Page 21 of Good Girls Don't Cry

“I’m taking too much drift. We’ll need to go to plan B.” He turned the chopper and headed toward one of the ski slopes, lifting Raven and Ben above the treetops and then lowering them.

Moments later they hovered above the parking lot, and with care, Wolfe lowered them to the ground. The window of the Beast buzzed down and Jenna waved to Kane. He waved back and then they waited for Raven and Ben to climb into the Beast before heading back to the ME’s roof. As they rose into the sky, the storm hit like a hurricane, tossing them around. The chopper dipped and rose again as Carter fought the controls. Lightning cracked so close the hairs on his arms rose and Emily let out a frightened cry. Rain came in a curtain, blocking out visibility and hitting the windshield of the chopper like buckshot. As the wipers fought against the deluge, everyone fell silent. Kane flicked a glance at Carter, whose face was a mask of concentration as they rode the wind gusts on a roller-coaster ride into Black Rock Falls. The rooftop of the ME’s office was barely visible in the torrential rain and Kane breathed a sigh of relief as Carter finally dropped the chopper onto the pad. He jumped out with Wolfe to secure the rails. By the time they dashed into the building everyone was soaked through to the skin. As they walked along the passageway, Kane shook rain from his hair and grinned at Carter. “That was a fun ride.”

“Yeah.” Carter gave him a lopsided smile, pushed a lock of dripping hair from his face, and punched him in the arm. “Maybe we’ll do it again some time.”

Twenty-Four

Annoyed, Jenna pushed her phone against her ear. She could never understand why the mayor always needed convincing when she required something immediately. “Deputy Raven’s vehicle is covered by insurance and there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn’t replace it with a new truck immediately. I have all the paperwork for the insurance including photographs ready and I need a new truck today. I’ve three active deputies and myself and three vehicles. Deputy Kane has been driving his own vehicle since he arrived here. During this time, we’ve never claimed for one cent in expenses.”

“Very well, if the dealership in town has a new truck that is suitable, you can go ahead and purchase it. Tell them to send the invoice to my office and address it to me personally so I can deal with it right away.” The mayor cleared his throat, and in the background she could hear him typing on his computer. “What about lights and sirens and the decals?”

Considering the sheriff’s logo would be of little consequence when she needed to move her deputies around during a murder case, Jenna huffed out a sigh. “I can order magnets. They make them up in any decal required and they just attach to the side of the vehicle. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get things done in a hurry. I’ll make sure it has all the specified decals.” She glanced at Rowley. “My deputies are quite capable of fitting lights and sirens to a truck. My husband fitted his and it only took him a short while. We could probably get them delivered overnight, but in the meantime, I would be able to move my deputies around during this murder case. You do realize that we have someone running around Black Rock Falls who has murdered at least seven teenagers?”

“Yes, I’m aware. Get whatever you need and send the bill to me.” The mayor disconnected.

Blowing out a relieved breath, Jenna stared at her screen for a few seconds and then turned to Rowley. “Stop at the dealership in town. We need to get a new truck today. Let’s hope they have something ready to go.”

She took very little time in the dealership. On the lot they had a brand-new Ford Expedition SSV. She took Rowley and Raven’s advice that the vehicle was perfect for their needs. She signed all the necessary paperwork, and the manager insisted he could have the SUV ready to drive away by five that afternoon. She glanced at Raven when they climbed back into the Beast. “Speak to Dave when you get a chance. He’ll know where to get the lights and sirens. We’ll have you ready to go ASAP. Any gear you left in the vehicle, you can grab from our storage at the office. Just take whatever you need and give a list to Maggie so she can restock.”

“I’ve never seen anyone get things done as fast as you do, Jenna.” Raven grinned at her from the back seat.

Shrugging, Jenna turned to look at him. “Material things are easy. It’s suspects I need right now. I hope Rio has come up with a list of possibles while we’ve been busy.”

“He was working on it when I left.” Rowley pulled the Beast to a halt outside the back door to the morgue.

Inside Wolfe’s office, she found Kane, Carter, Wolfe, and Emily sitting around the desk wearing scrubs. At the counter, Norrell was handing out cups of coffee and smiled at her when she arrived. The room smelled of shampoo and Kane’s hair had a seal-black sheen as if he’d just stepped from the shower and Carter looked like a drowned rat. “How did you all get so wet?”

“We needed to anchor the chopper to the roof.” Kane shrugged and took a cup of coffee from Norrell. “The weather was kinda crazy up there.” He stood, handed Jenna his cup, and offered her his seat before grabbing another chair and sliding it beside her.

“Sorry about the crazy ride.” Carter looked at Raven and held out his knuckles to Ben. “The wind was doing its best to smash us into the rock face, so I had no option but to go up the ski slope to keep you out of danger.”

“I enjoyed it and so did Ben. He doesn’t get upset easily unless I order him to attack.” Raven took a chair from a stack in the corner and handed one to Rowley before taking another for himself.

“I’m glad you’re here, Jenna.” Norrell continued to hand coffee to everyone in the room and then dropped a glass container filled with homemade cookies on the desk. “I can bring you up to date with what I’ve been doing, since the bodies of the young men were brought into the morgue.”

Relieved that someone was working on the case in her absence, Jenna smiled at her. “I would appreciate any information you can give us. We’re flying blind at the moment.”

“Okay, I can give you a basic rundown of what I discovered and I will upload all the files onto the server once they’re complete.” Norrell picked up her tablet from the counter and then looked at Jenna. “Oh, and another thing, I’ve asked Rio to contact the next of kin and arrange for them to come in to identify the male bodies. I’ve photo-matched each victim, and we can take it from there. If there’s any doubt, we’ll take DNA swabs, but as the victims were found reasonably early, they sustained no damage to their faces. I’m sure the parents will be able to give positive IDs. I’m starting the identifications later this afternoon. Emily has offered to assist.”

A pang of regret gripped Jenna. The parents must be going through misery right now. She squeezed Norrell’s arm. “That’s good to know. Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Okay, moving right along, apart from the victim with the gunshot wound, which Wolfe will be working on later this afternoon, I’ve examined the remaining victims and observed the same findings on each of them.” Norrell scanned her tablet. “They all exhibited pulmonary edema, which in layman’s terms is fluid in the lungs. They had water in the sinuses and stomach, which indicates they were submerged while alive, and I found fluid in the pleural cavity around the lungs. I’ve taken samples of the fluid and we can match that to the river water. Wolfe took a sample from the river on scene. There is absolutely no doubt, in my opinion, that the boys were hogtied before being submerged in the vehicle and, in layman’s terms, drowned. Homicide by asphyxiation in water by person or persons unknown will be my finding.”

“I’ve looked over Norrell’s findings and I agree.” Wolfe sipped his coffee and sighed. “This is a heinous crime. I did do a preliminary examination of the gunshot victim, and there is an exit wound, so there’s a good chance the bullet is embedded in the vehicle. It might be one piece of evidence you can link to the murder—if it’s possible to retrieve it. I’ll conduct the autopsy on that young man this afternoon. Most likely after he’s been identified.”

To Jenna’s surprise, Emily stood up. Her face was pale and drawn. She adjusted the blanket draped around her shoulders. “The dissected victim hanging in the tree near the ski resort, I estimate was in her late teens. I collected swabs from inside the mouth, took hair samples, and as many swabs from other areas as I had time for before someone started shooting at us. I do have photographs and a video of the scene, so we will have a good chance of identifying the body. There was also a message left on the torso that said, ‘not mine.’ It is the same message found on the girl discovered with the copper pennies on her eyes, and yet the MO is completely different.” She swayed a little and sat down suddenly in the chair. “I’m sorry, I seem to be a little dizzy.”

“You’re in shock.” Wolfe pushed a cup toward her and the cookies. “Keep warm, drink your coffee, and eat a few cookies and you’ll start to feel a little better. You’ve been through a traumatic experience, or should I say traumatic experiences, over the last twenty-four hours or so. Don’t worry about the case for now. I have Webber running all your samples and he already collected DNA from the mothers of the missing kids just in case we need to search for a match. I’ll drive you home once we’re through here so you can get some sleep.”

“Okay.” Emily turned to Jenna. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually fall to pieces, but Raven did body-slam me to the ground when the shooting started. I’ve probably got a concussion.”

“Lucky I did or that bullet would have gone straight through your skull.” Raven raised both eyebrows. “It wasn’t a body slam or you wouldn’t have gotten up. Did you really expect me to just watch you get shot? You had a red spot on you.”

“Okay, you two, that’s enough.” Wolfe nodded to Raven. “I appreciate you protecting her.”

“I can take care of myself.” Emily’s eyes flashed with anger. “I don’t need a babysitter, Dad.”

“Well, obviously you did.” Wolfe returned her glare. “Or we’d have been hauling you out in a body bag.”

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