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“Yes?”
“It’s quiet at the moment. Do you want me to grab the others for a meeting?” Rowley straightened with one hand resting on the doorknob.
Jenna nodded. “Yes, but just you and Kane for now, and bring something to take notes. We have a number of cases to investigate.” She lifted her chin. “Did Kane send you the image files from the body in the barrel homicide this morning?”
“Yeah, nasty business. I’ve printed a couple of images from the files he specified. Do you want me to give them to him? He mentioned they are for my eyes only.”
“Yes, go and get them but hand them straight to me.” Irritated that Kane had taken charge again, she leaned forward and glared at him.
“In case you are in any doubt who is in charge here, I’m the sheriff, not Kane.”
“Is there a problem?” Kane’s six five, two hundred pound plus bulk filled the doorway, blocking the light. He flicked a dark blue glance from one to the other. “If you’re referring to the evidence we found at the landfill this morning, I thought it would be better to keep it under wraps as this place is leaking like a sieve.” He moved into the room and shut the door behind him. “Did you tell Rowley about the attempt on your life this morning?”
Jenna glared at him. “Not yet. Do I have to remind you who is in charge here as well?”
“I know who is in command but as sheriff’s deputy, I am obliged to not only watch your back but act on your behalf in your absence. I’m just trying to do my job.” Kane’s expression hardened into granite.
Jenna took in his posture; the agitation flowed off him in waves. From his impressive references, he had held a gold shield in the homicide division in his last job. He was a born leader, and she suspected his cover story offered a minuscule insight into his capabilities. She needed a professional at her side. The fact he had placed his body on the line to protect her during the shooting proved she could trust him. Right now, she needed him onside and had no option but to allow him some slack. “I am fully aware of your position on my team but as sheriff the buck stops here. I have already told you to take the lead on the alleged attempts on my life but I am taking the lead on the murder case. If the two cross over and my involvement in any way causes a conflict of interest, then by all means take the lead. Until then, I am in charge and you will follow my orders. Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear, ma’am.” Kane’s stance was rigid. He glanced at Rowley. “I want him with me when we conduct interviews. I want to know the whereabouts of any potential suspects at the time of both incidents and I need his local knowledge.”
“Yes, sir.” Rowley flicked a glance at Alton, and color filled his cheeks. “If that’s okay with you, ma’am?”
Annoyed, Jenna glared at her deputy. “Of course, but you can worry about that later. The attempt on my life pales in significance with the body in the barrel case. Our first priority is the victim.” She lifted her chin and stared at Rowley then Kane. “Understand?”
“Yes.” Kane cleared his throat and straightened, dwarfing the smaller man. “If it’s okay with you, I would like to interview Rockford, Watts, and Beal while we’re waiting for the ME’s report.”
“Very well.” Jenna weighed up the idea of informing Rowley about the incident in the bushes at the Cattleman’s Hotel. The young deputy had proven to be solid, and not informing him might hamper the case. She met Rowley’s gaze. “Before we continue, I need to explain to Rowley why I’ve changed my mind about the accident. At first, I honestly believed my accident was just that, but on Saturday night, a man threatened me on the pathway out back of the Cattleman’s Hotel, then someone took a shot at me this morning and Kane is concerned the incidents might be linked, though I have no evidence or motive to make that assumption.”
“Saturday night?” Rowley gaped at her, disbelief etched on his face. “May I ask why you didn’t mention it at the time, ma’am? We should at least have searched the area for footprints.”
Not willing to elaborate on her humiliation, Jenna shook her head. “It would have been a waste of time—at least fifty people used that pathway during the evening. All I have is a general build and height of the man. What he said made no sense at all and was not in relation to any case on file. His size could have fit a number of men I know, including James Stone and Josh Rockford.”
“This information doesn’t leave this room—understand?” Kane looked down his long straight nose at Rowley.
“I know when to keep my mouth shut. So our job at the moment is to rule out persons of interest and get the bullet to forensics?” Rowley jotted down a list in his notepad.
Jenna sighed with relief. “Exactly, then we can concentrate on the murder case.”
“If it’s alright with you, ma’am, I would like to make the attacks on you a priority at the moment because we can’t move forward with the body in the barrel case.” Kane’s mouth turned down in a grimace. “We have little information on the victim and can’t even confirm the sex let alone consider a motive or suspects.”
“Right, so it would be pointless interviewing the next of kin of the missing persons we have on file until we know the victim is male?” Rowley chewed on the end of his pen.
“Yeah, but the fact a murder has taken place and the grisly circumstances will be all over town by now. I doubt the owner of the landfill will be able to keep his mouth shut.” Kane rolled his wide shoulders. “The moment we step outside, locals and no doubt the media will be asking questions.” He grasped the back of one of the chairs in front of the desk and bent forward, staring at Jenna with an intent gaze. “The garrote is a crucial piece of evidence, so is the bangle. If it’s okay with you, I would suggest information only the killer would know doesn’t leave this room.” His knuckles whitened. “Getting back to the attempts on your safety. I’m not taking the shooting lightly and I’m not divulging crucial information to the other deputies about the bullet I retrieved or what I witnessed during the hit-and-run on Friday night.”
Jenna shot to her feet. “Stand down, Kane. I do know how to run homicide investigations and it will be my choice who I can trust with the information on the attempts on my life, not yours.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kane let out a long, dejected sigh. “It’s just that Daniels is as green as spring grass and might run off at the mouth. Walters is far too friendly with Mayor Rockford, going on the conversation we had with the mayor on Saturday night. As Josh is one of the suspects on my list in the cases concerning you, may I suggest the evidence be kept confidential?”
“All excellent points, but next time, run them past me before you discuss them in front of my deputies.” She met his gaze and raised a brow. “Continue investigating the cases involving me but I expect you to keep me in the loop and not run the investigation behind my back. Are we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kane straightened and his dark eyebrows raised in question. “Would you be open to discussing the evidence we have so far on the body in the barrel case with Rowley?”
Jenna tapped the end of her pen on the desk. Oh, he’s good. “Very well, take a seat, gentlemen, and let’s get the show on the road.” She stood, picked up a small pile of images from her desk, and walked to the whiteboard. “As Kane said, we have to wait for the autopsy report on the victim at the landfill this morning, and from the decomposition of the body, identification is going to be difficult. When the ME notifies us about the victim’s sex, we can eliminate the obvious by checking the personal effects we collected against our known missing persons’ next of kin. If we have no one on file fitting the description, we’ll send the information to other counties. Discovering the victim’s identity is our first priority.”
“If the body in the barrel isn’t one of our missing persons, we’ll need to keep moving forward on their investigations as well.” Kane gave her a thin smile, turned the seat to face the whiteboard, and sat down. “I could delegate the workload between Walters and Daniels. Assuming the paperwork has come back for permission to collect Helms’s phone and bank statements. That would leave us free to contact the next of kin.”
“I agree. Keeping the investigation moving forward is essential.” Jenna placed the photographs of the missing persons, Mrs. Woodward and John Helms, on the board and secured them with magnets, then took the marker from its holder and added their names. “We know the body in the barrel appeared to have dark hair but we don’t know what affect the chemicals or the molasses residue had on the victims’ hair color. In my opinion we shouldn’t dismiss the fact that either of these people could be our body in the barrel. If so, until the M.E. can determine the sex of the victim knowing their movements in the days prior to death will be crucial.”
