“You represent the law and giving himself up would be an anticlimax – he craves the limelight.” Kane met her gaze. “I’m with Wolfe on this. We could be dealing with a killer who’s murdered before and gotten away with it so many times he’s bored. He wants to crow about his kills and be famous as the sadistic Shadow Man, so he’s using you to gain notoriety. If this is the profile of our killer, Lindy was collateral damage, to get our attention. Taking us out with a bomb makes him a hero in jail. He knows his killing spree won’t last forever and wants to go out in a blaze of glory.”
Twenty-Four
Jenna lifted her face to the cool breeze and inhaled the fresh pine and wood-smoke fragrance coming on the breeze. It was good to be outside in the fresh air and she leaned on Kane’s truck and absorbed the beauty of the green forest and snowcapped mountains to clear the gruesome images of Lindy Rosen from her mind. Who had lured her to her death and how the hell was she going to find her killer? She’d been coming up against brick walls, with a few suspicious men on her list but not suspicious enough to pull them in for questioning, let alone make an arrest.
Her cellphone vibrated in her pocket and a wave of dread caught her unawares. She stared at the caller ID. Relieved to see Maggie’s name displayed, she sighed. “Morning, Maggie, what’s up?”
“We’ve another girl gone missin’. Amanda Braxton, fifteen, lives not one mile away from the Rosens’ ranch.”
Jenna’s heart sank. “Send me the address and details; we’ll head out there now. Tell Rowley to contact search and rescue, I want them on standby.” She disconnected and looked at Kane. “We haven’t hunted down a viable suspect for Lindy’s killer yet and it looks like the Shadow Man’s hit again.”
“Another kidnapping?” Kane climbed into his vehicle and leaned over the back seat to pat Duke on the head. “Where this time?” He started the engine.
Jenna’s phone chimed a message and she entered the coordinates into the GPS. “About a mile away. Amanda Braxton, fifteen, lives with her mother and older brother. Last seen around ten last night. Her mom figured she’d slept in and sent her brother to check on her around nine this morning and her room was empty.”
“If this is the Shadow Man, he’s escalating faster than I expected.” Kane glanced at the GPS screen, then swung the car around and headed for Stanton Road. “We’ve a major problem with him because he’s playing a game with us in his mind. From the autopsy results, we know Lindy Rosen was dead before he sent you the video of her in the cellar. We never had a chance of finding her alive; the entire thing was a stunt.”
Jenna grimaced. “So what’s his angle?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe he gets off on watching us trying to save a life when he knows his victim is already dead.” Kane shrugged. “Or he’s giving himself plenty of time to stage the final scene.”
Allowing his conclusions to sink in, Jenna stared at him. Light streamed through the forest in bands, hitting Kane and making him look like a flickering old movie, his movements broken and disjointed. The image looked surreal and Jenna blinked a few times to keep her mind on track. “Uh-huh, so what significance do the murders have to him? This guy doesn’t display the brutality we usually see in a psychopath’s MO. There’s no rape and Lindy was killed by a nice neat strangulation.” She glanced into the forest. Thousands of green pines flashed by, mixed with small splashes of color from the abundant wildflowers. She turned back to him. “If Amanda is his second victim and he tries the same stunt again, I have my own theory about him.”
“Okay.” Kane’s mouth twitched down at the corners. “Why don’t I like where this is heading?”
Deep in her own thoughts, Jenna frowned at his worried expression. “I’m pretty sure you’ve come to the same conclusion, Kane, it’s written all over your face.” She cleared her throat and kept her expression bland, but deep inside, the notion that she’d become the target of a deranged lunatic again scared the hell out of her. “He’s only killing to get my attention, to draw me into his perverted game. His trigger is women in authority and he needs power over them. Once he has them following his orders, he plans to kill them in a gruesome way – that’s why he set the IED, he wanted to create carnage and would’ve likely been somewhere close filming the aftermath.”
“Let’s hope not.” Kane slowed to take a left, then after a few yards drove through wrought-iron gates and into a long driveway.
Glacial Heights sure lived up to its reputation for being one of the most beautiful suburbs in Black Rock Falls. Building the new hospital wing and the extension of the college campus had brought an influx of prosperity to the small town. Highly skilled professionals had arrived and built spectacular houses north of town, and in the south where the land was plentiful and cheap, industrial plants producing everything from heavy machinery to barbed wire had blossomed.
She admired the layout of the ranch. The owners had left half in its natural state. Tall pines lined a substantial driveway winding through a wooded area and opening up to a landscaped mirage surrounding the ranch house. Seasonal flowers spilled over flowerbeds in a kaleidoscope of color and a yellow spring rose climbed a trellis beside the front porch. The Braxtons had spared no expense to make their dream home.
She glanced back at Kane. “Right now, I feel like I have a target on my back.”
“Then I’ll make sure you’re never alone, Jenna, until we catch this guy. You’ll need to wear your vest when we’re on patrol.” Kane gave her a long look. “Although, I can’t see what motive he has to specifically target you. There’s plenty of other female authority figures in town. I’ve seen people go to extreme lengths to get revenge but with every case you’ve solved in Black Rock Falls, the perpetrators are either dead or in jail.” He shrugged. “Unless he’s gotten himself a problem with all women in authority – and if so why kill a teenage girl to lure you? He would’ve had the opportunity to shoot you a thousand times in the last few weeks, on the ranch or walking down Main Street.” He shook his head. “This one is a mystery on so many fronts. For instance, how did he lure Lindy from the house?”
“I wish I knew.” Jenna folded her arms across her chest. This time she was going by her gut instinct and nothing he could say would change her slant on things. “Think about it, Kane. If he just shot me, it wouldn’t be a game, would it? I mean, for someone who lives for the thrill of dominating women in authority, killing me like that would be too clean. He wants to see me cut up bad. He wants to make a statement to show the world he’s a tough guy or something.” She shrugged. “I guess if Amanda’s case fits the same MO, you’ll agree with my take on the Shadow Man?”
“Don’t for one minute believe I’m dismissing your conclusions, Jenna, ’cause I’m not.” Kane flicked her a concerned glance. “I figured we’re discussing theories is all.”
Relieved, Jenna nodded. “Okay, sure. It’s good to discuss different angles on cases, or we’d never solve any at all.”
“Yeah, sometimes we need to step outside the box. Crimes are like people, some appear similar but really they’re different.” He sighed and pulled to a halt outside the house. “One thing’s for sure, the Rosen case killer doesn’t follow any particular pattern of behavior. There’re way too many variables to fit Shadow Man into any known category. We need more evidence.”
“True, but I don’t want to find out he’s strangled more girls just to prove a point.” Jenna reached for the door handle. “Let’s hope this is a simple runaway.”
A woman ran out the door and down the steps to meet them. Dark hair tied back and wearing a sweater and blue jeans, she was in her late thirties. Jenna climbed out the SUV and went to meet her. “Mrs. Braxton?”
“Oh, dear Lord, my Mandy has gone missing.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve called everyone I know and no one has seen her. Her cellphone is on her nightstand and none of her clothes are gone; it’s as if she up and walked out the door wearing her PJs, dressing gown and slippers.”
Jenna exchanged a look with Kane. Without issuing an order, he slid into action, walked some distance away and pulled out his cellphone to call Wolfe. Soon the ME, Webber and hopefully Atohi Blackhawk would be on scene. She touched Mrs. Braxton’s arm. “Can we go inside?”
“Sure, the 911 operator said I wasn’t to touch anything in her room but I already searched her cupboard and pulled open her drawers to see if she’d taken any of her clothes.” Mrs. Braxton led the way inside the house. “You see, we had an argument last night. Mandy wanted to go to the Spring Festival dance with a boy who works in town but he’s nineteen and I grounded her for insisting on seeing him.” She led the way into the family room and stood in front of the open fire, wringing her hands. “I figured she’d run off with him.”
“No, Ma, I told you, Matt’s not like that, he’s a decent guy.” A young man walked into the room. Tall and good-looking with dark hair and eyes. Jenna put him around seventeen. “He’s a couple of years older than me but we’re friends and she wouldn’t have been alone with him. You’re overreacting as usual.”
Jenna glared at him. “And you are?”