As Kane walked to his SUV, he returned the smiles on the faces of the people and friendly greetings but the memories of the mutilated bodies remained at the front of his mind. He slid behind the wheel ever vigilant, his gaze moving over the people, taking a mental note of men close by or speaking to young women. Somewhere in the happy crowd lurked a monster waiting to pluck another victim from existence.
His attention moved to a couple of girls heading into Aunt Betty’s Café, chatting animatedly with the computer science teacher Steve Rogers. When he noticed one of the girls was Aimee Fox, his worry meter hit the bell. He pulled to the curb and observed the trio for a few minutes, noting how different Steve Rogers acted with the girls. All charm and smiles, not the henpecked husband he had tried to convey to him during the interview. The man could easily fit the profile of a killer. Kane had seen more than two faces of evil displayed in a man who took pleasure in murder. He had an inbuilt dislike for Steve Rogers, and his gut instinct told him he was not what he seemed.
Needing to take a closer look, he climbed out of the vehicle and headed inside the café. He went to the counter and ordered a coffee to go then wandered over to the table where the two girls sat with Rogers. The trio had their heads together looking at one of the girls’ cellphones and making excited comments. He wanted to make it quite clear he had seen the teacher in the company of the girls. “How are you today, Mr. Rogers?”
“Enjoying a coffee with two of my pupils in plain sight.” Rogers gave him a condescending stare. “Am I breaking the law?”
“Nope.” Kane leaned down to look at the cellphone. “I noticed Aimee’s attention was fixed on something on her cellphone and was wondering what is so interesting. I’ve seen quite a few young people running around as if their lives depended on it.”
“It’s the new game app. See, it interacts with the camera.” Aimee held up the screen. “The idea is to collect the characters or whatever to go up a level. The final level apparently unlocks a bonus game.”
Kane glanced at the screen and saw the interior of the café, and right in the middle was a green character waving at him. He looked at the room then back at the screen. “That is incredible, digital interaction via the camera and the navigation system on the cellphone.” He glanced at Rogers. “You’d know all about this type of game, wouldn’t you?”
“My skills are not quite up to this standard or I wouldn’t be teaching, I’d be a billionaire.” Rogers gave a sarcastic laugh. “But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“I bet you do.” Kane smiled at Aimee. “Remember what your mom told you about going straight home.”
“You don’t have to worry, Julia’s mom is in town and Mr. Rogers will make sure I get back to my car, he is parked right behind me.” Aimee smiled sweetly. “We had to use the parking lot at the library, everywhere else is packed today.”
Deciding to make Rogers aware someone would be watching his every move, Kane nodded. “That’s a good place to park. The library has a CCTV camera in the parking lot and a security guard keeping a close watch on everything over the next few days. You should be safe but stay alert just in case someone is lurking about.”
“I thought it was your job to keep the townsfolk safe, Deputy.” Rogers’ mouth turned up in the corners into almost a smirk.
Kane rolled his shoulders and noticed Susie Hartwig waving at him to collect his coffee. “Yes, but I’m sure these young ladies know not to go out at night alone during the rodeo especially as three young women have been found dead in the area.” He plucked cards out of his shirt pocket and gave them to the girls. “If you need help anytime day or night, that’s my cellphone number.” He smiled. “Stay safe.”
“Don’t I get a card?” Steve Rogers glared at him. “Or don’t you think all Black Rock Falls citizens are in danger during the influx of the rough types?”
“You don’t look like a teenage girl to me, Mr. Rogers.” Kane bit back a smile and bent down so only Rogers could hear him. “Trust me, I’m the last person you should call. I’ve met men like you before and I see who is lurking behind the mask.” Satisfied by seeing the color drain from Rogers’ face, he strolled toward the counter. You’re up to something, you smug son of a bitch.
Thirty-Five
Back at the car, Kane pulled out his cellphone and contacted Jenna to explain his observations. “We need eyes on Steve Rogers. He stinks on ice right now.”
“I agree he should know better than to hang around with his students.”
“He tried to make me look like an incompetent idiot.” Kane sipped his beverage and sighed. “He makes my skin crawl, he is up to something. My gut is never wrong.”
“Okay, I’ll give the info to Wolfe and he’ll keep an eye on our Mr. Rogers. I think we need to do a bit of surveillance on him too. I’ll ask Rowley if he will take the afternoon off and spend a few hours this evening keeping an eye on Rogers’ movements. I’ll call Rogers’ house and see if his wife is back from her sister’s yet. She might tell me when he went out last night. She was very cooperative the last time I spoke to her.”
“Good idea.” Kane started the engine. “We’ll talk later, ma’am. I’m heading for the fairgrounds now.” He disconnected and turned his SUV toward the fairgrounds.
As he approached the Black Rock Falls Motel, he noticed a cowboy dressed in fringed chaps leaning against the wall outside one of the rooms, smoking. Kane pulled into the driveway and slid out of the car. He approached the man with a friendly wave and a smile. “Morning. Is Lucky around?”
“Nope, he has a steer-roping event about now.” The cowboy dropped the stub of his cigarette and extinguished it with a twist of one well-worn boot. He tipped back his hat and his brown eyes narrowed. “You can’t be a friend of his, Lucky don’t like cops.”
Kane chuckled. “Sometimes we do good deeds, like finding the owners of valuables. I’m pretty sure the ring handed in to the sheriff’s department this morning belongs to him but he’ll have to prove he was at the right place at the right time to claim it.”
“He was out last night with Storm. They went to the Triple Z Bar, left ’bout six, came back sometime after ten.” His mouth turned up into a cocky grin. “Tell Lucky Zeke expects a reward.”
Not familiar with the place in question, Kane nodded. “Sure. I’ll go and find him at the fairgrounds. Thank you for your time.”
On the way back to his SUV, he called Rowley to ask about the Triple Z Bar. Raised in Black Rock Falls, the young deputy was a fountain of local information. “What else can you tell me about the place?”
“It’s off the main highway, past the campus, and open Monday through Saturday nights. It’s a dive, serves beer and hard liquor, probably moonshine, but not everyone can pay the Cattleman’s Hotel prices. Cowboys from the local ranches go there, and there are usually brawls. It’s not a place I would go to pick up a woman. Let’s say they are a little free with their favors, if you get my meaning.”
He rubbed his cheek. “How come nobody has mentioned this place before now?”
“No one is going to put in a complaint, are they? Trust me, they don’t want the law showing up there. If the mayor closes the Triple Z, there isn’t another bar for miles. The owner of the Cattleman’s Hotel runs the bar at the fairgrounds and the Lark’s arena. He has a dress code, and smelly, hard-working guys straight off the ranch are not permitted.”
“How far is the Triple Z from the college campus?”
“Three miles, I’d guess.”
“Which places Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley in the area of Kate Bright’s murder at the right time. Sheriff Alton saw them at Aunt Betty’s Café on our way back from the murder scene.” He sighed. “I’m going to speak to Briggs and Crawley now, tell the sheriff what I’ve discovered.”
“Okay.”