Jenna looked from one to the other, unsure why Kane was questioning Raven’s abilities. For some inexplicable reason, Kane had concerns about Raven flying so close to the mountains. Unbeknownst to Raven, Kane had been the sniper who’d rescued him from the fateful wreck along with Ben, who’d been injured in the crash as well. It concerned Jenna that the dog recognized him, and Raven had even mentioned how much he resembled the sniper who had rescued him from the desert. Being recognized brought with it a wealth of problems as Kane had a bounty on his head, but luckily, Raven had accepted his denial. It was fortunate that Kane had removed his fingerprints and had intensive facial reconstruction prior to arriving in Black Rock Falls, and now he appeared much younger than his forty-two years. In fact, like Jenna, they both resembled people as much as ten years younger than their true ages. They kept their bodies in great shape by working out every morning. Jenna enjoyed the exercise to keep up her stamina, but Kane needed to keep his skill set sharp to remain the lethal weapon the military trained him to be.
“Maybe we should allow Wolfe to decide.” Raven whistled to Ben and turned to head back down the trail.
As Raven vanished into the shadows, Jenna glanced at Kane. “Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”
“Nope.” Kane pointed to the sky. “There is a storm brewing, and from the weather forecast, it’s going to be bad. I honestly don’t like the idea of flying in a chopper so close to the mountain in high wind gusts. I’m sure Raven is proficient or he wouldn’t have been given back his license, but he does suffer from PTSD, and it was caused by a crash that happened close to a mountain under enemy fire. By the time we get this organized, the storm is just about gonna be on us, and the thunder and lightning might trigger an episode. I needed to ask the question. It’s my life hanging on the end of that rope.” He ran a hand down his face. “It’s times like this I wish Carter were here.”
Jenna smiled. “Why don’t you call him?” She pulled out her phone to call Wolfe. “I recall he had a case in my county, so he might be working close by. If he is, there’s no doubt we’d be getting a call before long, because there’s no way he’d be flying back to Snakeskin Gully in bad weather.”
“I will.” Kane pulled out his phone and made the call.
Jenna contacted Wolfe and explained the situation.
“There I was, planning on a nice day playing with my new equipment and then y’all go and spoil it.” Wolfe’s footsteps clattered along the tiled hallway in the morgue. “As luck would have it, Carter is in Louan this morning. I figure y’all gonna need him if you’re planning on retrieving the body today. The storm is rolling in and it’s gonna be nasty.”
Jenna could hear Kane speaking to Carter. “Dave is talking to him now. We’ll come to the morgue and organize everything.” She lowered her voice. “Raven wanted to fly the chopper. He’s not very happy that Dave questioned his ability.”
“He’s a big boy.” Wolfe chuckled. “He’ll get over it. My bird is fueled and ready to go. I just need to do a preflight check. I’ll go and load my equipment. See you in ten.” He disconnected.
Four
The morgue held the distinct smell of vanilla rather than the usual eau de decomposing body. There hadn’t been a death in Black Rock Falls for almost two months, but machinery hummed as usual. One of the laboratory doors stood open, and inside, Jenna could see Emily and their assistant Colt Webber moving around. A pile of boxes in one corner indicated that they were setting up new equipment that Wolfe had recently purchased. He liked to be one step ahead of everyone else when it came to new technology in his field. Jenna pushed her hands deep into her pockets and clenched her fingers tight as she watched Kane get ready for the body retrieval. As he fastened the strap to his helmet, she couldn’t prevent the shiver of apprehension running through her. Although Kane never showed the slightest sign of fear, she fully understood the danger of rappelling into the ravine during a storm. High winds and wind tunnels within the ravine were not the only problem they would face. Within a matter of time, they’d be hit by lashing rain, and the chances of lightning strikes would increase as the body retrieval continued. She took deep breaths and tried to keep her expression relaxed as Kane joked with Raven. It seemed to her that they had made peace with each other. Wolfe had informed them that Carter would be flying his chopper, and he and Kane would do the retrieval. Raven would be in control of the rescue hoist.
She turned as the door to the roof elevator slid open and Zorro the Doberman nosed his way out of the door with Carter and Special Agent Jo Wells, the FBI behavioral analyst and his partner trailing suitcases behind them on wheels. She hadn’t seen them since Christmas and a wave of relief went over her knowing that Carter would be flying the chopper. “Hi, Jo, Ty, and Zorro. It’s good to see you. Our cottage is fully stocked with food if you need to stay for a few days while this storm blows over.”
“We might just take you up on that. It’s getting nasty out there.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips and grinned at her. “Are you driving to the top of Bear Peak to watch?”
Jenna couldn’t resist returning his smile even though her stomach rolled in fear at what might happen. “Yes. They’ll need observers in case anything happens.” She looked at Jo. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, it’s going to be a difficult retrieval.” Jo indicated to their bags. “We’ll just drop these into Wolfe’s office. I figure it will be pouring with rain by the time we get back, and I didn’t want to leave them in the chopper. It’s blowing a gale on the roof already.” She headed along the hallway with the wheels of the suitcase squeaking.
“I suggest you grab to-go cups of coffee.” Carter turned to look at her over one shoulder as he followed Jo. “I figure this is gonna take a while.” He glanced down at his dog. “Zorro will be happy to wait in Wolfe’s office. I figure everyone here knows not to mess with him.”
Smiling, Jenna looked at the dog’s big brown eyes and the way his little tail stump wiggled in greeting. He became a statue when Carter wasn’t around. “He’ll be fine. Duke and Ben will keep him company.”
“Jenna.” Kane handed her a com. “You should be able to hear what’s happening. These have excellent range.” He slid an arm around her waist. “It would be safer to drive the Beast up to the parking lot at Bear Peak to watch the retrieval. If the storm gets fierce, it will be easier to drive than any of the patrol vehicles. Raven recommended the second lookout parking lot to see what’s happening. The new one the council opened recently. That one has a fenced lookout over the ravine.” He handed her the keys and gave her a long searching look. “I’m actually looking forward to rappelling out of the chopper today. It’s one of the things I miss the most.”
Nodding, Jenna took the keys and pushed them into her pocket. They were still warm from his body. “Yeah, I know, you’re an adrenaline junkie. Although I don’t believe it will be much fun picking up the body of Jan Pierce. It looks pretty well banged up.” She pushed the com into her ear.
“No, that part of the job is a definite downer.” Kane frowned. “I just hope the animals haven’t got to her.” He met her gaze. “While you’ve been waiting for us, have you had any thoughts on who might have had a reason to push Jan over the edge of the ravine?”
Jenna pushed her hand through her hair. “No. My main concern at the moment is just retrieving her body and making sure it is her before we notify her next of kin. Although from what I know about her, I don’t think she has any other family. She told me one day during one of your training sessions that she lived with her grandma after her parents died, and now her grandma is deceased and she has been frightened living on her own. That is the reason she took the lessons on self-protection. The thing is, if someone snuck up behind her when she was taking photographs or recording and pushed her over the edge, I don’t figure she’d have time to turn and fight. Do you?”
“Nope.” Kane rubbed his chin. “From what I could see at the scene, the struggle was minimal. I figure she only saw her attacker at the last moment. Some of the trees along the edge have the leaves shredded from them. She tried to grip them before she went over. Maybe while we’re retrieving the body, we’ll be able to locate her phone. Even if it’s damaged, we should be able to download the images. With any luck, she’ll have a picture of her killer.” He sighed as Carter came walking back along the hallway. “I gotta go. Drive safe and I’ll see you soon.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked away, pulling on his leather gloves.
She watched the men pile into the elevator and turned as Jo came alongside her. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” Jo held up a Thermos and a few energy bars. “Carter insisted we take these with us. He said you look tired.” She shook her head. “I’m starting to believe he thinks he’s your brother.”
Jenna smiled. “I could do worse than have a brother like Carter.” She led the way to the back door of the morgue and they climbed into the Beast.
Five
Using the GPS to guide her, Jenna drove the Beast slowly along the highway and found the narrow dirt road leading to the lookout. The parking lot was bigger than she expected. She had noticed it in the Welcome to Black Rock Falls tourist guides Maggie had stacked on the front counter in the office. She glanced around, impressed. It even had picnic tables on one side and a set of public restrooms. Two vehicles sat in the parking lot and a couple stood on the lookout, holding hands and admiring the view. A woman wearing a hoodie stood a discreet distance away.
Jenna scanned the area to get her bearings. It seemed they were to the left of the ravine but had a clear view of the side of the mountain where Jan had fallen. She turned to Jo. “The storm will be here soon. Do you want to watch from inside the truck or would you prefer to go to the lookout?”
“I figure we should go to the lookout. I’m not sure if we’d be able to see from way back here.” Jo slipped on a pair of gloves and then pulled a woolen cap over her hair. “We can always come back if it starts to pour.” She slid out of the passenger seat.
