“Do we have an ID?” She could hear Kane crunching through the forest.
Jenna winced at the pain. “Yeah, it’s Josiah Brock”
“Copy, Kane out.”
Jenna swallowed the lump in her throat. Combat mode Kane was front and center. She understood, after so many missions as a sniper Kane preferred to use his skill to disable rather than kill, but he’d carried out her orders and she’d have to carry the guilt of taking a life with him. She shook her head to remain conscious and hit her mic again. “Wolfe, I’m hit.”
“On my way.” Wolfe sounded unfazed and calm. “I have you in sight.”
She gave the girl a little shake. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt anyone now. What’s your name?”
“Ava Price.” Ava sat up warily looking around. Her teeth chattered like castanets. “Is he dead?”
Jenna nodded. “Very.”
“You’re hurt. What can I do?” Ava’s eyes rounded in panic.
Jenna smiled at her. “I’ll be fine and help is on the way. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a few scratches.” Ava searched her face. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Relived, Jenna tried to keep her occupied. “Tell me about the shooter.”
“You called him Josiah but his name is Preacher. He strangled Isabella in front of me. He likes to cut people up with chainsaws.” She looked around wildly at the sound of footsteps and shrank back when Wolfe burst through the trees.
Jenna gripped her arm. “It’s okay, he’s with me.”
“What was that crazy stunt?” Wolfe flicked his attention over Josiah’s body and then dropped to his knees beside her dragging off his backpack.
Only Wolfe could speak to her like that. He’d become like a big brother and never pulled his punches. Jenna shrugged. “I needed to draw his fire and get him out into the open. He was going to kill Ava. I had to do something.” She glanced at the body. “Ava said he called himself ‘Preacher.’ If I’d known that before, I’d have been convinced it was Axel Reed.”
“Well, it looks like you both had a hand in taking him down. Personally, I wouldn’t have waited until he drew down on me. The shooting was more than enough intent to kill.” Wolfe cut away a section of her pants and examined her leg. “Well, darn. A chunk of wood went straight through your flesh. It will sting some when I clean it. You’ll need to go to the ER to have the splinters removed, and they’ll give you antibiotics. I’m insisting this time, Jenna.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll go. Just do it. I’m starting to freeze my butt off.” She glanced up as Rowley pushed through the branches. “Rowley, this is Ava Price. Take her to my office, call Doc Brown to tend her injuries. Keep her warm. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Are you okay?” Rowley scanned her face. “A bullet?”
“Nope.” Wolfe looked at him. “A nice chunk of pine but she is going to the ER.”
Jenna smiled at him. “I’ll be fine.” She winced as Wolfe poured alcohol over her wound. “Ouch!”
It seemed forever before Kane walked to her position. When he crouched down beside her. She looked at him. “What took so long?”
“I called Carter to get Brock’s details. He was dishonorably discharged from the military, we can run his prints for a positive ID, we have them on file.” He looked at her. “You picked the sleeper, Jenna.” He gave her a slow smile. “With you and Jo profiling, I’ll soon be out of a job.”
“Never. I need you, Dave.” Jenna tried to ignore the pain in her leg. “I was thinking outside the box. I had two potential suspects and yes, Reed seemed to be the killer but I couldn’t dismiss Brock. Apart from being a long-haul trucker, Brock didn’t seem dangerous at all. He was polite and cooperative—too cooperative.” She sighed. “I wonder why he used the name, ‘Preacher’?”
“That I know. Once I had his name, Bobby Kalo dug up info about him in seconds.” Kane frowned. “It was a name given to him at school. In his yearbook under his photograph he is listed as most likely to become a minister. In later books, he’s listed as Josiah ‘Preacher’ Brock.”
She shook her head, finding it hard to believe the polite Josiah capable of so many murders. “This is the problem we face every time a murder happens in our town. Violent psychopaths blend in, they could be a neighbor or the friendly old man at the store, the woman cutting hair at the beauty parlor. They don’t look or act differently to anyone else. It seems the boogeyman comes in many flavors.”
“Yeah.” Kane stared into the dark forest. “And the moment we catch one, another comes along to take his place. I’m wondering more than ever if this town is cursed? I mean, look at Kim Strickland, who’d have thought an infatuation could’ve escalated into attempted murder?” He stared at her. “If we hadn’t gotten to you in time—”
“But you did. You always have my back. The town isn’t cursed, Dave.” Jenna shook her head. “It would be cursed if we allowed killers to roam the streets but we’ve brought down every one who dared to set foot on our turf. Like you said, we’re batting a thousand.” She smiled at Wolfe as he finished bandaging her leg and then turned her attention back to Kane. “I say, bring it on.”
Sixty-Two
Saturday, Week 2
After suffering through another painful night on Friday, Jenna decided to remain in her office for the day. The time after the shooting had been a blur. Kane had taken her to the ER where she’d spent a couple of hours having the splinters removed and the nasty puncture wound cleaned. According to the ER doctor, she’d had half the forest embedded in the wound. She never made it back to the office that day. Doc Brown had insisted Ava spend the night under observation, so the interview had to be held late on Friday.
When Jenna conducted the interview with Ava, the mystery around Josiah Brock came to light. The horrific tale of murder, kidnapping, drugs, escape, and capture had stunned everyone. Jenna had spoken to her alone but Kane, Wolfe, and Rowley had been watching along with Jo and Carter via a video link. It had been wonderful to have Jo whispering in her ear and guiding her through a very difficult interview. Jo’s knowledge of framing a question to take a person back in their mind to remember a certain event was impressive. She’d seen Kane work his magic on traumatized witnesses but this time, with Jo’s assistance, she’d taken the lead.
Ava revealed what Josiah told her about his past, and the way he’d been ridiculed and bullied throughout adolescence. The information had supplied a reason for his psychosis. This had been validated when Ava described his obsession with a girl named Delores and his need for her to smile and look at him. Jo had been correct: Delores Garcia, the high-school student found murdered and buried in a shallow grave eighteen years ago, had been Josiah’s first victim and he’d regarded every victim since as a reenactment of her murder. The four-year gap between her murder and the next one fitted perfectly with his tour of duty. When Jenna discovered he’d been dishonorably discharged for attacking a female officer, everything fell into place. He was almost a textbook case. An already psychotic child, submitted to endless abuse during adolescence became the killer of his tormentor and each time he met anyone who resembled Delores, the need to killed became uncontrollable. Having the FBI at hand had been invaluable. Delores Garcia’s cold case file had been reopened. Now with fresh evidence and DNA samples, the case would be laid to rest.