Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
A warm glow surrounded Jenna’s heart as she disconnected her call from Raya.
She always called around lunchtime to see if the boys were okay and usually got to speak to Jackson before he went down for his nap.
FaceTime calls were important and made leaving the boys at home bearable.
Their good friend, Atohi Blackhawk, had just arrived to visit.
Blackhawk had once been Tauri’s guardian, and it was because of their friendship that Jenna and Kane had been able to adopt Tauri.
His assistance in teaching her son about his Native American culture had been invaluable.
Between him and Kane, they had taught Tauri his native tongue and made sure that his visits to the reservation were frequent.
Jenna enjoyed visiting their extended family but Blackhawk had surprised her by arriving after the blizzard.
The backroads were treacherous at this time of the year but her friend had organized an interesting afternoon for Tauri, which would give Raya a break.
She sighed and hurried back to the conference room.
“Sean Jones, the gardener who works for the local council, is on vacation at the moment.” Beth glanced up from her laptop.
“I checked out his name against different traveling companies, airports, and bus stations and it looks like he spends his vacation time at home. With no commitments, this would give him ample time to commit the murders.” She scrolled down her page.
“Interesting. He lives at number seven on Fern, which is adjacent to Pine. All these roads are cleared by the snowplow regularly as they all run onto Stanton.”
Jenna sat at the long desk. “Great, so we can see him this afternoon.”
“I’ve found Ethan Rourke.” Kalo popped his head up from behind his laptop screen.
“It’s difficult to locate him as he’s a subcontractor, so I gave him a call to ask him about installing a security system.
He said he was flat out at the moment installing a new computer system for the Cattleman’s Hotel.
He asked me to ring back in two weeks or he could give me a number of people to call. He seemed an okay guy, very helpful.”
Making quick notes, Jenna nodded. “Two down.”
“I found Dr. Lionel Graves.” Jo stared at her tablet. “He lives on Maple, number seventy-six. I would assume he is at home as I can’t find any type of employment, only disability.”
Surprised everyone had made such progress, Jenna took a note of the details. “I’m a little concerned about Graves. From the reports, he sounds a little strange. I don’t figure we should go there without backup. Maybe we should leave this one to Rio and Rowley this afternoon?”
“I have another one.” Beth peered at her around the side of her screen.
“Caleb Dorsey, the school janitor. His vacation doesn’t begin until just before Christmas, so at this time of day he should still be at the school.
I cross-checked the list of people at the school for around the time that Ellie McBride was murdered and he would have been there.
As he has access to all areas of the school, he would have had ample opportunity to write on the whiteboard, plant the purse, and be there when Ellie came to collect it.
” She waved a hand toward the whiteboard.
“The only problem I can see is that none of these men own a silver- or blue-colored SUV of the type or description that we’ve been given.
I checked four members of their families as well and came up with a big fat zero.
” She met Jenna’s gaze. “We could be wrong about all of them. The vehicle is a crucial part of the evidence surrounding Ellie McBride’s kidnapping. ”
“All these people meet the criteria.” Kalo raised his eyebrows and gestured with his hands.
“People, especially criminals, obtain vehicles from anywhere so, if you’re trying to hinge the case on using this one vehicle, you’re making a mistake.
The CCTV footage of the suspected vehicle isn’t very clear.
We assume it is an SUV, but it could be a number of brands and we have no idea what age, so we’re flying blind.
I figure if you forget that vehicle for the moment and listen to the algorithms, these four suspects are your best choice. ”
“I agree.” Beth glanced at the office door as voices came from the hallway. “Good, it looks like the others have finished.” She looked at Jenna. “How do you want to split the team between these four suspects for interviews this afternoon?”
“Unfortunately, I’ll need to stay behind with Carter.” Styles strolled into the room. “We’ll be liaising with the DEA and the forensic teams that have come to assist with the takedown.”
The air seemed to crackle with anticipation as the deputies and agents filed back into the room.
They were looking forward to some action and the takedown of a fentanyl distributor had moved to the front of their minds right now, but she needed them out interviewing suspects without delay.
“First up, I want everyone out there interviewing suspects to wear coms and Kevlar vests. We don’t know which one of them is our killer—if any.
Call for backup the moment anything looks wrong.
We are all close by.” She glanced down at her list of assignments.
“Okay, Raven, I want you to go with Jo to hunt down and interview Sean Jones, the gardener who works for the local council. He should be at home at this time of the day and Jo will have his address.”
“Copy.” Raven grabbed his thick coat from the peg by the door and pulled it on. He motioned to his dog. “Ben, with me.”
“Let me change my shoes.” Jo hurried to push her feet into thick winter boots before dragging on her coat, hat, and gloves. “I’m ready.”
Jenna looked at Rowley. “I want you to man the office and organize any calls that come in on the hotline.” She smiled.
“I’ll also need you to grab the supplies for the team going out tonight.
You know what everyone needs. Maybe check the rifles and make sure there’s ammunition available for everyone. ”
He nodded and took his things from the desk before heading downstairs. She turned to Rio. “Rio, I want you and Beth to handle Ethan Rourke, the IT specialist. If he is a person of interest and using technology to bypass some of the security systems, Beth will know.”
“That leaves us, and two suspects to interview.” Kane rested one hip on the edge of the desk. “Give me a rundown on the men that we’re going to speak to.”
Jenna glanced down at her tablet. “Caleb Dorsey is the school janitor. He was on the premises during the time that Ellie McBride died, and at the same time as the messages appeared. His winter vacation hasn’t begun yet, so he should be at the school.
As we discussed this morning, he’s recently divorced, known to be in the building after hours, and has a minor criminal record for trespassing.
He also has a history of mental illness, but I’m assuming that he’s on top of that or he wouldn’t have been able to get the job in the school.
” She sighed. “The other one is Dr. Lionel Graves. He is an oddball and they can’t find anything specific about him to tie him in with the murders.
He was once the local psychologist and has been a school counselor, so he knows his way around the schools and likely the Department of Social Services. ”
“Why did you specifically select these two suspects for us to interview?” Kane stood slowly and went to fill two to-go cups with coffee.
Jenna grabbed her coat. “They are both in close proximity to each other, and from the reports, a little unhinged. I figured we could handle them.”
“I like it best when you delegate and we get to stay in the office in the warm.” Kane peered out of the window.
Jenna went to stand beside him and watch the snowflakes falling slowly.
A brilliant white vista spread out in front of them.
The pine forest climbed in an uneven moonscape of snow leading up to black mountains with whitecaps that spread almost all the way down to meet the forest. A single snowplow chugged by, a stream of vehicles following behind.
She glanced at him. “We’re in luck, the snowplow has just gone through and we should be able to get to our destinations without delay. ”
“Do you want to go out in the snow, Duke?” Kane peered into the basket and Duke opened one eye and then buried his head. “I figure the answer is no. He probably had his fill of the cold when he went out with Maggie. He knows to go down to the counter if he wants to go outside for a while.”
Jenna chuckled. “I wish I had the option of snuggling under a blanket for the rest of the day. It seems to me that Duke has the best of both worlds.”