Jenna walked back to the ambulance to speak to Chad. She had not asked Chad a single question before Wolfe moved to her side and lowered his deep voice to a whisper. “The victim is obviously deceased but I came to inform you I’ll be handling the preliminary forensics on scene. I’ll send the body to the mortuary and I’ll do a post-mortem straight away.”

“The M.E. will still have to preside over the autopsy.”

“Not any longer, my state license came by special delivery and was there when I got home this afternoon. I’m now the official Black Rock Falls medical examiner. I’ve also been advised I have funding to set up a new laboratory and morgue. I would assume the mayor’s office has sent you confirmation as well. I won’t have to work out of the local mortuary for more than a few months.”

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.

Leaving Chad with the paramedics, she sucked in a deep breath, and conscious of every shadowed doorway she passed, she strode toward the crime scene. Kane had finished his search of the immediate area, had marked all possible evidence with yellow circles, and was assisting Wolfe with his examination. Gritting her teeth, she dragged her feet toward the body and forced her gaze to move over the mutilated body of Kate.

The young, vibrant woman now resembled a mannequin in a waxworks recreation of a torture chamber. The skin on her face stretched like thin parchment over her cheekbones, stark white against her crude red lips and cheeks. She had cuts across both eyelids as if to prevent her closing her eyes but she lacked the defensive wounds found on the other two victims’ arms and legs.

Bile rushed up her throat at the sight of the vicious yet competent, almost surgical-like cuts in her torso. The killer had taken his time with her and the fact Chad had heard Kate’s ringtone close by proved he had remained to witness Chad’s distress at finding her mutilated body. The monster must have lapped up the young man’s horror and remained long enough to wallow in his grief.

Boosted by the professional calm of Kane and Wolfe, she gathered her wits and stared at the scene, noting the similarities, the lack of blood, the flowers. The killer had planned this murder too. She had seen no flowers anywhere close to the aquatic center but a wooded area ran along the roadside leading to the campus. The hairs rose on the back of her neck and she had the strange feeling someone was watching her. I bet the killer is still here—watching us.

The sound of Kane’s voice made her jump and she lifted her gaze to him. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“He killed her in the recovery spa. It’s a small pool the divers use to warm up during competitions.” Kane wrapped one large hand around her arm and led her toward a covered area. “He probably raped her here as well.” He narrowed his blue gaze at her and a worried expression crossed his face, then as if making up his mind, he cleared his throat. “This murder is significant. It proves the killer is looking for more sadistic ways to kill and needs a bigger fix to satisfy him. He has experience in killing, as in military or has medical training. As you know, in combat training they teach us where to stick a knife to kill or disable. He cut her spinal cord and paralyzed her from the neck down but didn’t cut her throat like the others. Wolfe is under the impression the lacerations on her eyelids cut the muscle preventing her from shutting her eyes. The bastard made her watch him until she bled out.” He shook his head. “He feeds on suffering, likes seeing fear, and it turns him on. He craves the power he has over his victims.”

This is way out of my comfort zone. Jenna swallowed hard and shuddered in disgust. “So, we might find trace DNA or something in the recovery spa?”

“Not a hope. There is blood in there and we can pull out the filters and pumps, but being summer vacation, it has so much chlorine in the water nothing will be viable. Hundreds of people have used the pool, we wouldn’t find anything conclusive. However, there are a few fibers attached to her nails. Wolfe placed bags around her hands to preserve any latent DNA. He is collecting samples from every possible area and we might hit pay dirt.” Kane rolled his wide shoulders. “Did you get anything out of the boyfriend?”

Jenna went over the conversation she had with Chad. “If the janitor changed the combination to the padlock, how did Kate get in here?”

“I believe the killer had the combination to the lock and opened the gate before she arrived. This guy is smart. He knows how to cover his tracks but anyone watching a crime show would know chlorine destroys DNA.” He pointed up to the CCTV cameras. “Every one of them is disconnected but the janitor could have disabled them to save power during the break.”

“We’ll need to speak to the janitor. For now, he is on the suspect list as well.” Jenna raised one eyebrow. “Go on.”

“Maybe as she was meeting Chad, she went to change. I found her clothes in the women’s dressing room, folded neatly on the bench. Where I’ve marked over there close to the gate is where I believe a struggle took place. There is a towel by the gate as well, and as it is still there I would say the killer hasn’t touched it—he is far too clever to risk leaving any traces of DNA.” Kane pointed one gloved finger toward the gate. “I think she came out of the dressing room, saw the killer, and bolted for the gate. The killer ran her down and disabled her there—” he pointed to a yellow circle on the ground “—and then he dragged her by her hair to the recovery spa. I found a few hairs on the ground, and from the color they could be Kate’s, but Wolfe will make a positive ID later. Once he has finished his preliminary examination, he’ll go over the area with luminol to look for blood or tissue. The victim, I mean Kate, has marks on her back and legs consistent to being dragged across the cement.”

Jenna pushed down the need to puke and swallowed a few times to gain some modicum of control. Her hands trembled and she thrust them deep into the pockets of her jacket. She had an investigation to run, and falling to pieces would not find the animal who killed the girls. Moving closer to Kane—because having him there, solid as a brick wall, kept her mind firmly on the job—she lifted her chin. “Do you need to question Chad? I think I covered everything and I would really like to get him home with his family.”

“Maybe, but if the killer sounded like Kate’s father, it would be prudent to call him and put him on speaker so Chad can hear his voice then we would know if the killer is local by his accent.”

“I’m not informing him by phone that some lunatic sliced up his daughter.” She snorted in disgust. “I’m not that damn heartless.”

Kane stared up at the sky as if seeking divine intervention then dropped his blue gaze back to her. “You don’t have a heartless bone in your body. A tongue like a viper, maybe but—” he tapped one long finger gently on her chest “—in there is a kind, considerate, and loving woman. Don’t you think I know how these murders affect you? I’m not blind.” He sighed. “I spent five years killing people for Uncle Sam. I can turn off my emotions when I have to, and Wolfe, well he would have a body farm if it would further his knowledge of forensic science.”

Embarrassed by his gentle words, she looked away. “So why call Kate’s father?”

“Ask him if he’ll be home this evening as we need to speak to him and will explain when we arrive.” He shrugged. “Then if Chad recognizes his voice, you’ll know if her father was involved.”

Straightening, she nodded. As usual, he made sense. “Okay. I’ll do that now and wait with the paramedics to speak to Chad’s father when he arrives.”

“Could you ask the paramedics to transfer the body to the funeral home? Wolfe should be finished in about ten minutes. I called ahead and they’ll be waiting. Wolfe will follow and get the autopsy underway tonight.”

“Sure.” More than happy to leave her deputies to the unpleasant task of moving the victim into a body bag, she headed toward the ambulance.

After speaking to Chad, she made the call, making sure the young man could hear Kate’s father. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Bright, this is Sheriff Alton. Would it be possible to drop by in about twenty minutes? I need to speak with you.”

“Katie hasn’t got herself into any trouble, has she?”

Jenna hedged, not wanting to discuss anything over the telephone. “I’ll explain when I get there. I would like to speak to you and your wife if possible.”

“Yes, of course. Come right over.”

Disconnecting, she took in Chad’s haggard appearance. He was close to breaking point. “Was that the voice you heard?”

“It was similar but the man I spoke to referred to her as Kate.” Chad wiped a sleeve across his red-rimmed eyes. “I didn’t think it was strange because we all call her Kate, but now hearing his voice I remember her dad always calls her Katie.” He sniffed. “The man who answered her cellphone said I would find Kate by the pool, not Katie. I am 100 percent sure.”

She heard a car engine and glanced toward the sweeping driveway. “That is probably your dad. I’ll speak to him and then you can go home and rest.” Thinking ahead to the dreadful task she had of informing Kate’s parents and the support they would need, she squeezed Chad’s shoulder. “I’ll catch whoever did this and get justice for Kate.”

Her calm exterior covered the rage she had festering inside for the demented lunatic murdering at will on her watch. She could feel his presence and almost taste the evil lurking in the air. She turned to see Kane walking grim-faced from the pool area beside the paramedics pushing a gurney carrying the body bag. Had a military-trained super-soldier arrived to help her by divine intervention or was it just dumb luck? The “do things by the book” sheriff part of her wanted to arrest the killer and take him to trial to pay for his brutality, but deep down inside, the woman in her wanted Kane to put him down like a rabid dog.