Chapter 43
Forty-Three
“Dadeeeee, Dadeeeee.”
Kane stood and bolted out the door of Wolfe’s office as Jackson came running toward him, tears streaming down his face.
Behind him his nanny, Raya, followed with Emily close behind.
He swung his little boy into his arms, holding him close and rubbing his back.
“I’m here. Mommy’s here. What’s wrong? Is your ear sore again? ”
“What happened?” Jenna looked at Raya. “Did he fall?”
“Badeeee man took Daddy away.” Jackson pointed upward. “I see’d him.” He clung to Kane’s neck.
“Is everything okay?” Emily looked stricken.
Kane nodded. “I think so.”
“He woke when the chopper was leaving and saw you climbing inside.” Raya moved to Jenna’s side.
“I’m afraid yesterday Tauri was talking about the time the cartel kidnapped him and took him in the chopper.
I honestly didn’t think Jackson had heard him, and you did say it’s good for Tauri to discuss the incident, so I didn’t stop him.
” She sighed. “Jackson has been hysterical since and I couldn’t settle him, so I decided the best thing to do was to bring him here so he can see you’re okay.
I’ll be collecting Tauri from school in half an hour, so you’ll have plenty of time to settle him. ”
“What’s up?” Carter poked his head around the door. “What’s wrong, little man?”
“No liddle man.” Jackson pointed to his chest. “Jackson. You silly, Uncle Ty.”
Kane explained, glad to see Carter’s arrival had soothed his son and then looked at Jackson. “Is Uncle Ty a baddie man?”
“No.” Jackson rubbed his eyes. “He silly.”
Nodding, Kane turned Jackson toward Carter. “It’s Uncle Ty’s chopper. He was giving us a ride, just like Uncle Shane does. Bad men can’t get onto the ranch in choppers anymore. I fixed it. You don’t need to worry about that ever again. You’re safe, Tauri. Mommy, Daddy, and Nanny Raya are safe.”
“Promise?” Jackson held up his pinky and Jenna linked hers.
“Promise.” Jenna took Jackson from Kane and cuddled him. She looked at Kane. “Maybe I should go home with him?”
“You wouldn’t want to set a precedent.” Wolfe leaned on the doorframe and raised both eyebrows. “How are you, Jackson?”
“Good.” Jackson high-fived Wolfe and leaned into Jenna and peered at him through his fingers. “No shots.”
“No shots.” Wolfe shook his head and went back into the office.
“Let’s go and see the dogs.” Jenna followed Wolfe into his office. “Nanny Raya is going to get Tauri and then you can go home.”
“Mommy working?” Jackson ran his chubby fingers across her sheriff’s badge.
“Yes, we’re all working today.” Jenna pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped his nose. “But I always have time to give you a cuddle.”
A lump formed in Kane’s throat as he heard one little shuddering sob from his son.
Guilty that he’d been the cause of so much anguish, he leaned against the wall watching Raya leave.
They’d sheltered him and Tauri from any talk about their work.
Tauri had suffered nightmares over a long time after his kidnapping.
Choppers still made him uneasy, but as time went by and he knew the pilots, things were getting a little easier for him.
Kane hadn’t anticipated that hearing Tauri’s story would have made such an impact on Jackson.
In the back of his mind, he figured that as his son knew Carter, Styles, Raven, and Wolfe, all of whom arrived in choppers at one time or another, things would be different.
He ran a hand down his face. Working out and keeping combat-ready hadn’t prepared him for seeing his son so distraught for his well-being—it had torn out his heart.
Being a father sure took a different type of strength.
He went back into the office and looked at Jackson with his arms wrapped around Duke.
He smiled at him. “When Nanny Raya comes back with Tauri, would you like to take Duke home with you? Mommy and Daddy have a few things to do, and then Uncle Ty is going to fly us back home in his chopper. Is that okay?”
“Okay.” Jackson held up his arms to Kane.
Resting Jackson on his hip, Kane went to the counter and took out Wolfe’s cookie jar. “I’m sure Uncle Shane won’t mind if you have a cookie.”
“Yummy.” Jackson took a cookie and buried his head in Kane’s shoulder. “Tank you, Daddy.”
Moments later, Raven arrived.
“I’ve removed all the decals from my truck.” Raven smiled at everyone. “What’s the plan?”
Kane kissed Jackson on the cheek and handed him to Jenna. “We need a ride to the office. I’ll explain on the way.” He ruffled his son’s hair. “I’ll see you soon.”
He gave Raven a rundown of everything that had happened earlier.
In no time, they had kitted themselves out, gathered all the necessary equipment they needed, and using the coordinates that Beth had supplied, headed into the forest. There was no one around, and with four experienced people attaching the cameras, the job was done without delay.
Before climbing down from a tall pine, Kane scanned the fire road.
There was no sign of any movement whatsoever.
He climbed down and met the others in the forest. “We’re not far from the cabin.
I’d like to take a look. I want to make sure the perp hasn’t taken a victim there to be murdered. ”
They all agreed, and using the coordinates Beth had given them, he led the way along the path to the cabin.
As they got closer, the familiar smell of death wafted toward them.
Kane stopped walking and, keeping his voice just above a whisper, turned to the others.
“That smells like we might be too late.”
“Is this a hunting area?” Styles wrinkled his nose. “That smells like a gut pile to me.”
“Nope.” Raven looked both ways, scanning the forest. “This area is for recreation, swimming, and fishing.”
Nodding, Kane turned slowly. “Spread out and circle the cabin. Watch your backs.”
They moved out slowly, gliding through the forests like shadows.
Kane edged his way toward the cabin, constantly scanning the area.
The pungent smell had seeped through the bandana he’d tied around his mouth and crawled up his nose.
In his peripheral vision he made out Carter and Styles and signaled to them that he was going in.
Treading with care to keep his approach silent, he moved to one side of the window beside the back door and turkey-peeked around the frame.
The scene inside hadn’t changed from the photographs that Beth had taken earlier.
No one was inside. Using hand gestures, he waved the men away and followed, using the shadows of the trees as cover.
He noticed Raven pointing to something in the forest. They all increased their speed toward him, slowing as what he’d discovered became evident.
Death was always nasty but nothing prepared Kane for carnage.
He stared at the body spread out on the ground.
Wildlife had eaten most of the soft parts, leaving a gaping red hole where the man’s stomach should have been.
Flesh and intestines spilled onto the forest floor and flies rose in a black cloud as they drew closer.
The face was untouched. It was difficult to see if this was a murder or an animal attack. He looked at Raven. “Bear?”
“I doubt it. From the look of the body, he wasn’t attacked by an animal.
” Raven bent closer. “There’re no defensive wounds and this man is carrying a knife.
He’d have drawn it if something had attacked him.
Cats usually go for the neck, but I figure whatever did this made a meal out of him once he was down.
I’m not seeing advanced decomposition, and surely Beth would have mentioned it if she’d smelled anything while she was here.
Whatever happened to this man happened after she left. ”
“It’s a homicide.” Carter pulled a pair of examination gloves from his jacket pocket and pulled them on. “I figure you need to take a few images of this.” He pointed to something close by. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s a tarot card.”
Rubbing his chin, Kane stared at the card. How did he know—when we didn’t know?
“This isn’t the guy from the cabin. This one is older.
” Styles scrolled through his phone, searching the images.
“He’s wearing different clothes and boots.
I don’t see a cowboy hat anywhere around.
I figure this is Wade Cutter.” He held out his phone.
“See, in the AI pictures Beth created from the ones she discovered from twenty years ago, he looks just the same. How did the Tarot Killer find him? And how did he get here before us?”
“How does he know anything?” Carter waited for Kane to take a photograph of the tarot card in situ and then carefully slid it into the evidence bag Raven had produced from his pocket.
Constantly on guard, Kane meticulously took photos of the corpse and everything in the area.
He captured it on video as well, moving very slowly to encompass a wide area.
“We can’t call Wolfe. It will blow our case.
If the killer sees a forensics team wandering around, he’ll run for the hills.
We can’t leave the body here either.” He turned to Raven.
“You wouldn’t by any chance have a body bag in the back of your truck, would you? ”
“I never leave home without one.” Raven turned away and headed back through the forest.
“I’ve searched the area all around the body.
” Carter shook his head slowly. “There are a few broken branches and some of the underbrush has been disturbed. There was a struggle, but someone has gone through and meticulously removed any evidence. When I bent down near to the body I could smell bleach. It wasn’t enough to prevent the animals.
They tend to dig into a corpse, to find the fresh meat underneath.
This is why they didn’t touch the rest of him. ”
“I’m sure gonna let Beth know how close she came to being this guy’s next victim.
” Styles shook his head. “I figured at last she’d settled down and stopped doing these crazy things.
I often wonder if she has a death wish. Dammit, she came this close to coming face-to-face with the Tarot Killer.
” He held his thumb and finger an inch apart.
“You do know she would have tried to bring him in? That’s Beth.
She reminds me of a K-9—and I’m not being disrespectful.
I mean the way she singles out her prey and doesn’t give up until she’s caught it. ”
They all gloved up and, when Raven returned, maneuvered the body of Wade Cutter into the body bag and were soon on their way back into town. When he called to give Jenna the update, she had the phone on speaker.
“Okay, we’ll discuss this when you get back.” Jenna cleared her throat. “Wolfe wants a word.”
“You moved the body in a homicide?” Wolfe’s agitated voice came through the speaker. “Did y’all collect any evidence from the scene?”
Kane winced. “I grabbed a few handfuls of soil and captured the scene. We needed to be out of there fast, in case the second perpetrator arrived. It’s best he doesn’t know that we have discovered his kill room.
Right now, if anyone walked into the cabin, we have absolutely nothing to link him to any of the murders.
He could say he’s been using this cabin for years for fishing.
Apart from the chair being attached to the floor, there’s nothing in there I could say was used to murder Marie Reyes.
” He sighed. “In fact, I know that to be the case because Beth witnessed the other guy purchasing it from the convenience store just hours ago. We’ll have trackers on anyone leaving the ranch in one of Lawson’s trucks and we’ll catch him.
Trust me, Shane, this was the best outcome.
I had two choices: Leave the body for the wildlife or bring it with us intact.
I chose the latter. We’re ten minutes out. I’ll talk later.” He disconnected.
“That’s Wolfe—by the book.” Carter leaned back in his seat frowning. “I’m sure glad the Tarot Killer only takes out the bad guys. We were sitting ducks out there and that guy is a frickin’ ghost.”