Page 37 of A Song for the Dead

Glad of the support, Jenna smiled at him. “That works for me.”

“I’ll call Kalo and he’ll locate Frank Stark.” Carter pulled out his phone. “He’ll be able to access the postal service computer and pinpoint where he is at any given time. As luck would have it, the postal workers run to a tight schedule.” He made the call.

A few minutes later Kalo returned the call and Carter made a few notes before disconnecting. Jenna looked at him. “Any luck?”

“Oh yeah, better than you imagine.” Carter smiled and pushed to his feet. “He’s due back at the receiving dock in twenty minutes.”

Nodding, Jenna heaved an inward sigh of relief and looked at Kane. “Go in the cruiser with Carter and bring in Stark for questioning. Make some excuse to his boss. If he’s innocent, I don’t want him losing his job because we hauled him in.”

“I’ll think of something.” Kane shrugged. “Maybe we need him to identify someone seen on his run?”

Pushing to her feet, Jenna went to the sink to rinse the cups. “Okay, I’ll be in interview room one when you get back. No cuffs. Make it friendly, okay?”

“Sure.” Carter smiled at her. “I can be nice too.” He followed Kane out of the door.

“He likes it here. He loves working on motorcycles with Dave and fishing.” Jo took the cups that Jenna washed and dried them before setting them back on the shelf. “He’s here more than you imagine. I figured he’d found someone but now I’m not sure. I know he likes solitude and misses his cabin in Snakeskin Gully. He has a one-bedroom shack in town. It must be suffocating. I invite him around for Sunday lunch most weekends, but he’s like a cat on a hot tin roof. If he’s not working a case, he’s bored out of his mind.”

Jenna dried her hands. “This worries you?”

“Well, I have Jaime, and as you now know, a child takes up all of our spare time, so I don’t get lonely, and I have our nanny as well. I mix well with the locals and enjoy my downtime. Carter is a young man; he needs someone in his life. All this bravado about loving the single life is a lie. He wants a wife, a ranch, and a bunch of kids but just won’t admit it.” She shrugged. “He’s been working too long with me. He knows about my cheating husband and messy divorce. I guess it makes him gun-shy.”

Finding it hard to believe there was another side to Carter, Jenna nodded. “Maybe he just hasn’t found the right woman yet? She’d need to love fishing and be happy to sit at home while he travels all over the state solving crimes. It wouldn’t be easy to keep a relationship going with the strange hours we all work.”

“I guess.” Jo straightened. “So how do you want to handle the interview?”

Jenna thought for a beat. “I’ve already spoken to Stark. I think we all go into the room. You take the lead with Dave and see how it goes. Maybe you can dig something out of him. Carter is good at leaning on suspects, so it might just work. He was on Main when Freya left work. Maybe he saw something. That’s an angle we can pursue.”

“Okay.” Jo collected her iPad and notes. “Let’s do this.”

FORTY-FOUR

Walking into the postal building, Kane went to the desk and asked to see the postmaster. He introduced himself to a woman in her thirties and gave her his best apologetic expression. “Sheriff Alton would like Frank Stark to come down to the office to identify someone. It may take some time. Is he due out again this morning?”

“Not until two, so he needs to be back to have his truck loaded no later than one-thirty.” The woman checked her computer and looked up at him. “On his break, he usually grabs a meal and rests up before he heads out again. We don’t like our drivers to fall asleep at the wheel.”

Kane nodded. “Oh, not a problem. This shouldn’t take that long.” He had a thought. “Does he drive the same mail van every day?”

“Yes, he starts early. We have a few drivers who start early and finish late. He has to be here before dawn, which means he needs to make sure he has gas in the truck. It works out better for all of us if they take the trucks home. Having their own gives them pride in their van. They look after them better this way.” She sighed. “I know it’s not the way it is in other towns, but it works for me.”

The story matched what Stark had told them. He touched his hat and headed out back to the delivery and dispatch bays. A white van was backed in and he made out Stark tossing bags to men in the loading bay, who placed them onto carts and wheeled them inside. He nodded to Carter, who was leaning casually against the wall, and then peered into the back of the van. “Need some help?”

“Sure.” Stark frowned. “What, don’t you have any crimes to solve today, Deputy?”

Kane’s invitation to get inside the van was all he needed to make it legal. He climbed inside and walked to the back, scanning the bags, walls, and floor of the interior for any signs of blood. He inhaled, trying to catch a whiff of death, and lifted a bag from the back and tossed it to Stark. After moving each bag without finding anything of interest, he jumped down. The van was spotless, as if it had recently been washed down, the outside as well. Maybe he’d taken it to the car wash? He nodded to Stark and he closed the back doors. “The sheriff needs to speak to you. It’s a follow-up to the interview we had recently. You might have seen something and not realized it. Do you mind coming down to the office with us? We’ll drive you back when we’re done.”

“Mind if I drive there myself?” Stark moved his feet restlessly. “I need to eat and get back here to load my van.”

Kane nodded. “Yeah, I’m aware. I spoke to your boss. I didn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression about why we need to speak to you. I’ll ride with you and explain.”

“Okay, sure.” Stark climbed inside the van.

After signaling to Carter to follow them, Kane climbed into the passenger seat. He could be sitting beside a serial killer, but if so, Stark had no idea of his skills. One chop to the neck and he’d likely kill him outright. He smiled to himself. It was just as well he stayed on the right side of the line. With his skills, if he turned rogue, people would die and nobody would be able to take him down.

At the office, after frisking Stark, Kane showed him into an interview room. He noted the surprise on the man’s face when he was confronted with two FBI agents and Jenna. “Take a seat and we’ll get this over with so you can get back to work.”

“This interview is being recorded.” Jenna switched on the recording device. “For your protection, I’ll read you your rights.” She Mirandized the startled man. “Do you wish to have a lawyer present?”

“I haven’t broken the law, so no, I don’t need one for routine questioning.” Stark looked from one face to another. “I do know my rights and I can ask for a lawyer at any time, right?”

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