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“That part of the puzzle y’all have to work out.”Wolfe yawned explosively.“Sorry, we worked right through last night. I’m going to grab a few hours shuteye and then get back at it.”He paused for a beat.“I know you’re listening, Dave. Take the meds I gave you. They’ll help with your pain and won’t affect your work. Just an anti-inflammatory, is all.”
“I will.” Kane smiled at Jenna. “Thanks, Shane.”
“Take them with food.”Wolfe disconnected.
Jenna listened with interest as Kane brought her up to speed about Carter’s call. “The cases are similar. It could be the same person.”
“So, what do you plan to do about Carter’s idea of working together?” Kane sunk up to his neck in the hot water. “The cases are similar, people up and missing without a trace. It’s as if someone is collecting them. Human trafficking, maybe?”
The idea had entered Jenna’s mind, and she nodded. “Yeah, that’s something to consider. Finding suspects is a problem if we don’t have any evidence of a crime, apart from finding property.”
“Well, if the cases are linked, then we can make up a list of probable suspects.” Kane rested his head against the side of the tub. “We have a wide comfort zone, between Blackwater and here, and if we include Maisy Jones as a victim, it makes the parameters wider because she vanished on a highway. This would mean the kidnapper moves from one of the counties north of town. Louan, maybe, or as far as Paradise Falls.”
Running professions through her mind, Jenna looked at him through the haze of steam. “Who moves between towns? Drivers, and they’d have a truck to hide a person.”
“I’m not inclined to agree with a driver.” Kane emerged from the water and grabbed a towel. “If they wanted to kidnap someone, it would be hitchhikers. It would be easy to drug a drink beforehand and there are a ton of people at truck stops waiting for a ride. Hitchhikers are easy targets because they usually have little or no money and would take an offered drink.” He dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist and stretched out his back. “I’m more inclined to think our man is a contractor or a delivery driver, a mailman, someone who moves in a circle of all four towns.”
Jenna stood and reached for a towel. “Yeah, I agree. Someone who moves around unnoticed and blends into the background.”
“Exactly.” Kane nodded. “I’ll get dressed and start breakfast. Don’t forget to stretch now.” He headed for the door.
Jenna drew an imaginary circle on the map in her head of the surrounding counties. The advertisements on TV and social media often had contractors who listed areas they serviced. Plumbers, real estate agents, courier services, auto club mechanics, tow truck drivers. She pursed her lips thinking as she headed for the bedroom to dress. All these professions would move around without gaining a second glance from the townsfolks. Why? Because they were frequent visitors or lived in town.
The smell of coffee drifted down the hallway, and when she entered the kitchen, two cups sat on the table. She walked up behind Kane and gently slid both hands around his waist and raised up on her toes to kiss the back of his neck. “Need me to burn the toast?”
“Nah. I’m good.” Kane grinned at her over one shoulder as he turned the strips of bacon.
Jenna sat at the table and sipped her coffee. The rich hot brew slipped over her tongue in an instant burst of energy. She sighed and gave him her thoughts on her possible suspects. “If we had Kalo here, he’d be doing all the grunt work: searching for persons in the various occupations, who travels back and forth in the comfort zone and at what time. Most of the contractors work for a company. Where they worked would be logged online. Kalo could get the information we need and leave the rest of us to work the cases. The biggest problem will be treading on the toes of Sheriff Nolan. He’ll have to give us jurisdiction to hunt down suspects in his county, same with anywhere else we need to go.”
“Carter figures that’s a given and I’d imagine Sheriff Nolan has his hands full with the wreck yesterday.” He slid plates stacked with hotcakes and crispy bacon on to the table. “Many of the people involved are out of Blackwater, and as he offered to assist the auto accident forensic team, he’ll be out interviewing witnesses and going over phone and dashcam video. I already told Rio and Rowley to collect what information they could from everyone on scene and to hand copies over to the forensic team. Before we left yesterday, I had everyone in the same loop. The forensic team understand we’re tied up with possible homicide cases and are more than welcome for Rio and Rowley’s assistance. So between them, they’ve split the witness pool with Nolan. This leaves us free to join up with Jo and Carter and try and untangle this mess of missing persons. That’s if you want them staying at the ranch. I wouldn’t just go and invite them before running it past you.”
Nibbling on bacon, Jenna thought for a beat. Yeah, she did have the wreck and explosion to consider but everything had been handed over to the investigators. With Rio and Rowley gathering evidence, there wasn’t anything more she could do. She’d just be stepping on toes if she got involved. She nodded. “Yeah, give them a call. We can set up the cottage as a command center and Bobby can feed us information as it becomes available.”
“Sure, but we’ll leave Kalo to set up a command center when he arrives. It’s what he does best. I’ll call Carter.” Kane raised one eyebrow. “After I’ve eaten.”
TWENTY
Special Agent Ty Carter dropped his bags inside his bedroom in the cottage and then gave his Doberman, Zorro, a rub on the head. “Go play with Duke.”
He smiled as the dog’s entire body wiggled with happiness and he took off at such high speed he almost collided with Kane coming along the hallway. “Zorro has been cooped up for a time in the motel.”
“So it seems.” Kane stared after the dog. “He can run free here.” He indicated with his thumb toward the door. “Do you need to unpack? I want to show you something while Jenna is fussing over your rooms.”
Grinning around a toothpick, Carter nodded. “You’re starting to sound like an old married man.” He chuckled. “Sure, where to?”
“It just so happens I like being married.” Kane led the way toward the new garage. “I’ve finished the Harley.”
Impressed, Carter walked past the Beast parked inside and admired the workbench with just about every tool known to man attached to a board on the wall. The place was immaculate and showed Kane’s attention to detail, likely from his military background. His eyes settled on a motorcycle: a Harley-Davidson knucklehead. Since Kane and Jenna married, they’d made extensive improvements to the ranch. The garage, the extension on the barn and more. The security around the home was impenetrable and the additions expensive, and yet Kane came from a military background and he knew darn well it didn’t pay that well. His gaze moved over the motorcycle. Kane had built it from the frame up using genuine parts and it would have cost a fortune. Where had the money come from? He walked around the Harley and whistled. “Man, she is beautiful. How did you get the parts for a 1941 1,200-cc knucklehead? It would be like finding hen’s teeth.”
“I found the frame and the engine a few weeks after we came back from our honeymoon.” Kane grinned. “Wolfe has been helping me in his spare time.”
Carter bent to examine the engine and ran a finger over the chrome. He straightened and looked Kane straight in the eye. Some questions needed answering if there was to be trust between them. “Excuse me for askin’ but between you and me, how the heck are you paying for all this? The motorcycle, the garage? The Beast was modified this year as well, not to mention the security and other improvements. Did you win the lottery?”
“Nope.” Kane took a cloth and slowly polished the Harley. He raised his gaze and straightened. “You’re not suggesting I’d do anything illegal are you, Ty?”
Not wanting to ruin a hard-fought friendship with Kane, Carter removed the toothpick from his mouth and stared back into a face he thought he knew, but at this moment the man’s expression had hardened to almost a mask. “Now, I never implied that, Dave. I’ve known you long enough to know you’re honest. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s your business. Look, man, it’s a beautiful motorcycle. Maybe we should get back to the cottage?”
“You might have noticed that I don’t mention my family.” Kane tossed the cloth on the pristine workbench and it looked out of place. He let out a long breath. “That’s because they’ve all passed and it’s too painful. My parents died first and then my grandpa. My sister was murdered six years ago. All had substantial estates and insurance policies. I inherited a ton of cash and two overseas investment portfolios. I also received compensation from two head injuries in the line of duty.” He rubbed the tip of his nose. “Truth is I’m loaded. It’s not something I like to advertise. I’m sure you understand?”
