“Don’t you see? I must kill her.” Grayson refused to comply and his eyes swiveled toward Kane. “Then I’ll have peace for a time. Just one more. Look, I’m not armed. You can’t shoot an unarmed man, can you, Deputy?” He staggered to his feet. “That’s against the law.”
Kane wanted to laugh. Grayson honestly believed he could take him. He stared at the shivering man. “Who’d tell anyone if I did? And who would care? It would save the county a ton of money if I finished this now. But I don’t need a weapon to deal with the likes of you. Bare hands are so much more satisfying, don’t you agree?” He holstered his weapon and narrowed his gaze. “Hands on your head. Now!”
“I’m not finished yet.” Grayson pulled something from his pocket and lunged at Kane.
Fifty-Five
Terrified, Julie screamed as the sound of a stun gun clicked and Grayson lunged toward Uncle Dave. “Watch out!”
The punch came so fast Julie almost missed it. The man’s head snapped back and he fell sliding into the snow, coming to rest under a tree, the stun gun slipping from his hands. Shivering, she stared after him and then noticed Rio bounding through the trees. Behind him, she made out Jenna, walking slow, gripping her arm. Holding back a sob, Julie pointed at Jenna. “Jenna’s hurt!”
“I know.” Kane held out his arms. “Come here.” He slid one arm around her shoulder and hugged her trembling body. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“Not really.” Julie burrowed into him, her teeth sounding like castanets. “I have his DNA under my fingernails, but it was so dark I couldn’t see to power up the stun gun. I bashed him with it though.”
“You did everything right. Your dad will be very proud of you. I’m just sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” Kane smoothed her hair and pushed her gently away. He turned to Rio. “Cuff him, pat him down, and when he regains consciousness read him his rights.”
“Sure, but tell me one thing.” Rio secured the prisoner and looked up at him. “He could’ve had a knife. Why did you holster your weapon?”
“Kane is a weapon.” Jenna walked into the clearing, her teeth chattering. “I’ve seen him take down six men in a fight. That piece of shit was never a threat to him, with or without a weapon.” Her mouth turned down and she looked at Kane. “It’s hard to believe that flamboyant, over-tanned, self-confident egomaniac murdered all those people. I can’t wait to hear his story.”
“Me either.” Rio dragged Grayson to his feet and read him his rights.
Freezing, Julie rubbed her arms. “Why didn’t you kill him, Uncle Dave? A man like him doesn’t deserve to live.”
“Oh, I sure wanted to, but he’ll suffer in jail for the rest of his life.” A nerve ticked in Kane’s cheek and it was as if he’d turned to stone. “Bexley Grayson, I’m arresting you for the attempted murder of Julie Wolfe.”
Fifty-Six
Head throbbing fit to burst, Kane pushed Grayson toward Rio, and they trudged back through the snow to the front entrance of the ski lodge. He shielded Jenna and Julie with his body as the hovering press that frequented the lobby bombarded them with questions. He glared at them. “No comment.” He followed everyone into the elevator.
“You don’t have any evidence against me.” Grayson gave him a bloodstained grin. “It will be my word against the cops. Look at me. This is police brutality.”
“Dream on.” Rio snorted. “This isn’t a novel. You’re going to rot in jail.”
“Nah, I’m special.” Grayson smiled and winced, the scratches down his cheek and his swollen eye showing how well Julie had defended herself. “You won’t be able to prove a thing.”
“Have you ever heard of DNA?” Jenna lifted her chin and her lips twitched into a smile. “The earrings you left at the crime scenes belong to Diane Tate. If you’re a match, then we know you’re Paul Tate. You killed your own mother, didn’t you, Paul?”
“I killed a demon.” Grayson’s lips curled. “You know nothing about me.” He changed from anger to amusement in a blink of an eye and chuckled. “I’ll walk away from this… and you’ll never know when I’m coming back… to get you.”
“Good luck with that.” Jenna stared at him and turned back to Kane. “I’ll speak to the DA. He confessed to killing his mother in front of us. I want him held until Jo can get here. Between the two of you, you’ll be able to get the truth out of him. He has a story. Something turned him into a monster and I figure his mother had something to do with it.”
“Yeah, I blame my mom.” Grayson grinned at her. “I’ll tell the judge she drove me to insanity. I’ll have the old women on the jury crying for me.”
Anger bubbling just under the surface, Kane fixed him with a stare that shut his mouth. “You planned your murders, and revenge isn’t a defense. Don’t worry, I’m sure the judge will give you the same consideration you gave your victims.”
Cold and dripping with melting snow, they reached the interview room and Kane opened the door. He turned to Rio. “Secure the prisoner. Cuff him to a pipe under the sink for now. Use flexicuffs on his legs as well. We’ll head down the mountain as soon as the road is cleared.” He looked at Grayson. “One more word from you and I’ll gaffer-tape your mouth.”
He waited for Rio to secure Grayson and, shutting the door behind him, went back to the other room. Taking in Jenna’s ashen face, Kane went to her side and examined her arm with care. “I’m pretty sure it’s broken. We need to get that looked at.” He smiled at her. “You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met. You saved Julie’s life.”
“We both did.” She eyed him critically. “You’re as pale as a ghost.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, no. You went outside without a hat. Your head must be killing you. Do you have your meds with you?”
Kane rubbed his head and rummaged inside his pockets. His fingers closed around a bottle. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. Forget about me. Sit down before you fall down.” He grabbed some blankets from a cupboard and wrapped them around Jenna and Julie. “You need to get warm. I’ll make us a hot drink and then you need to change into dry clothes.”
“I hope they have a doctor here.” Jenna swayed a little and sat down hard in a chair, holding her arm protectively. “I want someone to look at Julie.”
r /> “The hotel has paramedics.” Rio walked back into the room. “I’ve already called them for our prisoner. Duty of care and all that.”