Shrugging, Jenna nodded. “I understand how you feel, Styles. That would have been by the book, and I wouldn’t have had a problem if it had played out that way, but Williams has been a goldmine of information. Right now, he is more valuable to us alive.”
“I’m not sure why the director wants to increase my workload.” Beth peered at Wolfe from between swollen black eyelids tinged with yellow. “He insisted I go through a ton of Wade Cutter’s video footage to identify the victims with known cases, and Styles will be matching the others to missing persons’ reports from all over. It could take years. I’ll need to send footage to other agents to assist or we’ll be knee-deep in cold cases for the next decade.”
Sighing, Jenna turned to Norrell. “You mentioned Wade Cutter and Rhett. What did you discover?”
“We examined the aerial shots of the patches of suspected burial sites.” Norrell looked at Jenna. “Williams is still cooperating and was able to identify which ones contained bodies. There may be more, but Cutter told him which were his sites and where to bury fresh bodies. Helena is sending a full forensics team to excavate the sites. It will take a long time and all areas around the sites will be crime scenes. This means reorganizing the cattle grazing to different areas.” She looked at Rhett. “Can that be arranged?”
“Yeah, of course, anything you need. I’ll speak to Bowman.” Rhett nodded and rubbed his chin. “Fencing off the areas would be the easiest method. I’ll see it’s taken care of.” He swung his gaze to Jenna. “I have a new bookkeeper. I must admit I was surprised when Rio and Rowley came to arrest Ms. Cutter. I’ve kept her son on the payroll. He’s a good wrangler, so Bowman tells me. He took him under his wing after Wade vanished, and I figure after what’s happened he needs a break. He asked to move into the bunkhouse with the rest of the wranglers. I know his father was a psychopath and that we need to watch him, but I figure he’ll be okay.”
Jenna smiled. “I hope so. So when do you start work?”
“Next week. I’m working alongside Julie in the same department. She’ll be making sure kids have support during any court proceedings, and I’ll make sure whatever happens next they’ll be safe.” Rhett smiled broadly. “I hope we can work alongside you and get involved in the Her Broken Wings Foundation.”
“You know, if that footage of the guy at the bus station had cleaned up, we’d have caught Williams and Cutter earlier.” Kalo rubbed one eyebrow with his thumb and sighed. “We did our best but he kept his face covered.”
“We caught them and the Larkins.” Kane walked into the room grinning. “It’s all good.”
Jenna smiled at him. “And Zoe is going to be fine. She’s staying at the foundation for a time but will be returning to Lawson’s Ridge soon. After Rhett’s kind offer of a job for as long as she wants one, she can’t wait to get back there. She never wanted to leave and it was Williams who harassed her.”
“Okay, grab the kids and head outside.” Kane chuckled. “I hope you’re all famished. I have enough food to feed an army.”
As if on cue, all of Jenna’s friends poured out of the kitchen and handed out trays of food for everyone to carry outside and then returned for more. She turned to Kane as her boys wrapped around her legs chatting with excitement. They wanted to eat—now! It made her happy to see Kane in his domestic element. He so enjoyed cooking and making people happy. Before she had time to speak to him, Raya came by and collected the boys.
“Come on, let’s go outside. Wait until you see the birthday cake, Jackson.” She winked at Jenna.
Alone, for a few seconds, she wrapped her arms around Kane’s neck. “You smell like barbecue. Thanks for working so hard to make Jackson’s birthday special. All I did was toss a few salads.” She met his gaze. “We’ve been married for a time now, and I still can’t cook. I can clean but you do everything else.”
“Uh-huh, is that so?” Kane chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t change a thing, Jenna. I love you just the way you are.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Waking up beside you and hearing my boys’ laughter is all I’ll ever need. Every day with you is special for me.” His stomach growled. “Now let’s eat—I’m starving.”
* * *
If you loved Nothing Stays Buried and can’t wait to see what happens next, get the latest thrilling book in the series, Whisper Through the Pines, here.
