the cold cases, but she said it takes time. All we can do right now with them is hope they can identify the victims. The crime scenes we’ve seen on file all point to the same killer.”

“Yeah, they do.” Kane headed along Main. “It will be interesting to know if Kalo can track down any similar crime scenes. I’d like to know where this guy has been killing over the last seven years.”

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