Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

Heart sore for Mrs. Peters and her husband, Jenna stood in the garage and waited for Kane to search Cole’s truck. Hunger gnawed at her, and she wished she could have a nice cup of hot chocolate overloaded with marshmallows. The thought made her stomach rumble just as Kane backed out of the truck. She smiled at him. “If my stomach is making noises along with yours by the time we get to Aunt Betty’s Café, we’ll sound like a choir.”

“We can delay dropping by Marissa Kendrick’s until after lunch if you would prefer.” Kane shut the door of the truck and shrugged. “There’s nothing of interest in there. I’d say his parents cleaned it out, or someone did. There’s only the license and registration in the glove box. Nothing to indicate it belonged to a kid in college at all. If it wasn’t for the college parking sticker on the windshield, I’d say it belonged to someone else.”

Frowning, Jenna shook her head. “How strange.” She headed back to the Beast, splashing through the deepening puddles. “We need to keep moving. As much as I’d like to go and eat lunch now, I’d rather go and see Marissa Kendrick and get it out of the way so that we can spend the rest of the afternoon in the office. I’m exhausted. I had no idea being pregnant used so much energy.”

“You’ll need to use the footstool I placed under your desk.” Kane headed out of the driveway and along Main to Maple. “Walking around is fine but resting is good too, and keeping your feet up will prevent swollen ankles.”

Jenna smiled at him. “So will rubbing my toes when we snuggle in front of the fire. The other day, I rubbed Pumpkin’s toes. She purred like mad and stretched out her paws. She’s a lovely cat. I’m so glad she found us, and she keeps Duke company as well.”

“I like her too.” Kane slowed outside a log-built house with a large porch, turned into the driveway, and stopped out front. “I hope she’s home. It will save time if we don’t need to keep coming back here.”

Pulling her slicker over her head, Jenna dashed to the porch with the rain hammering on her hood and pounded on the front door. The net curtain beside the window moved and she caught sight of a shadow looking out at them. As Jenna’s slicker had sheriff across the front and back, the hesitancy of the woman coming to open the door wasn’t because she didn’t know who was waiting outside. It never ceased to amaze her how people didn’t recognize her even when they voted for her in the last election. They were a prominent couple around town, easily approachable, and yet she still found townsfolk reluctant to speak to her. The door opened slowly, restricted by a heavy chain, and a woman with dark straight hair wearing a thick sweater and jeans peered at them with wide-open brown eyes. Jenna met her gaze with a pleasant expression. “I’m Sheriff Alton. I’m here to speak to Marissa Kendrick.”

“I’m Marissa.” The woman hadn’t moved to open the door. “Why do you want to speak to me? Has someone died?”

“No, we’re investigating the murders of two of your friends from twelve years past.” Kane removed his hat and shook off the raindrops. “Do you figure we could come inside and speak to you. It’s wet and cold out here.”

“I guess. You’ll need to leave your slickers and boots in the mudroom. I don’t want you tracking dirt all through my house.” Marissa closed the door to unhook the chain and then opened it wide and waved a hand toward a small vestibule on the left. “Through there.” She waited for them to remove their things and then led the way along a passageway and into a typical country kitchen. “It’s warmer in here than any other room. Please take a seat and tell me what this is all about.”

Jenna took out her notebook and placed it on the table alongside her pen. The woman sat at the table with an agitated expression on her face and it was obvious that she didn’t want to speak to them about her old friends. Jenna needed to take a different approach with this woman by letting her know they had information about that evening. It might push her into telling the truth. “We are aware that you were close friends with Abby Jaye and Cole Peters during your time at college. We also believe you were with them the night they went missing, on Halloween twelve years ago. What I’d like you to tell us is your recollection of that night and who were the other people on the mountain.”

“There would have been over twenty students from Black Rock Falls College, maybe more, spread out all over as it was set up as a dare. You recall the legend of the Whispering Caves Axman? Well, the dare was to stay on the mountain by the caves past midnight to see his ghost. It was really just a party, nobody camped near the caves. I couldn’t possibly tell you everybody’s names because I don’t know. Yes, I was there with Abby and Cole, but I don’t recall seeing them for very long. They were there when we were sitting around the fire toasting marshmallows and then they got up and walked away. That was the last time I saw them.”

“Who else was in your group around the fire that night?” Kane leaned on the table and gave her a direct stare. “It was a memorable night as your friends never returned.”

“I’m not exactly sure. There were people coming and going all the time.” Marissa’s eyes shifted from side to side and she refused to make direct eye contact.

It was obvious to Jenna that Marissa had something to hide. She tapped her pen on her notebook and sighed. “I have a few names that might jog your memory. Do the names Wyatt Twotrees, Clint Wasser, Dustin Crawley, and Jess Hallon ring a bell?”

“We have numerous photographs from yearbooks and other sources that put you all together as a group of friends, so please don’t deny that you know these people.” Kane leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“It’s a lifetime ago, Deputy. I recall them, yes, but there were a ton of other kids on the mountain that night.” Marissa looked aghast. “You don’t think we had anything to do with them disappearing, do you? Heck, I didn’t even know that they’d died until I watched it on the news.”

“We aren’t chasing down these people for a murder charge. We just want to know who was on the mountain that night and if anyone suspicious was hanging around.” Kane huffed out a sigh. “It’s a cold case and we don’t expect the murderer to be in the forest now, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop investigating their deaths. Cole and Abby deserve to have their killer brought to justice and we aim to do it.” His gaze became almost predatory. “No matter how long it takes.”

Jenna dragged her attention away from Kane’s face. It was obvious that he had the same impression as she had about Marissa. The woman was fidgeting in her chair, couldn’t look at them, and was thinking before she spoke, and the long pauses within the conversation were getting annoying. “Marissa, what I would like you to do is just tell me everything you can recall about that night. What the weather was like is a good place to start. Did you go there with a special friend or did you go with a group of friends?”

“It was cold like it is most Halloweens. Mist was rising up from the river and spilling through the forest.” Marissa stared into space. “There were students everywhere, following each other up the trail and heading toward the river. Some were wearing Halloween costumes. Many were wearing masks of one sort or another. I remember the group of boys that were with us as we walked up the mountain. They are all about the same size and wearing their college jackets with identical Halloween masks, so no, I don’t know exactly who was there.”

“Yet you recognized Cole and Abby. How so?” Kane’s hard gaze was relentless. “What made him different from everyone else in the pack?”

“They were walking in front of me.” Marissa gripped her hands tight on the table, making her knuckles go white. “Cole was slightly smaller than some of the other boys on the football team and he wasn’t wearing a mask. He was holding Abby’s hand and carrying her backpack over one shoulder. Abby had a flashlight and was using it to show the way along the trail.” She chewed on her bottom lip as if she was trying to think up another lie. “We all ended up alongside the river. It was cold and very damp. The boys went about making a fire and the girls collected rocks to make a fire circle. We dragged some old stumps to the edge of the fire and sat around telling ghost stories and toasting marshmallows. As I said before, I recall seeing Abby whisper in Cole’s ear and then stand up. He followed her up the trail toward the Whispering Caves. They were consenting adults and what they did when they left the group is none of my business. I didn’t even have a thought about it. I just recall it happening. I didn’t watch out to see if they returned.”

Jenna made a few notes. “Who did you come to the forest with that night? Did you drive yourself or get a ride with someone?”

“I went with Josie Campbell. She used to be Grady back then.” Marissa lifted her head slowly and looked at Jenna. “I gave her a ride. My parents had supplied me with a truck for college. We were friends then and we still are now. I call her maybe once or twice a week but she’s always busy working.”

Nodding, Jenna made a couple more notes. “Did she happen to mention that we dropped by to speak to her?”

“Yes, it did come up in a conversation we had after we saw the news report about the deaths of Abby and Cole.” Marissa pressed a hand to her chest. “It was such a shock to find that they had died and been left in the mountains all this time. To think that I’ve hiked to the river many times since that night. Do you know where they were found? When I was speaking to Josie, she figured they must have gone down the mountain or walked along the river and maybe fallen in.”

“Nope.” Kane unfolded his arms and leaned on the table. “Somebody buried them in a cave. It must have been deep inside the mountain away from water because the bodies are mummified, which means they are exactly the same as when they were buried. At this point in time the medical examiner is going over every inch of their bodies looking for clues. Their clothes were intact. This is how they were so easily identified.”

“Oh, I see.” Marissa’s gaze hit the table again and she picked at her fingernails restlessly. “Well, I don’t have anything else to tell you. We sat around the fire after Cole and Abby left, listened to everyone telling ghost stories, waited until midnight, and then everyone just sort of drifted off. I walked down the mountain with Josie and we went home. Of course, we knew by the following Monday that Cole and Abby had gone missing. Search parties were organized, but the sheriff who came and spoke to us intimated that he believed they’d run away together. None of us thought that was true because Cole had gone into the draft and would have made a professional football team. That’s not something he would have run away from with Abby or anyone else.” She sighed. “After the search was called off, we sort of went back to normal. We all graduated and went about our lives. I’m sorry there’s not anything else I can tell you.”

“How often do you see the group of men that you were with that night?” Kane scrutinized her face. “They all live in town as far as I’m aware, so surely you’d run into them from time to time.”

“Me?” Marissa snorted a laugh. “No, not all of them. Most of them have gone their separate ways. I’m a tax agent and Clint Wasser is a client, but none of the others have contacted me since graduation. I might nod to them in passing but they’re not close friends. I haven’t had too much luck when it comes to romance. In our group at college, I was just along for the ride. Josie got plenty of attention, but none of the boys were interested in me.”

Folding her notebook and pushing it inside her pocket along with her pen, Jenna stood. She handed a card to Marissa. “If you think of anything else, give me a call. It’s obvious you didn’t hear a noise or see any strangers hanging around, which puts the blame directly on the group of students that were on the mountain that night. Try and bring back that evening by going over what happened from the time you got dressed to the time you went home and see if you can recall any strange vehicles or people wandering around that evening. If you do remember anything at all, no matter how small, you can call me anytime.”

“I’ll give that some thought.” Marissa followed them down the passageway and stood staring at them as they put on their boots and slickers.

The moment Jenna stepped out onto the porch, the chain slid into position on the front door. It seemed that Marissa wasn’t taking any chances of an intruder getting into the house. As she jogged back to the Beast, she turned to Kane. “What do you make of her?”

“She’s hiding something.” Kane swung into the truck. “That story she told us is almost the same as Josie’s. As everyone’s memories are slightly different, I find that a little bit hard to believe.” He started the engine and turned the truck around before heading back along Main. “I figure that she’s spoken to Josie about our visit and they decided to get their stories straight. Another thing I find hard to believe is that college students who live in the same town are practically strangers after being close friends for many years in college and probably high school as well. Unless they all argued about something between themselves, it doesn’t make much sense.”

Running the interview through her mind, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, I kept in contact with many of my college buddies. I knew where they’d started work and where they were living. Many of us would get together and go out for coffee or drinks. Then there were the reunions—the five-year and the ten-year reunion—that these people would have attended, no doubt. You’re correct, maybe what’s keeping them apart is the fact they’re all involved in two murders.” She rubbed her hands together. “Now can we have lunch?”

“Not a problem.” Kane smiled at her.

Happiness surrounded Jenna like a warm hug when she walked inside Aunt Betty’s Café. The wonderful aromas of food cooking and freshly ground coffee made her stomach growl with appreciation. It had been a long time since breakfast and suddenly she understood exactly how Kane felt most of the time. Being ravenous was unusual for her, but of late she couldn’t seem to get enough food to fill her for more than a couple of hours. She stared at the specials list—barbecue pork ribs with all the trimmings. It was something she’d usually have for dinner, but as the delicious smell crawled up her nostrils, she grinned at Wendy behind the counter. “I’ll have the ribs with all the trimmings, including the sweet corn. Peach pie and ice cream and a tall glass of milk.”

“I’ll have the same, but forget the milk. I’ll just have coffee.” Kane snorted a laugh behind her. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d come in here and order the entire specials menu.”

Removing her slicker as she strolled through the restaurant, Jenna glanced over one shoulder at him. “It’s not my fault. Our baby is obviously favoring you. Big feet and a voracious appetite are a clue I can’t ignore.” She hung her slicker over the back of the chair beside her and smiled at him. “At least now I can be sympathetic when your stomach growls with hunger. I know just how it feels.”