Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(68)
“Being a bit OCD about cleanliness—having to sift through the filth at the Rogers’ house was disgusting, especially when I found nothing to tie him to the murders.” Kane placed a holder with four cups of coffee on her desk and two takeout cartons. “I have food and coffee. I left Rowley at Aunt Betty’s to have something to eat. He plans on devouring the entire menu then he is going home before he takes the graveyard shift to watch our prisoner.”
“He’ll be fine.” She smiled at him and peered into a carton. “Yum. Bagels and cream cheese. I’ve been stuck in the control room watching Emily, just in case something happened to her while Wolfe was out. She is currently at Aimee Fox’s house and Wolfe is dropping by to pick her up on his way here. He’ll find out if she has any information then drop her home.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. I can’t help noticing Wolfe’s protectiveness. I take it he isn’t convinced Rogers is our man.”
A sliver of worry crawled in goosebumps up her arms. “What do you think?”
“I’d like to go over the timelines again with you because we have nothing to tie Rogers to the murders apart from circumstantial evidence.” Kane removed his hat and dropped it on the chair beside him then ruffled his tangled mass of black hair. “I’m not convinced he is our man but my gut tells me he is hiding something.”
She leaned back in her chair, fingers wrapped around her coffee, and sighed. “Apparently, he will talk to us later this afternoon. His lawyer is trying to get him released but so far our arrest warrant is holding.” Sighing, she sipped her beverage. “The story of the murders will hit the news this evening. All I said in the statement was we found the bodies. I asked for anyone in the locations who had seen the girls or noticed any person or car in the area at the time to contact our office. No other details.”
“Let’s hope we don’t get a heap of crazies calling.” Kane’s brow furrowed. “Any luck finding Mrs. Rogers?”
Pulling the wrapping from a bagel, she shook her head. “No, her sister said she went home to get her things and hasn’t heard from her since. This behavior is apparently quite normal. Mrs. Rogers only calls her sister when she wants something or has an argument with her husband. She said her sister often takes off for days alone.”
“I hope so.” Kane’s blue eyes met hers over the rim of his takeout coffee cup. “I have the awful feeling she’s dead. Most people won’t leave home without their cards and wallet and I doubt if I could find anyone who willingly leaves without their cellphone.” Kane raised one black eyebrow. “Even you.”
She frowned. “For me it’s weapons then cellphone, and I usually stuff some cash into my pocket.” She sipped the coffee, easing the soreness in her throat. “But I admit I do keep essentials here in my office.”
“Exactly.” Kane flashed her a white grin. “So, unless Mrs. Rogers has a hideout somewhere with a stash of cash and clothes, I think we should be concerned about her safety. Especially as we found evidence of blood on the hall floor and the Chinese rug is missing.”
“She is not at her sister’s and I’ve contacted all the friends on the list she gave me. No one has seen her.” She rubbed her temples in slow circles. “If you add the muddy boots and shovel… It’s not looking good, is it?”
“Nope.” Kane’s blue gaze slid over her face. “Wolfe is bringing in cadaver dogs. Stanton Forest covers miles in all directions. We’ll need to set up a search party and spread out in sections from where Rogers parked his car.” He wiped his mouth with a paper towel. “The problem I have is if he isn’t our killer, we are counting down the hours for the next victim to turn up.” He sighed. “If he has escalated, we would expect him to hit over the weekend.”
A cold chill shivered down Jenna’s spine. “My guess would be while everyone is occupied at the dance at the showground on Friday night.”
“That was my thought as well.”
Trying to push past the horror of finding another mutilated victim, Jenna stood and went to the whiteboard. “Okay, while we’re waiting for Wolfe to finish his tests and for the K-9 team to arrive, the best course of action would be to remove Rogers from the suspect list then run through the timeline of each victim and see if any of our suspects match the murders.” She glanced at him. “As we have absolutely zero suspects or information concerning Joanne Blunt, I’m treating her death as a random thrill-kill by the same killer. We have nothing to tie her in with the other victims and we can discount a copycat.”
Taking the black pen, she made two separate sections at the end of the whiteboard and titled them, “Felicity, Kate other suspect options.”
Felicity.
Movements prior to death:
Last seen alive: Monday morning approximately seven fifty
By whom: Parents
Mrs. Rogers at approximately eight
* * *
What was she doing?
Leaving home to visit Aimee Fox
Mrs. Rogers witnessed her walking toward Stanton Forest – opposite direction to Fox home
* * *
Location: Stanton Road
* * *
What was she wearing? Blue shirt with butterfly, blue skirt, pink cowboy boots, earbuds.