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“Yes, yes, they’ll disperse once I tell them there’s been an unfortunate accident.” Bent looked exhausted. “I’ll find you that information.” He wandered off as if in a daze.
Jenna hustled toward the janitor’s office and met Kane on the way out. “Do you have anything?”
“Yes and no. First, the janitor doesn’t usually lock up the gym or the pool. One of the security guards on duty called in sick and he volunteered to lock up. The CCTV screens are in the security guard’s office.” He frowned. “The other guard is out on patrol somewhere on the grounds.”
“Apparently, he’s on his way.” Jenna looked up at him. “So, what else did the janitor say?”
“By all accounts, Jacobs was a close friend of Seth Lyons. They went everywhere together. Lyons might have been the last person to see him alive… and maybe Chrissie. There’s something else.” Kane pulled out his cellphone. “He let me into the security guard’s office and I took a look at the CCTV files. I’ve emailed you and Wolfe a copy of the footage.” He pulled up the file and handed the phone to Jenna. “There’s Jacobs arriving at 9:15 p.m. Just after, there’s a malfunction and the camera goes down until 12:30 a.m. The janitor goes in at 12:55 a.m. and that’s him running out to vomit in the garden. That must’ve been when he called you.”
Jenna frowned. “Did you ask him if the CCTV goes offline often?”
“I did.” Kane raised one dark eyebrow. “He said I’d have to check with the security guards but as far as he knows it hasn’t failed before tonight.” He rewound the video. “See that flash? I figure someone disabled the camera with a laser pointer.”
“Oh, wonderful.” Jenna rubbed her temples. “Why does everything have to be so darn complicated in this town?”
Seven
Alex Jacobs’ parents were out of Louan an hour’s drive north of Black Rock Falls. Jenna called the Louan Sheriff Department and asked a very reluctant and grumpy man to notify Jacobs’ next of kin. She disconnected and waited for Kane to help Wolfe load the weighty body into the back of the van. For now, the gym would remain closed. Crime scene tape covered the door and Wolfe had pocketed the key. She turned to Wolfe. “What next?”
“I have my suspicions.” Wolfe removed his gloves and mask then rolled them into a ball. “I’ll put him on ice and come back tomorrow with Webber. I doubt we’ll find anything incriminating; the students wipe down the benches after each use. I only found one set of fingerprints on the bar. So many people use the gym, it would be impossible to implicate anyone even if I did return a verdict of homicide.” He sighed. “The best course of action is to wait until his parents come by to identify the body. I’ll obtain permission for a post then I’ll make a decision.”
“Sure, thanks.” Jenna walked back to Kane and they headed for his truck. She had two deaths and two reasons to speak to the members of the football team. “We’ll go wake up Seth Lyons. I know where he lives.”
“You don’t figure Lyons is going to step up and admit to raping Chrissie, do you?” Kane gave her an incredulous look. “He’ll just sit back and wait, hoping it all blows over. How are you planning to play this?”
Jenna pulled open the door and climbed inside. She waited for Kane to slide behind the wheel. “Straight down the line. I’d want him to believe we’re looking elsewhere.”
“Sure.” Kane headed toward Stanton Road. “I’ll follow your lead.”
They drove for some time in silence and then she waved a hand as the headlights picked out a road sign. “That’s Pine. The frat house is on the first bend.” She pointed. “That must be the entrance.”
They turned in and took a winding, tree-lined driveway, drove past a no-entry sign blocking another small road and then they came to a parking lot. A pathway led through the trees to the house. Jenna peered into the darkness. “Why not have parking closer to the house?”
“The no-entry sign on the other road likely leads to the house.” Kane frowned. “They don’t like visitors.” He pointed through a gap in the trees. “The lights are on. Don’t they ever sleep?”
“Where exactly did you go to college?” Jenna giggled. “Oh yeah, I know the drill. If you tell me, you’ll have to shoot me.” She gave him a long stare. “I figure you went to OCS.”
“Yeah, Officer Candidate School was part of my training like hundreds of others. I’ve several degrees in different fields, not that they’re worth anything now with my new name and all.” His expression was shado
wed in the dark car interior. “I completed a variety of complex training, Jenna, at Quantico just like you. It’s not like civilian college; we didn’t have the time or energy to stay up all night.” He waved a hand toward the frat house. “These kids figure education is a game; for me, getting it right was the difference between life and death.”
Sobered by her own dark memories, she could only imagine what Kane had endured during his deployment. “Ah, yeah, I know what you mean.” She turned her attention to the front door. From what they could see through the trees, it stood wide open and light spilled out onto the porch. “Either they don’t seem to be too worried about security or something’s wrong. I figure we play it safe and forget the path. If we keep to the tree line, we won’t be spotted from the house.”
“Roger that.” Kane killed the lights and coasted into the bushes beside the driveway.
Jenna slipped silently from the seat and closed the door. Seeing the cobwebs hanging down from the trees, she shuddered. “Ah… you mind taking the lead?”
“Nope.” Kane looked at her and grinned. “Worried about ghosts?”
“Nope, spiders.” She moved behind Kane’s big frame as they ran in the shadows. Underfoot twigs cracked and she stumbled over the remnants of a garden border. “Dammit.” She untangled her foot from a mess of dead vines and hurried after him. Kane had reached the bottom of the steps to the long, wide porch and then vanished into the shadows. Jenna hightailed it across the driveway and went to his side. They stood listening for some moments. Soft music drifted out the open door but apart from the strains of a country singer, the place was deadly quiet. “I hope they’re not all dead in there.”
“Well, I guess a mass murderer would be a change from the usual deranged psychopaths we attract around here.” Kane’s smile showed white in the darkness. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, but I don’t smell death—booze and sweat maybe, but not murder.”
Amazed by Kane’s ability to sum up a situation in seconds, she moved closer. “What if someone poisoned them or is holding them at gunpoint?” She lifted her chin. “I figure we proceed with caution.”
“I always do.” Kane eased his way up the steps and pressed his back to the wall beside the front door.
Jenna followed and, weapon drawn, waited for him to turkey-peek around the front door. “What do you see?”
