Chapter 1
One
Monday
Pulling his mind away from his thoughts, he concentrated on the young bitch named Socks, waiting for her next command.
He wiggled his fingers, and she moved forward, checked the perimeter, and then came back to sit beside him.
A few seconds later, her hackles rose and she growled a warning.
He clipped on her leash as he turned to scan the surrounding forest and then he heard hoofbeats coming in hot.
After giving Socks a treat and walking her to her pen, he slipped inside the back door and strapped on his sidearm.
In the forest, anything could happen. Moments later he stood on the front porch with Ben at his side, with his rifle leaning against the wall in plain sight.
The low rumble from his trusted companion meant trouble was on the way.
Two horses came galloping along the trail and skidded to a halt in his driveway. Two women jumped down and ran toward him, distraught and talking at the same time. Raven held up his hands. “Okay, I want you to take some long deep breaths.”
He waited, taking in the overall appearance of the women.
Their faces were sheet white and their eyes flicked around as if someone had chased them.
“Maybe you should come inside.” He stood to one side and ushered them into the family room.
Placing Ben on guard at the door, he turned to the two women.
“Sit down and I’ll get you some water and then maybe you can tell me what’s going on? ”
He retrieved two bottles of water from the kitchen and returned to the family room.
“Okay, what’s happened?” The women gaped at him, eyes wide and trembling.
He sat opposite them, leaning forward with his hands clasped between his knees.
“It seems to me you’ve had a shock. How about we start with something easy. What are your names?”
“I’m Barbara Stamper.” The first woman sipped the water, but her gaze fixed on the front door as if she expected someone to come crashing through at any second.
The other woman shuddered and moved her gaze to him. Raven smiled at her. “I recognize you. You work with authors—right? Zooloo’s Book Tours? I’ve read your reviews.”
“Yeah, that’s me. I’m Zoé O’Farrell.” She visibly tried to gather herself. “We were taking a trail ride in the forest. We usually head out early in the morning. We always ride the fire roads, but we heard music and noticed a murder of crows in the pine trees.”
“I was concerned someone might have been injured or attacked at night by a bear.” Barbara moved her gaze to him.
“So, we rode deeper into the forest and found a trail that looped all the way around to another fire road. There were soda cans and beer bottles all over, so we figured it must be a popular place with the high school or college kids. We followed the music and found a truck with its door wide open and the radio blaring inside but—” Her voice faltered and she swallowed hard.
“On the top of the truck—” She shook her head, pushed her fist against her mouth, and shook all over.
“We saw two bloody heads and the forest smelled of death.” Zoé looked at him with blank eyes. “It’s the story of the Axman all over again. Everyone says he’s a myth, but we saw what he did with our own two eyes. You need to stop him before he kills someone else.”
Raven ran a hand down his face. He’d lived in the forest for a long time now and had witnessed firsthand the pranks people set up over the Halloween week to make people believe in the myths and legends of the forest. The tale of the Axman, who hunted down couples making out in the forest and decapitated them, leaving their bloody heads on top of the vehicle, was one always told around campfires.
There were so many more myths attributed to Stanton Forest. Seeing unusual things and finding them out to be pranks had become usual at this time of the year.
The problem was that the best pranksters used pig’s blood, which stank, making everyone believe they’d found a dead body.
He nodded slowly. “Okay, if you take your horses over to the horse trough and secure them, we can jump in my truck and you can show me exactly where this happened.”
“You want us to go back there?” Zoé looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “What if he’s still hanging around?”
Raven stood and tapped his weapon. “I don’t figure a man brandishing an ax will be a problem against an M18 pistol.
Plus, I have Ben. He’s a military-trained K-9 and will go straight for the hand holding the weapon.
I need to find this vehicle and determine whether or not it’s a Halloween prank.
I can’t do that unless you cooperate. It’s a very big forest out there. ”
The women exchanged glances and he could see how terrified they were. “I’ll send Ben with you to tether the horses and I’ll call this in. He’ll alert you and me to anyone anywhere in the vicinity.” He held open the front door. “You’re safe with me, I promise.”
As they walked hesitantly outside, he gave Ben the order to accompany them and to be on guard.
He trusted his dog to keep them safe as he rushed around grabbing his kit.
A few minutes later he called Sheriff Jenna Alton.
“Jenna, I have two women who arrived on horseback in a very distressed condition, claiming they’ve found two severed heads on top of a truck in Stanton Forest alongside one of the fire roads.
It looks to me, from the description they gave, that it’s in a popular lovers’ lane.
I’m guessing someone has set up a Halloween prank, but I’m taking the two women with me and going to investigate. ”
“Make sure you take your satellite phone. The bars are not very good in that area. If there’s anything to worry about, I can be there in minutes.
” An engine roared, but it wasn’t the sound of her husband’s tricked-out black truck, affectionately named the Beast. “I’m heading into work. I’ll alert Rio. He’s at the office.”
Frowning, Raven cleared his throat. “Dave not back yet?”
“Nope. He didn’t have a timeframe. He’ll be back when he’s back.” Jenna let out a long sigh. “It’s all good. We can cope for a few more days unless the Axman has decided to pay us a visit.”
Raven frowned. He understood that her husband, Deputy Dave Kane, and the medical examiner, Dr. Shane Wolfe, often left at unspecified times to attend seminars or, in this case, took it into their heads to go fishing. “He never mentioned anything to me. It might be something I’d like to attend.”
“There are never any plans, and these things run all year round. If we get downtime, he grabs the chance to get away. We rarely take vacations, and he and Wolfe need time to unwind. It’s kinda like a tradition with them.
” The engine sound stopped and a car door opened. “I’m at the office. Keep me posted.”
He headed for the door. “I’ll send the coordinates the moment I get there.
” He disconnected and waved the women to his truck.
“I’ve alerted the sheriff. I’ll send her the coordinates the moment we get close, and if there’s a problem, she’ll be here in minutes.
” He opened the back door for Ben and turned to the women. “Okay, which way?”