Page 27

Twenty-Six

Rain fell sideways as they drove back to the ranch.

Heavy rain was all they needed after rockslides on the mountain.

The more the excess water flowed, the more rocks it dislodged and washed out the soil holding everything in place.

Going into Stanton Forest was becoming dangerous and once the storms had passed the forest wardens would be out inspecting the trails that were recommended for the hikers over summer.

As the wipers swished back and forth, Jenna relaxed in her seat.

They’d collected Tauri from kindergarten and he sat chatting with Carter, but their conversation went over her head as she sifted through the information Rio had supplied.

She needed to know more about these sex offenders.

Whatever county they had committed their crimes in must have more information about them.

She would like to see their rap sheets and any information that might lead her to the perpetrator of the crimes happening in Black Rock Falls.

One important thing came to mind: No matter what county the crimes were committed in, most of the criminals either spent their time in the local jail or in County.

Black Rock Falls had built their maximum security prison during Jenna’s first term as sheriff.

It took the spillover from the Deer Lodge Prison.

All serial killers who had been convicted from Black Rock Falls had been sent to County.

She needed to discover if the names on the list of potential suspects had completed their sentences in a local jail or had been sent to County.

Whoever was murdering the young people in her town must have been in contact with one of the serial killers she’d arrested.

Knowing how possessive serial killers were of their victims, she would imagine that there would have been some trouble between the real killer and the copycat in prison.

Or perhaps the real killer had heard the copycat running his mouth over his crimes, and now that he was out of jail, he wanted to put the record straight.

Most criminals would be happy to have gotten away with murder, but psychopathic serial killers were different.

In all the information she’d gained over the last seven years or so bringing down serial killers, the one thing she knew for sure was that they didn’t change.

Once a serial killer, always a serial killer.

They might take breaks between their murderous sprees, but eventually the fantasy becomes reality and they can’t stop hunting down the next thrill.

She imagined what it could have been like for the original killer, listening while the copycat took the credit for his kills.

It must have been driving him crazy having someone else in his fantasy, touching the women he considered his property.

She made a mental note to ask if any of the suspects on the list had gotten into fights during their sentences.

She stared at the windshield wipers going back and forth, back and forth, the sound almost mesmerizing, and tried to put herself inside the head of the serial killer.

They were so smart. Maybe they didn’t fight the copycat, after all, because their aim would be to get out of prison as soon as possible so they could put things right.

The second thing she considered was the fact that none of these suspects were criminals she’d prosecuted over the last seven years.

This meant that the crime happened in another county.

Wolfe must have been officiating as the medical examiner and produced evidence against them.

As a medical examiner for the entire state, Wolfe had moved around many different counties over the last few years, and as the crimes were out of her jurisdiction, they wouldn’t have come to her notice—unless they were serial killers and none of the potential suspects had been convicted of murder.

If they had been, they wouldn’t be walking the streets.

She ran her past cases through her mind, searching for a time gap between murders.

They’d had cases where bodies had been frozen and created a time difference between the kills, but this wouldn’t solve her puzzle.

It seemed that this killer murdered a few women and then the local cops arrested him on a sexual assault charge.

The jail time for this charge varies due to a number of conditions: the age of the victim is crucial—an underage victim carries a longer jail term—and if it’s the perpetrator’s first or third conviction also makes a difference.

If the serial killer they’re seeking makes a habit of raping his victims prior to killing them, he might have been interrupted.

His victim escaped and went to the cops.

If they followed up on the woman’s complaint and charged the man with sexual intercourse without consent, this would mean a short jail term likely in a local jail, unless the jail was overcrowded and then they might move some of the more violent offenders to County.

“You look deep in thought.” Kane glanced at her as he turned the truck into their driveway. “Thinking about our baby?”

Suddenly aware they were almost home, Jenna smiled at him.

“I do all the time, but I was going over what information we have for this case. I really need to get to work on finding this animal. I’m pretty sure the message isn’t for me.

It’s for Shane. I believe we convicted a copycat killer, and rightfully so, for the crimes he committed, but one of those crimes belonged to someone else and now that killer wants to put the record straight. ”

“You’d figure he’d be happy for someone else to take the blame and do the time.” Carter blew out a sigh. “You know, I listen to Jo all the time about serial killers and their crazy mixed-up minds, but I still can’t get my head around their way of thinking.”

“If you did, you’d be one of them.” Kane shrugged.

“That’s the problem, they don’t think like we do.

They have a completely different outlook on life, when you consider the ones we’ve interviewed and how many of them really believe that everyone kills people—that it’s perfectly normal.

They honestly believe they do it as a favor to humanity because someone needs to rid the world of the trash.

Go figure that mindset.” He pulled up close to the front porch.

“Head inside. I’ll park in the garage and be in once I’ve tended the horses. ”

“I’ll come with you.” Carter reached for the door and then stopped to unbuckle Tauri. “Wait up. I’ll carry Tauri to the porch or he’ll get his feet wet.”

Jenna unclipped her seatbelt and smiled at him. “Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll put on a pot of coffee and then put my feet up on the sofa.” She sighed. “I have a few leads to chase down.”