shing his face with every step did not.
“Wait up.” Blackhawk stopped where the trail split into three. He bent and lifted a wrapper from an energy bar from the ground and waved it at them. “This is fresh. Someone has been here recently.” He peered down the three choices, checking the ground and vegetation. “This way.”
Rio followed for another hundred yards or so, weaving in and out of the shadows along a narrow path. A stink came on the air and he pulled up his scarf to cover his nose. “What’s that smell?”
“We’ll find out soon. Look above. The crows wait and an eagle circles waiting for us to leave. Something has disturbed them. We’ll need to step softly and stay alert.” Blackhawk glanced behind him. “Have that rifle ready, Jake.”
“I’m on it.” Rowley shouldered his weapon and moved forward at a slow pace.
As they rounded the next bend ahead of him, choked by the unmistakable stink of death, Rio braced himself. Human or animal, the smell was the same. He followed, glancing this way and that, peering into the dark, misty shadows. When both men stopped abruptly, every hair on Rio’s body stood to attention. He edged toward them down the narrow trail, but his friends had blocked his view. “What’s up?”
“Oh, Jesus.” Rowley’s hand went to his mouth and his face drained of color.
Pushing past him, Rio peered into a small clearing and stopped mid-stride. His mind had trouble comprehending the graphic sight before him. He had to force himself to stand and scan the area. The carnage and total disregard for human dignity sickened him, and his hand trembled as he reached for his satellite phone. The men beside him stood grim faced and silent. Neither moved; they stared transfixed on the unimaginable horror before them. Someone had to do something. When Rowley turned and spewed into the bushes, he stared at Blackhawk’s blank expression. “I’ll call it in.” He checked the time for his report. It was a little after nine.
“I’ll head back. Tell Jenna I’ll meet her in the parking lot and guide her here.” Blackhawk gave him a long look. “Keep a tree to your back, this crazy man might still be around.”
“Sure, thanks.” Rio turned away, walking a few paces back down the trail to get some distance from the scene. He needed to breathe but his throat was tight and his heart pounded in his chest so fast his head spun. He called the sheriff. “It’s Rio, ma’am. We have two mutilated bodies, near Bear Peak. We found a late model SUV in the Bear Peak parking lot. It might belong to this couple. We’ll secure the area. Blackhawk will meet you at the Bear Peak parking lot and guide you here, but I’ll send the coordinates.
“Remain on scene until we get there. I’m waiting for Sam Cross to arrive, and as soon as I’ve spoken to him, we’ll be on our way. Dave’s here, I’ll ask him to inform Wolfe.” Jenna’s professional demeanor impressed him. “Is it a bear attack?”
Rio shook his head. “Not unless they’ve started using crossbows in this part of the forest.”
Thirty-One
It was difficult for Jenna not to be intimidated by Sam Cross, especially when the lawyer pressed his knuckles into her desk and glared at her. Refusing to be bullied, she drew in a breath through her nose and eyeballed him. Her position as sheriff made her the chief law enforcement officer of Black Rock Falls County, and it was obvious she needed to remind him. The time had come to stand her ground and to stop allowing a defense lawyer to walk all over her. She often wondered if he acted this way because he liked to throw his weight around and look important, but of late his demeaning attitude toward her had become personal. She needed to put a stop to it—and now. “In case it slipped your mind, we are both officers of the court. My job is to apprehend suspects and present evidence in a crime to the DA. He decides if the evidence is enough to proceed. It’s not within my power to issue an arrest warrant on circumstantial evidence and you darn well know it.” She lifted her chin, refusing to give him the upper hand. “The DA believes we have a case, and your client will be taken to county.” She didn’t break her stare at his angry face. “I’m sure you know the drill, Mr. Cross. There’ll be a bail hearing in the morning, which we’re opposing.”
“Like I said before.” Cross tipped back his Stetson and shook his head in disbelief. “Hold off with serving the arrest warrant until you have more information on the bodies in the forest. If the TOD is over the period my client was in your custody, it proves his innocence.” He straightened.
Jenna hadn’t known he’d been outside her office door when she’d informed Kane about Rio’s call, and of course Sam Cross had overheard the conversation and her plans to leave to examine the crime scene. She shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. At this time, we have no idea what my deputies have found in the forest. Until the ME has examined the remains and the scene, there’s no reason to delay the serving of the arrest warrant. I’d be negligent in my duty not to do so. I can’t just hold your client indefinitely, and if I didn’t carry out my duties to the letter, as sure as hell you’d find a loophole somewhere to have him released.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Of course, should evidence come to light that exonerates your client, you’ll be the first to know and can take the appropriate steps at that time. Right now, the DA has decided he wants Riley Adams where we can keep an eye on him.”
“I’m going to petition the DA for a stay on the warrant until the ME has examined the remains.” Cross pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and stared at the ceiling as if wishing for divine intervention. He let out a long sigh. “This is a reasonable request. You could be holding the wrong man and have a killer out there.”
Jenna stood at the sight of Kane at the doorway. “Do what you must, but I have a crime scene to secure. If you’ll excuse me?”
When Cross turned on his heel and brushed past Kane without another word, Jenna stared after him. She looked at Kane. “From now on, when we’re discussing a case, we close the door. He overheard my call from Rio and now wants to put a hold on the arrest warrant for Adams.”
“Well, he’ll have to take it up with the DA.” Kane shrugged. “I already served the warrant and Adams is on his way to county. It’s out of our hands and we have more important things to deal with today.” He grabbed Jenna’s jacket from one of the pegs behind her door and tossed it to her. “Put this on. Rowley just called; it’s freezing in the mountains.” He shrugged into his coat. “Wolfe will meet us at the parking lot at Bear Peak along with Atohi. I’ve already packed our backpacks and we’re ready to leave.”
“I’m ready.” Jenna slipped her Glock into the holster on her duty belt, inserted the earpiece of her com, and pulled a woolen cap over her head. She slipped on her thick winter jacket and pulled up the hood. “Let’s go.” She glanced down at Duke. “Is Duke coming?”
“Sure.” Kane whistled his dog. “His coat is in the Beast.” He led the way down the stairs.
The cool breeze smelled of the first snow and brought with it a reminder that winter wasn’t too far away. The sun usually sat in a blue sky that went on forever, but this morning low cloud cover had diluted its warmth. She glanced down Main, taking in the mass of decorations. As people walked by the displays, they triggered the sounds of wailing and howls. Motion-sensing automatons came to life, some so real they made her heart race. At times, because of the horrific memories of the past, her mind superimposed crime scenes over the displays and she had to visit the macabre scenes to convince herself they were fake. Why did Halloween bring out the crazy people? It had been a happy time when she was a child with the trick-or-treating, outrageous costumes, and laughter. Of late, the poisoned candy everyone was wary of had been replaced by psychopaths roaming Black Rock Falls. Would this be the new normal for her town from now on?
She climbed into the truck and looked at Kane. “I hope you brought the mentholated salve. From what Rio said, I figure we’re going to need it.”
“I have, but Wolfe will have some anyway.” Kane turned onto Stanton and accelerated. “You know, Sam Cross had no right to be on your office floor without permission. If he’d spoken to Maggie, she’d have given us the heads-up he was on his way.” His attention remained fixed on the road ahead as they shot past an eighteen-wheeler. “He only acts that way with you. During my interview with Adams, he was like a normal annoying lawyer. I’m not sure of his endgame—defense lawyers usually want us to cooperate with them and he’s sure making an enemy out of you.”
Jenna stared at the forest flying by and caught sight of a herd of deer moving through the trees to lower ground, their coats glistening in the shafts of dappled light. Again, the beauty of the forest had been sullied by murder. She sighed. “He’s good at his job but I just need to be better at mine. Since he allowed a killer to walk from my custody, I make doubly sure we don’t leave any loopholes for him to exploit.” She turned in her seat to look at him. “The problem is, I do have concerns about the Adams case. It all seemed too good to be true. The evidence pointed to Adams without a doubt, but now we have another murder in the same area of Stanton Forest using a crossbow. If it happened while Adams was in our custody, we’ll have accused an innocent man.”
“He had plenty of time to kill, clean up, and get to the nursing home. You have to admit two murder scenes with evidence of a crossbow as the weapon is too much of a coincidence.” Kane flicked her a glance as they took the turn off the highway to Bear Peak. “The time of death is going to be crucial.” He frowned. “With the temperature dropping so fast, I don’t envy Wolfe’s task. The entire case will hinge on the timeline we have for Adams.”
As they pulled up beside Rowley’s truck, Jenna ran the plates of the late-model SUV. She waited for the response and looked at Kane. “The truck belongs to Emmett Howard out of Sleepy Creek. He is married to Patricia and they are in their late twenties.” She downloaded the details and license images to her phone. She pulled the satellite sleeve out of her pocket and secured it to her phone. “Will o
ur coms work so close to the mountain?”
“Sure.” Kane gave her a slow smile. “These are way past our paygrade when it comes to technology. I’m not sure how Wolfe obtained them. The satellite network for these covers the entire world. These little earpieces are top secret, and up to this year the technology was intended for aircraft. They receive and transmit to everyone in our team at the same time. Only bad electrical storms or dense cloud cover will affect them.” He pushed on his earpiece. “Wolfe, what’s your ETA?”