Chapter 39

THIRTY-NINE

SATURDAY

It was a little after six by the time Kane finished up in the stables. He placed the grooming brushes back on the bench and gave Warrior one last rub on the nose. “I know you want to get out in the corral, but we’ll give it another few days until it dries a little more. We don’t want you getting hoof rot.”

His phone rang, and he scanned the caller ID. Seeing it was a call on the 911 emergency line, he accepted the call. “Nine-one-one, this is Deputy Kane. What is your emergency?”

“There’s a stream of blood coming out of the alleyway alongside the beauty parlor.”

After sliding the barn door shut, Kane ran across the yard to the front door. He kicked off his dirty boots and headed for the kitchen. He grabbed a notepad and pen and then leaned on the kitchen counter. “Okay, can I have your name and details, please?”

“My name is Joshua Lane. I deliver supplies to the pizzeria.” Lane gave him his details.

Considering all possibilities, Kane rubbed his chin. It wouldn’t be out of the question for a wounded animal to seek refuge in an alleyway. Bears raided dumpsters especially alongside restaurants, where food scraps were readily available. “It might have been a wounded animal. Did you take a look?”

“I didn’t see what it was, but I did see a pair of pink high heels.” Lane cleared his throat. “I have a heart condition. I didn’t want to risk seeing something that might cause me to have a heart attack. There’s that smell around the place as well. You know, like death?”

Biting back a groan, Kane straightened. “Okay, Mr. Lane, I want you to go back to your vehicle, lock the doors, and wait for Deputy Rio to arrive. I’m on my way with the sheriff.” He disconnected and called Rio to explain the situation.

It had been a tough week and leaving Jenna sleeping and heading into town alone seemed like a good idea, but then he dismissed it. She didn’t like him being overprotective and some days it made him feel a little useless. He considered it was love that urged him to protect his wife and unborn child. He’d always been old-school in his treatment of women, as in respecting and protecting, but he found that living in this new world, where offering assistance could be deemed as offensive, troubled him. He gave himself a little shake and headed into the bedroom to wake Jenna. If this isn’t an animal, it could be another murder and she’d want to be on scene from the get-go. “Jenna, you awake?”

“Yeah. I heard you talking. What’s up?” She sat up slowly, pushing the hair from her eyes.

Kane explained. “Rio’s on the way. He’s more than capable to handle a murder scene if necessary. He’ll call us when he gets on scene and give us an update. I have coffee brewing, and your decaf as well. I’ll grab you a cup and then head for a shower. I stink of horses.” He kissed her on the forehead and straightened.

“You go take a shower and I’ll get the coffee.” Jenna threw back the blankets, pushed her feet into slippers, grabbed her robe, and headed for the kitchen. “If it’s a homicide, we’ll need to call Nanny Raya and tell her that Tauri is going to be arriving early this morning.”

Kane took a very quick shower and dressed for work. During murder cases they usually worked the weekend, other times Rio and Rowley were more than happy to take over and pocket the overtime. This weekend it would be all hands on deck. With two cases on the books, there wouldn’t be any time to relax. He walked into the kitchen as Jenna disconnected from a call. From her expression, it wasn’t good news. “Did you hear from Rio?”

“Yeah.” Jenna folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the counter. “It’s another ax murder, and Rio recognized the victim as Lily Jones. Someone murdered her in the alleyway outside the beauty parlor.” She swallowed hard and met his gaze. “He said the killer decapitated her. It’s a bloodbath. He’s already notified Wolfe and cordoned off the area. Rowley is on scene and they’ve positioned their patrol vehicles to conceal the alleyway from the public.”

The implications of the murder of another of the suspects in the Abby and Cole murders, deeply concerned Kane. He nodded. “They sound like they have everything under control. I’ll get breakfast underway if you can rouse Tauri from sleep. They’ll need us to take over while they grab a meal before starting work. I figure it’s going to be another long day.”

“You can say that again.” Jenna headed along the passageway to Tauri’s room. She turned to look at him. “I called Nanny Raya, and Blackhawk is dropping by this morning to spend some time with Tauri.”

Kane grabbed eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. “That’s good to know. He always enjoys his time with him.” He looked down at Duke. “I haven’t forgotten you.” He spent a few minutes topping up the bowl of kibble and mixing a special protein drink the vet had recommended to keep him in tip-top condition. He added more cat food to the feeder as Pumpkin wrapped her sleek body around his legs. “There you go. Don’t worry, Duke. We’re not leaving you at home today.” He washed his hands and then set about making breakfast.

It was a crisp clear morning as they rode into town. It was good to see the sun rising into a clear blue sky. Kane hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it until it wasn’t there. He avoided going along Main and took a few back roads to Nanny Raya’s house instead. He figured keeping Tauri well away from the crime scene would be the best thing to do. His little boy’s inquisitive mind would lead to questions about the sheriff’s vehicles blocking the sidewalk. It wasn’t something he wanted to answer and lying to his son wasn’t an alternative.

After dropping by Nanny Raya’s, Kane turned the Beast around and headed along Main. Both of the sheriff’s vehicles were parked across the sidewalk, and Wolfe’s white medical examiner’s van was backed in between them with the back doors wide open.

He caught Jenna’s sharp intake of breath as she stepped around Rio’s truck. He followed close behind and his attention moved straight to the stream of blood running from the alleyway and down into the gutter. It had congealed into a glossy mess, with bits of leaves and dust floating on the surface. A dog had walked through it leaving a trail of pawprints that faded into nothingness. Rowley was leaning against his truck, keeping a small group of people from looking down the alleyway. The morbid fascination of some people never ceased to amaze him. They didn’t seem to realize that witnessing a horrific event might stay with them for the rest of their lives. He walked over to the group of onlookers. “Go on your way. There’s nothing to see here.” He swung his gaze across the crowd and people reluctantly turned and walked away. He looked at Rowley. “Try to keep people away. As soon as Wolfe has finished processing the scene, we’ll hose down the sidewalk. Wolfe keeps a hose in the back of his van. He often needs to wash blood from his boots.”

“I’ll do it.” Rowley lifted his chin. “The more I work around blood, the better I’m coping with it. Before the twins were born, I’d have spewed at the sight of that mess.” He sighed. “Oh and I spoke to Mr. Lane and then cut him loose. He didn’t see anything, just the blood. He had deliveries to make around town, but we have his details if we need to speak to him again.”

Kane nodded. “Okay, I’ll let Jenna know.” He turned back to the alleyway where she was waiting for him. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Jenna pulled on a face mask and handed one to him followed by examination gloves. She straightened her shoulders and, stepping carefully around the blood spatter, led the way along the alleyway.