Chapter 33

THIRTY-THREE

As Kane peeled off his coat, hat, and gloves, Jenna slid a cup of coffee across her desk. She stared at her cup of decaffeinated coffee. It wasn't so bad but she'd decided to remove caffeine and any other potentially baby-harming substances from her diet. As strange as it may seem, she'd weaned herself from normal coffee a month before she'd become pregnant. It was just one of the things she'd tried as she hadn't been sleeping well and did drink way too much coffee. So if getting more sleep had helped her to conceive, it had worked. She waited for him to drop into the chair opposite her desk. "Okay, what did you find in Sierra's cabin?"

"Nothing." Kane cradled his cup in his hands and sipped. He let out a long sigh and leaned back. "I doubt he's ever had a woman in there. It's bare, with only the necessities, which makes me believe he might move around some. They do. The mountain guys often have cabins for summer and winter. They stick closer to the highway in winter and go deeper to hunt and fish in the warmer months." He sighed. "He hates people. I figure he needs a psych evaluation. I waited outside while Cross was talking to him… by his request I might add. I didn't hear anything but I could see Sierra waving his arms around and yelling. I was expecting Cross to hit the red button for assistance, but he kept his cool. The guards from County were waiting for him when Cross finished. We completed the paperwork and Sierra has left the building. Cross couldn't wait to get out of here."

Jenna eyed him over the rim of her cup. "While you were gone, Blackhawk and Will Cody from search and rescue came by to give me a rundown of what's happening with the search for Julie." She gave him the details. "Of course, Cody doesn't know any details about the murder investigation but Blackhawk made sure he took note of any cabins. Everything he saw or they all recalled they've added to this map." She slid a folded map across the table to him. "It's vast but as the avalanches didn't occur at the same time, we can assume Julie is likely holed up in a cabin that's been recently isolated by an avalanche."

"Hmm." Kane looked at the map. "If I were in the same situation and if I knew the forest like a mountain man, I would find my way around the avalanches. Sure, going through the forest without trails is dangerous but it is possible."

Placing her cup on the table, Jenna shrugged. "It's possible but getting lost out there would be easy without a phone with GPS. We must assume this is the case or someone would have called. Think about it. Everything looks the same. Sure, you could keep the mountain to your right all the way but it weaves around. Trust me, in summer, in daylight, when I was lost in the forest, it was impossible to navigate. Add freezing temperatures and it becomes impossible." She sighed. "Wolfe is convinced she is injured or she'd have left a sign somewhere at the crash site. You've taught her to remain with a wreck unless her life was in danger. It's far easier to find a wreck than a person in the forest, or anywhere."

"Okay, so we assume Julie will recover before trying to find a way out of the forest?" Kane frowned. "I don't figure she'll risk getting lost. She'll wait for the blizzard to pass and then light a fire. She'll keep it going as smoky as possible and hope to see choppers. I've heard Wolfe telling her to do that, so I guess we have no choice but to wait and see what happens." He pushed one hand through his slick black hair. "This doesn't get us closer to the killer. We have two options that I can see. He lives in town and uses the cleared roads into the forest to get to where he leaves his victims. Blackhawk is correct. They're known to him and somehow he manages to trick them into going into the forest. Once there, they are at his mercy." He waved a hand. "The second theory is he does have a cabin or cabins, or he has use of them, so maybe hunting cabins. No one is going to disturb him in this weather."

Jenna looked up as Rio knocked on the office door. "Yes."

"I've finished updating the files." Rio rubbed the back of his neck. He looked exhausted. "I called Kalo and he is having power problems due to the storms. Carter is working on the backup generator. As soon as he can, he'll run those facial recognition files through the software. He figures it won't be until the morning."

Jenna nodded. "Okay, then we'll call it a day. There's nothing more for us to do today. We'll hunt down the whereabouts of the other two potential suspects in the morning."

"Copy that." Rio headed back downstairs.

As Kane collected the cups and rinsed the coffee pots, Jenna gathered her things and pulled on her coat. "We have four potential victims and only three bodies." She pushed her feet into her boots. "We've either missed a body, as they all seemed to be in the same general area, or the killer has her holed up somewhere and like us, he's waiting for the blizzard to pass."

"Maybe he's keeping her for a time." Kane shrugged into his coat and then bent down to attach Duke's coat as the sleepy dog whined. "The blizzard is his friend; it covers his tracks. At this time, we have no idea how long he keeps them before he ties them to a tree. The waiting and isolation might just be part of his twisted game."