The idea of seeing his friends again made him smile. The selfies they had posted on Facebook, wearing Santa hats and urging him to come straight away after his final shift at Tire and Mechanical, had made up his mind to drive all night.
He slowed to round a sweeping bend sparkling with small patches of ice, and noticed ahead a vehicle with its hood up and flashers blinking orange in the dark. Dammit, I guess I’ll have to stop.
After coming alongside the pickup, he buzzed down his window. “Hey. Need any help?”
“Yeah, engine just stopped. It’s got plenty of gas.” A man slid out from behind the wheel. “I’ve been hopin’ a truck driver would come on by and radio a tow truck for me. I can’t get no bars out here to call anyone.”
Levi frowned. “Can’t help you call anyone but I know engines. I’ll take a look,” He closed the window, found his flashlight and slid out into the bitter cold, leaving his engine running.
“Thank you kindly.” The man walked to the front of the vehicle. “I have a wrench if that’s any help?” He waved the tool.
“I have tools in my truck.” Levi turned on the flashlight and approached the front of the pickup.
It was fortunate at that moment that the moon slipped out from behind a cloud or he wouldn’t have seen the shadow of the man’s arm raised above his head. Levi ducked to one side as the wrench chimed against the radiator. Fear gripped him by the throat. He spun around, striking out with his torch and catching the man hard across his right arm. When the stranger gasped in pain and staggered backward, Levi didn’t wait for an explanation, he slipped and slid in the snow at the edge of the blacktop. “What the hell?”
The man came fast, swinging wildly at him and missing by inches. All Levi had was his flashlight. He shone it into the man’s eyes, hoping the high-powered halogen beam had blinded him for a second, then took off at a run and slid across the road. He dived back into his truck, his hands trembling as he locked the doors. He reached for the shifter just as the maniac came at him again. The wrench shattered the side window, showering him with glass. He slammed his foot on the accelerator, spinning the wheels on ice and fishtailing down the highway.
Heart racing so fast he could hear it thumping in his ears, he stared out the broken window at the man running after him. “That must be the guy the news said has been kidnappin’ people.”
Terrified, he slammed down on the gas. The powerful engine roared but the back wheels lost traction. He fought for control but slid across the highway, coming to rest in the deep-packed snow beside the blacktop. Without warning, the engine spluttered and died. Every muscle trembling, he gaped into the side mirror at the dark shadow of the stranger hurrying purposefully toward him. Sheer panic gripped him. “Oh, Jesus.”
He sucked in a freezing breath and turned the key. The engine turned—nothing. He tried again. “Come on, come on.”
Grasping desperately at his knowledge of engines, he pushed down hard on the gas and turned the key again with trembling fingers. He let out a sob as the perfectly tuned motor burst into life, but the crazy man had gained on him and was little more than twenty yards away. He squeezed the gas pedal down gently and his truck moved forward. “That’s it, nice and slow, you can do it, girl. Get me the hell out of here.”
At last the tires’ ch
ains dug into the ice, giving him traction, and he aimed the truck back onto the highway. As he drove away the man vanished into the darkness behind him, but he kept one eye on his mirror, not sure what to do if the maniac followed him. The icy wind buffeted him through the broken window but he dared not stop to cover it. A half-hour later, he entered Blackwater. Five more minutes and he would be home. Once safe inside, he would call 911.
Thirty-Three
Friday morning
The heating in the office was failing miserably and Jenna stuffed a few tissues into the gap at the bottom of the rattling window. The weather had been acting strange of late. Blizzards blanketed the town with snowdrifts so high, people had to dig out their vehicles, and the next moment a howling wind came through town as if the devil himself was chasing it. This had to be the coldest winter she had spent in Black Rock Falls. When Rowley knocked on her door with a somber expression she had some idea the news about the furnace was not good. “What did Mr. Jeffries say?”
“We need a new furnace, he don’t figure they make parts for ours anymore.” Rowley had abandoned his regulation Stetson and opted for the same thick woolen hat Kane preferred and had it pulled down over his ears. “Problem is, if you want to buy a new one, getting it here at this time of the year will be difficult.” He handed her an invoice from the plumber. “He said he could do something to keep it running but it might only last a day or two. At the bottom of the invoice is a quote for a replacement.”
Jenna glanced at the paperwork and nodded. “I’d normally have to get the mayor to approve an expense that big but we have enough in the budget. Thank him for me and tell him to go ahead with the repairs. I’ll see if we can find a furnace. Wolfe seems to have connections everywhere. Maggie will pay the plumber what he is owed for today.” She inhaled the smell of cinnamon and hot chocolate. “If that’s Kane with the food for our meeting, grab Walters and come back as soon as possible.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley headed out the door.
A few moments later Kane walked through the door, his cheeks reddened by the wind and carrying bags of takeout from Aunt Betty’s Café. “Ah, just in time.” Jenna took a bag from him and peered inside. “I thought I smelled cinnamon buns.”
“Yeah, and I had the Thermoses filled with hot chocolate as well.” He smiled at her. “There’s enough cake and cookies to keep us going until lunch.” He turned back to the door. “I’ll shuck my coat and grab some cups.”
When she had her deputies settled, she pulled down the whiteboard covered with names she had gathered of people of interest. She turned to her deputies. “I called our contact at the FBI and his response to our current spate of missing people was that we’re pretty much on our own with this case. We’ve no solid evidence to suggest a man kidnapped the missing people apart from Ella Tate’s statement. Normally she’d be a person of interest but we can’t jump to conclusions. Although we did find her at the scene of two or more people’s disappearance, we believe her to be an unreliable witness, due to the influence of drugs or mental capacity. We’re still waiting for the toxicology report from Wolfe about the involvement of date rape drugs. If this is the case, she will slowly regain her memory and we’ll interview her again.” She pointed to a list of names. “In the meantime, we have two people missing and likely a third. We haven’t been able to contact any of Rose Palmer’s relatives but we do know she arrived at the airport at nine to pick up Olivia Palmer. Rowley is hunting down Olivia’s friends via social media in the hope they may be of assistance.” She turned to Rowley. “Have you found anyone?”
“Yeah.” Rowley stared down at his iPad. “I’ve added them to the file.”
“Good.” She smiled at Walters. “I’ll leave that part of the investigation in your capable hands. Call me if you find any leads.”
“Sure thing, ma’am.” Walters looked happy to be remaining inside today. “I’ll see if I can put a firecracker under the plumber fixin’ the furnace too.”
“That would help.” She met Kane’s gaze. “What have you got for me, Kane?”
“I’ve been scanning the database for any similar incidents to add to what Rowley discovered yesterday and found more unsubstantiated reports about people vanishing without a trace throughout the state. They’re all aged between eighteen and twenty-five, all but one was traveling alone and their vehicles have never been located.” He poured a cup of hot chocolate from the Thermos, then leaned back in his chair, cup in hand. “One thing that joined the dots for me was that they all traveled though Black Rock Falls. I figure they’re connected.”
The hairs on the back of Jenna’s neck prickled. It was obvious they had another killer in town. “So if the kidnapper, let’s call him Axman, has been doing this for some time, how do you figure he’s disposing of the vehicles and bodies?” She glanced at her deputies.