“Yeah, I did. More than enough for a search warrant.” Raven looked at Jenna. “I watched them unload the flatbed through the camera lens. I could see right into the open barn. They dropped a pallet near the door and unpacked it. The others went to the back of the barn. Hidden in the pallets was one different bag. Small, only a few pounds maybe. The guy who handled it used gloves and a face mask. I figure it’s fentanyl tablets made up ready for distribution.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Enough to kill thousands.”
TEN
Monday
A blizzard in full force pelted the house when Jenna left for work on Monday morning, covering the blacktop with tall drifts of snow. The elementary school had closed the previous Friday due to the weather, and the boys would be spending their time with Raya making more decorations for the house. They’d delayed leaving until they heard the familiar sound of the snowplow and then followed it along the way into town. It was a little before eight as they drove along Main, and considering it was such a bitterly cold day with relentless snowfall, it surprised her to see so many people out clearing the sidewalk.
Christmas had always been such a festive time in Black Rock Falls. In fact, from Thanksgiving all the way through until the first week in January, the town seemed to glow in happiness and friendship. The one thing the townsfolk enjoyed the most was decorating the town. It wasn’t only the stores that went all out to embrace the holiday season, but all the houses they passed as they drove into town had amazing displays of Christmas lights and decorations. Father Derry’s church had ahuge snowman outside and flashing red and green signs indicating the way to a new Nativity scene inside the chapel.
After her parents died, Jenna had been completely alone and decided to throw herself into her work as an undercover DEA agent. That part of her life came to an abrupt end when she testified against Viktor Carlos, a drug cartel kingpin. Forced to move into this town, she’d never believed she could be happy again. Now, even though she lived in Serial Killer Central, she couldn’t imagine a happier life than living in Black Rock Falls with Kane and her children. Excitement that she’d celebrate Christmas with the best group of friends she’d ever had was so close she could touch it. It’s strange how a group of people, with the exception of Rowley, who carried so much baggage from their past lives had all fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Rowley, of course, had been there since the beginning and was the frosting on the cake. Jenna leaned back in her seat and smiled. Life was sure filled with the unexpected.
“The town looks beautiful, doesn’t it?” Kane smiled at her. “It’s like a Christmas card. Did you notice the huge baked turkey inside the window of Aunt Betty’s Café? It has flashing eyes.”
Jenna grinned at him. “Yeah, I did notice and it made me wish it were real because we’re gonna need one that big to feed everyone at Christmas dinner.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got all the meals covered. Four turkeys and three glazed baked hams. Tons of desserts planned, including apple pie and pecan pie. My famous gravy and mashed potatoes. The list goes on. Trust me, no one will go hungry, and everyone brings a plate as well.” Kane glanced at her. “It seems I’m going to have some help this year in the kitchen. The FBI are coming to town. Jo and Carter are flying in from Rattlesnake Creek on the twenty-fourth, I believe, and Beth Katz and Styles are already close by in Louan. They can all fit into the cottage. There’s Jo’s daughter, Jaime, andBobby Kalo. I’m glad we added more spare bedrooms when we renovated. Jo loves to help and Beth has offered as well, although Styles helped out the last time they dropped by.” He grinned at her. “I purchased more plates and silverware for this year. It seems our extended family is growing.”
Sighing with happiness Jenna smiled at him. “The more the merrier. I just love that everyone gets on together.”
They arrived at the office just as Maggie was hanging up her coat. Jenna leaned on the counter. “I see the deputies have arrived early this morning. It’s not like them to get here before you.” She waved at Rio and Rowley, but she didn’t expect to see Raven at work unless she needed him. As he worked closely with dog rescue and trained K-9s, he was on call. The system worked well.
“I needed to wait for the snowplow to go by before I could get out of my driveway.” Maggie stared out of the window and frowned. “Rio mentioned that Agents Katz and Styles are stuck in Louan due to the weather. Styles mentioned he could fly in the snow but not in a blizzard because of the visibility, so I guess if they’re planning on going to your ranch over Christmas, they’ll be hoping it stops snowing for a day or so.”
Chewing on her bottom lip, Jenna let her mind go to their close friends Carter and Jo. Carter would need to fly the chopper to their ranch. She stared at the sky, hoping for a change in the weather. “I haven’t checked the weather report but I hope it will clear soon. Surely it won’t be snowing this heavily all through Christmas. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” She turned and headed for the stairs to her office.
Inside Kane had already put on a fresh pot of coffee and was sitting studying his computer screen for any updates on the server. “Have you found anything interesting?”
“Yeah, Kalo cleaned up the images on all the files on the kidnapping case and couldn’t find anything we could use.” Kane twirled a pen in his fingers. “He mentions it would beimpossible to make a positive identification on either the vehicle or the person leaving it. He also said he enhanced everything in the parking lot outside the convenience store and couldn’t see anyone coming or going from the time Ellie McBride left the store. He says here that she walked into a shadow and vanished. After checking the footage for another hour, no vehicles similar to the one outside the roadhouse came or went.”
Jenna pulled off her coat, shook it, and hung it on a peg behind the door. She removed her boots and slipped on a pair of shoes that she kept for inside the office during winter. “That case gets stranger by the second.” She glanced at her watch. “Raven dropped by the Her Broken Wings Foundation women’s residences yesterday to check on Ellie. Father Derry has offered to drive her to and from work until we determine it’s safe enough for her to return home.”
“That’s very kind of him.” Kane leaned back in his chair. “I asked him if he’d like to come to dinner with us this year, but he told me he prefers to spend his Christmas Day in the shelter to make sure that everyone is fed and has a bed for the night.”
Jenna smiled. “He is a lovely man.”
Footsteps came up the stairs and Rio and Rowley came through her office door. She glanced at them as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Did you gather enough evidence to get a search warrant for the BW Ranch?”
“Yeah, and then some.” Rio placed a folder on Jenna’s desk. “Raven got some very good shots of the delivery. Along with our surveillance, I figure we can persuade a judge to give us a search warrant.” He smiled. “Executing it is going to be a problem if we plan it for the day the next delivery arrives, but we don’t have much choice because we have no other proof that they’re handling illegal drugs.”
Sifting through the photographs and noting the men armed with AK-47 rifles, Jenna closed the file and handed it to Kane. “We would be walking into an ambush. Look at the firepower those men are carrying. Ideas?”
“I figure first you go and get the warrant.” Kane stood and handed Rio the folder. “This looks big and we don’t have the manpower to take down an operation like this. We’ll need to call in the FBI to assist.”
Jenna nodded. “It’s going to take more than the five of us to take down that many men. As it happens, Maggie mentioned that Agents Katz and Styles are in Louan. You head over to speak to the judge the moment his office is open and I’ll call the FBI. Once we know who is coming, we can make plans. With something this big, I would imagine the FBI will be sending in one of their DEA teams. Leave it with me.” She smiled at Rio and Rowley. “Good job.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Rio took the folder and led the way downstairs with Rowley on his heels.
“Dave Kane.” Kane pressed his phone to his ear. “Yes, Ellie, what can I do for you?” He stood and went to Jenna’s desk. “Just a second, I’ll put you on speaker. The sheriff is right here.” He placed his phone on her desk. “Take a few deep breaths and tell us what happened.”
“When I came into the classroom this morning, there was a note written in red on the whiteboard. It says, ‘I know where you live.’ I immediately prevented the children from coming inside the classroom and moved them to another room. I called you right away.”Ellie breathed heavily as if she’d been running.“It’s the person who kidnapped me, isn’t it? They’ve got my purse. It has my driver’s license in there, and my ATM cards. What am I going to do?”
“Right now, stay where you are, with your students. Contact the bank and tell them about your stolen cards. Do it now.” Kane flicked a glance at Jenna who nodded. “We’ll be there right away.”
Concerned, Jenna frowned. “This is Sheriff Alton. Are youable to lock your classroom door until we arrive? The one that you’re in at the moment, not the one where the writing is on the whiteboard.”
“I’m in the classroom now and I have already locked the door. The children are safe and I’ve notified the principal. He’ll meet you when you arrive.”Children’s voices hummed behind Ellie.“I need to go. I don’t want the children to get upset.”
Collecting her things, Jenna nodded. “Okay, but continue with our arrangements to keep you safe. I don’t want you going home until we’ve caught this man. We’re leaving now.”
