Chapter 37

THIRTY-SEVEN

After bringing Rio up to date, Jenna followed Kane outside. They'd left Duke inside in the warm. He was more than capable of letting Maggie know if he needed to go outside. She pulled her hood down against the blizzard and, watching her step on the frozen sidewalk, slipped and slid her way to the Beast. "So I guess the first person we'll hunt down is Dan D. Williams. Did you have any luck when you spoke to the barbershop in town?"

"He's due to arrive around ten." Kane backed the truck out of the parking space and headed along Main. "He only comes in for a couple of hours a few times a week to help out if the regular barber is busy. I figured the last thing anyone wants in the middle of a blizzard is a haircut and most men in these parts don't even bother to shave when it's this cold."

Jenna couldn't remember when she'd ever seen Kane disheveled or unshaven. "Maybe you're not the only man in town who likes to look slick all the time." She grinned at him. "You have no idea how many times I had the urge to ruffle your hair, especially when you were angry with me."

"I don't recall ever being angry with you, Jenna." Kane glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road. "Exasperated when you put yourself in danger and refuse my protection maybe, but it takes a whole lot more than that to make me angry." He sighed. "I figure the last time I got angry was when Tauri's life was threatened. It rose up on me white-hot, and I needed to drop into the zone to calm down before I did something stupid, but I handled it." He pulled to the curb. "This is the place. Now I'm going to annoy you again because I want you to wait for me to help you climb over that mound of ice. If you slip and sit down heavy on your butt, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, so bend a little, huh?"

Although she'd never told him, Jenna quite enjoyed being protected by the man she loved. At first, he'd taken a lot of getting used to, and when chasing down serial killers with him, she'd constantly needed to remind him that she wasn't going to break. After discovering many years later that he'd spent most of his time alone on missions, and his family had raised him to respect and protect women, she'd needed to show him how capable she could be in the field. He'd countered by improving her skills across the board with morning workout sessions and time at the firing range. The one thing she did value was his respect for women. He might be old-school, but being a gentleman suited her just fine.

She took Kane's hand and slipped and slid over the hard-packed ice alongside the sidewalk, finally making it to the heavy coating of sand and salt. They crunched into the barbershop and she ran her gaze along the row of men waiting to be served. She bit back a smile when she read a notice on the wall: Half-price haircuts Wednesdays and soup of the day.

She hung back as Kane smiled at the proprietor. He had his hair cut here regularly and had since arriving in Black Rock Falls.

"I'm pretty busy today, Deputy." The barber waved a hand to the waiting men. "Tomorrow is good, but I cut your hair only two weeks ago. You sure you need a haircut already?"

"No, I'm good." Kane smiled. "I just want a quick word with Dan Williams when he's through with that customer. It will only take a few minutes."

"I'm done here." Dan Williams, ruggedly handsome, well built with dark brown eyes, flicked a glance at Jenna. "Is there a problem? Someone die?"

Jenna moved forward. "Is there a place we can talk?"

"Sure, out back, but I can't be long. I have people waiting." Williams led the way to a back room. He turned and shut the door when they walked inside. "What's this all about? You trying to make me look bad in front of my boss? Do you know how hard it is for an ex-crim to get work?"

"No, you can tell him whatever you need to explain why we're here, but we need to know the location of your cabin in the forest and when you were last there." Kane leaned against the door and stared him down.

"I'm not sure." Williams rubbed his chin. "Why, and do I need a lawyer?"

Jenna exchanged a meaningful look with Kane and slowly took out her notebook and pen. "Is there something you need to tell us about, Mr. Williams? You seem a little jumpy. We only want to know if you've been out to your cabin lately. You've heard about the air crash at Bear Peak? Well, we have people missing. If they made it out alive, they're likely to take shelter in one of the cabins. Right now, we're speaking to people who own cabins in that area and collecting information, such as is there a CB radio in the cabin or a landline? With the blizzard, hunting down survivors is proving impossible."

"Okay, okay." Williams let out a long breath. "I was out there earlier. Well, I've been out there a few times this week. I have a meat locker and been dropping by to collect meat, mostly to feed my dogs. I didn't see anyone. I only made it there and back because the fire road has been cleared. I can't drive my truck all the way to my place but I can use the snowmobile."

"So what time did you start work this morning?" Kane's grim expression bored into him.

"A little after ten." Williams indicated to the door. "That was my first client."

Jenna stared at her notes. "Just out of interest. Do you use dating apps?"

"That's a leading question. Say if I do?" Williams chewed on a thumbnail, tearing it and spitting out the broken nail. "It's not a felony to use them. Everyone does."

"Okay, so let's say you do use one, do you know or have been in contact with Flora Hadley, Lorraine Smith, or Abilene Drew over the last few weeks?" Kane straightened. "They are listed as missing."

"No, can't say I've spoken to them." Williams shrugged. "But you do know most of them have phony names. No one uses their names, do they? I mean, if a girl checked me out, I wouldn't stand a chance of meeting her, would I?"

Jenna folded her notebook. "I guess not. Do you have a problem with us dropping by your cabin and making sure it's empty?"

"Yeah, it seems that I do." Williams shook his head. "I'm sorry about the people from the air crash, but if you want to search my cabin, you'll need a warrant and you don't have probable cause. I don't trust cops. They plant evidence and people like me go away for things they didn't do." He headed toward Kane one hand extended. "Now, let me out of here before I lose my job."

"Sure." Kane stood to one side and waited for him to go. He turned to Jenna. "He's just moved to the top of our list."