AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The thought that a lonely woman had been tricked into allowing a stranger into her home saddened Jenna. She looked at Wolfe. “Do you need us for anything else? I’d like to catch the manager at the general store while all this is fresh in his mind. I’ll leave Rio to assist you.”
“Sure.” Wolfe nodded. “We’ll remove the body and complete a forensic sweep just in case the killer left anything behind. I’ll leave the autopsy until tomorrow morning, make it eleven. I promised to take Anna into town for ice cream. She had a dentist appointment and came out with an all clear.” He stared at the body. “This is a strange one, isn’t it? What motive could he have? I can’t see the thrill in killing someone this way. It seems almost hygienic.”
Biting her bottom lip, Jenna met his gaze. “This is the problem. Some of them don’t need a reason. They just like killing people.”
FOUR
Kane pulled the Beast into a parking spot outside Aunt Betty’s Café and glanced at his watch. “We haven’t given the manager of the general store time to get his staff sorted yet. Do you want to go and grab a coffee and a bite to eat?”
“Yeah, that crime scene was nasty.” Jenna climbed out of the Beast and waited for him on the sidewalk. “We need a plan of action.”
Scanning Main, Kane looked at the gray sky and back along the sidewalk. Remnants of Halloween hung from dumpsters in the alleyways, and one lone jack-o’-lantern hung from a streetlight, tipping to one side, grinning and slightly battered from the hail storm the previous evening. He let Duke out of the back seat and followed Jenna into Aunt Betty’s Café. At the counter, manager Susie Hartwig greeted them with her usual smile. “Peach pie and coffee for me.” He glanced at Jenna.
“I’ll have the same.” Jenna glanced at Kane. “Ah, just a minute. I’ve changed my mind. I’ll have hot chocolate with extra marshmallows with my pie. It’s freezing outside right now.”
“Coming right up.” Susie looked pointedly at Kane. “Only one slice of pie? We have savory turnovers just out of the oven.”
Laughing, Kane winked at her. “You sure know my weakness. Yeah, I’d love one, but I’ll have the pie as well.”
They headed for their reserved table at the back of the room and Kane turned to see Duke still sitting at the counter staring at Susie. As a patrol dog, he was allowed entry into any establishment. When he barked, Kane went back to the counter. “What has he ordered today?”
“Oh, I figure it must be the beef sausage we had left over from yesterday.” Susie leaned over the counter and smiled at Duke. “Okay, Duke. It’s on its way.” She giggled and headed out back.
“Honestly, you spoil him.” Jenna shook her head. “You confuse me, Dave. We agreed we’d never spoil Tauri, but I know you will. You already have.”
Shocked, Kane stared at her. “Duke’s a dog who works hard for us and deserves a few treats. Tauri is our son and we both decided that he needs a stable homelife. Yeah, we’ll spoil him. That’s what birthdays and Christmas are for. Unless you mean the bicycle? I figure every boy needs a bicycle. We give Tauri love and attention. We make him feel safe, but I’m afraid nothing we do will ever make up for his early upbringing.” He took both her hands. “He knows we love him, and you can’t spoil a kid with love, can you?”
“No.” Jenna squeezed his hands. “Being a mom takes a lot of getting used to. Not having any brothers or sisters, I have only my mom to use as a role model. She was always a little distant with me and I don’t want that with Tauri. I’m worried I might make a mistake. After seeing how many serial killers come from being bounced around the system, I want to make things perfect for him.”
Smiling, Kane glanced up as Susie came with the drinks. He waited for her to leave and looked at Jenna. “You’re a great mom. I had a great mom but she made mistakes sometimes. We’re human, we make mistakes, but we’re smart enough to recognize them and fix them. Tauri is very smart. It’s unlikely he’ll get into trouble.” He frowned. “When he’s old enough to understand, we’ll tell him about our previous lives. Not for a long time, though, so he fully understands the ramifications of speaking to anyone.”
“That’s one day I’m not looking forward to.” Jenna pulled her hands from his as Susie came with the food and placed a plate on the floor for Duke. “Okay, enough about that. We need a plan of action.”
Biting into the savory turnover, with crumbly pastry and a filling that made his taste buds dance with delight, he nodded. “You must try one of these. Do you figure they’ll freeze okay? We should take some home with us.”
“If I say yes, am I spoiling you?” Jenna snorted a laugh. “Sure, take some home, but first we need a plan of action. We’ll speak to the manager of the general store and see what he can give us on the man Dakota spoke to. A description will give us some idea of who she came into contact with, and maybe they’ll have CCTV footage we can look at as well.”
Finishing the turnover in a few delicious mouthfuls, Kane sipped his coffee, turning his thoughts to the positions of the local CCTV cameras around town. “She’d come into contact with many people working in the general store and we’re only assuming her killer is a man. We have no indication either way. I figure we look into her background. If her grandma died recently, Dakota could be in line for a sum of money. She must have been given the house but probate takes time. What if someone else was mentioned in the last will and testament? This could be a relative left out of the will and the cheapest way to contest a will is to remove the first in line.”
“Oh, that’s terrible.” Jenna looked at him, eyes wide. “We’ve had so many serial killers I automatically assume we have another in town but the idea a relative killed her for money never entered my mind.” She sat with a forkful of pie hovering in midair. “Okay, so we need to know who her grandma used as an estate attorney. I know Samuel J. Cross handles just about everything in town and he took over from at least three deceased lawyers that I know of. I’d assume he’d be the first one to speak to.” She ate her pie and then pulled out her phone. “I’ll call him and see if we can stop by this afternoon.” She made the call.
Eating slowly, Kane ran other scenarios through his mind. The victim was a single woman, mid-twenties, not very social, who didn’t own a pet and her only life appeared to be going to work. Why would anyone target her? Most murders sat in their own categories. They usually concerned money, hate, a love triangle, obsession, or were to hide a secret. He couldn’t see Dakota being involved in a love triangle, nor being murdered for hate or obsession. He pushed his plate away and sipped his coffee. “If it’s not a serial killer with his own agenda, there’s another thing we should consider. She might have information on someone. Perhaps a secret they don’t want coming out that might affect their career or something.”
“Like the manager of the general store cooking the books or laundering money?” Jenna sipped the hot beverage and sighed. “I figure the money idea makes more sense. She appeared to live a quiet life—unless she was hiding from someone?”
Kane finished his coffee. “Ready? We need more information. Let’s hope the manager of the general store is forthcoming.” He stood. “I’ll ask Susie to box up a pile of pastries and we’ll drop by and grab them after we’ve been to the general store.”
They walked to the store. The wind had picked up again and cut through every seam in Kane’s clothes. He pulled his black woolen cap down over his ears and shoved his Stetson over the top. Keeping the metal plate in his head warm was more important than how he looked. Headaches crippled him in winter and he avoided them at all costs. He followed Jenna into the general store and walked through the range of goods to the counter. Two women worked behind the counter and Kane smiled at them. “We need to speak to the manager.”
“He’s expecting you.” A woman with the name tag sue plant indicated to the other woman. “Mandy will show you where to go.” She turned away to serve a customer.
Kane nodded, reading the woman’s name tag. “Thanks, Ms. White. I appreciate it.”
“No problem at all.” Mandy led the way through the store to a door marked manager. “There you go.” She turned and walked away.
After knocking on the door, Kane looked at Jenna and raised an eyebrow. In his mind everyone who came into contact with Dakota was a suspect, including the manager. When the door opened, a middle-aged man waved them inside. He looked tired and pale. “Thanks for seeing us. I didn’t catch your name?”
“Pete Daybrook.” He waved them to chairs before his desk and dropped slowly into an office chair. On the table was a sandwich and a cup of coffee. “What happened to Dakota?”
