He attached his surgical mask then pulled the curtain surrounding the bed to one side. His attention lingered on Sky. Her disappearance would be all over the news by now. Finding her friend in the car had spoiled everything. He would have taken her as well if the stupid bitch hadn’t run away but Ella Tate had left him all the information he needed on her cellphone.
Young people posted their plans online telling everyone where they were going and what they were doing. By posing as a man in his early twenties, he had three thousand friends to choose from and it had been easy to discover when Sky would be leaving college to return home. The selfie posted from the Blackwater Roadhouse at 11.00 p.m. had given him plenty of time to drive to the highway and wait for her. Although, Sky had neglected to mention Ella would be traveling with her to Black Rock Falls.
He walked into the small office adjacent to the ward and scanned his computer. Within a few minutes, he found posts by Ella and friended her too. Soon she would be telling the world—and him—where she was and what she was doing. It had become part of the new culture. Hell, people even posted images of their dinner. He grinned. “Okay, Ella, I’ll just wait for you to come to me.” He disconnected and strolled out into the ward to look at his new prize. Life just gets better.
Eight
Jenna’s day was getting worse by the second. She had finished reading Ella Tate’s statement but Wolfe was not answering his cellphone. How could she conduct an investigation by virtual remote control without his first-hand input? She called his cellphone again and left a message. The only time Wolfe turned off his cellphone was during an autopsy and as no one had reported finding a body, she had no idea what was happening. With his constant worry about his daughters, he would divert his calls to Kane’s cellphone as backup and yet Kane’s phone had not rung.
She pushed her hair from her face and leaned back into the pillows. With no reports coming in from her deputies, she had no option but to wait. Hearing Kane’s footsteps coming along the hallway, she lifted her attention to the door. He had been a remarkably good patient and with the tables turned proved to be a very caring nurse. Although, since losing his memory, he had the same lost look as when he arrived in Black Rock Falls over a year ago. She assumed the memory of his wife’s death had hit him hard for a second time and she would try to support him the best way she could by being his friend. She understood grief, after losing everyone she loved in the world, and he would need time to recover in both mind and body. When he appeared at the door with two cups of steaming coffee, she smiled at him. “Thanks. Did you read the statement Wolfe sent through?”
“Yeah, and from the amount of blood on Tate, Sky Paul shouldn’t have survived the first attack. If there was a second, as Tate suggested, we’re searching for a body. If the man left her on the side of the highway, there’s no way she survived a blizzard.” Kane sighed. “I ran a background check on Tate.” He placed both cups on the bedside table and lowered himself carefully into the seat beside her bed. “Ella Tate was a troubled teenager, mixed with a bad crowd but when her parents died, she went to live with her brother and seems to have straightened out her life. Her brother is a Navy Seal and when deployed she is on her own, no other family. I gather he is away now and assume that’s why she planned to spend Christmas with Sky’s family. I’d like to interview her and see what’s going on in her head. Her story reads more like fiction than fact.”
Jenna sighed. “Wolfe is concerned. From the blood spatter on her clothes, she may have hurt her friend but apart from that, we have nothing.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “I’ve called him four times and he’s not picking up. That’s not like him and why haven’t his calls been diverted to your phone?”
“I guess because they’re being diverted to Webber’s.” Kane shrugged. “I’m not too sure why he isn’t getting back to you.”
Realization slammed into her. “I know why. Webber is out with Walters searching for the victim or her car. There’s no signal out that far from town and I guess Rowley has the satellite phone in his truck. I’ll try again later. Once they come around the bend and head
past the road leading to the meat processing plant, they’ll get reception.”
“I’ll use the radio in your truck to contact them. I doubt they are far from Walter’s cruiser.” Kane pushed to his feet. “Where are your keys?”
Jenna opened the drawer beside her and pulled out her key fob. “Here. Be careful on the steps.”
She waited patiently for him to pull on his coat and pull the hood over his woolen hat before venturing outside with Duke firmly at his heels. Kane was walking easier now but could not hide the serious headaches he suffered the moment he went outside in the cold. After five minutes he returned and she could hear him shaking the snow from his coat and removing his boots. She picked up her coffee and sipped. Moments later, he stepped into her room.
“They haven’t found a trace of the missing woman or vehicle. No sightings from the chopper. The chopper searched for miles in all directions and has now returned to base. The snowplow has cleared a few miles in both directions of the coordinates the truck driver gave Rowley.” Kane sat down and reached for his coffee. “The snowmobile guys located the woods and the old barn mentioned in the statement as well. They cleared a path to the trees along the fence line but found nothing stuck on the wire.”
Jenna sighed. “There should be fibers on the wire if her coat was stuck as she said, unless the snow washed it off.”
“Not likely the snow would make a difference. Webber checked it out and I doubt he’d miss evidence.” He sighed. “They’ve been out there for hours, I told them to call it a day and return to the office. The chopper will be out again at first light with the rest of the team to search but the chances of finding anything with it snowing will be impossible.”
Jenna nodded. “Thanks. I figure Rowley will be checking in soon. I don’t envy him his job.”
Moments later Jenna’s cellphone pealed. She snatched it up and put it on speaker. “What have you got for me, Rowley?”
“The last time Mrs. Paul had contact with Sky was at 11:00 p.m. She called to say she had reached the Blackwater Roadhouse and was getting gas and something to eat. She was upset.”
Jenna exchanged a look with Kane. “Did she say why?”
“Yeah, they had an argument about Sky’s brother. She didn’t go into details but said it was pretty heated. Sky told her mom she wished she could drive away and leave Ella at the roadhouse.”
“We’ll need Sky’s cellphone number. If it’s turned on we might be able to trace it and locate her.”
“I have the details in the report. I’m at the office and I’ll send the file now. I’ve gotten a BOLO out on Sky, her car and the description of the man Ella gave me. I’m writing a media report and will call it in now. Any calls will be diverted to your cellphone, ma’am. Someone might have seen something. Is there anything else you need me to do, ma’am?”
Jenna tapped her bottom lip, thinking. “Have you seen Wolfe this afternoon?”
“Yeah.” Rowley sucked in a breath. “He’s at the Paul residence, taking blood samples, I believe, to crossmatch the blood found on Ella Tate.”
Jenna heaved a sigh of relief. “Walters and Webber are heading back to the office. Once they’ve had lunch, send Webber over to the ME’s office to assist Wolfe. You can close up. There’s another blizzard forecast.”
“Do you want me to ask Wolfe to track the cellphones or call the Blackwater Roadhouse and follow up?” Rowley sounded apprehensive.
Jenna glanced at Kane. “No, that’s fine. Kane will be able to track the cellphones from here. I’ll call the Blackwater Roadhouse and follow up on the argument. If it was bad enough for Sky to mention it to her mom, someone might have heard them.” She turned her head away and coughed. “Could I ask you a personal favor?”
“Sure.”