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“Yeah, those names you gave me, Kara and Amber Judd? They were both fostered, but Kara showed up in Harriette Jefferson’s file. She must have been six and went missing around the age of twelve, but showed up halfway across the state at her sister’s foster parents. She went back into the system in Helena until she turned eighteen and then took Amber and they just vanished. There were no reports filed around that time to suggest child abuse.” He sighed. “And I have nothing more on your three suspects. Those guys are squeaky clean.”
Still concerned about how the Judd sisters had escaped scrutiny, she sighed. “Yeah, so it would seem. Kara and Amber Judd are our killers. Kara admitted it to Kane and then tried to kill him in a rockslide. He’ll be fine. He shot Kara in the shoulder and likely broke her arm as well, but she’ll live.”
“You don’t say?” Kalo sounded astonished. “Yet the circumstantial evidence was mounting against the suspects. I figured Duffy for sure.”
“Me too but it would never have stood up in court. We were chasing our tails on this one and now we know why.” Staring out the window, Jenna frowned. “How many of Mrs. Jefferson’s foster kids live in my county?”
“About seven as far as I can tell, but unless they’ve caused a problem or made the press, they’re like smoke.”
Jenna snorted. “Or time bombs just waiting to be triggered. Keep a file on them. We might need it. I’m pretty sure Kara and her sister’s killing spree came from an abusive childhood, and from what I’ve seen of Mrs. Jefferson’s home, it was a petri dish for psychopaths.”
“They could have been killing for years.” Kalo sighed. “Like I said, they’re like smoke. The only reference I found to Amber Judd, and believe it or not there are hundreds of people by that name, was in the Black Rock Falls High School attendance records. She showed up a year ago and before that it said she was homeschooled.”
Staring out the window but seeing nothing, Jenna nodded. “That’s her. She was living off the grid in the mountains with her sister.” She looked down at her dirty hands and caked nails and shuddered. “I’m looking forward to interviewing both these women to find out what triggered them. Thanks for your help, Bobby.”
“Anytime.” Kalo disconnected.
“I think I know what triggered them, or Kara maybe.” Rowley turned onto Stanton but kept the Beast under fifty miles per hour. He hadn’t taken his eyes from the road. “When me and Carter dropped Piper at Wolfe’s house, Carter was asking her questions and Piper mentioned that Kara went crazy after dropping by one day and seeing the quilting circle. Mrs. Jacobs has them at Rio’s house once a month. Piper said Kara was ranting on about not trusting old people and said she needed mone
y to get away.”
Trying to fathom how Kara and Amber had slipped under the radar and brutally murdered four women, she turned to Rowley as the pieces of the puzzle fitted neatly into place. “So, assuming that was the trigger, how did Kara convince Amber to help her?” The image of Amber ramming the GMC into the retaining wall played in her mind and her thoughts went to how poor Mrs. Darvish met her fate. She’d probably seen her sister ramming Mrs. Darvish’s truck over the ravine. Oh yeah, Amber would be in it up to her neck. “Strike that question, I’ve seen Amber in action. They must have planned everything together. Amber is probably the kid on the bike. She’s skinny and with her hair covered and wearing a hoodie, she easily passed as a boy. She sure fooled me. I was close by when she came into the office with Mrs. Jefferson’s purse and didn’t recognize her.” She blinked, seeing everything clearly now that she knew two people were involved. “I figure Kara killed and Amber prevented her sister leaving a blood trail by using towels for her to walk on. We found trace evidence of towels on the carpets. Kara showered on scene, changed, and they burned the evidence. This is why we have no viable footprints. They cleaned up the bathroom with bleach. We found evidence of it at all the scenes.”
“Yeah, it makes sense.” Rowley headed toward the office. “They’d already killed Flora Carson before contacting Rio. Amber drops by his house and gives him the message and then they hightail it back to Carson’s house. They’d know he’d write down details and get dressed before heading out. They had at least a five-minute start on him. Plenty of time to hide at Mrs. Carson’s house. When he went to the door, one of them delivered the shot in the back. Rio would have staggered inside and they removed his boots. One of them put them on and they dragged him through the pool of blood and set the scene.” He looked at her. “But why the mud messages?”
Jenna thought for a beat. “The victims’ homes were isolated and I figure Kara was sending a message to the others. She wanted the bodies to be found to instill fear into the quilting circle. That was her goal. She wanted them frightened and living in fear of her, same as Mrs. Jefferson had inflicted on her for however many years.”
“Do you think she’ll admit to it?” Rowley pulled up outside the sheriff’s office. “We have no evidence against them for the murders, only kidnapping and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.”
Jenna pushed open the door. “I hope so. She figures we know everything and some psychopaths love to boast about their kills.” She hurried inside.
“Oh, Jenna are you okay?” Jo met her at the door. “Anything I can do?”
Jenna smiled at her. “I’ll be fine. I’m just filthy and have a few scratches. You could call the hospital and find out when we can interview the Judd sisters. I want to jump all over them before they change their minds about talking.” She walked up the stairs to the locker rooms and stopped to pull a set of clean clothes from her stash. “Kara admitted to Kane she’d cut up the old ladies, so she must have figured we’d found out about her killing spree.”
“I’ll call the hospital but Carter said Kara had a through and through shoulder wound and a broken arm. The doctors were prepping her for surgery when he left.” Jo followed close behind her. “I can’t imagine them allowing us to speak to her until the morning and Amber is under heavy sedation. Don’t worry, we have them both under heavy guard.”
“That’s good.” Jenna dumped her clothes onto the bench and grabbed towels. She stepped into the bathroom and slid the door shut. After stripping off her dust-covered clothes, she waited a beat before getting into the shower. “Can you stay a minute? I need to tell you something.”
“Sure.” Jo sounded interested. “What’s on your mind?”
Jenna just had to tell someone before she burst. After wrapping a towel around her, she slid the door open a crack and poked her head around it to look at Jo. She wanted to see her reaction. “Can I trust you with a secret?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Jo looked at her solemnly. “Although, with exceptions. Please don’t tell me you did something illegal. I’m not a priest, I’m an FBI agent.”
Laughing Jenna shook her head. “No not illegal. Dave asked me to marry him.”
“Uh-huh… I thought something was going on between you two.” Jo wiggled her eyebrows. “Kane moving in with you and all last Halloween. Carter said he could see all the signs of a relationship but I wouldn’t believe him. You sure kept that quiet.”
Jenna shrugged. “We had no choice. I figured it would interfere with our working relationship but it doesn’t. Dave’s been a little overprotective since he arrived and I don’t think that will change. He understands my need to be independent.”
“Yeah, he is a really nice guy.” Jo leaned against the wall. “I’ve always known he cared about you. The way he looks at you sometimes is a dead giveaway.”
Jenna grabbed shampoo and turned on the shower. “I hope he remembers asking me. He was in shock after we pulled him out of the landslide.”
“I don’t think much fazes Dave Kane.” Jo grinned broadly. “What did you say?”
Jenna poked her head back around the door. “I said yes, of course.”
