Chapter 7
Seven
Trying not to show fear in front of Kane had exhausted Jenna.
She couldn’t allow him to be worried about her during any type of life-threatening mission.
She staggered into Wolfe’s office and made straight for the coffee machine.
The drive down the mountain in practically zero visibility had been a nightmare, although it had made her face her fears of driving in a storm in Kane’s pride and joy.
As Kane showered and dressed in his normal clothes, she pushed pods into Wolfe’s coffee machine and allowed it to do its magic.
Soon the aroma of fresh coffee filled the room and she handed Jo a cup.
“Zorro knows you and yet he completely ignored us when we came into the room. Is he always like that?”
“Yeah. When Carter isn’t around, he is.” Jo added cream and sugar to her cup.
“He’s been given an order to stay, so he goes into statue mode until Carter comes back and then he turns back into a dog.
He’s very friendly when you get to know him.
He likes you and Dave. He doesn’t wag his tail for many people.
He usually ignores them or growls and shows his teeth. ”
The door opened and Raven and Carter came in. Ben, Raven’s dog, went to him and leaned on his leg, his tail banging against the wall like a kettle drum.
Jenna smiled at them. “Coffee?”
“Sure.” Carter wiggled his fingers at Zorro and the dog came to him with his backside wagging and very pleased to see him.
“Good boy.” He gave him a treat from his pocket and rubbed his ears before dropping into a chair.
“Man, that was a flight I don’t want to repeat anytime soon.
” He held up his hand, his finger and thumb an inch apart.
“The lightning missed us by this much.” He shook his head.
“I figured Wolfe and Dave were goners when that tree exploded.” He wiped a hand down his face.
“I’m sure glad you were in the pilot’s seat.” Raven took a cup from Jenna and smiled. “I’ve never flown in conditions like that before. It was a crazy ride. That’s for darn sure.”
Shaking her head, Jenna looked from one to the other. “I would be trembling in my boots if I’d been up in that chopper. How come you guys just take it on the chin as if it’s nothing to worry about? Don’t you feel any fear whatsoever?”
“If I didn’t feel fear, I wouldn’t have the adrenaline pumping through my veins that keeps me edgy.
” Carter took a cup of coffee from Jo with a smile.
“I figure we use the fear to make us better. It’s like the flee-or-fight response, I guess.
Some use the fear to stand and fight; others use the fear to get the hell outta Dodge. ”
“Weren’t you just a little bit scared when you stood up to those roughnecks in town?
” Raven perched on the edge of the desk with one large hand curled around a cup.
He turned to Carter. “She had a bunch of guys who wanted to start something in the middle of town. They were college students and ranch hands. She just stood in the middle of them and spoke quietly for a time and they all looked shamed-faced and walked away.”
Jenna shrugged. “Yeah, I was a little scared, but if it had gotten out of hand, it would have taken me only a second or so to draw my weapon. None of them were armed. I told them that it would be better for them to walk away rather than be hauled into my office. I’d noticed you and Dave standing a few feet away and indicated that we wouldn’t have a problem marching them through town like convicts. ” She smiled. “It seemed to work.”
“Ah, there you all are.” Emily poked her head around the door.
“Dad wants to know if you want to stick around for the preliminary examination. Also, Raven, you’ve met the deceased before.
Can you give a positive ID?” She frowned.
“Her face looks okay but she’s banged up.
Dave is heading there now. The two of you will be enough for identification purposes. ”
“Yeah, I’ve met her.” Raven shook his head, his expression grim. “I’d like to know what happened to her.”
Jenna stood. “I’ve met her too and I agree we need to get to the bottom of this. If she was pushed, I want to know why. She was a very nice woman. I don’t figure she had any enemies.”
“If Jo agrees”—Carter swung his attention to Jo—“we’ll stay and help out.”
“I don’t plan on flying in this storm and Jaime is happy with her nanny. She is used to me being away for days at a time. I’ll call her the moment she gets home and explain.”
Standing, Jenna smiled at them. “Thanks. I appreciate your help.”
She led the way into the hallway and met Kane in the alcove, changing into scrubs. His hair was still wet from the shower and his nose red from the cold. She hugged him. “You look freezing.”
“I’m good since I got the hail from down the back of my shirt.
” He touched her cheek. “I’m fine. The retrieval went better than we expected and we were able to find her phone.
” He frowned and shook his head slowly. “Jan didn’t need to die like that.
It’s looking like murder but I can’t imagine who would want to harm her. ”
“I don’t have any doubt she was pushed.” Raven pulled scrubs over his head and looked at Jenna. “There was evidence of a struggle.” He turned to Kane. “Did she have any defensive wounds on her?”
“Not that I could see, but I’m sure when Wolfe does his preliminary examination, he’ll be able to make a determination.” Kane handed Jenna a pair of examination gloves and a mask. “She landed on her back in the rocks, so it’s not pretty.”
Nodding, Jenna followed Kane and Raven into the examination room with the red light flashing outside.
She steeled herself for the vision of someone she knew quite well badly damaged and lying on a gurney in the morgue, but the actual sight of seeing Jan’s broken and bruised body brought tears to her eyes.
She should be used to seeing murder victims by now, but in truth, the professional facade she put on only covered her true emotions.
She always held deep empathy for the victims, but falling apart didn’t catch their murderers.
What Wolfe had said to her when he arrived in Black Rock Falls and became the medical examiner always came to the front of her mind when her emotions threatened to overtake her during an autopsy.
He told her that he was there to represent the dead because they couldn’t speak for themselves.
He would learn their story and make sure it was heard by everyone who would listen.
She’d made that her creed as well. Determined to catch Jan’s killer, she stepped closer to the gurney as Wolfe proceeded with his examination.
As the sheriff of Black Rock Falls, she owed it to the townsfolk to keep them safe.
“Before we start.” Wolfe surveyed the faces in the room.
“The phone unlocked with facial recognition. I’ve removed all the protection for it so you can take it into evidence, but unfortunately the last few photographs and the video that was running when she fell show only the phone’s descent to the ground.
There is background noise of a scream but no visual evidence of anyone else being there. The phone blacks out on impact.”
Running a hand down her face, Jenna sighed. “That’s bad news, but I’ll send the footage to Kalo just in case he can get any other background noise.”
“Do you all concur that this woman is Jan Pierce from Black Rock Falls?” Wolfe looked from one to the other. “Is she the same woman you mentioned who attended the self-protection classes?”
Jenna nodded. “Yes, unfortunately, she is Jan Pierce. We found signs of a struggle at the edge of the trail and believe someone pushed her.”
“The first thing we need to look for is defensive wounds.” Wolfe gently lifted each arm and examined it closely. Then he checked the nails on each hand and opened the palms to reveal green marks. He looked at Emily. “Help me turn her over.”
The damage to the back of Jan’s head was extensive and Jenna glanced away, taking deep breaths through her nose to steady herself. She turned back as Wolfe examined the victim’s torso and legs.
“There is a distinctive bruise behind one knee and it is arc shaped. It resembles the heel of a boot. I’ll get some enhanced photographs of it.
Livor mortis isn’t pronounced and, due to the heavy blood loss from the head injury, not a good indication.
However, I don’t believe that she was moved after the fall.
When we discovered her body, her limbs were spread-eagled.
I will complete a series of X-rays and scans on the body but it is evident that she has two broken femurs, one broken ulna, and a broken clavicle on the left side.
These are consistent with falling from that height, as is the fractured skull.
From the evidence presented by Susie Hartwig in Aunt Betty’s Café, who gave an exact time she was last seen alive, and when you discovered the body, I will set those times as the perimeter for the time of death.
” He looked at Jenna. “I agree with y’all this is a homicide. ”