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“That makes life easier.” Kane turned onto Main and headed for the garage.
Jenna’s phone buzzed. It was Carter and she put the phone on speaker. “Is there a problem?”
“I’m not sure. We’re heading for a cabin somewhere in Broken Wolf Forest to hunt down a missing woman.”Carter gave them the rundown of the case.“We were interviewing Wiley James, the realtor, when Sheriff Nolan called. James is a possible suspect and has a pickup with run-flat tires. He was in the general area of the abductions. It seems to me Broken Wolf Forest is this guy’s hunting ground. The problem is it was a gold-mining area and it’s treacherous. There are uncapped mineshafts all over.”
“A perfect place to dump bodies.” Kane grimaced. “Some of those shafts go down a long way and there are hundreds, maybe thousands, all over.”
“So I hear.”In the background the engine roared in Carter’s vehicle.“We’re coming up to the gate now. I’ll keep you updated. If this is a crime scene, I’ll call you.”He disconnected.
Jenna thought for a beat. “We have to assume this guy is abducting the people and then transporting them alive. If he had a kill area deep in the forest, we’d never find it with all the wildlife roaming around. This time of the year everything’s hungry and it’ll be cleaned up within hours.”
“If he’s a big guy, then he’d be able to carry bodies from one place to another.” Kane pulled to the curb outside Miller’s Garage. “Unless he has his killing field close to the mine shafts. As there are many in that area, it would be easy to use a ton of them scattered across a small radius to hide the bodies.”
The forests seemed to be psychopathic killers’ playgrounds. In her time as sheriff, Jenna had witnessed many atrocities that had happened in the forest. “That idea would make sense, as we don’t have anything else to go on at the moment.”
“It’s below freezing outside, so smell wouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Kane scratched his chin. “If this is the case, I would say the killer is waiting for the snow. With the melt three or four months away, it would give him plenty of time to move on to another area without arousing suspicion. If this guy moves around like we assume, it wouldn’t take him too long to establish another comfort zone.”
Jenna nodded and indicated a tow truck parked alongside the road. “That has to be Oakley’s truck. All of George Miller’s tow trucks are red. You go and check the tires, and I’ll go inside and have a chat with him.” She pushed open the door and a blast of wind froze her cheeks.
Hurrying into the office, Jenna smiled at Mary Jo Miller, George’s daughter. “Hi, Mary Jo. Can you point out Matthew Oakley please? I need to have a word with him.”
“He’s a big guy, dark hair. He’s working on a white Toyota truck in the workshop.” Mary Jo smiled. “He’s hard to miss.”
Leaning on the counter conspiratorially, Jenna lowered her a voice to just above a whisper. “Has he been here all day?”
“No, he came in from a job over at Blackwater.” Mary Jo paused for a beat and tapped her long painted nails on the counter. “He lives out that way and usually cruises the highway back and forth, looking for work. You’d be surprised how many people need the auto club when they’re traveling on the highway.”
“Okay, thanks.” Jenna pulled open the door and reluctantly stepped out into the arctic wind.
The front of the garage workshop had been rolled down to keep out the cold. Bright fluorescent strip lights shone down over a line of vehicles on hoists being repaired by mechanics wearing dark blue coveralls. The smell of oil, gas and rubber filled the air. As Jenna reached the door Kane caught up with her and they walked inside. “Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, he has run-flat tires too.” He shrugged. “I must have started a trend. The problem I have is that it’s a tow truck, single cab. It would be difficult to carry a body inside or on the back.”
It wasn’t too difficult to recognize Matthew Oakley from the other mechanics. She walked to the front of the vehicle and got his attention. “Mr. Oakley, do you think we could have a word, please?”
“Sure.” Oakley put down a wrench and wiped his hands on an oily rag. “Do you have a problem with your vehicle?”
Imagining Kane allowing anyone to touch the Beast, Jenna shook her head. “No, the truck is fine. We’re looking for people who move between Blackwater and Black Rock Falls on a regular basis. I believe you cruise the highway looking for breakdowns and you may have seen something pertinent to our current case.” She pulled out her notebook. “Were you in the vicinity of the Triple Z Bar and Black Rock Falls late on Monday night or between Stanton and Pine between five and eight on Wednesday evening?”
“I was at the Triple Z Bar on Monday night.” Oakley smiled and his intense gaze drifted over her. “Dropped by to play pool with a few old buddies. Wednesday evening… hmm I was around town on that day. I think I had dinner at Aunt Betty’s Café. Can’t swear to it, the days run into each other when I’m busy.”
“Do you recall being anywhere near Broken Wolf Forest in Blackwater last Friday night or anytime this week, especially Wednesday?” Kane gave him a long look.
“It’s possible, I move around all the time. Ask around. People notice me. I’m hard to miss.” Oakley looked at Kane as if sizing him up. “I figure you have the same problem. Am I right?”
Oakley moved his gaze back to Jenna in a slow caress. He was very sure of his attraction to women, and Jenna could feel Kane tense beside her. Ignoring the male bravado, she lifted her chin and gave him a dismissive stare. “Do you know or have you met anyone by the name of Maisy Jones.”
“No.” Oakley leaned against the side of the Toyota truck and folded his arms across his chest looking bored.
“Billy Stevens?” Kane stepped closer to Jenna. “Or the Bridger family?”
“No and no.” Oakley shook his head. “Never met them.”
Jenna scanned her notes. “What about Ginger Vaughn?”
“That one I know.” Oakley smiled. “She is some looker. Red hair down her back and green eyes.”
“How do you know her?” Kane’s expression hardened.
