He stared into the forest. In June it changed once more from dark and foreboding to light and inviting. Beams of sunshine pierced the darkness to reveal flowers sprinkling the trails with color. The cool wind blowing from the mountains had the familiar pine scent he’d grown to enjoy. Riding the trails in summer, fishing, and just taking it easy was his recipe for a long life. His thoughts of a weekend in the forest shattered as the radio crackled. It was Deputy Jake Rowley, who was parked a half mile or so along Stanton.
“Older style, blue Ford sedan, heading your way doing ninety.”
Kane pressed his mic. “Copy.” He flicked on his flashers and pulled out of the trees.
As the sedan flashed by, he gave chase and in no time the driver pulled over. Sliding out of his truck, Kane walked slowly to the vehicle, one hand resting on his Glock. He made out the reflection of the driver in the side mirror. He estimated the young man with messy blond hair was around eighteen. He made a winding down signal with his fingers and the window buzzed down. “License and registration. Do you know we clocked you doing ninety? Once you hit the ‘Welcome to Black Rock Falls’ sign it clearly states the speed limit is sixty.”
“I must have missed it.” The young man leaned over to take something from the glovebox.
Cautious, Kane slid out his weapon—being shot in the face wasn’t in his schedule for today. When the young man handed him the paperwork, he stared at the image of an elderly woman with white hair. “Keep your hands where I can see them and get out of the vehicle.”
When the young man climbed out, Kane took his arm and walked him to the back of the sedan. He pressed his mic. “I need you to run a plate for me.” He gave the details.
“No need. I put a BOLO out on that vehicle, it went missing on Sunday. Owned by Mrs. Dotty Grace, an elderly woman. She lives in that old place beside the Triple Z Bar.” Rowley cleared his throat. “I filed it just before we left this morning. I’m sorry I didn’t bring you up to date.”
“Copy.” Kane sighed. “I’ve apprehended a suspect in charge of the stolen vehicle. Come and get him and throw him in the cells. I’ll deal with him when I get there. I need to arrange a tow truck for the vehicle.” He turned to the guy and read him his rights. “What’s your name?”
“Dotty Grace.” The young man sneered. “What, can’t you read?”
Kane cuffed him and patted him down. “Well unless you’ve changed sex and time traveled, you’d better come up with a name. I’m arresting you for theft of a motor vehicle.”
“Dotty Grace, man. Are you deaf or something?” The young man looked at him over one shoulder.
Kane smiled. “Well, Dotty, maybe you’ll change your mind when you meet our sheriff.”
After dispatching his prisoner and waiting for the tow truck, Kane followed it to the Black Rock Falls impound yard. He arrived back at the office at noon and after filing a report, strolled into Sheriff Jenna Alton’s office. “I’m back from another inspiring morning. Are there any exciting cases for us to solve today?”
“Nope, it’s as quiet as the library here today.” Jenna rubbed her temples. “Just me and the books.”
Kane dropped into a chair. His bloodhound, Duke came into the room, his claws tapping on the tile. He climbed into the basket beside Jenna’s desk, did three circles, and sat down with a sigh of contentment. Kane turned his attention back to Jenna. “I booked five people speeding and I want to charge a man for theft of a motor vehicle. Problem is, he won’t give his name, which makes filing the paperwork difficult.”
“Has he lawyered up?” Jenna lifted her gaze from a stack of files and pushed her raven hair behind one ear.
“Nope. He insists he is a seventy-five-year-old woman by the name of Dotty Grace.” Kane smiled at her. “That’s all he said apart from insulting my intelligence.”
“I’ll go speak to him later.” Jenna stretched and yawned. “I’ll ask Rowley to run his prints. We’ll leave him to cool his heels in the cells until after lunch. Maybe then he’ll be more cooperative.”
Kane removed his black Stetson and ran his fingers over the rim. “You know, I don’t have the patience to be a traffic cop.” He chuckled. “The problem is they all pull over when I hit the siren and I don’t get to chase them down. It’s no fun at all. Can’t we hire a few rookies to do the grunt work?”
“I’ll swap you. I’d prefer sitting outside than dealing with the mayor’s office any day.” Jenna waved at the paperwork on her desk. “This is the inventory of everything here, for our insurance. I have to get builders in to increase the size of our evidence room because of the amount of work we’ve had over the last few years.” She pushed a set of plans across the table to him. “This is what the architect suggests. It’s a two-story extension, which will mean a bigger office for me and then you and Rowley will get this room. The evidence lock-up will be moved upstairs in a secured area along with our locker rooms. If we get the rookies I’ve requested, they can work out in the main office.”
Kane scanned the files. “Apart from Rowley’s wedding, it’s the most thrilling thing that’s happened here in the last six months.”
“Now that was a day or should I say a week to remember.” Jenna laughed. “I couldn’t believe it when the bride arrived in the cabin of a snowplow. Sandy wasn’t going to allow anything to spoil her day.”
“Yeah, of course, a blizzard had to hit that afternoon.” Kane met her gaze. “Thanks to your wedding planner skills, you had everyone except the bride holed up at the Cattleman’s Hotel and our horses boarded in town. I’m still not sure why she insisted on remaining at home with her parents.”
“It was because she lived close by but nothing would’ve happened if you hadn’t arrived in the Beast with Father Derry.” Jenna beamed at him. “It must have been a terrifying trip.”
Kane chuckled. “Nah, we were fine. Mind you, I don’t figure Rowley or Sandy really wanted us and their folks around for the first three days of their honeymoon.”
“Well, you sure didn’t get bored, playing cards and pool with the other guys.” Jenna rolled her eyes.
“As best man, I had to keep them occupied.” He grinned at her. “They all enjoyed themselves.”
“They sure did.” Jenna smiled. “When the blizzard was over, no one wanted to leave.” She sighed. “If you’re bored, you can help me take inventory in the evidence room.”
“That’s non-essential and everything is listed as it arrives.” Kane linked his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “So, this is what we’ve come to? From special agents to desk jockeys. This is what Maggie usually handles and you have a couple of interns helping her in the office. Why are you doing this, Jenna?”
“Oh, well I did hand out a fine to a man who allowed his dog to foul the footpath this morning. That was the highlight of my day.” She collected the papers, tapped them into neat piles, and placed them inside folders. “Maybe a foot patrol would be more interesting.”
“Oh, there was something.” Kane’s attention followed her across the room as she filed the folders. “The fire chief went by, lights and sirens about ten minutes ago. I gave the forest warden a call to ask if he knew about any fires. He said they’d seen smoke out toward Louan.”