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“That might not be as far-fetched as you think. She’s planning to talk you into allowing her to ride along with you during her vacation to learn more about police procedure. She is a born profiler and I believe once she finishes her studies, she might well want to combine her talents.”
“Like you?” Jenna chuckled. “Why am I not surprised? If she was a boy, I would have thought you’d cloned her.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, ma’am.” Wolfe looked suitably proud. “Was there something else on your mind?”
“Yeah. I’ve interviewed Ella Tate and she insists she can’t remember anything since she decided to look for Sky Paul last night.” She huffed out a puff of steam. “I’ve seen this before, this sudden memory loss, and it’s usually in people who have been given date rape drugs. How long does it stay in the system and can we test her for it?”
“It depends which one they used, there are a few. As you know, she would have to ingest the drug, which is unlikely unless they used ketamine—that drug is used as an anesthetic on animals most times but would have the same effect.” Wolfe’s pale eyes narrowed. “We’ll have about twenty-four hours to test for it and it might be an idea to look for a needle prick wound. If the perpetrator stuck her, he’d act fast so she couldn’t fight back. He wouldn’t be careful and as she is rugged up, I’d be looking for an exposed area, maybe neck or face.”
“I’ll ask her if she has any sore spots.” Jenna chewed on her ice-cold bottom lip. “If she agrees to a blood test now, do you have your medical kit with you?”
“I never leave home without it.” Wolfe turned back to his van. “I’ll grab what I need and you can talk her into giving me a sample of her blood.”
Jenna made her way over the slippery blacktop to Kane’s truck and opened the door. “Emily, would you mind waiting with Webber? I need to speak to Ella.”
“Sure. Thanks for allowing me to sit in.” Emily wrapped a scarf around her face and dropped from the front seat, then skated precariously toward her father’s van.
Jenna exchanged a meaningful look with Kane and turned in her seat. “Ella, I’m concerned your memory loss might be due to a drug.”
“I don’t take drugs.” Ella gave her an indignant look. “Neither does Doug.”
“I didn’t say you did but the memory loss you’re describing is consistent with a date rape drug.” Jenna met the young woman’s bewildered gaze. “Do you remember anyone sticking you with a needle or do you have a sore spot anywhere?”
“I don’t remember but I do have a sore neck, right here.” Ella pointed to her neck.
Jenna leaned over the back seat and peered at the small mark right at the jugular. “That could be a needle mark. If we take blood we can discover if someone drugged you.”
“Okay, if it makes you believe me.” Ella sighed. “How much longer do I have to sit here?”
“Five more minutes.” Jenna looked at Kane. “Get a photo of that needle mark. Wolfe is heading over to take her blood.” She smiled at Ella. “You’ll be riding back to town with the ME. I’d like to have the paramedics check you over then you can go stay at the Pauls’ house.”
“No hospital.” Ella glared at her. “I’m not hurt, I’m just cold and I need a pee.”
“Okay, as long as you stay home until we discover what happened to your friends.” Jenna watched Kane take a few images of the needle mark, then looked back at Ella. “Agreed?”
“Sure.” Ella shrugged. “I don’t know anyone else in Black Rock Falls to visit anyway.”
After Wolfe took the blood and Ella accompanied him back to his van, Jenna leaned back in the seat and sighed. “Wolfe figures someone, possibly injured, was carried from the wreck to a waiting vehicle.”
“It looks that way but from the variety of car tracks on the highway it’s impossible to confirm another vehicle was involved.” Kane waved a hand toward the road. “I found chain marks all along the ice opposite the wreck, but at this time of the year this road is often busy with people coming home for the holidays. Someone could have stopped here anytime between the first snow and the freeze but there’s no conclusive evidence to suggest a vehicle stopped there last night.” He stared out the windshield as if thinking over their impossible situation. “There is no evidence to suggest a kidnapping, no vehicles, or blood evidence apart from the small spot on the airbag, which could easily be blood spatter from Mrs. Palmer. We have zip.” He sighed. “I doubt we’ll find anything wrong with Doug Paul’s truck either and he would be aware of the weather conditions and had a perfectly good vehicle to shelter inside until help came. Only a fool would set out on foot and where would they head? There’s nothing for miles out here. I figure it’s pointless calling out search and rescue again in the hope they find two people walking in the snow. If they’d kept to the highway like any sensible person, we would have seen them and at the speed I was driving I wouldn’t have missed them.”
Jenna nodded. “I’ll give the media an update and put out another BOLO in case someone gave them a ride, and get search and rescue out again. It’s all we can do for now. Ella recalls the time she spoke to Doug last night being around eleven. The road sign would have already been erected or soon after. I’ll find out the exact time they erected the sign.” She met his gaze. “This would mean if anyone picked up Doug and Olivia they would have been traveling from Blackwater to Black Rock Falls before eleven when the truck blocked the highway. There is only one way they could have traveled and that’s into Black Rock Falls or beyond.” She looked at him. “We need to be looking for them closer to town or in town.”
“Another thing to consider. From all accounts Doug is a sensible guy.” Kane’s eyebrows bunched together in concentration. “If he’d found Olivia alive, he would have driven her straight to the hospital and called us to attend the wreck. So, something else happened here and it’s obvious to me Ella isn’t involved. I figure she’s a patsy.” His wide shoulders lifted in a shrug. “There is only one conclusion. This isn’t a coincidence and whoever kidnapped them took Sky as well. I’m with you; in this weather, they have to be close to Black Rock Falls. It’s the only logical conclusion.”
Jenna poured more coffee from the Thermos and sipped, warming her hands on the cup. “Yeah, and if we hadn’t found Ella alone in Doug’s truck, we would have written this up as a nasty accident.”
“Maybe not.” Kane sipped his coffee. “You would have checked the trunk and found the bags belonging to Olivia. One of them had a Montana State tag on it as well, so we’d assume her mother collected her from the airport, which is what Maggie suggested.”
Jenna frowned. “I’ll tell Rowley to call the airport and find out when she arrived. We know it was before eleven last night because the overturned truck has blocked the highway since then.” She finished her coffee and turned to Kane. “We’ll head back to the office.”
“I’m getting low on gas, so we’ll have to stop in town.” Kane turned his truck around and headed back down the highway. “What bothers me is why kidnap Doug? If this is some weirdo on a killing spree, they usually stick to the same gender. What is the motive?”
“Both sexes, young, good-looking, says sex slaves to me.” Jenna wrinkled her nose in disgust. “They get them hooked on drugs then use the addiction to control them. I’ve seen young men, women and kids sold overseas. It’s a growing problem and something we need to consider.”
“You look as if you have a plan.” Kane raised one eyebrow.
Jenna nodded. “I’m considering potential suspects. Maybe our suspect is a truck driver who passes through on a regular haul. He could have made it through earlier, seen the women alone in their car and nudged them off the road. It happened to me easily enough, remember.”
