Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
“You wanted to see me?” Jenna looked from one woman to the other and then indicated to Kane. “You’d know Deputy Kane.”
“Yes.” The first woman glanced at Kane and then moved her attention back to Jenna.
“I’m Tonie Pacey and this is my friend Rose Potter.
Our daughters attend the local grade school and it’s come to our attention that an old white pickup is hanging around the school.
We noticed it a few days ago, and then last night it was cruising up and down as we picked up the kids.
It was as if he was looking for someone.
” She looked from Jenna to Kane and back again.
“On the news you mentioned that if we saw anything we thought suspicious, we should come in and report it or call the hotline.”
Jenna nodded and took out a pen and notebook from her pocket. “Can you give me the approximate times that you saw this man?”
“This is what makes it unusual.” Tonie frowned. “We watched him and he didn’t drop off or collect anyone. Those were the times we noticed him.”
Making quick notes, Jenna lifted her gaze back to the women. “Can you describe him at all?”
“I didn’t get to see him close up”—Rose pushed her hands into her pockets—“but I know trucks and this was an old square-body Chevy, white with Montana plates.”
“Did you get the number?” Kane looked interested.
“Yeah.” Tonie pulled out her phone. “I took photographs. They’re from a distance but the plate is clear. The tinted windows make it hard to see him, but when he drove by, all I could see was a cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes. It seemed so suspicious, we decided to come by.”
“Send them to me.” Kane gave her his number and waited for his phone to buzz and then checked it. “Got them. This is very important information.”
Nodding, Jenna smiled at them. “I’d like you both to make a statement, so we have all your details. Would you be willing to act as a witness if this man proves to be a problem?”
When both women nodded, she called Maggie and explained.
She turned back to the women. “Thank you so much for coming by. Now if you see this man again, make a note of the time and date for me, but don’t go anywhere near him.
We’ll have someone watching the school and we’ll know who he is in a few minutes.
I’ll also alert the school to make sure they have teachers watching the kids during breaks and pickup and dropoff times. ”
“Can’t you just arrest him?” Rose shook her head. “He’s up to no good.”
“We can’t arrest someone for driving up and down the road, but we’ll watch him and see what he’s doing.” Kane gave her a reassuring look. “We take your report very seriously and we’ll take steps right away to keep the kids safe. You have my word.”
Concerned that the truck matched the one Jenna had seen in the alleyway and the description given to Rio and Rowley yesterday could belong to the killer, she shuddered at the thought.
Where was he now and could he be hunting down kids for his next victim?
She turned back to the women. “We’ll get onto this right away.
I’ll leave you with Maggie.” She handed them her card. “Any problems give me a call.”
She turned and headed up the stairs with Kane on her heels.
They went into the conference room and she stared at Carter, Jo, Raven, and Kalo.
“We have images and a plate of a guy hanging around the grade school. We’ll find out who he is and check him out.
” She went on to explain about the truck sightings. “He might be our killer.”
“Give me the number.” Kalo opened his laptop. “I’ll have his name and what he ate for breakfast in a few minutes.”
Jenna’s phone chimed and she looked at the caller ID. “It’s Rio. I’ll put him on speaker. Hi, Rio, what have you got for me?”
They all listened in stunned silence as Rio brought them up to date.
Horrified, Jenna glanced at Kane. “Okay, stay where you are unless you’re in danger and then get the hell out of Dodge.
This guy is ruthless and kills without reason.
I’m guessing both the hunters were armed and he still got to them.
” She paused for a beat. “On second thought, meet us at the highway end of the fire road. I’m not taking any chances with this guy. We’re leaving now.”
“What about the guy at the school?” Kalo eyed them over his laptop screen. “I have him. His name is Caleb Durnell. He was arrested in Bozeman for assault on a minor three years ago. He has a business selling firewood here in town.”
“He hasn’t done anything here.” Kane narrowed his gaze. “I ran his name after we spoke to him.”
Concerned about Rowley and Rio, Jenna looked from one to the other in her team.
“I’m going to need everyone as backup.” She checked her watch.
“If we’re not done by the time school gets out, I’ll alert the school and then ask one of the Louan deputies to go and stand outside.
It will likely prevent Durnell kidnapping anyone. ”
“That might be showing our hand.” Jo tapped her pen against her legal pad and stared at Jenna.
“I figure keeping this guy under surveillance or even placing a tracker on his vehicle would be a better idea. What if I go and hang around the school? I can check him out if he shows. I can also watch for any stragglers. It’s usually the kids walking home or the ones that trail behind a group who are targeted. ”
Knowing Jo’s expertise, she couldn’t refuse. “You might need more than one person. What if you see more kids alone?”
“It’s not a perfect plan, Jenna, but it’s better than no plan at all.” Jo leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I’m really no use to you at a crime scene. That’s Carter’s expertise.”
“I’ll go with Jo.” Kalo closed his laptop. “I know Raya and she’ll be there collecting Tauri. It gives me an excuse if I’m questioned about loitering outside a school.” He gave Jo a side-eye. “She won’t even be noticed. She’ll blend in with all the other moms.”
Rubbing her temple to stave off a headache, Jenna nodded. “Thanks, that would be a great help.” She turned to Carter. “Would you mind riding with Raven? Jo can take my truck, but maybe park some ways away and go in on foot?”
“We can do that.” Jo smiled and closed her notebook.
“Okay by me.” Carter stood and clicked his fingers for Zorro to follow him. “I’ll grab my vest from the truck before we leave. If that is a hunting area, I want to be seen.”
Jenna glanced at Kane. “I’ll call Wolfe. Can you fill the Thermoses? It’s going to be a long day.”
“I’ll do that.” Jo stood and went to the counter. “Carter, before you go grab a box of energy bars…” She opened a closet and pulled out a box and handed it to him. “Stay safe out there.”
“I always do.” Carter smiled at her and followed Raven out of the door.
Minutes later Jenna and Kane drove along Main and onto Stanton. Jenna’s phone chimed and Rhett’s voice came through the Bluetooth screen on the dashboard. “Hi, Rhett, how are things going with Jill?”
“She is in seeing the doctor with Emily.” The sounds of the hospital surrounded Rhett.
“Before we left, I ran Jill’s and her sister’s names through the files.
Her bus ticket tells us she came from Missoula, but I found zip in the files.
I spread the search throughout Montana. Placing a child in foster care takes a court order, and so far, I’ve found no record of Jill or her sister.
” He cleared his throat. “We can keep her for forty-eight hours and then we’re going for an emergency court hearing.
I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve contacted Beth Katz.
She’ll be searching all states. This is very unusual and flags something more sinister. ”
Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Jenna understood clearly what he had implied.
“Yes, well, she’ll need to search for missing kids as well.
Jill doesn’t have any idea what happened to her parents apart from the fact that they just didn’t come home.
We could be talking about child abduction—or worse, child slavery.
You won’t need to worry about finding her a place to stay.
Father Derry will make sure she is comfortable at Her Broken Wings.
We have a number of children staying there and I’m sure she’ll be happy until we can get her settled or find her parents. ”
“Yes, Father Derry arrived just before with a set of clean clothes for her. He is a very nice man and explained how the foundation runs. If this is a case of child abduction, Jill escaped and was returned by the local cop. This is something that needs to be investigated. How does this work with jurisdiction?”
Jenna exchanged a look with Kane. “Well, it’s my case, so I’ll be in the loop.
I can’t go barging into another county and start throwing my weight around, but the FBI can.
Jill mentioned the cops and not the sheriff, so if needs be, I can contact the local sheriff and be deputized as a special officer.
This works if the local sheriff is happy to work my case alongside me.
If there’s a hint of corruption in the local police, I’d say he’d been right on them. ”
“So we might be talking about a dirty cop?” Rhett sucked in a deep breath. “That will take some time to unravel.”
Scratching her cheek thinking, Jenna stared at Rhett’s name displayed on the screen.
“Yeah, but it can be done, if it’s planned right.
Our first priority is making sure Jill is safe and protected.
We’ll keep searching for her sister. You know Beth and Styles and will be in good hands; this is in their wheelhouse.
The moment I can wrap up this case, I’ll put all my resources into the investigation.
If there’s a dirty cop and a group of people abducting or trading kids, we’ll bring them down. ”
“That’s good to know.” Rhett let his breath out in a long sigh. “Don’t worry about Jill. She’s very safe and working alongside Agents Katz and Styles. I’ll be able to gather as much information as possible about her previous situation. Ah, there’s Julie now. I’ll catch you later.” He disconnected.
Jenna leaned back in her seat. She’d worked very hard to remove child predators from her county, but they were like cockroaches. Where she found one, a whole nest of them would be close by.