dered if her boyfriend had added the pompoms to their collection in the old barn. They looked good side by side on the shelf. No one went there, it was their secret place. Since his pa had left, they were the only people to visit the old barn.
Her mind went to Vicky Perez. Planning out her demise exhilarated her. She enjoyed frightening people and after chasing down the pregnant woman at the house and hearing her beg for her life, she wanted more. An indescribable rush filled her at the expressions on their faces when they knew they were going to die. If she could make it last longer, it would feed her raging hunger for death.
Thirty-Five
Jenna placed the box containing coffee and snacks for the team in the back of the Beast and covered it with a blanket. She jumped into the passenger seat and waved a hand at Kane. “Drive past the library parking lot.” She buckled up. “We might be lucky for once and find her vehicle.”
“If we do, I’ll check it for prints but I doubt the killer would have set foot near it.” Kane turned into the library parking lot. “He’s too careful.” The lights moved in an arc across the lot. “Well, we have a hit.”
“Thank goodness.” Jenna smiled at him, pulling back the urge to give him a high-five. “I’ll run the plates. You go check for prints.”
As the MDT worked through its program and confirmed the owner, she waited for Kane as he dusted and lifted fingerprints from the vehicle. In no time, he was back. “I’ve added them to the file and sent a copy to Wolfe for identification.” He turned the truck around and headed back to Rowley’s old house. “I hope the coffee will still be hot. It’s gotten quite cold tonight.”
Jenna nodded. “So do I.” She turned in her seat to look at him. “The coffee is in Thermoses; we’ll have to drop them back to Aunt Betty’s in the morning but I’m sure Rowley will need something hot and the coffee at the hospital is disgusting.”
“Yeah, I remember.” Kane pulled a face. “I wonder how Sandy is doing?”
Jenna tucked her hair behind one ear and adjusted her hat. “Jake would have called if it had been bad news. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
As they pulled up outside the house, Jenna spotted a Blackwater Sheriff’s Department vehicle outside with a deputy on duty. She gave him a wave as Kane pulled up behind Rio’s cruiser. It was Carter who greeted them at the door and Jenna nodded to him. “Anything happening I need to know about?”
“Tons.” Carter indicated to Wolfe’s van. “Wolfe has the victim in his van but he’s waited for you before he leaves. There’s something he needs to show you upstairs. The scene’s been processed, you won’t need booties just gloves.”
“I’ll take the coffee into the family room and be right behind you.” Kane headed down the hallway.
“Sure.” Jenna gloved up as she followed Carter upstairs. She entered the first bedroom and scanned the weary faces. “We’ve set up coffee in the family room if anyone needs a break.” She looked at Wolfe. “What have you got for me, Shane?”
“Ah, I’m glad you’re back.” Wolfe turned to Emily. “Go and grab me a cup, I’m dead on my feet.” He turned back to Jenna. “We’ve found a distinct difference to the blood spatter involved in both crimes.” Wolfe turned as Kane bounded into the room. “If you look here…” He pointed to droplets of blood on the floor and above on the ceiling. “Look at the arc and the pattern of blood spatter. This is the transfer pattern from a blunt instrument after it hits the victim, and we’re assuming from Sandy’s statement it was a flashlight. The killer brought it up in an arc after striking the victim. The second blow picks up the victim’s blood and centrifugal force flings it out in an arc.”
Jenna stared at the blood spatter and nodded. “Yeah, this indicates the killer raised the weapon above their heads more than once.”
“But there’s more.” Carter moved the toothpick across his lips and smiled at her. “Now look at where Sandy was attacked.” He led the way down the hallway and into the front bedroom. “What do you see?”
Why did Carter make her feel like a rookie? Jenna sighed. “Yeah, it’s the same thing here. Sandy told us how this occurred, what are you getting at, Carter?”
“It’s the size of the arc made by the blood.” Kane stepped beside her. “This proves we have two killers.” He shrugged. “An arc is part of a circle, so by determining the size of the arc, we can obtain the killer’s height. The killer’s height with arm outstretched plus weapon—” he demonstrated with his arm “—is the diameter of the arc.”
“That’s interesting.” Jenna stared at the blood spatter. “So, who do we need to make these calculations? Geometry was never a strong subject of mine.”
“I already made the calculations.” Rio shrugged. “Sandy’s attacker was five-five and the victim’s close to six feet.” He handed Jenna his notebook with precise diagrams. “From the violence of the first victim and the many attempts to kill Becky, I would be looking at a man and a woman teaming up to murder.”
“There is something else.” Carter inclined his head. “The victim’s backpack hadn’t been touched by anyone but her, but it was open. I checked inside. Her clothes are missing like in the Laurie Turner case, and Webber found a part of a pompom on the stairs. We’ll need to confirm it from her parents but I think she had her pompoms with her. I figure whoever did this took her clothes and her pompoms. Trophies perhaps?”
The last thing Jenna needed was another serial killer or killers in town. She pressed her lips together and thought for a beat. “Yeah, I’m of the same opinion and her parents mentioned she had taken her pompoms with her.”
“Another thing.” Wolfe narrowed his gaze. “When we do the autopsy on Becky, I’ll have Sandy release her X-rays and scans to me for comparison. We’ll be able to calculate the force used in each case.” He looked at Jenna. “From this evidence, and the spatter we found at Laurie Turner’s crime scene, we can assume the same person inflicted wounds on both Laurie and Sandy. They both came back as a person around five-five.” He looked at Jenna. “This is all I need here. I’ll wait for Webber to finish checking the trash bins and then get the body on ice. I’ll bring the team over after the parents’ viewing and we’ll do a walk through in daylight and then, you can get the cleaners in.”
Jenna nodded. “Okay great.” She glanced at Rio. “Thanks for staying back.”
“My pleasure but if the coffee is in a to-go cup, I’ll grab one for the ride home.” Rio stood to one side as Jenna headed downstairs.
“We’ll be doing the same.” Jenna looked over her shoulder at him. “We’re heading for the hospital next to check on Sandy. I figure Rowley will need a decent cup of coffee as well.”
After Webber returned with the news that he’d found nothing of interest in the garbage, Jenna returned the unused coffee and food to the box. She smiled to herself as Kane grabbed sandwiches from a bag and filled two, to-go cups of coffee from the Thermos. She took the coffee from him and followed Kane out to his truck. “Nothing spoils your appetite, does it?” She set the two to-go cups of coffee in the console and stared at him.
“Some things do.” Kane pulled the plastic wrap off a pastrami on rye and bit into it with a sigh. “But when the job gets in the way of staying healthy it’s time to quit. Eating when under stress is calming.” He indicated toward the sandwich. “Eat, it’s going to be a long night.”
Jenna’s phone chimed and she stared at the caller ID. It was Rowley. Her heart picked up a beat and she put the call on speaker. “Is Sandy okay?”