Jenna watched as the poor woman left with Raven. “What did they hit her with? Not a knife, a sharp metal object?”
“I think so, maybe a car jack?” Kane headed for the door. “If we can find her vehicle, we might find some answers.”
Jenna glanced toward the servers moving around outside the break room. “I need to speak to the staff and take a look at the CCTV footage before it’s wiped.” She searched her pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. “We need a copy of the footage for an hour before we arrived. I figure whoever did this will be on the tape. You go and see the night manager and I’ll speak to the servers.”
THREE
No one stopped Kane as he shouldered his way through servers carrying dirty dishes and found the night manager’s office. The door was open, and behind a desk, a stick-thin man stared at a computer screen. Kane knocked on the door. “Sheriff’s department. May I have a moment of your time?”
“I guess so. Did you find out what happened to that woman?” The man looked up at him and frowned.
Kane checked his watch as he moved into the office. “A woman was viciously attacked and kidnapped. She says she was thrown into the trunk of an SUV and then the perpetrator stopped here for gas and a meal. The woman managed to escape. So I need to look at your CCTV footage between eleven and twelve to identify the vehicle and who did this.”
When the manager flashed him an indignant stare and his mouth set in a thin line, Kane raised one eyebrow. “You’re not breaking anyone’s privacy laws by showing me. This person could be in the diner right now. Do you want to risk one of your customers or staff being injured?”
“I guess not.” The manager tapped on his keyboard and then beckoned Kane around the other side of his desk.
Bending to peer over the man’s shoulder, Kane watched the footage. The camera was aimed at the pumps and only a few vehicles stopped for gas. As a light-colored SUV stopped in front of the pumps, but on the opposite side to the entrance to the roadhouse, Kane laid a hand on the manager’s shoulder. “Go back and then stop when the license plate comes into view.” He nodded. “Now zoom in.”
Mud splattered the plate and covered the details. Sighing, Kane straightened. Snow covered the vehicle, making it difficult to identify. He asked the manager to zoom in again as a figure opened the hatch and bent inside before heading for the restaurant. He’d need the FBI IT specialist Bobby Kalo to look at the footage to get a closer idea of the size of them. The person’s face was hidden by a ball cap worn under a hoodie. “Go ahead slowly. I want to see when the woman escapes.”
He watched slowly but saw nothing. The woman could have used the vehicle for cover and slipped into the dark perimeter of the lights. He handed the manager the thumb drive. “Can you give me a copy? I’ll get the FBI to clean it up for me.”
The manager obliged and Kane pushed his cooperation a little more. “We know the exact time the driver used his card at the pumps. I need to know his name. It will be easier to do this now than have my team come in here with a search warrant.”
“Okay, okay.” The manager held up both hands in mock surrender. “Give me a minute.” He tapped away on his computer and then handed the thumb drive back to Kane. “The name on the card was Ellie McBride.” He shook his head. “Seems to me your kidnapper was a woman and not a very smart one either.”
Kane bit down hard on his cheek, tempering the need to swear. What the heck was happening? He straightened and handed the manager his card. “If you hear anything relating to this matter, please call me. Thank you for your cooperation.”
He turned to leave and found Jenna standing at the counter speaking to one of the servers. He waited for her to finish and went to her side. “I have the footage and the credit card details and guess what? Our victim paid for her abductor’s gas.” He shook his head. “There’s nothing, not a shred of usable evidence.”
“I found nothing either.” Jenna frowned. “It doesn’t sound right, does it? I figure we sleep on it and look at it again in the morning.” She shook her head. “I was expecting a nice relaxing weekend in front of the fire playing with our kids.”
Kane walked beside her to the door. “Me too.”
As they stepped out into a blizzard, ice smacked his cheeks and bit into his flesh. He grabbed Jenna’s hand and they slid their way to the Beast and jumped inside. In the short time they’d been away, snow had packed the windshield. He started the engine and then grabbed a snow brush and the de-icing spray from the back. The snow wasn’t packed, so he brushed it away and then sprayed a good amount of de-icing spray over it. His lips and cheeks numb, he slid back behind the wheel. “Man, it’s cold out there. The convenience store isn’t far from here. We’ll see if we can find Ellie’s SUV.” He went along the ramp to the highway.
Snow packed against the windshield and built up on the wipers. Visibility had dropped by the minute by the time the lights of the convenience store came into view. Kane drove into the parking lot and spotted an SUV coated in white parked beside a wall of snow. “That looks like her vehicle.”
“I’ve got a flashlight. Let’s go.” Jenna pulled up her hood and jumped down from the truck. “The hatch isn’t secured. I can see a gap.”
Kane pushed open the hatch. The interior light came on. “There’s no purse here but there’s a car jack. I bet this is what he used to hit her and there’s blood all over. I see the groceries but no purse.”
“We’ll bag the car jack.” Jenna handed him an evidence bag. She searched the interior and then went to the driver’s door and opened it. “No keys in here.”
Kane searched the snow at the back of the SUV and bent to look underneath. “Found them. She likely dropped them in the struggle. I’ll lock the vehicle, and Wolfe can look at the items in the morning.” He looked at Jenna’s blue lips. “We need to get out of the cold.”
“Yeah, we do.” Jenna rubbed her arms. “I’m freezing.”
Sliding behind the wheel, Kane stared at the blanket of snowfall. Conditions had worsened in the last few minutes. “I hope the snowplows have been out since we left home. The snowplow attachment can only do so much.”
“Yeah, it’s bad right now. I hope Raven gets home okay.” Jenna frowned. “He needs to get through the forest.”
Kane brushed snow from his face and turned the truck toward home. “His road is on the snowplow priority list and he has his own attachment on his truck. He should be fine.”
“I like him.” Jenna flicked him a glance. “As you knew him in your past life, I know he’s a danger to you, but he kind of fits in, as if he’s meant to be here. Another misfit that’s found a home. Do you figure I’m crazy?”
Biting back a grin, Kane gave her a long look. “He is a handsome guy. Should I be worried?”
