Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(48)
She blinked a few times then cleared her throat. “So, I’ll be losing you as a deputy?”
“No, I’ll only be handling the suspicious deaths, so hopefully it won’t interfere with my work too much.” Wolfe’s pale gaze moved over her face. “That is as long as you are okay with having in-house forensic investigations? I hope you agree. It means we can solve crimes faster.”
“Yes, of course. I value your expertise and thank you for offering your services.” She blinked. “Who is paying you? I can’t imagine the mayor will offer any extra funding.”
“All taken care of, ma’am. The letter I received from the mayor’s office said Blackwater has offered funding to use my services as well and I’ll have a full-time medical laboratory technician as an assistant to run the business side of things.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve already been offered a suitable place. On the street behind the sheriff’s office, there is an empty meat-packing plant. Mayor Petersham is going to push through town planning to have the building refurbished to suit our needs.”
All that and he’s only been here a couple of days. Astonished, she waved her hand absently toward the pool entrance. “Well then, get to work.”
When he gave her a curt nod and headed back toward Kate’s mutilated body, she went to the back of the ambulance and stood at the open doors. The two paramedics glanced at her with pale, drawn expressions, and Chad sat in the back, his hands wrapped around a bottle of water, tears streaming down his face.
She cleared her throat. “Do you want to call your parents?”
“And have my mom see Kate like that?” Chad dashed a hand over his swollen eyes. “She will be hysterical. Can you drop me off at home?”
“I should really call your parents. I’ll speak to your dad if you prefer, and he won’t be going anywhere near the pool, I can assure you. First, I need you to answer a few questions.” She laid one hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I need your help to find out who did this to Kate. How come you are here?”
“We planned to meet outside the gym at eight thirty.” Chad took a sip of the water and his dark brown eyes rested on her face. “It was going to be six thirty then she changed the time. I got here about eight twenty and found the main gate locked, so I went through the woods and came out halfway up the driveway.” He met her gaze. “Everyone cuts through the woods. If you look, you’ll see the path, although you don’t have to use it to get past the gate.” He pulled a tissue out of his jeans pocket and blew his nose. “When she didn’t show, I called her cellphone. I heard the ringtone she uses for me and thought she must be close by but some guy answered. I thought it might be her dad. I asked to speak to her and he told me she was waiting for me by the pool. I was worried then because her dad didn’t know we were meeting in secret and if he was with her I would be in deep shit.” He swiped at the end of his nose. “I found her, and when I couldn’t open the padlock, I called you. The combination has been changed so I don’t know how Kate got into the pool area.”
Jenna frowned. “How did you know the combination to the lock?”
“Everyone does. It used to be one, two, three, four.” His mouth turned down. “The janitor must have changed it recently.”
I’ll need to speak to the janitor. She made a few notes then looked at him. “You said you thought Kate’s dad answered her phone. Did you recognize his voice? Does her father have an accent or anything that might distinguish him from anyone else?”
“I guess it could have been him but men around here sound much the same, most times. I mean he didn’t have a Boston accent or anything. It sounded like her dad, a deep voice with a normal accent.”
“What’s Kate’s cellphone number? I’ll call and see if he answers.”
Jenna jotted the digits down in her notebook then took out her cellphone and called the number. She received the “this number is out of service” message and disconnected. She chewed on her bottom lip, weighing up what to ask him next. “You didn’t see anyone here at all, is that correct? Or on the way here, any cars, anyone at all?”
“No one, like I said before.”
“Okay, how many people knew you had a date with Kate this evening?” She did not want to push him too hard. He was shaking so much he might go into shock. “Anyone you can think of at all?”
“I doubt anyone knew she had messaged me online to change the time. Unless she told Aimee. Aimee and Lucas both knew we made the date for six thirty. They knew she had to sneak out too so I don’t think they would blab it all around town, especially as you warned us all to stay home and not go out alone.”
“Do you know where Lucas is tonight?”
“Yeah, at home. I was playing games with him online from six until I left to come here, then I chatted to him on the phone on the walk here. His dad called him to do some chores just before I reached the gate.” He looked stricken. “Holy shit, Lucas had nothing to do with this.”
“I’m sure he didn’t but I have to check the whereabouts of everyone she knows, it’s normal procedure.”
Jenna made a few notes then took down his parents’ number. She walked some distance away and called his father. Not giving any details, she asked him to come and pick up his son alone. She would explain Kate’s murder when he arrived, and insist he not discuss the homicide with the media.