No, but I dont know any more details yet. Its Teton Countys jurisdiction, but the sheriff gave me a courtesy call. His department should be faxing the details over any minute.
The fax rang a minute ago. Ill check. Riley put Joe on hold and walked into the chiefs office. He grabbed the handful of sheets from the fax tray and scanned them on the way back to his office. Standard BOLO-Be On Lookout-notice, short on details. The victim apparently hadnt gotten a good look at her attacker.
Riley reached his desk and picked up the phone. Still there?
For the moment, although Janes giving me come-hither looks that are getting a little hard to resist, Joe answered, laughter tinting his voice. Anything on the BOLO we need to worry about?
According to the victim, the assailant was driving a police car, although she doesnt seem sure whether it was a marked car or not. The guy had a blue light on the roof, but it might have been a detachable one. Riley scanned further. Not much in the way of a description, either, beyond what he was wearing.
Odd, Joe said.
The next words Riley read made his blood go cold. A faint buzzing noise filled his ears as he read the information again.
Riley? Joe prodded on the other end of the line.
Riley cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice still came out raspy and tight. She was pepper-sprayed. In the face.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line while the implications sank in for Joe. A second later, he said, Ill be there in ten minutes. He hung up without saying goodbye.
Riley put down the phone and stared at the BOLO, rereading the passage one more time to make sure he hadnt misread. But the words remained unchanged-oleoresin capsicum found on the victims face, clothing and in her mucus and saliva.
He sank heavily into his desk chair, his hand automatically reaching for the bottom drawer to his right. He pulled it open and took out a dog-eared manila folder, the only thing that occupied the drawer. He thumbed through the familiar pages inside the file folder, searching for the three-year-old Natrona County coroners report. His breath caught when he read the decedents name-Patterson, Emily D.-but he dragged his gaze away from the name to the toxicology report on the pages stapled behind the death certificate.
Oleoresin capsicum. It had been found in her eyes, nose, throat and lungs, preserved, ironically, by the plastic sheeting her killer had wrapped her in before sinking her body in a lake off Highway 20.
He heard footsteps pounding up the stairs outside his office. Joe burst through the doorway, his wife, Jane, right behind him. Joe grabbed the fax pages from Rileys desk while Jane crossed to put her hand on Rileys shoulder, her green eyes warm with compassion. You okay? she asked.
He nodded, putting the coroners report back into the file folder and sliding it into the open drawer.
This is six, Joe said, settling on to the edge of Rileys desk with the fax pages in his hands.
Six that we know of, Riley added grimly. And were not sure about a couple of them. The plastic sheet wrapped around the bodies of two of the victims hadnt protected them from the water where their bodies had been dumped.
The plastic sheeting was enough of an MO for me, Joe said firmly. If this one hadnt gotten away, shed have shown up in a lake or river somewhere around here, wrapped in plastic, too. Maybe this time, the FBI will finally see the pattern.
The FBI didnt want to see the pattern, Riley knew. Hed tried to get the feds involved the minute hed started piecing together the murders three years ago, when Emily had become one of the killers victims. They hadnt been interested. The connection was too nebulous or some such B.S.
Ill give Jim Tanner a call in the morning, Joe said, referring to the Teton County Sheriff. He owes me a favor.
Jane put her hand on Rileys shoulder again. Come home with us for dinner, she said. Its nothing much-just some leftover barbecue, but we have plenty of it.
Even with her eating for three, Joe added with a smile.
Two, Jane corrected with a roll of her green eyes, although one of us is half cowboy, so you may have a point.
Riley tried to smile at the banter, but it stung a little, even though he was happy as hell that his old friend had finally found a little happiness in his roller-coaster of a life. Seeing Joe and Jane so clearly happy, so clearly in love, was a reminder of all hed lost three years ago when Emily had died.
Actually, I think Im just going to head home and try to get some sleep so Ill be fresh in the morning, he lied, even as a plan began to form in his restless mind. He gave Jane a quick kiss on the cheek and nodded toward the door. Lets get out of here and Ill talk to you both tomorrow.
He could see a hint of suspicion in Joes expression as the three of them walked out to the parking lot, where Joes dark-blue Silverado was parked next to Rileys silver one. But his friend just gave a wave goodbye as Riley slid behind the trucks wheel and backed out of the parking lot.
He drove west, toward the small farmhouse located on the last parcel of what used to be his familys cattle ranch a couple of miles outside the Canyon Creek town limits. But he passed the house and kept driving west.
HANNAH WOKE TO SILENCE, her heart pounding. She lay in an unfamiliar bed, the unmistakable smell of antiseptic surrounding her. Her eyelids felt heavy and swollen, but she forced them open.
The room around her was mostly dark, only a faint sliver of light peeking under the door. A darkened television sat on a wall mount in one corner of the room. Curtained windows lined the wall beside her bed.
She was in the hospital, she remembered. Shed been attacked on the roadside and crashed while escaping. The memories returned in bright, painful fragments.
She lifted her hand to her face. The touch of her fingers to her raw skin hurt a little, though not as much as the dull ache settling in the center of her forehead. She touched the left side of her head and found a bandage there. From the wreck or from the mans attempt to slam her head into the steering wheel? Pressing lightly, she felt a sharp sting.
And how had she gotten away? She couldnt remember-
The door to the room opened, admitting a shaft of light from the hallway and the compact frame of a woman in blue scrubs. The woman crossed to her bed and pushed a button on the wall. The room filled with gentle golden light, giving Hannah a better look at her visitor.
She looked to be in her late forties, short and muscular, with sandy-brown hair and large blue eyes. A badge clipped to her belt read Lisa Raines, LPN. She smiled at Hannah as she reached for her wrist to check her pulse. Howre you feeling, Hannah?
Head hurts, Hannah croaked, her throat feeling raw.
You took a bit of a bump. You have a concussion. She said it with a slight chuckle.
Youve told me that before, huh? Hannah shifted into a sitting position, groaning a little as the room spun around her.
Yeah, you had a little short-term memory loss when you first got here, so you kept asking the same questions every few minutes. Lisa slipped a blood-pressure cuff over Hannahs arm. Youre going to be fine, though. We didnt find anything seriously wrong. Were just going to keep you overnight for observation. Lisa checked her blood pressure and took her temperature, jotting notes on her chart. Everythings looking normal. You must have a hard head.
Has anyone called my family?
You didnt have any emergency contact information in your belongings. I can make a call for you if you like.
Hannah started to shake her head no but thought better of it. Shed told her mother shed call once she reached Jackson Hole, just to check in. If her mother didnt hear from her soon, she might send half of her brothers north to Wyoming to find her. Could I make the call myself?
Sure. Lisa smiled and waved her hand toward the phone by the bedside. Ill be back in an hour to check on you again, but if you need me before then, just push the call button.
Hannah waited for Lisa to leave before she picked up the phone and dialed her parents number. Her father picked up after a couple of rings.
Hi, Dad, its me. Im in Jackson. Her voice came out much hoarser than she had intended.
Hannah? Her father sounded instantly suspicious. Whats wrong with your voice?
She couldnt lie, now that hed asked a direct question. I had an accident.
Are you okay? Where are you calling from?
The hospital, but Im okay. I promise. Nothing broken. Just a concussion, but the nurse just told me Im doing great and Ill be getting out of here in the morning. Can I speak to Mom a moment?
A moment later, Beth Cooper took the phone. Tell me everything that happened.
Settling back against the bed pillows, Hannah told her mother about the attack and her escape, trying not to make it sound too alarming. But by the time she was finished, her mother was making plans to fly to Wyoming immediately.
Tears stinging her eyes, Hannah fought the unexpected urge to agree. Mom, theres no need to come up here. Im okay, I promise. No real harm done, except to my rental car, and thats insured. Im going to finish out my vacation just like I planned and Ill be home by Sunday evening.
Thats crazy. You get on a plane tomorrow and come home.
The temptation to do what her mother asked alarmed Hannah. The youngest of seven, and the only girl, shed fought hard to assert herself, to prove she could take care of herself. The last thing she needed to do now was slink home to hide beneath her familys wings. Shed done enough of that over the past four years.
No, Im staying here, Mom. I need to do it.
Her mother was silent for a moment before she answered. Okay. Youre right. But youll call me every night. Fair enough?
Hannah smiled. Fair enough.
Youre a brave woman, her mother said, her voice tinted with admiration.
I had a good role model. Hannah blinked back hot tears. She heard the door handle to her hospital room rattle. The door started to open. Looks like the nurse is back, so I need to go. She rang off and hung up the phone, turning back to face the nurse, ready to make a joke about how hard it was to get any sleep in a hospital.