“Okay. I’m on my way.” Wolfe disconnected.
Jenna turned to Kane. “Get all the shots we need and make a close-up video. I’ll call Rowley and Walters to come down and secure the area. Is there any CCTV surveillance in this part of town?” She glanced around. “The one outside the bank might have picked up something, a vehicle perhaps?”
“I doubt it.” Kane stared in the direction of the camera. “As far as I’m aware, that one is focused on the front door of the bank. We don’t have anything near the park. If you remember, there was an outcry when Mayor Petersham suggested one for the park. Townsfolk didn’t want people checking out their kids.”
“Yeah, I do recall that.” Jenna kicked at a clump of snow. “It wouldn’t hurt to get Rowley to examine the footage we have from last night. He might spot a vehicle on Main near the park. We need something to go on, some small lead.” She shivered. “It’s so darn cold, I hope Wolfe gets here soon. We need to speak to the women who found the body. They won’t wait around all day.”
“We’d speed things up if we do a recon of the area.” Kane moved around the body in a wide arc. “The killer could have dumped the other victim close by.”
“Okay. You do that, I’ll go and speak to the women.” Jenna stared at the wide-eyed frozen stare of the corpse and imagined the terror the poor girl had suffered before her death. She had to catch this killer and the sooner the better. “I think I’ll consult Jo when we get back to the office, I’ll send the case files to her and see if she’s seen anything like this before.”
“Good idea. The more eyes on this case the better.” Kane kept on working. “They’ll probably be glad to hear from you. The blizzard will have them holed up in Snakeskin Gully twirling their thumbs.”
Jenna called Rowley, as she walked toward Aunt Betty’s. She asked him to round up old Deputy Walters to drop by for a couple of hours. They had calls on the hotline about people using chainsaws and he could check them out for her and call in if he found anything suspicious. A few people had stopped to stare at what Kane was doing and Jenna waved them away. “Nothing to see here, folks, move on now.”
As the people dispersed, she made her way with care over the slippery blacktop to Aunt Betty’s Café. She found the women at her table with the two children. Both little girls appeared white-faced and terrified. Jenna hated lying and preferred to tell the truth but this time she had to bend it a little to prevent the deathly images haunting the children for years. She forced her cold lips into a smile and sat down at the table. She looked at the kids. “It was a prank as we suspected, something left over from Halloween I gather. Nothing for you to worry about.” She looked at the women and pulled out her notebook. “I’ll need a statement from you. Can I have your names and details?” She scribbled the words “It’s not a prank,” and handed her book to one of the women. “If you could write them down for me please.”
“I’m Libby Marshal and this is my sister Eliza Barratt.” She took the book and her eyes widened. “Oh, I see.” She held the notebook out for her sister. “You write down our details and I’ll answer the questions.”
Jenna nodded. “When did you arrive at the park?”
“Oh, about five minutes before we flagged you down.” Libby frowned and looked at the children who now sipped their drinks, seemingly uninterested in their conversation. “We’d walked into the park and the kids made the snow angels then they ran off to see the snowman.” She gave a strangled false laugh. “Gave us a fright. It must have been naughty kids playing a trick on everyone.”
Jenna nodded. “See any other vehicles or people in or near the park?”
“Not that I recall. There were vehicles on the road but we came in from the other end of Main, the snowplow went through around eight, so we drove through okay.” Libby smiled at her. “Since the council purchased more snowplows, our end of town is passable earlier than usual. It means the older kids can get to school on time after a blizzard.”
Needing to get back to the crime scene, Jenna took the notebook Eliza handed her and stood. “It might be best if one of you walks back with me to collect your vehicle. No need to upset the kids again.” She gave the women a meaningful look and stood.
“Yes, I’ll come.” Eliza jumped to her feet and looked at one of the girls. “Wait with Auntie Libby, Mommy will be back with the truck.”
Jenna led the way out into the bitter cold. She could see Wolfe’s van in the parking lot and he’d erected a screen around the victim. Crime scene tape stretched across the entrance to the park and Rowley was walking the perimeter, keeping the sightseers moving. She turned to Eliza. “I thought it would be better to hide the truth from the children.”
“Yes, thanks, we appreciate it.” Eliza fell into step beside her. “How do you cope with murders?”
Jenna shrugged. How could she tell the woman how the faces of the victims haunted her memories and often crept into her nightmares? She glanced at her. “Someone has to get justice for them and right now it’s my job.”
Thirteen
Hours earlier, Ava had woken dry-mouthed and disoriented in total darkness. Distressed, she’d called out but only the echo of her voice replied. It rattled around the room giving her the impression of being inside a large empty space. Where was she? The warm air surrounding her had a strange smell, musty and damp like a sack of potatoes. She had no idea where the man, Preacher, had taken her but he’d obviously planned to kidnap someone. Trust her to be his victim of choice. He’d somehow spiked her drink and she’d fallen into a deep sleep, for how long she had no idea. Afraid to move, she’d crept her fingers around the bed in slow careful movements. What did the stranger want with her? Alarmed, she’d checked her clothes, relieved when everything seemed to be in order. Apart from a blinding headache, and the desperate need to pee, she seemed okay. Time had moved slowly and she’d spent a long uncomfortable night, finally drifting off into an exhausted slumber.
It could’ve been moments or hours later when a bright light woke her. She blinked, looking around the neat room. It had no windows but she noticed steps leading up to a door. So, after he’d drugged her, he’d locked her in his cellar. A damp patch on one wall had discolored the paintwork leaving the unmistakable smell of mold. That was a weakness she could explore—damp made drywall easy to kick through—but first she had more urgent matters. She was about to look for a bathroom when a voice came from a speaker high in the wall.
“Good morning, Delores.” She recognized the voice as Preacher but now it was almost sing-song. “Your breakfast is in the dumbwaiter. There are clean clothes in the closet. The bathroom is the door on the right. If you place your dirty clothes in the dumbwaiter, I’ll return them to you in the morning. I’ve locked the cellar door. You know there’s no escape. Behave and I’ll treat you well.”
Gripping her hands together in an effort to stop trembling, she stared at the speaker. She refused to let him know how much he’d frightened her. “My name is Ava. Why are you keeping me here, Preacher? If you think I’ll willingly become your sex slave, you can think again.”