Page 18 of Whisper Through the Pines

Pulling cards from her pocket, Jenna handed them around. “If you hear about anyone using a projector in the forest. Or if any member of your crew goes missing during the evenings, please call me or the anonymous hotline. The number will be on the news tonight. We prefer to follow up with any tips, but if that’s not possible, we don’t need to know the name of the caller, just the information.” She smiled. “Thank you for your time.”

As they left, the woodcutter from the alleyway stepped inside, carrying a basket filled with split logs.

“Howdy, ma’am.” He nodded to Jenna, opened the door to the cellar, and went down the steps.

Jenna stared after him and paused for him to return. Up close, he looked older than she imagined, his face wrinkled from hours outdoors, and she guessed his age at about fifty. She approached him as he re-entered the hallway. “Do you deliver wood all over town?”

“Yeah, it keeps me busy.” The man smiled at her and brushed the wood dust from his gloves.

Jenna nodded. “Do you have a card?”

“I do.” He removed a glove and fished inside his jacket. “Caleb Durnell. You can book a delivery via my website.”

Staring at the card, Jenna smiled. “Thanks.”

She followed Kane back to the Beast and climbed inside. “What do you think?”

“Two possibles. Richards and Kitteridge.” Kane started the engine. “There are axes on-site. I noticed two leaning against the wall. They are real, not props. Both men have the expertise, their size is within the range, and they were missing from work last night.”

The build and strength of the deliveryman came to mind. “That delivery guy, Caleb Durnell, he fits the profile. Strong, works with an ax, and from his card, he lives in the forest. He has access to many places if he gives such a unique service and it seems people trust him inside their homes. He could have easily taken a projector. I bet they store spare ones in the cellar.” She copied the information into her notebook. “Drive slowly past the alleyway and I’ll grab his plate.”

“So, three possibles.” Kane nodded slowly. “This case is complex. I wonder what Carter and Raven found at the Old Mitcham Ranch.”

Jenna took down the number and looked at her watch. Concern wrinkled her brow. “They haven’t checked in. I hope they haven’t run into the Axman.”

Twenty

As Raven slid behind the wheel of his truck and glanced at the dogs in the back seat, he smiled. Although Ben was always on his best behavior, he noticed Carter’s Doberman, Zorro, sat bolt upright in the back seat, his head averted from the other dog as if he couldn’t stand the smell. He had witnessed Zorro’s interaction with Duke and they’d got along together really well, so he assumed it would take a little bit longer for Zorro to relax when close to Ben. He glanced at Carter as he climbed into the passenger seat. “Does your dog have a problem with other dogs?”

“A problem? Nah.” Carter looked at him and grinned. “He just believes he is superior, is all. He doesn’t turn off and relax. It’s in his wiring. He’s on duty twenty-four/seven unless I give him a specific order. Right now, when we’re heading to speak to potential suspects, is not the time to give him that order.” He cleared his throat. “You know, I’m glad we have this time to get to know each other better. It makes for a better working relationship, don’t you agree?”

Emily had told Raven many stories about Carter and he believed he’d gotten to know him well enough, but it seemed he needed to get something off his chest, so he glanced at him. “Yeah, I do. You first.”

“I was a SEAL before I joined the FBI. I’ve never been in a serious relationship because of that. I figured it would be too hard on the woman I left behind during tours, but since then I haven’t found anyone to tolerate me.” He chuckled. “So, what’s your story? You seem like a loner—well, maybe not so much now you’re dating Emily, but apart from that, I figure we’re much the same.”

Raven shrugged. “Maybe not. My story is complicated.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not ashamed of suffering PTSD for a time.” Carter took a toothpick from his top pocket and waved it around as he spoke. “I joined the FBI but only served for about six months before there was an incident where children were murdered right in front of me and I couldn’t do a thing to help them. I needed to get away for a time and spent two years off the grid in the forest out of Snakeskin Gully. Jo had been sent to work at the Snakeskin Gully field office after her divorce, along with Bobby Kalo, and was ordered to get me back to work. She asked the local cop to locate me and he brought her to my place. It’s a small cabin in the forest miles from anywhere, just the way I like it. She pulled my sorry ass out of there and made me get back to work.” He smiled. “She has a persuasive way about her, you know? I believe it’s because she is a behavioral analyst and knew exactly how to deal with me. I didn’t want to go back to work. I just wanted to sit there on my porch with my dog doing nothing. I can tell you, that woman has the patience of a saint because I was very difficult to work with. I had no filter—probably still don’t—but she kept pushing me along until everything fell back into place.”

Raven raised both eyebrows. Carter’s story was much like his own. “She saved you from an inevitable downward slide. You see, no one gets better when they’re living off the grid. That’s what I discovered, mainly by reading books about my situation.” He backed out onto Main and headed out of town. “As you know, I’m a medical doctor, thanks to the military, and I flew medevac choppers during our deployments overseas. The last one, I had one person and his K-9 to retrieve. He was an injured Navy SEAL. We took fire and went down.”

“Go on.” Carter’s eyes hadn’t left him, and his face held an unreadable expression.

As it wasn’t giving away any secrets, Raven sighed. He hated reliving the day his life changed forever. “I’d received minor head injuries but grabbed a medical kit and threw it out of the door. I went back for the SEAL, but he’d taken a direct hit and there was nothing left of him. I crawled out along with the dog before we were hit again. Everything went up in a ball of flames. The dog had an injury but he grabbed my arm and hauled me away from the fire. We made it to cover before the militants arrived. The next thing, friendly fire came from above me in the mountains. Head wounds, one after the other. The militants scrambled and took off but the sniper took down seven of them. I sat down and patched up the dog. At the time, I didn’t know I’d lost so much blood from a head wound.” He glanced at Carter. “I tried to carry the dog higher into the mountain, hoping to find the friendly and get help, but after about one hundred yards I fell flat on my face in the sand. The sniper, whoever he was, was nowhere in sight. I passed out and next thing I remember is being carried over the shoulder of the sniper. He was one of our guys.”

“He must have been a big guy to carry you.” Carter tossed a toothpick in his mouth. “Lucky you.”

“Yeah, well he put me down in the shade, gave me water. We talked some and then walked until he arranged an extraction point. I was hospitalized for a time, and when I got out, I couldn’t function. The dog was the same. I found him in a K-9 training facility. I’d been sent there to get my act together. He remembered me and we got along. He was okay with me but refused to behave with anyone else. This is unusual for the breed. I figure he was grieving his owner.” He sighed. “Long story, I left and took Ben with me. I figure he saved me and decided to dedicate my life to saving rescue dogs and rehousing them, and then I met Jenna and Kane.”

“What about the sniper who saved you?” Carter raised one eyebrow. “Did you hunt him down and thank him?”

Raven shook his head slowly. “I tried and was stonewalled for a time and then an FBI agent told me he’d been killed in a car bombing along with his wife and unborn son.”

“That’s tragic.” Carter shook his head slowly. “Life is tough. Seems we both escaped our own personal hell to join the fight against crime. Maybe that’s why we were saved? This is our mission in life.”

Raven nodded toward the sign advertising the Halloween attraction. “I guess so. The Old Mitcham Ranch is just up ahead.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there before.” Carter turned to look ahead. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but this place can change your opinion real fast. The suicides and homicides go back decades, but some are recent and bloody, mass murders too—and yet the high school kids still want to spend the night here. Go figure.”