Page 7

Six

Kane drove along Stanton in the direction of Bear Peak, but his mind wasn’t on the beautiful green forest lining the highway or the zebra-stripe shadows dancing across the blacktop.

His full concentration had centered on why a limo would leave the highway and go along a forest fire road.

The location Wolfe had given him was miles from the turnoff to the high school.

One thing was for certain: teenage girls wouldn’t risk messing up their hair or makeup to make out before the prom.

The driver had been checked out and had no priors.

Many people had used his company for special occasions and everyone he’d called had mentioned his professionalism.

“What’s cooking in your head?” Jenna turned in her seat to look at him.

Kane smiled at her. “I was trying to make out why the limo driver would drive to this remote area in the first place. As you mentioned before, if there was something unusual happening, one of the kids would have called their parents before they got to the mountain range. Most of the kids who live in this town are fully aware of the areas where there’s no bars.

Agreed, they might have been chatting and having a good time and not noticed.

If this is what happened, I figure someone was with the driver and kidnapped them. ”

“Why would anyone kidnap ten kids?” Jenna opened a bottle of water and took a few sips. “Some of those seniors are big guys. You’d think five of them would be able to overpower one man.”

Kane turned to look at her. “Unless he was carrying. Most kids wouldn’t take a chance with an armed man. Many of them are fully aware of the dangers of firearms.” He slowed to take the turn from the highway onto the fire road.

“I’d like to know what made him drive into the river.” Jenna stared out of the window. “Do you figure one of the kids tried to overpower him and he lost control of the vehicle?”

The same thought had occurred to him, and Kane shrugged. “Maybe, but only a fool would open the glass partition behind the driver. The kids would be trapped. He could lock the doors. A limo is no different from most vehicles.”

“The fact this reliable man, who has no priors, suddenly decided to commit a murder-suicide makes no sense at all.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “It must have been an accident. Maybe he had a heart attack or something?”

“We may never find out. I’m guessing the search and rescue contaminated the scene?” Carter leaned forward in his seat. He had a dog on each side of him: his K-9, Zorro, on one side and Duke, Kane’s bloodhound and tracker dog, on the other. “They wouldn’t know it was anything but an accident.”

“Maybe.” Jenna blew out a sigh. “They came here on quad bikes. So there’s every possibility if the limo left tire tracks, they would have been obliterated.” She pushed her hand through her dark hair. “Keep going. We must be close by now.”

As they moved slowly along the fire road, their friend Blackhawk stepped out of the tree line and waved them down. Kane slowed the Beast to stop beside him. “Need a ride?”

“Nope.” Didn’t you see the murder of crows?

The trees are black with them.” Blackhawk’s serious expression alerted Kane to a major problem.

“There’s a body just behind me in the trees.

Stab wound to the neck, from what I can see.

I’m guessing he’s the limo driver. He’s wearing a tux.

” He sighed. “I haven’t seen Wolfe. Is he following behind you? ”

The smell of death wafted on the breeze. It was going to be a rough day. Kane nodded. “He was organizing his team when Carter left. He shouldn’t be too far behind me.” He turned as Jenna opened the door. “Hey, wait for me.” He slid from behind the wheel and hurried after her.

“When did you find him? Phew, it stinks around here. Wait up.” Jenna pulled examination gloves and masks from a small bag she carried over one shoulder. She handed some to Kane and Carter before pulling on her own.

“Just a few seconds before you arrived, I was checking for life signs when I heard the Beast.” Blackhawk looked from one to the other. “This means the limo in the river was no accident. Why would someone want to kill ten kids?”

“I’ll never try to understand the mind of a psychopath again.

They all work on a different plane.” Jenna bent over the body to examine the wound in the man’s neck.

She opened his coat and glanced over his body before straightening.

She pressed one hand in the small of her back and groaned. “I can see only one wound.”

Moving away from the ant and fly-infested body, Kane turned to Blackhawk. “There’s no way he fell out of the vehicle or was pushed to end up here. This body was dumped.” He turned slowly and bent to examine the ground. “Did you find any drag marks?”

“No.” Blackhawk pointed to a depression beside the body. “He was carried here and dropped. See the square impression just here in the soil?” He bent beside Kane and pointed to a mark on the forest floor. “I figure that’s where the killer turned on his heel, dropped him, and went back to the limo.”

“That’s assuming there was someone in the limo with him. None of the kids’ families mentioned seeing anyone.” Jenna stared at Blackhawk. “The driver must weigh at least two hundred pounds. Whoever carried him would need to be strong.”

“Well, he didn’t walk here.” Blackhawk indicated to the ground. “There’s no blood spatter trail and with that injury he’d be spurting blood. Chances are he died in seconds.”

Running through the limo driver’s timeline that Rio had mentioned, the driver went to each residence, knocked on the door, and waited for his passenger.

Kane turned to Jenna. “The killer could have accessed the vehicle at any one of the stops. The last one is in a wooded area and perfect. The attention of the kids would be focused on the last passenger. Or he might have been inside all along. If he insisted the interior light was turned off, no one would have seen him behind the tinted windows.” He turned at the sound of an engine.

“That should be Wolfe. I’ll go and meet him. ”

“I’ll go. Why don’t you stay here with Jenna? We don’t know who’s watching us. I’ll wave him down.” Carter headed back to the fire road.

“I’ll track the killer back to the road.” Blackhawk rubbed Duke’s ears. “Can I take Duke? He’ll follow any blood spatter I can’t see.”

Kane smiled at him. “Yeah, sure. Duke will enjoy that. He loves being in the forest.” He turned to Jenna. “Do you have any crime scene tape in your bag? I figure we need to preserve the area.”

“Yeah, I have the usual.” Jenna pulled out a roll of tape. “It’s just the things I usually keep in my pockets. It’s easier this way for now.”

Voices came through the forest as Kane wrapped the tape around trees. He looked up as Wolfe arrived with his daughter Emily and assistant and badge-holding deputy Colt Webber, along with Wolfe’s fiancée, forensic anthropologist Norrell Larson.

“A single body?” Wolfe frowned as he pushed his way through the trees.

“It’s the limo driver.” Jenna held up an image on her phone. “He matches the MVD photo on his license.”

Kane nodded to the others and then went to Wolfe’s side.

They’d worked together for many years and only Jenna was aware that Wolfe was his handler.

His time as a black ops sniper was ongoing and he never knew when he’d be called back into service for his country.

He’d become a fixer and worked alone with Wolfe overseeing his top-secret missions.

“Blackhawk believes his killer carried him here. He’s backtracking with Duke to discover exactly where he came from. ”

“Okay.” Wolfe crouched down to examine the body but didn’t move him. “I assume you haven’t had time to process the scene.”

Kane shook his head. “Not yet. I taped the area, is all.”

“Webber.” Wolfe turned to his assistant. “Record the scene—images and video. We’ll stand back.” He turned to Jenna. “Have you been to the crash site yet?”

“Nope.” Jenna frowned. “We just arrived. Blackhawk waved us down. He found the body. He checked for vital signs, is all.”

“It didn’t rain last night, did it?” Wolfe stared at the man’s clothes.

“He looks reasonably dry and there’s no interference by animals, which seems very strange.

There’s no blood spatter.” He turned, slowly scanning the immediate area.

“I can’t even see any spatter on tree branches.

So we must consider that this is a dumping area. How far away is the river from here?”

Kane pointed north. “From the coordinates that you gave us, I would say the limo turned off the fire road approximately two to three hundred yards in that direction. I’m not sure how far from the fire road he drove to reach the river’s edge.”

“I couldn’t make out the trail he used from above.” Wolfe waved Emily toward the body. “What do you see, Em?”

“From what I’ve observed from past crime scenes, someone who is attacked from the front, which the wound would indicate, usually grabs their throat and stumbles back.

Death is within a minute or so, so the victim is usually found either flat on his back with his arms spread wide or flat on his face still clutching his neck.

” Emily tied her long blonde hair behind her neck in a ponytail.

“From the position of this body, it appears as if someone carried it here over one shoulder and dropped it. I’d say the victim was dead before he hit the ground.

There is no indication of him moving around in the long grass.

There is no blood spatter, as you said, Dad.

I figure this guy was dead at least ten minutes before being dumped.

From this kind of injury, the maximum amount of blood loss would have happened immediately after the injury.

The victim doesn’t have very much blood down the front of his shirt, which would indicate he was fighting his attacker.

His elevated heart rate would have caused the blood to gush out, away from his body.

I doubt, from the length and depth of the wound that I can see from here, he had time to press his hands against the wound to stop it bleeding. ”

“There you go.” Wolfe moved his gaze to Jenna. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He nodded to Webber, who’d finished recording the scene. “Let’s take a look.”

Kane turned at the sound of another vehicle.

He stared through the trees as a Black Rock Falls Sheriff’s Department vehicle pulled up alongside his black truck.

He looked at Jenna. “I thought Rio and Rowley were on scene already?” He was referring to Chief Deputy Rio and Deputy Rowley, the latter trained from a rookie by Jenna.

“It’s Raven.” Jenna stared into the trees. “I asked him to come. We’ll have people moving bodies through the forest all day and his K-9, Ben, will be an asset.” Her satellite phone chimed and she looked at Kane, worry etched on her face. “Yes, Maggie, what’s up?”

Kane moved closer as she placed the phone on speaker. It was unusual for their office administrative assistant, Maggie, aka Magnolia Brewster, to call when they were on a case unless it was pertinent.

“Hikers have found what looks like a tree decorated with body parts. They figure they’re human but didn’t get close enough to examine them. It’s near the Glacial Heights Ski Resort.” Maggie took a deep breath. “They said they’ll wait there until someone comes but I don’t have anyone to send.”

At that moment, Raven walked through the trees. Jenna looked at Wolfe. “Could you spare Emily or Norrell if I send her with Raven to check out a possible body sighting?”

“Yeah. It’s good experience for Em.” Wolfe straightened.

“I’m done here. We’ll pack up this guy and get him into the van.

” He turned to Emily. “Take what you need from the van. It’s probably an animal hung after field dressing.

If not, call me and be as quick as you can.

I need you here.” He gave Raven a long look. “Take care of my girl.”

“You have my word.” Raven touched the front of his Stetson. He looked at Emily. “I’ll help you grab your things.”

Kane turned as Blackhawk walked back with Duke leading the way. “Find anything interesting?”

“Yeah, tire tracks about twenty yards along the fire road and a pool of blood.” He indicated through the forest. “I marked all the spots of blood I found.” He frowned. “This is a strong man. He carried his victim all this way. Why didn’t he stop closer? We are only a few yards from the road.”

Kane rubbed his chin. “I have no idea. Why did he drive into the river? He’d know it was certain death.”

“Maybe he isn’t inside the limo.” Blackhawk grimaced. “Maybe he’s close by enjoying the show.”