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She gaped at him in astonishment. “A pregnant woman had a gun to her head and Johnson was acting like it was a day at the beach. Dammit, Kane, if I died no one would give a shit. That woman has a family.”
“I’d care.”
Noticing the other deputies watching them with interest, she headed to the other side of the road, away from the dissipating crowd. “Drawing his fire without wearing a vest is suicidal. Do you have a death wish or something?”
“No. I trusted you to bring him down and you did.” Kane shrugged and his concerned gaze moved over her. “Are you mad at me, ma’am? I figured I was following orders.”
Adrenaline still surged through Jenna’s veins and her heart had not slowed but exhilaration thrummed through her. The PTSD flashbacks had crippled her in similar situations, but the rigorous training Kane had put her through had paid out in silver dollars. She looked up at him, not sure what to say. As usual, he had placed his own safety above her own. “No, but you broke the protocol you insisted we all follow. Why the hell weren’t you wearing a vest?”
“No time, ma’am.” Kane walked with her along the sidewalk. ?
??I assessed the situation. The guy was shaking so bad, I knew once he turned the gun on me, he wouldn’t have been able to hit the side of a barn.” His lips twitched at the corners. “He sure underestimated you. Wham, bam, bam.” He punched the air. “Did you see the faces on the Blackwater deputies?” He laughed.
Although thrilled by his compliments, Jenna kept her face expressionless. “Okay, I admit I was expecting you to show and draw his fire.”
“I’ll always have your back, Jenna.” He glanced at her. “You would have done the same for me.”
40
“Well, that was a waste of time.” Jenna peered at her lunch, the café in Blackwater didn’t come close to the delights served at Aunt Betty’s Café.
“Yeah, social workers are all much the same.” Kane shrugged. “I thought she might at least tell me that support groups existed in the area.”
“Never mind.” Jenna sipped her coffee. “I spoke to Sheriff Johnson about Angelique and he will have a female deputy waiting outside her residence at two. He did mention her case, mainly what he knew about the abduction, but nothing about what transpired during the court case. Same as what we’ve been up against; it was closed court.”
“Yeah, and we have no chance to get a judge to grant access either as we don’t have a shred of evidence against any of our suspects. Did he mention if he noticed any change of behavior in her?”
The adrenaline rush had left a headache in its wake and Jenna rubbed her temples in slow circles. “Yeah, he said she’d been different. She used to attend church every Sunday with her parents and that stopped. She keeps to herself, has few friends, and works part-time in the library here and in Black Rock Falls.” She glanced at Kane. “She prefers to work after hours. As far as he knows, she restacks the shelves and does the odd book repairs.”
“That would be why she was in Black Rock Falls the day I interviewed her brothers.” Kane pushed his plate to one side and leaned back in his chair. “I wouldn’t mind betting she was in town at the time of the murders. It would be easy enough to check.”
Jenna finished her coffee. “I agree.” She pushed to her feet. “I wondered why she specified a time for us to speak to her. I guess she isn’t working today. I’m not sure I would like to drive from here to Black Rock Falls to work part-time. She can’t be making much money.” She dropped bills on the table and frowned. “I’m concerned about a motive. As far as we know, Stewart Macgregor was the only person named in her case. If she is our vigilante, what is her reason for killing Price and Dorsey? If she’d planned to kill someone, wouldn’t she go after Macgregor first?”
“We need to find out if anyone else was involved in her abduction. After all this time, she might be prepared to talk.” Kane pulled out his wallet and matched her pile. “I don’t believe for one second any of these men acted alone. She was able to identify Macgregor and his house but if there were others involved, perhaps she couldn’t identify them and kept quiet.”
Jenna led the way to the door and they strolled to Kane’s black SUV. “I asked Sheriff Johnson if she mentioned anyone else was involved at the time. All she remembered was the clown at the party. She was a little girl. Think about it, Kane. They kept her in a cellar for three days; it would be dark, and to a small traumatized kid, any man with a clown face would look the same.”
“That’s a point you could bring up with her. She will most likely clam up; they all do, but we have to find out if she was abused by the same group of men.” Kane unlocked the car and climbed behind the wheel.
Jenna slid into the passenger seat. “I’ll do my best.”
Kane pulled up beside a neat brick home set in a row of similar houses not far from Blackwater’s main street. A cruiser waited outside, and on their arrival, a middle-aged deputy climbed out to greet them.
“Don’t forget your com device.” Kane’s forehead creased into a frown. “Tell the deputy to keep well back then you won’t appear so threatening. Maybe explain she is here as you don’t have jurisdiction to interview her.”
Jenna attached the earbud and waited for Kane to fit his own then tested the reception. “Okay, let’s get the show on the road.”
She pushed open the door and slid onto the road then strolled to greet the deputy. “Thanks for coming.”
“My pleasure. I am Christine Parkes. What do we have, ma’am?”
Jenna explained the situation and headed toward the stoop in front of the neat house. A curtain moved then footsteps came and a woman with graying hair peered at her. “Yes, what do you want?”
“I’m Sheriff Jenna Alton from Black Rock Falls and this is Deputy Parkes. I’ve come to speak to Angelique.”
“It’s okay, Mama.” A petite woman with long, flowing black hair came to the door. “Pierre called and explained why they are here. It is nothing to worry about. I’ll speak to them in the living room.” Her accent held a hint of French. “Can you watch my cookies so they don’t burn?” She looked at Jenna. “Come in.”
Jenna followed her into a room awash with color. Bright yellow walls and pale blue sofas dominated the room. Floral scent filled the air from a vase overflowing with flowers on a coffee table. The chairs sat around a modern fireplace. Jenna took a seat and Parkes stood by the door to observe. The mantel held photographs of generations of a large family. From the images, Jenna noticed Angelique had hardly changed from the photograph she had seen of her at twelve years old. You look too sweet and innocent to be a killer. What happened to you?
