Page 34 of Good Girls Don't Cry

“I see.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “So why is he raping them and brutalizing them? I’m sure you noticed the bruising on the last victim. He didn’t touch her face. That in itself is unusual, isn’t it?”

“I believe he wants them to look as close to the original crime scene photos as possible.” Jo clasped her hands on the table. “None of them were beaten around the head. It shows me that he is trying to get a reaction. Maybe the girls aren’t begging and screaming, so he beats them. He needs their fear. It’s what feeds his fantasy.”

“And the sexual assault?” Jenna shook her head. “Is that to make them scream as well?”

“Very likely, but there’s another more valid reason. The sexual assault makes it personal to him. He’s saying, ‘These murders might not be mine, but this one is.’ In this way, he’s claiming the girl as his property.” Jo drummed her fingers on the desk. “He would also be using it as showing his domination over his captives. We must assume he has them together somewhere, so subjecting one at a time to his depravity would keep them under control.” She looked directly into the camera. “I’m assuming this man is in his thirties, single, and lives alone, and from the marks on the victim’s bodies, he has large hands. As no trace evidence has been discovered on the victims, we can assume he has short hair and no beard. It’s very likely he has completely shaved his body to eliminate any evidence. We see this often in cases of multiple sexual assault.”

Kane exchanged a meaningful look with Jenna. “What happens when he runs out of victims? Do you figure he’ll start taking girls off the street?”

“Yeah, unfortunately I do.” Jo blew out a long breath. “I figure he’s been planning this for years. All he needed to do was get out of jail and then find a suitable group of women he could kidnap. Summer is the perfect time. With groups of people going hiking and camping all through the forest, it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to just come across a group and take who he needs. This is a very dangerous killer. He doesn’t have anything to lose and has everything to gain by receiving the notoriety he seeks. In his mind, he believes he earned it. He won’t stop until the story hits the media and gives him the accreditation he believes he deserves.” She stared into the camera. “He has two girls left and he wants to settle this, move on, and start killing somewhere else. I believe he’ll reveal his true victim very soon.”

Thirty-Eight

Raven found Rio a little standoffish. He couldn’t determine whether the guy had a problem with him for some reason or another. He had gotten along with everyone in the office. They had accepted him and understood he had a few quirks from living alone in the forest for a number of years. Rio however was different. When they were together, he was over-the-top professional and didn’t engage in the normal conversations most people working together enjoyed. He wondered if it was because of Rio’s retentive memory. Maybe the man had so much in his head he’d rather not take on any more information. He glanced at him as they headed along the highway out of town toward the industrial area. “Do you know where the meat processing plant is, or do you want me to enter the coordinates into the GPS?”

“I know where it is.” Rio gripped the steering wheel noticeably tighter. “The last owner kidnapped people for body parts and converted their remains into fertilizer. It closed down for a year before it was sold again. This owner is legit. Kalo checked him out.”

Scratching his cheek, Raven allowed his mind to drift back to the media reports about the meat processing plant and nodded. “Yeah, now you mention it, I do recall something about that.”

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” Rio shot him a glance and a nerve twitched in his cheek.

Wondering what was on his mind, Raven shook his head. “Nope. I’m an open book.”

“When did you first meet Emily Wolfe?” Rio’s eyes stayed fixed on the road.

Smiling at the memory, Raven raised one eyebrow. “Last winter. Around the time her sister was in the plane wreck. Why?”

“No reason really.” Rio headed along an exit ramp and onto a winding road past factories. “We had a thing going and then she suddenly changed her mind. I figured it might have been because she’d met you. Are you seeing her? I mean you were stuck in the mountains with her overnight. You must have gotten close. Near-death experiences do that, right?”

Blindsided for a second, Raven stared at him. So this was it. His interest in Emily was causing a problem. “No, I’m not seeing her. I’d like to, but in the mountains, she found me overprotective, and as you know she is a very independent woman.” He smiled. “If it’s on your mind that I tried to steal your girl then you’re way off base. I don’t move in on women who are seeing other people. It’s not my style. I prefer to avoid complications. I’m old-school… maybe too old-school for Emily.”

“Nah, she likes you.” Rio turned into a parking lot and the odor of blood and meat drifted into the truck. “Rowley told me and he heard it from his wife. But you’re right, she’s independent. Her priority is becoming an ME and working with Wolfe. I took second fiddle to that for a couple of years. The moment I told her I might try and get a sheriff’s position in the future, she dropped me like a hot stone.”

Not believing his explanation, Raven grunted. He’d come to see both sides of Emily during their time together. She might be independent, but Dave Kane was a hero figure to her. She admired him and how he cared for Jenna. He figured if he wanted to attract Emily, he’d need to be her best friend, someone she could depend on—and trust. He’d made great headway so far in their friendship, but he wasn’t planning on rushing in and spoiling things. Some things were worth waiting for and he’d wait a lifetime for someone like her.

He could feel Rio staring at him and cleared his throat. “That’s too bad but it’s better you found out now than live a lie until a messy divorce.” He shrugged. “I’m working two jobs right now, so romance is the last thing on my list. I figure, love comes along when you least expect it and sweeps you off your feet. I’m looking for forever. The rest is just a waste of time.”

“That’s a good attitude to have. I might try that myself.” Rio pushed on his hat. “Now let’s go see what Ben Holloway has to say for himself.”

Raven glanced at the entrance and all the prohibited notices. “I’ll leave Ben in the truck. Can you buzz down the windows?”

“Sure.” Rio glanced at Ben. “He’s the quietest dog I’ve ever met.”

Laughing, Raven reached for the door handle. “Yeah, he is until you make him angry.”

They strolled into the meat processing plant and came to a front counter. Notices all around prohibited visitors from entering the premises. Raven stood to one side as Rio made inquiries at the desk. From time to time, men walked past wearing white coveralls and rubber boots, pushing large containers from one area to another. The men were streaked with blood. A bad smell hung in the air like a miasma of various stinks, including blood, offal, cow manure, fear, and antiseptic. The woman at the desk made a few phone calls and then sent them to a lunchroom along one of the passageways.

“We apparently wait here and someone will go and get him from the kill floor.” Rio wandered around the room staring at the posters giving information about various diseases in livestock and how washing your hands before eating is imperative. “I hadn’t realized there were so many diseases in livestock in this state.”

Shrugging, Raven removed his hat, smoothed his hair, and replaced it. “It’s all over unfortunately.”

They’d waited for at least fifteen minutes before squelching footsteps came down the passageway. Raven had seen an image of Holloway, but this man looked completely different. His face was rugged, with a large nose, and he wore a hairnet obscuring the color of his hair. He figured he must be at least six-two and his calloused hands showed recent hard labor. He wouldn’t be doing that on the kill floor at a meat processing plant. The work there was gruesome and it took someone with a strong stomach to manage the death, blood, and smells without puking.

“Mr. Holloway.” Rio took out his notebook and pen and stared at the man. “We’ve dropped by to ask you why you haven’t reported to the sheriff’s office in Black Rock Falls to inform us that you are working in our county and on the sex offender registry. It’s required by law.”

“I’m not living in Black Rock Falls.” Holloway’s brow creased into a deep frown. “I’m registered in Blackwater, which if you had taken the time to call them, you would have known instead of wasting your time coming here to interrupt me at work.”

Anger rolled off the man and Raven moved closer to the door to prevent him from running away. He wasn’t sure if Rio’s approach to this man was warranted under the circumstances. Boots and all sometimes had the opposite effect on people you needed to cooperate. He flicked a glance at Rio who gave him a slight nod. “I’m sorry that you’ve been misinformed. Anyplace you work you’ll need to report in. Being a sex offender is something the people of Montana have a right to know. Women working here need to be aware that you’re here as well so that they can protect themselves if necessary.”

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