Chapter 7

SEVEN

Even bundled up against the cold wearing her snow goggles, a hat, a scarf, and a hood, icy shards bit into Jenna's exposed flesh as they headed along narrow trails in the direction of Bear Peak. Rowley led the way. Having roamed the forest since he was a boy, he could find his way to most areas. When he slowed and held up a hand, Jenna leaned in closer to Kane's wide back. "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure. Rowley is off his snowmobile and looking at something." Kane wiped snow from his visor. "He wants us. It looks like he's found something."

Concern gripped Jenna as she climbed from the seat and waited for Kane and then followed Rio with Wolfe and Emily behind them. As they reached the place where Rowley had abruptly stopped, Jenna gaped in horror at the body of a young naked woman gaffer-taped to a tree. Her hair had been hacked off with a knife and was scattered over a pile of snow-covered clothes. Small cuts had bled in glittering crimson rivulets against her bald skull. She was frozen solid, and what was left of the young woman's hair stood in small tufts and looked as if it had been draped with diamonds. Her cloudy and frozen eyes appeared doll-like as she peered ahead from under exaggeratedly long false eyelashes, as if searching the view. Dark tears, from where her mascara had run, tracked down both cheeks. She'd been placed as if to look through the trees to the river beyond and across the valley. On her forehead a red smiley face peeked through the ice.

Jenna's gaze slid over the woman. She couldn't make out any obvious cause of death. No marks marred the woman's smooth flesh. No blood spotted the snow at her feet. "I wonder how long she's been here?"

"It's hard to tell until we thaw her and then it will be a guess." Wolfe frowned. "This is very disturbing. We'll take down the coordinates, secure the scene with tape, and deal with her later. Nothing will change here in the next twenty-four hours or more. Our priority is reaching the victims of the plane crash. Every second counts in this weather."

"Copy that." Kane took the coordinates as Rio and Rowley wrapped crime scene tape around trees, cordoning off the immediate areas. He looked at Jenna. "We need to get to Julie's plane. There will be people there who need our help. This woman is past helping right now."

Nodding, Jenna walked back to the snowmobile. "If it's not bad enough trying to find a missing plane, now we have a killer on the loose. I can't win."

Ten minutes later Rowley slowed again and waved his arms frantically. Jenna poked Kane in the back. "Ride to where he is. We can't keep stopping all the time."

"Okay." Kane shot past Rio and slowed beside Rowley's snowmobile.

Stunned, Jenna stared at another body. This one's once long dark hair littered the snow-covered pile of shredded clothes at her feet. It was the same MO right down to the hacked-off hair and the smiley face on the forehead. "Okay, make a note of the coordinates and keep moving. Seems we have a serial killer roaming the forest decorating the trees with his victims. Heaven knows how many more he has out here."

It was the very first time in her life Jenna had walked away from a crime scene. Leaving the victims behind played on her mind. It seemed callous and mean-spirited. They needed her help to bring their killer to justice but the people on the plane needed her too. She bit down on her bottom lip, torn between giving the victims respect and her need to find Julie. Maybe she should split the team? Dismissing the idea, she shook her head. In all cases, the living took priority. Moving on was the right decision. She sent up a silent prayer. Please let Julie and the other passengers be safe.

Another ten minutes passed, they were moving faster along hiking trails, the way was wider, and it was easier to see obstacles in their path. Each of Rio's and Rowley's and Wolfe's snowmobiles had trailers attached that were suitable to carry any injured to safety and extra medical equipment and body bags. Again ahead, Rowley waved and Kane flashed to his side. Jenna's heart missed a beat at the sight of the twisted burned wreckage. She could see charred limbs poking out of the snow. The front half of the aircraft was still smoking. Choking back a sob of despair, she climbed off the snowmobile and looked at Kane, lowering her voice so that Wolfe wouldn't overhear. "We're too late. They're all dead."

"Maybe not. The tail part of the aircraft is still intact." Kane waited for Wolfe to climb from his snowmobile and walk to their side. He pointed to the rear of the plane. "That might be a positive sign as I recall Julie saying that she always preferred to travel in the back of the aircraft. It looks like the snowdrift buffered the impact."

"We'll check the remains, and if we can't locate her, then get someone to search the outlying areas around the aircraft." Wolfe turned in a half circle. "The way it broke in half on impact, it could have thrown people out as it landed. There were six souls on board and the pilot." Wolfe tuned to Emily. "You gonna be okay?"

"I've been thinking about finding her dead all the way here." Emily straightened and glanced at Jenna. "I'm sure Jenna has too, but I'm sure if Julie is out there in the snow, she'd want me to find her. She knows I'll take care of her."

"Okay, but if it gets too much for you, tell me." Wolfe gave her a hug. "I'm hoping we'll find her alive. If she was in the tail, she'd have a fighting chance." He walked from one charred remains to another and shook his head. "Dave, she's not here. Check the tail section."

"Copy that." Kane trudged through the snow.

"Okay, I'll place markers on any bodies or parts I find." Emily gathered what she needed and walked toward the mangled burned bodies.

Surveying the crash scene with trepidation, Jenna dragged her professional persona around her. Falling to bits wasn't an option. "Rio, Rowley, search the perimeter for survivors. I'll contact search and rescue and give them our coordinates. As soon as the weather clears, they might be able to land a chopper." She turned to Wolfe. "Will they be able to land a chopper on that slope?"

"That's doubtful. It's little more than a sheet of ice and with the low visibility it's not worth the risk." Wolfe headed toward the tail of the aircraft sticking up in the air. "Unless the weather gets worse, they'll be able to send a team by snowmobile to help search the area."

Jenna made the call and followed Kane and Wolfe to the broken tail section. Sharp metal fragments, body parts, carry-on luggage, cans of soda, and garbage stuck out from the snow. She stepped in Kane's footprints and cupped her mouth. "Sheriff's department. Is anyone here? Call out."

Not a sound other than the creak of metal and branches moving in the wind came through the forest. She listened and searched the trees and reached the plane as Kane pulled himself over the ragged edge and disappeared inside. The next moment the door swung open and hung moving back and forth in the wind before closing again. She turned to Wolfe. "Someone has been here. Look how the luggage has been piled up."

"It sure looks like that, which could be a good sign, if they helped survivors. Worst-case scenario, someone living close by has looted the plane." Wolfe climbed up onto the luggage and pulled open the door to peer inside. "The seats at the back look okay and the cargo door is open."

"The cargo has been tampered with." Kane stuck his head over the edge of the plane. "I found this. It's Julie's purse and her phone and ID are inside." He frowned and held up an earring. "This is why she hasn't contacted you. This is her tracker, isn't it?"

"Yeah, dammit. Can you see pink luggage?" Wolfe took the purse, tucked the earring inside, and handed it to Jenna. "It's not with the others."

Confused, Jenna searched around and found nothing. She waved to Emily. "Can you see Julie's luggage?"

"Nope." Emily placed another flag in the snow and turned her attention to Wolfe. "I can't find a trace of her, Dad. Are you sure she took this flight?"

"Yeah, for one, I tracked her to this general location, although the signal was sketchy, but now we have her purse. She also called me to give me the flight number just before she boarded." Wolfe scanned the clearing from his perch on top of the luggage. "It was an hour before the regular flight and she managed to get a seat on a cargo plane. She didn't want me and Norrell waiting around the airport for hours."

"That's kind and considerate Julie for you." Emily sighed and stared at the victims. "I figure all these bodies are men. They're big-boned even with the burns. They didn't stand a chance. Maybe Julie got out alive?"

"How many bodies do you make it? I counted six." Wolfe jumped down and headed toward Emily.

"Yeah, I counted six too. That would be five passengers and the pilot, Julie was number six on the passenger list." Emily's gray eyes brimmed with tears. "If her purse was here, she was here. Where is she now? There's nowhere to go and she knows to stay with the wreck. It offered her shelter inside the cargo hold. Why would she leave? It makes no sense."

"I'll check the bodies again. Keep looking under any lumps in the snow." Wolfe moved around, bending over. He looked up when Rio and Rowley arrived back from their search, shaking their heads. "Rio, can you take pictures and then we'll bag these bodies. Our time here is limited. We have no shelter and we'll freeze to death before the sun goes down." He blew out a puff of steam. "We'll come back tomorrow."

Horrified, Jenna picked her way through the carnage. "No, we can't leave, we must keep looking. If someone was here and left with her, they would have left a clue."

"Doubtful, all tracks would be covered by the snow." Kane bent over, brushing snow from lumps and moving to the next possibility. "If her luggage is gone, I figure someone came by to help and took her with them, but why didn't she take her purse?"

"Y'all assuming she was conscious?" Wolfe's eyes narrowed. "If she was in the tail, she'd have taken the window seat. Part of the wing pierced that part of the fuselage. Chances are she's injured. I can't see any blood but that doesn't mean she didn't sustain head and neck injuries or leg injuries. Anything can happen during a wreck, but it gives me hope someone cared enough to haul her out."

"Well, whoever riffled through the cargo, took medical supplies and canned goods. But left her purse, although it was under the seat and there is snow all over in there. Maybe he missed it?" Kane held up a clipboard with paper attached. "This is a cargo inventory. Just a minute." He thrust the clipboard into Wolfe's hands, leapt up onto the luggage, and peered inside the tail section of the plane. "The first aid box has been ripped from the wall. This tells me Julie was alive and taken somewhere."

Panic gripped Jenna. She stared through the snow-laden pines. "Where is she?" Oh, sweet Jesus, don't tell me she's been rescued by a serial killer.