Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(71)
Hackles rising, Kane glared down at her. “Not one hope in hell. You haven’t seen what this monster can do.”
When she nodded slowly and met his gaze, his stomach did flip-flops. He shook his head in denial. “Nah, I don’t believe Wolfe would show you his files. It would be unprofessional.”
“He didn’t show me anything. I examined the file this morning at the sheriff’s office. You really need better security on your filing system.” She tossed her fair head and her hair fell straight down her back like a silk scarf. “I looked because I’ve been studying forensic science for two years; not officially, but I have completed two online courses.” She glanced over one shoulder at her friends. “I have to go. Call my dad and tell him what’s going down.”
He watched her move into her circle of friends and they headed into the computer store. Grabbing his cellphone, he relayed the information to Wolfe, who went ballistic as predicted but moments later broke through the crowd and joined him. He shrugged, feeling useless. “Sorry, she refused to listen to me.”
“Yeah, I know. She has been a handful since she could speak. I think she has the fear gene missing, unlike me. Right now I want to march in there and slam the pervert into the next life.” Wolfe rubbed his blond whiskers and sighed. “We should get out of sight away from the computer store.” He led the way down an alley between the stores and leaned against the wall. “I did a sweep of the entire Rogers house and have reason to believe someone was struck on the head or had their throat cut in his family room. After spraying luminol, the amount of blood would indicate the victim would have little chance of survival. The carpet you mentioned was missing correlates with the evidence. I found drag marks consistent with a woven fabric, carpet fibers, and blood traces. The luminol highlighted a path leading from the family room to the backdoor through to the garage.”
“So he killed someone, but from what Emily said it’s doubtful he murdered Felicity or Kate. Although, we can’t rule out that killing might be a cure for his impotence. We’ll need a court order to obtain medical records to prove the extent of his impotency but his lawyer might persuade him if we threaten to charge him with murdering both girls.” Kane looked at his strained expression and caught a flash of apprehension in his eyes. “We can’t locate his wife and we know they argued, plus I found her purse and cellphone in the house.”
“That’s not good. In my opinion, Rogers murdered someone, wrapped them in the Chinese rug, and buried them in the woods.” Wolfe raised both eyebrows and his mouth thinned. “I have a team with cadaver dogs arriving at sunup to search Stanton Forest from where you saw his car parked, but right now my priority is keeping Emily safe.” He pulled out his cellphone, activated an app, and stared at the pulsing red dot on the screen. “I hope she knows what she is doing.”
Forty-Two
The cellphone made a noise like a siren, and with lightning speed, Wolfe’s long fingers moved over the buttons. He lifted a concerned gaze to Kane. “Here we go. It’s on speaker and I’m recording. They can’t hear us.”
Kane rested his hand on his Glock; one move in the wrong direction and he would be inside the computer store before Lionel Provine took his next breath.
A man’s voice came through loud and clear.
“Oh, come now, don’t be so shy. Ask anyone, you can trust me.”
“My daddy told me never to trust strangers, and I don’t know you, Mr. Provine. I think we should stay right here in the shop.” Emily was working like a pro, giving her location and the name of the person speaking to her.
“Come upstairs and see my collection of figurines, I’ll give you some gift cards.”
“I’ll kill the asshole.” Wolfe shook with anger. “The pervert is grooming her.”
Oh, Jesus. Concerned, Kane gripped his shoulder. “If anything happens, I’ll take him out. Remember my motto: one shot, one kill. For now, she is okay. Just listen. If he touches her you can go in and tear him a new asshole.”
When Wolfe pulled his weapon and moved closer to the edge of the building, a wave of foreboding hit Kane. He needed to contain the situation. Wolfe was not like him, cold and in control in a life-threatening situation, especially when his daughter was the target. “Stand down. That’s an order. Listen, Emily is more sensible than you believe.”
“Come on now.” Provine’s voice had dropped to a coaxing tone. “I don’t bite.”
“I don’t think so.” Emily’s voice quivered a little and Kane noticed Wolfe’s muscles tense under his shirt. “I’ll agree to go to the door of the storeroom but I’m not going anywhere else with you.”
“Okay, but remember not to tell anyone. It’s my secret club. Only a few people are involved, but as you are new in town and a friend of Aimee’s, you can join too. Here, this is for you.”
“What do I need that for?” Emily sounded confused. “Is it a thumb drive?”
“Not exactly. Just insert this toggle into the back of your laptop and we can communicate secretly online, which means outside of the games room. I can place bonus cards directly into your gift box so you’ll be able to jump levels and beat the boys.”
“That all sounds interesting, Mr. Provine, but nothing is free. What do you want from me or any of the girls you have in your club?” Emily’s voice came through loud and clear. “I mean, if you’re looking for a BJ or sex, I’m out of here.”