Page 8 of Their Haunted Hearts (Detectives Kane and Alton #27)

Seven

It was five after four when the receptionist, Maggie, called Jenna to inform her that two women were waiting at the front desk with information about the murder.

She headed downstairs with Kane on her heels and led the women into the interview room.

They introduced themselves as Claudia Klipr and Kayla LeBlanc.

“Please take a seat. Can I get you anything? Water, coffee?” When the women both shook their heads, Jenna sat down with Kane beside her.

“I’ll record our interview, just in case I forget something important.

” She turned on the camera and recorder.

“Okay, Maggie said you both saw a vehicle outside Aunt Betty’s Café this morning. ”

“We both work at the bakery and arrive around four each morning.” Ms. Klipr glanced at her friend. “I rarely see any vehicles alongside the road at that time of the morning. Sometimes a few are passing through, is all.”

Jenna nodded. “Can you describe the make and model of the vehicle?”

“It was a pickup, blue or silver maybe.” Ms. LaBlanc leaned forward in her chair. “I saw a man in the shadows, tall and broad-shouldered near the display.”

“I saw the same truck and someone bending down near Aunt Betty’s front door.

” Ms. Klipr frowned. “I figure it was blue or silver too. I saw someone hunched over. It was only for a few seconds as I drove past. I didn’t stop to take a better look.

I assumed it was a delivery. We got to talking, after hearing about the body found outside the café, and figured we should come in and tell you what we saw. ”

“You did the right thing.” Kane smiled at them and held up his phone with images of popular trucks. “Do you recognize the truck from any of these images?” He looked from one to the other. “Why don’t you close your eyes and try and picture the truck in your head. How was it parked?”

“It was parked at an angle with the back into the curb.” Ms. LaBlanc opened her eyes. “Can I see the pictures again?” She took Kane’s phone, scrolled through the images. “I think it was this one.” She pointed to a logo on the front of the truck. “This looks the same but I only got a glimpse.”

Jenna smiled at them. Information like this was gold. “Is there anything else at all you can remember?”

When the women shook their heads, Jenna turned off the recording and stood.

She handed them her card. “Thank you so much for coming in. If you think of anything else, please give me a call. We may be in touch later if we find the truck in question to see if you can identify it.” She waited for Kane to open the door and waved them outside.

As they headed through the glass doors, Jenna turned to Kane. “I wasn’t expecting to get a sighting of the killer. Now we know it’s a tall man with broad shoulders driving a pickup—one person and not our shooter.”

“The problem is that description and vehicle cover about forty percent of the men in town.” Kane raised both eyebrows.

“Maybe Kalo will have more luck with the CCTV footage? He hasn’t called yet, so I assume he’s still searching.

” He checked his watch. “It’s a little after five.

We couldn’t find any missing women, so we might just as well head home.

There’s nothing else we can do here now. ”

Nodding in agreement, Jenna headed up the stairs to her office. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll grab my coat. Where’s Duke?”

“Raven took him for a walk with Ben.” Kane stretched. “He figured he could canvas the stores and ask if anyone has seen anything unusual in the last twenty-four hours. He should be back soon.”

By the time Jenna had tidied her desk, Raven walked in the door with the dogs. She glanced up at him. “Did you discover anything interesting?”

“Most people I spoke to said the only thing they saw were people putting up displays.” Raven shrugged.

“Everything seemed perfectly normal until that guy started shooting up the place. That and finding the body, which people seem to believe is a vampire, is just about all the talk in town at the moment.” He looked from one to the other. “Are you heading home now?”

Jenna picked up her things. “That’s the plan. Will you be able to come in tomorrow? I need you to assist us with this case. I’m going to be tied up with the shooting perp first up, and Rio will be heading home to get some sleep after pulling an all-nighter.”

“Sure.” Raven handed Kane Duke’s leash. “I’ll check the server later and see if any information has been uploaded.” He turned to Kane. “I did what you suggested and called Emily to ask her to the Halloween Ball. She accepted.” He grinned.

“I figured she might.” Kane slapped him on the back. “You did the right thing waiting until she became a certified medical examiner.”

“I hope so.” Raven gave Jenna a wave and headed down the stairs.

Jenna raised one eyebrow and stared at Kane’s grin. “So, you’ve become his romance advisor now?”

“Why not?” Kane headed for the door. “I know Emily better than anyone, I figure. She comes to me all the time for advice. She figures Raven is overprotective and is wasting his time working with dogs. I told her he is a great asset to the team and uses all his skills. I also mentioned being happy is more important than anything.”

Surprised, Jenna bit back a smile. “And what did she say?”

“That you’re happy and I’m overprotective, so maybe that’s a good thing.” Kane turned to her on the stairs. “I told her it’s what we do for people we love.” He took her hand. “Let’s go home. I want to see my boys.”

Jenna walked beside him. Happiness was everything. “Me too.”