AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Suggestions?” Jenna shifted her attention to Kane. “How he got inside the house without a key, for instance?”
“I’m working on it, ma’am. I would like to know his incentive for going there in the first place.” Kane met Jenna’s intense expression and shrugged. “To meet a girl?”
“It’s a possibility.” Jenna scratched her cheek. “Say we go with that assumption. What do you know about grooming kids?”
“Pedophiles tend to go for a lonely kid. I figure they profile them to find a vulnerable subject to groom. They spend hours talking to them online.” Kane sighed. “The FBI has operatives masquerading as kids to sit online in chat rooms in an attempt to lure them. The predators use games rooms and other social media groups, impersonating teenage boys. They have usernames and post an image of a good-looking guy then start up a conversation. Once the FBI has them admitting to wanting sex with an underage girl or boy, they set up a meet and arrest them.”
“Which makes me doubt the FBI has been working our area or Price wouldn’t have ended up dead. I guess if a killer wanted to lure a pedophile to his death, that scheme would work just as well. That’s something to consider.” Jenna’s mouth turned down at the corners. “Looking at what Price had with him, he was expecting to have sex and intended to subdue his victim if necessary.”
“It makes me wonder how many times he has done the same thing.” Kane leaned back in his seat, making it creak in protest. “Like I said, it would take time to groom a kid online and he would need access to a house. We’re back to wondering how Price knew when the house was empty and how did he get in?”
“You need to find out.” Alton’s gaze narrowed. “It’s obvious. He had a key. Investigate.”
Kane cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am. The moment we get back from his cabin.”
“We know a number of people who could have a key. Alison mentioned tradespeople had worked on the house—any one of them could have made a copy.” Jenna’s intent gaze moved over the deputies. “Before we leave, Wolfe, I need you and Rowley to pull up any files we have on victims of child abuse in the area. You’ll need to check the archives. We found no complaints at all during the Rockford case, so you’ll have to search the national database. Check the girl in the photographs against missing persons. Go back some years.”
Kane rubbed his chin. “You are talking about hundreds of thousands of missing kids. It is an impossible task. I suggest start in the neighboring towns and work out.”
“Yeah, we don’t know for sure he intended to meet a kid or in fact if he met anyone at all.” Wolfe looked chagrined.
“Well, further speculation will have to wait until we look at Price’s computer.” Alton picked up the phone. “Deputy Walters, did you locate Mr. Price’s family?” She listened for some time then shook her head. “Give me the coordinates to his home. Thanks.” She made notes, disconnected, then pushed the pad toward Kane. “Price has no living relatives. Walters believes the unsealed road up to Price’s cabin should be passable this time of the year. Check if we can access the area by SUV. Apparently, another road leads way up on the north side to a few cabins locals hire out when fishing at Black Rock Falls, but a rock fall blocked the road. The water from there feeds Black Rock Lake, a huge area on the other side of the mountain. Apparently the rock fall doesn’t show up on the GPS.” She stood. “I’m sure your SUV is powerful enough to climb the hill.”
“Oh yeah, that baby will do it with ease.” Kane could not help the smile. “I’ll check the road conditions and get the gear together. Will you or Wolfe be coming with me?”
“Oh, I’m coming.” Jenna’s eyes flashed. “Wolfe, I want you to coordinate the search for the victim in the photographs and cases of child abuse here or in neighboring towns. Notify the FBI, we have a potential pedophile ring operating in the area. They’ll know all the usual haunts of these people and will be able to handle that part of the investigation. Make sure you insist we are kept in the loop.” She glanced at Wolfe. “Before you start, send Rowley to collect the glasses from the murder scene. I’ve trained him in the correct collection of forensic evidence. ”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wolfe gave her a curt nod, picked up his hat, and headed for the door.
“I want you both ready to go in ten minutes.” Jenna’s voice followed them.
Kane followed Wolfe from the room and noticed Rowley deep in conversation with Alison Saunders, the young woman who had found the body.
He strolled toward Rowley’s cubicle and cleared his throat. “Problem?”
“No, not exactly.” Rowley’s cheeks pinked. “Alison wanted to know how long it will be before she can get a cleaning crew inside the house.”
“I didn’t mean to get Jake into trouble.” Alison’s big brown eyes moved over his face. “I just needed to know when I could get back into the house and if the man was murdered.”
Kane shot a glance at Rowley. The deputy was usually discreet and professional. “And what did Deputy Rowley tell you?”
“He told me the sheriff would let Mr. Davis know when she had finished the investigation.”
Kane heaved a sigh of relief. “Well then, you have your answer. At the moment, we have no idea how the man died. It could take weeks, so if Mr. Davis is pressuring you to obtain information from Rowley, tell him to contact Sheriff Alton.”
“Oh, sure.”
“If that is all, Miss Saunders, Deputy Rowley is needed elsewhere.”
“I’ll see you later.” Alison smiled brightly at Rowley and headed for the door.
Kane watched her go. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you not to give out information, even to your girlfriend. We could have a possible homicide and we don’t want any leaks.”
“No, sir. I wouldn’t tell her a thing.” Rowley swallowed hard, making his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “What did Deputy Wolfe discover in the autopsy?”
“Nothing positive yet.” Kane lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “We believe the deceased was involved in some kind of child porn ring. Wolfe will be coordinating a search for the kids in the images and bringing in the FBI. Hunt up any reported cases of child abuse and do a complete rundown of Price’s employment history. Find out if he worked with kids in the last couple of years. We’ll need to find out if he procured kids from another town, so search the other counties’ data banks for missing kids or reports of anything suspicious.”
“Okay. I’ll get on to it as soon as I get back from collecting the evidence Wolfe needs from Maple Street.”
