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Not wanting to ruin their close friendship, Kane stared at the floor, concentrating on the swirls in the polished timber and trying to find the right words. He remembered how close he had gotten to Jenna but it was more like a pleasant memory than the budding relationship they had enjoyed a couple of months ago. The image of his wife, Annie, drifted through his mind and his stomach gave a little twist. The short-term memory loss suffered due to his recent head injury had only involved his time in Black Rock Falls, and the car bombing and watching his wife die was as if it had happened yesterday. I feel like a married man.
His memory of the last year had returned but the pain of losing Annie was like a raw patch on his heart. Sure, he enjoyed living in Jenna’s house but right now, he needed his own space as well. He wanted time alone to get his head straight. All his recollections had jumbled together and the last thing he wanted was to hurt his best friend. “Yeah, I’ll move back to the cottage as soon as you’re ready to return to work. Rowley has offered to stay on and help me with the horses for a couple more days.”
“Darn.” Jenna laughed and gave him a playful punch on the arm. “I was just getting used to washing your smelly socks.”
“I don’t have smelly socks.” Kane frowned at her. “Do I?”
Eleven
After breakfast, Kane waved Duke into the back seat of his truck, slid behind the wheel, placed his to-go cup of coffee in the holder and turned the heater up full blast. His dog was over possessive and leaving him behind wasn’t an option. The bloodhound had stuck to him like glue the moment he’d pulled on his coat. Last Saturday, the short trip to his cottage had resulted in Duke howling like the end of the world was coming and tearing at the front door. Jenna was not impressed. He turned in his seat and patted Duke on the head. “I hope you’ll be able to cope with the cold weather.” He had bundled him up in a thick black doggy coat, one of four Jenna had purchased after seeing Duke’s teeth chattering, and had brought along a thick thermal blanket to cover him. “I’ll have to leave you in the car when I go into the hospital, so you’d better be good.”
The snowplow had driven through over half an hour earlier and should have cleared a path into town by now. He waited for Rowley to drive past then followed—although he was heading straight to the hospital to interview Ella Tate, Jenna had insisted Rowley keep an eye on him. He smiled to himself. She didn’t know him as well as she thought. He would never get behind the wheel of a car if he had any doubt of his capabilities and the specialist had given him the green light. His head was fine and the headaches would ease with time. Unless someone else takes a shot at me.
Ella Tate’s expression of horror when Kane walked into her hospital room spoke volumes. He found her sitting by the window and she had frozen, as if suspended in time, at the sight of him. He figured, from her wide-eyed expression and the way she gripped the arms of the chair, she hadn’t recognized him as a deputy. Her reaction to him as a potential intruder gave him the impression the story she had given Rowley had been the truth. “Miss Tate, I’m Deputy David Kane. I’d like to have a few words with you, if you don’t mind?”
He removed his gloves, unzipped his thick overcoat and eased it off his shoulders, then tossed it onto a chair. The badge on his regulation jacket was now clearly visible and he noticed a subtle change in her posture. Taking his time, for her to relax, he pulled out his notepad and pen, then dragged a chair to the window and sat opposite her. “How are you feeling today?”
“I’m okay.” Ella blinked a few times as if she was having a problem focusing.
Kane smiled. “That’s good to hear. Did I startle you when I came in just now?”
“Yeah, you look like the man who attacked Sky and chased me. I thought he’d come back to kill me too.” She gripped the blanket covering her legs so hard her knuckles whitened. “Have you found her yet?”
Kane shook his head and made his voice as conversational as possible. “Not yet but we have search and rescue out looking for her.” He leaned back in his chair. He would ask her about the man who attacked her a bit later when she calmed down. “What can you tell me about the time leading up to the incident? Why were you and Sky driving to Black Rock Falls so late?”
“My brother was deployed and will be away for the holidays, so Sky’s family invited me to stay with them for Christmas. I’ve never had a vacation in Black Rock Falls, so I jumped at the chance.” She sighed. “We were going to come down at the weekend but then Sky’s mom called and told her a blizzard was forecast, so we left straight away.”
“You drove straight through from Billings? That’s a six-hour drive. You’re both at college there, is that right?”
“Yeah, we’re at MSU.” Ella shrugged. “We stopped for gas and to grab a burger. We would have made it if Sky hadn’t insisted on stopping.” She took a deep breath and gave Kane a long hard look. “You sure look like the man who killed Sky.”
Kane nodded. “So, he was big like me, six five? Or like me in looks?”
“Same size, dark clothes, wearing a woolen cap with a hoodie over the top like you.” She ran her gaze over him, examining him closely. “Big hands like yours and he made the same swishing sound as he walked.”
“Okay. That’s good.” Kane made a few notes, just to act as if everything was routine, then he lifted his gaze. “In case you’re wondering, it wasn’t me. Today is my first day out for six weeks. I’ve been holed up at the sheriff’s house recuperating. I smashed my knee and had to have it repaired and I think you would have noticed the limp.”
“That’s good to hear.” Ella went beet red. “Oh, not about your knee. I’m sorry. I meant about it not being you.”
Kane shrugged. “That’s okay. Let’s get back to the night Sky went missing. When was the last stop for gas?”
“Blackwater.” Ella picked at her fingernails. “We had a stupid argument about her brother.” She glared at him in a flash of anger. “She told me not to get involved with him. I couldn’t believe she would ban me from seeing him. We’ve been roomies since we started at MSU.” She looked away. “It was as if an army brat wasn’t good enough for her family.”
So you killed her. Kane rubbed his chin. The mood swings worried him and she had exhibited the same behavior during the interview with Wolfe, yet her reaction to him had seemed real enough. Unless she is a very good actor. “I gather you resolved the problem before you’d gotten back on the road?’
“Yeah. What could I do? I told her I’d stay away.” She sighed. “Don’t you want to know what happened?”
Kane shook his head. “No, I’ve read your statement. I just need a few more details. You can’t remember his vehicle at all?”
“Not really.” She stared at the floor.
Aware people often blocked out terrifying events or accidents, he tried to jog her memory. “Close your eyes and try to remember driving toward the vehicle.”
“It was dark. He had flashers going. It was difficult to see his vehicle.”
Kane smiled at her. “That’s great. You said he was a big man, so how did he appear beside his vehicle? Taller or the same?”
“I’m not sure.” Ella frowned. “He was sort of bent over so his hood fell over his face. “
