Chapter 8
Eight
Jenna had two hours before Emily had decided to begin the autopsies.
They’d all eaten a very nice but late lunch that would probably see her through to breakfast. Of late, she had no appetite at all, but it returned the moment she walked into Aunt Betty’s Café.
They enjoyed a relaxing break and chatted about everything apart from the case, but Jenna couldn’t push it from her mind.
When she returned to the office, she went to speak with Rio and Rowley.
She’d left them trying to match suspects with the crime.
She rolled her eyes as she walked toward them.
If one of her criteria was that the person would normally have an ax, that covered the majority of the adult men or women living in her county.
They all needed to think outside of the box for this homicide.
As she reached their desks, she paused a beat for them to look up at her. “Do you have anything for me?”
“The list of the victims’ friends that you uploaded to the server has been quite useful.
” Rowley leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his fingertips.
“Avril and Hank had been seeing each other for three years. They were best friends since they attended grade school. Hank was a talented hockey player and Avril enjoyed ice skating. Their friends paint a really good picture of them. They were well liked and didn’t have any enemies.
The last time they were all together was at the pizzeria last Thursday evening when they discussed the best spots around town.
” He shook his head slowly. “As in, lovers’ lanes. ”
Jenna blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, Rowley, I do understand the term—make-out spots.” She sighed. “Did you get a list? It might come in useful if this maniac strikes again.”
“I didn’t make a list, but I can if you want me to.” Rowley bit back a yawn and went to work. “I’ll upload it in a short while.”
Turning her attention to Rio, Jenna rubbed at the ache in the back of her neck. “Did they come into contact with anyone unusual over the last two weeks or so?”
“One thing that came to the parents’ attention was last weekend after a hockey match: Avril complained about a guy hitting on her when she was watching the game.
” Rio scratched his head and then smoothed down his hair.
“She told Hank about it and there was a heated argument between him and the guy in the parking lot after the game. Apparently, the man, who Avril described as a creep in his thirties, pestered her during the game and then followed her out to the parking lot, where Hank was waiting for her.”
Jenna chewed on her pen thinking. “Hmm, rejection can trigger psychopaths. Did Avril have any of her friends with her? They might be able to identify the guy who was hitting on her.”
“Unfortunately, no.” Rio’s mouth turned down.
“Her friends were all at a bridal shower. Most times they’d be with her along with their boyfriends.
As you would expect, the boys were at the bachelor party.
” He sighed. “That’s about all I could find.
They went to school and hung out together most times.
They didn’t notice anyone unusual, and their parents haven’t had anyone visiting the house either. We’ve got zip.”
After checking her watch, Jenna nodded. “Okay. I’m heading over to the autopsy at six-thirty. I need to talk to my boys and explain why I’m going to be home late. You should head home. Maggie will lock up when I leave.”
She headed back to her office and spent ten minutes chatting with Jackson and Tauri.
She had a short conversation with Raya, saying she’d be home as soon as Emily had completed the autopsies.
The moment she disconnected, the desk phone rang.
She picked it up. “Sheriff Alton.” Heavy breathing and the sound of an engine revving came through the earpiece. “Hello?”
“My name is Jasmin Web and I’m with my friend Diane Dell’Aquila.
We were driving along Maple, coming home from Bison Ridge, and we saw a young girl wearing a long white nightgown covered in blood.
We stopped to follow her, but then she vanished into the mist. We got scared and took off, but I thought we should report it. ”
Rubbing her jaw muscle after grinding her teeth all day, Jenna stared into space.
She’d read about the phenomenon where many people saw a young girl walking along the road covered in blood, and when they went to investigate, she vanished.
It was a local Halloween ghost story. “Do you have a dashcam or did anyone take a photograph with their phone?”
“No, we were too busy getting away from there.” Jasmin sounded shaken.
“We did see her. We both saw her as clear as day. I figure she was trying to lure us into the forest, you know, like the story of the girl who leads people to their deaths over Halloween. I’ve never believed it was true—but now I’m not so sure.
You see, one second she was there as plain as day and the next second she vanished.
There was no way I was going there after dark. ”
Jenna checked her watch again. “So, you’ll be close to town now?”
“Yeah, we’re just turning onto Main now.”
Standing, Jenna slid her things into the desk drawer. “I’d like you to come into my office and give your statement to Maggie at the counter. It won’t take very long. In the meantime, I’ll drive down and have a look. Just exactly where did you see this apparition?”
“On the west side of the third bridge over Maple. Maybe three hundred yards from the bridge, heading east.” Jasmin took a deep breath. “Is that right, Diane?”
“No, I think it was farther back.” Diane cleared her throat.
“She was walking along the edge of the forest, but we didn’t get close enough to see her properly.
She kind of glowed and you could see she had red marks all over her nightgown.
She looked right at us, but then she turned and walked into the forest. We stopped to see if she needed a ride but she just walked away.
We could see her between the trees for a little while and then she just vanished.
We were too frightened to get out and take a look. ”
Nodding to herself, Jenna sighed. “Okay, come in and give as much information as you can. Maggie will help you.” She disconnected, picked up her phone, and called Emily.
“I’m not going to be able to make it. I need to go out on a call.
It’s likely a hoax.” She explained. “Raven can act as my proxy. If you could upload the findings when you can, I’ll take a look at them. ” She disconnected.
After pulling on her coat, checking her weapon, and explaining to Maggie about the call, she headed to her patrol vehicle.
Mist had already crept onto Main and water vapor covered her vehicle, fogging the windows.
The Beast, Kane’s tricked-out black truck, was in the garage at home.
It would be the safer ride, but she didn’t enjoy driving it very much.
She went to the truck and took out a microfiber cloth and wiped the windows.
If there was something out there, she wanted to get a good look at it.
A vehicle pulled into a space outside her office and two women climbed out, gave her a wave, and hurried inside.
Jenna shook her head. Had the women told the truth or was there a ghost haunting Stanton Forest?
She shrugged and slid behind the wheel. “Maybe I need to call in ghost hunters.”