Chapter 4

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?”

“We don’t have a cause of death, Mr. Daybrook.” Jenna took out a notebook and pen and placed them on the desk. “She was found dead in her home. Do you know if she had any health issues?”

“Not that I’m aware.” Daybrook shook his head slowly. “She never took a personal day in the time she worked here. This is why I called to check on her. I was concerned. Living alone in this town can be dangerous for a young woman.”

“Indeed.” Jenna looked at him. “You mentioned to Deputy Kane that, out of all her customers, one man in particular dropped by a few times. Can you describe him?”

“He could be any one of many men around town. Stetson, cowboy boots, Levi’s. He wore a sheepskin jacket. I could tell by the collar.” He stared into space for a few seconds. “Snakeskin boots. They clicked when he walked, as if he wore spurs. That’s what drew my attention. It would be strange for a guy to be wearing spurs around town without a horse tied up outside, and there was no horse. I looked.”

Kane raised one eyebrow. He’d never use spurs on a horse. “Okay, do you recall what hair color he had? Did he have a beard or moustache? How tall?”

“Oh, six feet, maybe more. Hard to tell with a Stetson. Clean shaven, blond hair over his collar. Shaggy like.”

Glancing at Jenna, Kane narrowed his gaze. He’d just described FBI Agent Ty Carter, right down to his snakeskin boots with metal tips. “Okay. Did he pay by card and would you have a record of his purchases?”

“I already thought of that and went through the credit card receipts.” Daybrook shook his head. “I recall he purchased cleaning supplies and needed some assistance on what to buy. The next time he was asking about toasters. He paid in cash.”

“How about CCTV footage?” Jenna made a few notes and then looked up at him. “I see you have a camera watching the store.”

“Yeah, but it deletes every twenty-four hours. So was wiped clean at eight this morning.” Daybrook ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect anything like this to happen. Do you think this man was involved?”

“We don’t know.” Jenna folded her notebook. “Could you pick him out in a lineup?”

“The thing is, I was busy with customers and I didn’t get a good look at him.” Daybrook rubbed both hands down his face. “I’m so sorry. I should have taken more notice. If he comes by again, I’ll call you without delay.”

Kane stood and handed him his card. “Yeah, that will help. Thanks for your time.” He turned to Jenna. “We’ll split up and talk to the women behind the counter. They might know something.”

“Sure.” Jenna followed him out of the office door.

“Do you have a minute?” Sue Plant came toward them and dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “Is this about the man who came by three times to speak to Dakota? I saw the man, chatting to her after work on Wednesday last.” She frowned at Jenna. “If something happened to Dakota and I can identify the man she spoke to, I’m in danger… right?”

“If it’s who we think, no, you’re not. If you see him again, call us.” Jenna handed her a card.

Kane moved closer. “We’re just trying to find anyone who came in contact with Dakota. Mainly to discover if she mentioned anything about her plans for Thursday night.” He straightened. “So this guy, could you pick him out in a lineup?”

“No, I can’t say I got a good look at his face.” Sue narrowed her gaze. “He was tall, with blond untidy hair. He first came by Tuesday last. That’s the day I worked with Dakota. When he came inside, he headed for the appliance display, removed his Stetson and shook the rain off it, but was turned away from me. I recognized him more by his clothes and build.” She scrutinized Kane. “Not as tall or broad in the shoulders as you, but one size down maybe.”

“Does Ms. White work alongside Dakota?” Jenna glanced toward the woman serving a mother with a screaming baby.

“Nope.” Sue frowned. “She’s here to replace her at the moment.”

Kane nodded. “Okay, thanks for your help.” He led the way out of the store and stopped on the sidewalk and looked at Jenna. “What do you make of that?”

“They described Carter and it just so happens he’s in town.” Jenna looked at him. “I guess he could be fixing up his cabin.”

Kane shrugged. “Well, one thing’s for darn sure, he’s not killing women.”