Jenna pushed a hand through her hair and shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve looked over my files, and apart from a few warnings and the night in the lock-up, I’ve gone easy on Rockford. He is a pain in the ass but I’ve put it down to youthful exuberance. I don’t honestly believe I’ve given him a motive to hurt or threaten me.”
“There has to be a motive. Okay, the first one could have been an accident but three incidents in one week is not something I care to dismiss.” Kane raised one black eyebrow. “You sure you haven’t overlooked something or been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Rockford was up to no good? Maybe he’s committed a crime and this time his daddy can’t buy him out of trouble.”
Doubt flooded her mind in a wave of panic. Had she missed a vital clue to a crime? “Like murder, you mean?” She could not breathe and gripped the edge of the table to steady her trembling hands. “It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it? This morning, I made notes on the times I’ve had dealings with Rockford and the others. I can remember every incident but I’m not going to recall something I didn’t notice at the time. So we’re back to square one, I’m afraid.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. I need time to think, just in case I’ve missed something. “However, if you believe he is a person of interest in both cases, then by all means, check him out, and everyone else on the list, however trivial.”
“Oh, I plan to. Don’t forget I can identify the pickup, which is a motive for killing me too if Rockford is involved with the death of the man in the barrel.” Kane straightened to his full impressive height. “And fo
r the record, I’m not afraid of Rockford’s daddy.”
“If you’re correct and the cases are connected, Josh Rockford won’t come in easily.” Rowley rubbed his chin and stared blankly at the whiteboard. “Holy cow, if he gets wind we’re planning to haul him in for questioning, he’ll take off for sure.”
“I doubt he will go anywhere. If he’d planned to skip town, he would have by now. He was at Aunt Betty’s this morning sitting at the table right next to me, grinning like an ape.” Jenna pushed to her feet. “We’ll ask him to come in for questioning and see what happens. If he lawyers up, then we’ll know he has something to hide and we’ll dig deeper.” She looked up at Kane. “As James Stone is his lawyer, I’d appreciate if you would do the honors.”
“My pleasure.” Kane grimaced. “I’m looking forward to interrogating him too.”
“I’m sure you are, but first our priority is identifying the victim. I want you to chase up Father Maguire to make enquiries about the bangle and tattoo. Get the details on Helms’s wife in case you have to contact her for confirmation. Before you head out, send in Walters and Daniels.” When Kane looked at her with a bemused expression, annoyance made her skin grow hot. “What are you standing around for? Off you go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kane sauntered from the room, grinning.
Jenna turned to Rowley. “Find out where Sarah Woodward is today and go pay her a visit right away. Her number is on file. I want to know she is okay, then get back here, pronto—we have work to do.”
“Right away.” Rowley stood and left the room.
Jenna walked over to the whiteboard and pushed it up into the ceiling receptacle, then waited for Daniels and Walters to enter the office. “I’m waiting for information. Which one of you is doing the check on the Ford pickup?”
“That would be me.” Daniels smiled at her. “Duke said his head was spinning from looking at the screen for so long, so I took over. I have a list but it’s not complete.”
“Get onto it straight away.” She waved him away then noticed the trail of dried mud in his wake. “Hey.”
“Yes, Sheriff?” Daniels gave her the sweetest smile.
“Maggie will get mad if she sees you dropping dirt all over the floor; go and clean your boots.”
“Sure thing.” Daniels peered at his feet then shrugged. “I was out cleaning the roadway early this morning. I didn’t have time to change. Sorry, ma’am.”
She turned her attention to Walters. “Did you get the paperwork filed for John Helms’s bank and phone records?”
“Yes, ma’am, I have the warrant but I haven’t had time to look at them yet. I’ve been dealing with complaints about closing the landfill. Brinks has been on my back all morning. When will it reopen?”
“Not today. I’ll tell Maggie to handle the calls on the switch. Get onto those records for me.”
“Right away.” Walters turned to leave. “Do you think Helms might be the murder victim?”
Jenna drew a deep breath. “I have no idea but I hope not. With any luck, someone may have picked our town as the perfect place to dump a body.”
“I guess so.” Walters frowned. “From what Brinks said it wasn’t pretty.”
Great, Brinks is blabbing all around town already. Jenna stared at him. “I don’t have any details and I’m sure Mr. Brinks is prone to exaggeration. As far as I’m aware, he didn’t get close enough to the body to make any observations.”
“He was babbling some on the phone.” Walters shrugged. “If he calls again I’ll tell him to keep quiet.” He scratched his chin and stared at her. “It may well be an out-of-towner disposing a body.”
Jenna raked her fingers through her hair. If not, we have a sadistic killer in Black Rock Falls and I’m on his list.
Twenty-Nine
After trying Father Maguire’s number and getting no reply, Kane checked through old files. His attention centered on cases involving the residents of Black Rock Falls before Jenna took over as sheriff. He flagged reports which involved current suspects. During his search, he discovered Woodward and Helms had not been the only people to go missing. Three people of vastly different ages had disappeared without a trace the year before Jenna took office. He pushed both hands through his hair in dismay. The files held missing persons’ reports filed by family members without follow-up information, as if no investigation had taken place. He read each case with incredulity. The circumstances mirrored the current missing persons’ files. Glancing down at Walters’ name on the report, he rubbed his chin. Walters had not mentioned there had been similar cases in the past. He pushed to his feet and strolled to Deputy Walters’ desk. “Do you remember working on a couple of missing persons’ cases about three years ago?”
Walters spun around in his chair and observed him over the top of his half-moon spectacles with a surprised expression.