AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Twenty-Six
J
ust as Jenna thought her day could not get any worse, the phone rang. A knot of anxiety clamped her stomach. It was Mr. Weems with the autopsy report. Listening to the gruesome details of the final moments of murder victims had to be the worst part of her job. “Go ahead, Mr. Weems.”
“This is only a preliminary report. The victim is male, age at this point undetermined. The body is in an advanced state of chemical decomposition but I’ve determined the cause of death is strangulation as the garrote around the neck cut through to the spine. However, before death the victim suffered horrific torture over a period of time. Bruising is in different stages and a number of the wounds appear to be at least five days old. He has a fractured skull, his back is broken, and his jaw has received considerable damage consistent to a blow by a hammer. I’m not sure about the tattoo. You’ll need to call in the state forensic science team to examine the body. I would like a second opinion on this case.” He let out a long sigh. “I’ve emailed you photographs of the bangle. There are interesting markings on the outside. I can’t read them, and you may need an expert in languages as well.”
Jenna cleared the lump in her throat. Another time in her life, she would have had a specialized forensics team working with her. “Very well. I’ll contact the necessary people straight away. Thank you.” She dropped the phone into the cradle and turned to face her deputies. “Forget interviewing Rockford and the others for now. We concentrate on finding out if the body is Helms.” She returned to her desk and accessed her email account. A few moments later, both deputies’ phones gave a message signal. “I’ve sent you the images of the bangle from the ME.”
“At least it’s not Mrs. Woodward.” Rowley bowed his dark head over his cellphone screen.
“I think it would be better if I speak with Father Maguire before contacting Helms’s wife.” Kane leaned forward in his chair and gave her a questioning gaze. “Don’t you agree?” He took a pad from the inside of his jacket. “Do you have his number? I’ll call him. I gather he didn’t supply any detailed personal information about Helms’s situation apart from some domestic problems?”
“He only gave us a brief outline and enough information to file a missing persons’ report.” Jenna pushed to her feet and went to the whiteboard. “Just make vague enquiries. The victim could be anyone at this point.” She jotted down three separate lists of names and heard Rowley’s sharp intake of breath.
“Do you believe Josh Rockford is involved in the murder?” Rowley leaned forward expectantly in his seat and clasped his hands together, resting his forearms on his knees. “We went to the same school.”
“I’m not sure. I need to have the three cases on the board so we can all see what evidence we have and who we believe is involved.” Jenna wrote “Attempted murder (shooting and accident)” on the top of one list, “Missing persons” on the second, and “Body in the barrel” on the third. “Rockford is on the list of suspects for the shooting and my accident. Watts, Rockford, Beal, and James Stone are the only people I’ve had personal problems with of late. The only other person who comes to mind is Stan Clough. There was a nasty court case after I arrested him for cruelty to animals a year ago, but as far as I am aware, he got out of jail a month or so ago and is living in the back county. Kane mentioned to me he could be a psychopath in training, and after what I witnessed on his ranch, this type of torture is something he enjoys.” She cleared her throat. “He sold his ranch, and I don’t have a current address.”
“I remember the case.” Rowley pulled a face. “He said it was alien mutilations. The man is nuts.”
“We need his whereabouts and you should have received notification along with his release information.” Kane’s blue gaze narrowed. “I’ll ask Walters; he seems to know the local gossip.”
She tapped the single name under Mrs. Woodward’s name. “John Davis is the only person of interest we have linked to Woodward’s disappearance, and his involvement if any is sketchy at best.” She added the names of contacts for each missing person under their names. The column under the “Body in the barrel”, she left blank. “I’m not adding the evidence Kane mentioned for obvious reasons but I’ll update this entry with a list of suspects as more information arrives.”
“What would be the motive for the murder? From the images, the body is naked. The killer didn’t take the gold from the victim, so not robbery. Kinky sex gone wrong?” Rowley’s face had turned an odd shade of green. “The bangle is distinctive and would finger the murderer if he tried to sell it, I guess.”
“What makes you believe the motive is money?” Kane raised both dark brows. “There is no evidence to suggest the victim was killed for monetary gain. Not kinky sex either; those deaths are usually accidental, and garroting a person to the spine would not be accidental. This is torture. This type of killer usually starts with animals and escalates, so Stan Clough fits the profile and he is living somewhere in the area. It makes me wonder if he had anything to do with the other missing persons’ cases reported before you started work here.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I agree. He does fit the profile if all the other missing persons are dead, but we don’t know that, do we?”
“You gave evidence against Clough in the court case.” Rowley’s brown eyes lifted to Jenna’s face. “Is he crazy enough to seek revenge?”
“That’s a good point. If he is unhinged, he might want to get back at you.” Kane gave Jenna a pointed look. “Does he fit the size of the man who attacked you?”
A chill ran down her spine at the memory of Stan Clough’s dead, sunken eyes. Although she had not seen him for over a year, he had the same build as the man in the bushes. She nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately he does, but I’m convinced these incidents involving me are warnings. If not, why not kill me too? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Yeah, it does.” Kane huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Psychopaths can lead completely normal lives and they don’t kill indiscriminately. They can have wives and children and appear completely normal. I can give you three reasons why he didn’t kill you. The killer might actually like you, or you don’t fit the type of person he desires to kill. The third and most likely—in his sick mind he believes you protected him the day you accidently overlooked a crime. Say for instance Stan Clough was feeding a corpse to his pigs the day you arrested him. It would be your little secret but now he is out of jail, he needs to remind you to keep your mouth shut because he plans to kill again.”
Oh my God. “Then we have to assume the killer and my attacker is the same person.”
“We have to consider the possibility and look at the whole picture, not just the murder.” Kane gave her a worried look. “I’m afraid you might be the key.”
“Whoever is doing this knows their way around town. A stranger wouldn’t know how to get into the landfill by the back gate or when to avoid the work crew.” Rowley’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I’ve lived in Black Rock Falls all my life. I know these people and I didn’t think any of them capable of torturing a man to death.” He wet his lips. “Roughing up people, maybe… although…”
“If you have any idea who is capable of torturing someone to death—” Kane glared at him “—spit it out.”
“After seeing what Stan Clough did to his animals, yeah, he is capable.” Rowley moved around in his chair uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t rule out Josh Rockford either. He is a jerk and one of the worst bullies I’ve encountered. I would call what he did to the younger students at high school vicious. He does have a mean streak. Watch him play hockey and you’ll see how much he enjoys hurting people. He becomes a crazy man at the game. If any of the fans give him a hard time, he gets right in their faces.” He rubbed the back of his neck as if trying to make sense of the situation. “I don’t mix with his crowd but I know he intimidates people and I’ve witnessed him threatening the sheriff.” He sucked in an audible breath. “Yeah, he’d be capable of running the sheriff off the road and threatening her to prove his superiority, and I wouldn’t take him off the list for the shooting either. Two shots close to hitting you is good from that distance, and he prides himself on his marksmanship. Could he torture a man to death? I couldn’t say for sure.”
“I wouldn’t rule him out of the equation just yet.” Kane pushed to his feet. He held out one roughened palm to Jenna for the pen and added Josh Rockford to the “Body in the barrel” list then turned to face the others. “Rockford surrounds himself with a small group of friends, all wealthy hockey players, and he is quick to retaliate. We know Helms was a fan of an opposing team. Perhaps he abused him during a game and Rockford lost it and killed him.”
“Okay, but why is the real estate guy on two lists?” Rowley pointed one long finger to the name “John Davis.”
“He makes the ‘Missing persons’ list because as far as we can determine, Davis is the last person to see Mrs. Woodward. Davis spoke to her in his real estate office and gave her a list of properties to visit.” Kane’s wide brow creased. “Mrs. Woodward withdrew a considerable bank draft and cash. So we can’t discount money as a motive if she has met with foul play.”
Jenna returned to her seat. “Rockford has the strength to commit the crime but he doesn’t need money. If it is John Helms— and from the color of the hair, we can assume it is a younger man—he could have met Helms at a hockey game and argued with him. If so, vengeance could be the motive and we know he enjoys hurting people. I believe Rockford and Stan Clough are our prime suspects for homicide.”
Twenty-Seven
