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Peering into the dark interior, Ginger swallowed the fear bubbling to the surface. The reason to stay and help this quiet yet daunting man was battling against her need to run inside and lock all the doors. Dragging in a breath to calm her agitated nerves, she forced herself to look at the whole picture. He was someone’s husband, she had his money, he hadn’t threatened her or even looked at her in a strange way and it was a simple request. She nodded. “Okay. Can you lift it okay?”
“Uh-huh.” His gaze moved over the crate. “You climb inside and come up to the front. I’ll lift it and take the weight and you guide it in. Okay?”
After climbing into the back of his truck and turning around she crawled toward him but he just stood there staring at the crate. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah. This wood is rougher than I expected. Just a moment.” He moved to the open door of his truck, leaned in and dragged out a roll of thick black plastic. “Maybe spread this out in the back?” He rolled it toward her. “Grab the end of the roll, kneel on it and then roll the rest toward me.”
Ginger did as he said and then crawled toward the opening. “There. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s perfect.” He smiled at her but the smile didn’t reach his cold calculating eyes.
Fear gripped her and she crawled forward, attempting to escape. The punch came so hard and fast she didn’t see his hand move. Pain blurred her vision as she fell face down on the plastic. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Just go with the flow, Ginger. Don’t fight it. I don’t want to damage you. I’ve never had a redhead before.” He pushed the hair from her face almost gently. “Just relax, it will all be over real soon.”
His large hands smoothed her hair, warm and almost comforting. The next moment, something slipped around her neck and tightened. Pain shot through her head like daggers and she couldn’t breathe. Dizzy, her sight blurred and then everything around her slid away to a pinpoint of light that faded to black.
TWENTY-SEVEN
SATURDAY
Black Rock Falls
At breakfast the following morning, Carter couldn’t help noticing the bruising on Jenna’s face had turned a nasty shade of purple and Kane’s bruising didn’t look any better. He stacked the dishwasher and stared at her. “It would make it easier if we split the suspects list. We can handle the two suspects out of Blackwater. Kalo hacked into their appointments calendar. As far as we can determine Joshua Sage, the IT tech out of Hollows Ridge, should be at home, and Wiley James, a realtor out of Bison Ridge, Blackwater, will be in his office in town.”
“Okay, that sounds like a plan.” Jenna smiled at him. “I’ll need to go and see how Rio and Rowley are getting along with the investigation into the explosion. I’m hoping the auto forensic team will have everything they need from us by now so we can get our full team back together. Then we’ll go and see Lance Barker, the plumber. He works for Local Plumbing here in town. They’ll give me his whereabouts and I’ll call George at Miller’s Garage. I figure Matthew Oakley, the auto club mechanic, must work there. If not, he’s not far away out at Winding Alley.”
Not sure how to approach Jenna to ask how she was feeling, he thought for a beat. He’d tried real hard to act and speak around women in a way they’d not take every word he said as sexist. He sucked in a breath and weighed his next words carefully. He took a plate from her and added it to the dishwasher. “The injury to your face looks painful. We can cover for you both if you need time.”
“Oh, don’t worry about this.” She touched her face. “I’ll cover the bruises with makeup before I leave. I’m fine. The stitches sting if I frown, so I’ll keep happy today.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for being so considerate, Ty. I appreciate your concern.”
Carter chuckled. “Good to know. Is Kane doing okay?”
“Kane is doing just fine.” Kane dropped the silverware into the dishwasher. “Although, I figure I’ll leave the makeup to Jenna. Then the servers at Aunt Betty’s will feel sorry for me and give me extra pie.” He turned away to wipe the table.
“He is not getting extra pie.” Jenna rolled her eyes at Carter.
“I heard that.” Kane came back to the sink and rinsed the cloth. “I’ve lost two pounds this week. I’m practically wasting away.”
Carter smiled as Jo came back into the room. She’d been on a video call with her daughter. “All good with Jaime?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. Clara is taking her to see a friend’s puppies and she’s so excited. It’s so good to have a nanny like Clara. She’s more like a grandmother.” Jo smiled. “What are we doing today?”
“You’re heading to Blackwater and we’re staying here.” Jenna looked at Kalo. “Bobby is doing deeper background checks on our suspects and trying to trace any properties they may own anywhere in the area of the missing persons.”
“It’s going to be difficult proving any involvement without bodies.” Jo rubbed her forehead with her index finger. “So many people vanish without a trace each year. I often wonder how many of them are victims of serial killers.”
“Yeah, they’re outsmarting law enforcement all over.” Kane leaned against the counter. “The more information that’s available on the web, the harder it is to find victims.”
Carter nodded. “Okay, let’s get at it.” He turned to Jenna. “I’ll call if we get anything interesting.”
“We will too.” Jenna handed him a Thermos and a paper sack of sandwiches. “Stay warm.”
Half an hour later, Carter put the chopper down on the helipad on the Blackwater Sheriff’s Department roof. He’d made prior arrangements to have the space available and a cruiser for their use. As they took the stairs down to the office, Sheriff Dirk Nolan opened the door to greet them. “Mornin’, Sheriff.”
“As you’re here, I figured you’d discovered clues on the whereabouts of the missing family?” Nolan tipped back his Stetson and held open the door against the blasts of freezing wind.
“Not yet.” Jo hurried inside. “We have a couple of possible suspects, is all. We’ll go and speak to them today.”
