Her Broken Wings

Book 8: Detectives Kane and Alton

by D.K. Hood

Genres: Police Procedurals; Female Sleuths; Thrillers; Crime Fiction; Suspense

Synopsis

The sound that wakes her from sleep is unmistakable—someone is in their house. She listens as heavy footsteps start up the stairs, and as the bedroom door is flung open, she doesn’t even have time to scream… Following a frantic emergency call in the middle of the night, Detective Jenna Alton arrives at a secluded family home to find the body of Lucas Robinson lying in a pool of his own blood in his bed. His wife Carol, shivering in shock, has just watched an intruder shoot her husband in cold blood. As Jenna investigates the murder, she soon discovers that Lucas was having an affair. And when his mistress is also found strangled to death in the center of the small town, Jenna is convinced that the murderer is living amongst them. When the killer escalates with a mass murder at a remote ranch on the outskirts of Black Rock Falls, Jenna knows for sure that she’s dealing with a murderer more twisted than any other she’s faced before. As the town begins to fill with revelers for the annual Halloween festival, Jenna has to work fast to stop any more lives being taken. But as the killer always seems to be one step ahead of the investigation, has she finally met a murderer who can outsmart her? Fans of Robert Dugoni, Karin Slaughter and Rachel Abbott will love this compelling and nail-biting crime thriller from USA Today bestselling author, D.K. Hood. **Each Kane and Alton book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone** What readers are saying about Her Broken Wings : “ Oh my, oh my God… This is another cracking story!!!... This author really deserves the title of Queen of Suspense… She had chills running down my spine and I just couldn’t stop reading. Incredibly, mind-blowingly brilliant!” B for Bookreview, 5 stars “What a fantastic book it is. Totally addictive. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “An excellent read… Had me captivated the whole way though… I had a couple of wow moments that took my breath away. All in all a bloody brilliant book that totally deserves 5 stars.” Bonnie’s Book Talk, 5 stars “ Hold on to your hats for the surprise ending!” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “Absolutely terrific read.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “Another phenomenal instalment to this series. I love the new characters… Some scenes had my heart threatening to burst out of my chest.” NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars “ Whew!... Thanks for the twist. I never saw it coming! ” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “They just keep getting better. I love this series.” NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars “This one ups the ante on pulse-pounding suspense… Full of action and surprising twists that the reader won’t see coming.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “This is a wonderful series with great characters, inventive storylines and a familiarity that welcomes you in each time you begin a new book… A first class read.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “Another chilling, dark plot in the most dangerous town of Black Rock Falls. A highly recommended read.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “Absolutely gut gripping! Worth more than five stars! ” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “ Excellent… Long may this series continue!” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Release date: March 9, 2020

Publisher: Bookouture

Print pages: 319

Sample

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, starving the endless night, with no hope of illumination from the waning moon. Outside the wind whined through the trees and buffeted the house in wild gusts. She lay very still, not making a sound in the alcohol-soaked air. The door to the bedroom hung open, and the ticking of the hundred-year-old grandfather clock in the hallway stripped away the hours and minutes until dawn. Her head pounded and the cut on her lip tasted like metal, but she’d made plans to get away and it was now or never. Heart hammering, she slid silently from the bed and headed for the door, stepping with care to avoid the creaky wooden floorboards. She’d hidden her clothes in the bathroom laundry basket and quickly dressed before moving along the hallway like a ghost to her boys’ bedroom.

Tousled but anxious for the secret adventure to begin, they shrugged into their coats, pulled on their boots, and snuck down the hallway to the stairs. Dizzy with fear, she crept past her bedroom door and pressing a finger to her lips urged them forward.

In a grind of familiar machinery, the grandfather clock struck the hour and she froze, mid-stride. Gong, gong, gong, gong, gong, gong.

The sound echoed through the house like an intruder alarm, but as the vibration of the last chime dissipated, not a sound came from her bedroom. She followed the boys downstairs and they slipped out the door in silence. She grabbed their hands and ran to the old battered sedan parked out front. With her boys safely inside, she climbed behind the wheel. Parked on the sloping driveway, she’d planned to roll the vehicle some ways away from the house before starting the engine and heading for the reservation. She could hide there and he’d never find her.

After fumbling the key into the ignition, she took one last furtive glance at the house. Light spilled from the bedroom and she gasped in terror at the face twisted with rage at the window. He knows. He’ll never let us leave. She turned the key. The old car shivered and shuddered but refused to start. She banged her fists on the steering wheel. “Come on, come on.”

After pumping the gas, she tried again and the engine spluttered into life. Wasting no time, she headed down the isolated dirt road, bouncing over tree roots and the sunken tire tracks left in the mud after last winter’s melt. Tall, foreboding trees lined the driveway like sentries to form the dark tunnel to her prison. As she burst through the gate on the other side, the sun was no more than a light haze on the horizon. Not much further now, and the moment she turned onto the highway, she’d be free.

The old mining road stretched out before her, the grasslands like a sea of turbulent water under the swirling morning mist. Fear cramped her stomach with every glance into the rear-view mirror. She’d tried to escape before but each time he’d found her and dragged her back. His drinking had gotten so bad he’d kill her soon enough, and she refused to allow a monster to raise her sons. As the wall of pines lining Stanton Road came into view, she stared at the long winding blacktop that would take her to safety and floored the gas pedal.

“Daddy’s coming.” One of her sons had twisted around in his seat and was staring out the back window. “He’s going to be angry again.”

Panic gripped her by the throat and sweat coated her flesh at the sight of bobbing headlights, but she forced her voice to remain calm. “We’ll be on the highway soon and he won’t be able to catch us.”

She took the bend onto Stanton Road at an angle, sending dirt and gravel flying up in a gray cloud. The old tires gripped the blacktop and she pushed the gas pedal to the floor. Five miles to the on-ramp and she’d be on the highway, and then only a few more miles to the private road deep in the forest that would take her home. As a Native American, once inside the reservation she and her sons would vanish like smoke. She glanced in the mirror and swallowed hard. The truck’s headlights lit up the road and it was coming fast. The empty road ahead of her filled her with terror. She’d hoped by leaving early, a delivery truck or someone would be traveling into Black Rock Falls at this hour. If he caught up with her again, she’d be defenseless.

She let out a cry of anguish when the car’s engine spluttered and steam crept out from under the hood, but she pushed on. Trees flashed by in a sea of green and black but her gaze remained fixed on the yellow line down the middle of the blacktop.

Bright lights hit her mirror, blinding her, and then she heard the roar of a powerful engine. Terrified, she willed the car to go faster and moved out to straddle the yellow line; if he couldn’t overtake her, he couldn’t push her off the road. The next moment the car’s engine squealed in a metal-on-metal shriek and shuddered. Clouds of smoke poured from under the hood, obstructing her view of the road. Fumes filled the car and, choking, she wound down the window. A blast of freezing air slapped her in the face but the lights behind her had gotten closer. She gasped in distress and pressed the accelerator but the engine made one last moan and stopped running. The momentum took her some distance but he was almost on her, the bright lights from his truck filling the car’s interior and burning her eyes.

With seconds to spare, she pulled off the road and sprang from the car, flinging open the back door. “Grab your backpacks and run that way.” She pointed into the forest. “Don’t look back.”

To hide them from the enraged lunatic getting slowly from his truck with a shovel in one hand, she headed in the opposite direction to lure him away.

“Mommy, don’t leave us here.” A plaintive wail came from behind her.

She stopped and looked around as her tormentor crashed into the forest. She gaped in horror as he scooped up his son and then threw him to the ground like garbage. Blood trickled from the young boy’s nose as he lay unmoving. She ran at her husband and pounded his chest with her fists. “What have you done?”

His laugh raised the hairs on her flesh as he tossed her aside and then swung the shovel like a baseball bat. The clang inside her head vibrated into her eyes. As she fell, the ground came up fast and pine needles prickled her cheek. She hoped her other son had gotten away but she would never know. As she reached out to touch the outstretched hand of her little boy, the smell of the woodlands filled her head as if to soothe her. She’d missed the pine-scented mountain air. Her sight blurred and then cleared for a few seconds, allowing her to see the sky. The storm clouds parted and the rising sunbeams pierced the branches like a halo of gold around them. High above a murder of crows circled and then filled the trees as if welcoming her home.

Heart pounding, Sheriff Jenna Alton edged her way inside the drugstore, keeping a line of shelves between her and the young guy in a ski mask aiming a gun at the pharmacist. The man’s finger was on the trigger and his hands shook so bad, she’d have to use all her powers of negotiation to prevent him from shooting the pharmacist at close range. The voice of her second in command and close friend, Deputy David Kane, came through her earbud.

“Locked on target.”

Jenna tapped her speaker twice, indicating, she’d received his message. Having a six-five, ex-military sniper as backup in situations like these sure made life easier, and if she gave the order, he’d splatter the young man’s brains all over the store. Pulse thumping in her ears, she moved with stealth past the cosmetics. A myriad of perfumes from the products cramming the shelves accosted her. To her right a coffee machine suddenly hummed into action, startling her. Taking a steadying breath, she peeked around the corner and met the pharmacist’s terrified gaze. She lifted her weapon to take aim, edging closer, and then held one finger to her lips, motioning with her Glock for him to move away from the man with the gun.

“Don’t just stand there gawking at me.” The young man lifted the pistol and aimed between the pharmacist’s eyes. “How many times have I got to tell you? Pain meds, the stronger the better. Fill up this bag.” He thrust a backpack across the counter. “Do it now, unless you want to die.”

Jenna gave the pharmacist a curt nod. The gunman had given him an excuse to move away from immediate danger.

“Sure, just take your finger off the trigger, son.” The pharmacist lifted his chin. “I’d rather give you what you want than risk the chance of not seeing my wife and kids one more time.” He took the bag and turned away, moving behind a partition.

Jenna scanned her position; with the pharmacist out of the line of fire, she had to make a move. The flimsy shelving lined with cans of baby formula wouldn’t stop a bullet, but it might slow it down some. Not wanting to startle the man into a gunfight, she aimed her Glock between the cans and kept her voice low. “Sheriff’s department. Lower your weapon and we can talk about this before someone gets hurt.”

“Listen, Sheriff, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Just let me walk out with the drugs.” The man’s eyes locked on hers and he trained his weapon at her.

“Jenna, give me the word.” Kane sounded insistent in her ear.

Her gaze moved over the young man’s trembling body and she decided reasoning with him might work. “Unless you drop your weapon now, you won’t leave here alive.” She held her weapon in both hands and aimed at his chest. “You’re surrounded and I have a sniper outside aiming at your head—and he never misses. Now lower your weapon and we’ll talk. If you need help, this isn’t the way to go about it.”

“You don’t understand.” The gunman dropped his gun to his side and his voice came out in an anguished sob. “I’ve been fired and now I don’t have money for my mom’s pain meds. She’s dying and I stayed home a few days to care for her. She can’t go another night without pills.” He lifted his weapon again and aimed at her. “I walk out with the meds or I’m killing you and the pharmacist.”

Wrong answer. Jenna heard a zing as a bullet embedded in the man’s shoulder. Kane had made the shot, not to kill but to disarm. As the young man cried out, his gun clattered across the tiles and he slid down the counter to sit on the floor. Moaning, he rocked back and forth, gripping his arm. Jenna dashed out from the aisle and kicked his pistol out of reach and then, aiming her Glock at his head, stared down at him. “Remove the ski mask. What’s your name?”

“Dirk Grainger.” He dragged off the mask with a bloody hand and then lifted his pain-filled eyes to her. “If I go to jail, my mom will die alone in agony. Please, Sheriff, do what you want with me but you gotta help her.”

“You threatened to kill me.” Jenna glared at him. “You’re lucky you live in Black Rock Falls or you’d be dead.” She bent to examine his wound. “It’s a through and through. You’ll be fine.”

“Paramedics are on their way.” Kane pushed into the store with Deputy Jake Rowley close behind. His gaze moved over Jenna and then he pulled on a surgical glove and bent to pick up the weapon. “It’s not loaded.”

“I know this boy.” The pharmacist came out from behind the counter, unwrapping a wad of cotton. He bent down and held the dressing against the wound. “Press this against it, son.” He stood and turned to Jenna. “He’s telling you the truth. The nursing home turned out his mother a few weeks ago, and Dirk here stayed home to care for her. He had some vacation time due but the plant let him go.” His brow wrinkled into a frown. “It’s getting late, and if you arrest Dirk, who’ll look after his mom tonight?”

Jenna frowned. She’d heard rumors about conditions at a local nursing home. “Was she out at Glen Park Palliative Care?”

“Yeah.” Dirk’s face was sheet-white. “When they took our money, they said she’d receive the best of care until she died. Three months she was there, and then they called me to go get her, said she wasn’t dying.” He looked up at her. “Doc Brown and two others told me she’s terminal.”

Jenna exchanged a look with Kane and he shrugged. She looked down at Dirk. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Dirk looked panic-stricken. “I can’t leave my mom alone for long. It will be dark soon and someone needs to be with her.”

Jenna nodded. “Okay. Give me your address, and I’ll need your house key.” She took down the details and they waited for the paramedics to take him to the free clinic. “Go with him, Rowley. I’ll call you.”

As the paramedics wheeled Dirk out on a gurney, she turned to Kane. “We’ll need to get help for his mom and then try and sort out this mess.”

“I won’t press charges against him.” The pharmacist adjusted his spectacles. “I’ve known that boy since he was a baby. He must’ve been pushed to the limit to commit a crime.”

Jenna straightened. “Obviously.” She turned to Kane. “Outside.”

She stepped outside, inhaling the fresh pine scent wafting on a cool breeze from Stanton Forest, and watched as the ambulance merged into the traffic. She had a responsibility as sheriff to bring criminals to justice, but she also had the discretion to charge someone or not. She’d been staring into space for some moments when Kane’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“So, what are you planning on doing, Jenna?” Kane walked to his truck and leaned against the door. “He was playing with fire aiming a gun at you. How could I possibly have known it wasn’t loaded?”

Jenna looked out to the snowcapped mountains and shrugged. “I trusted your judgment. You usually disable rather than kill.” She moved her attention back to him.

“I figured he was shaking so much, he wouldn’t have been able to hit the side of a barn, and you’d taken cover, but if you’d given the word, I would’ve killed him.” Kane shook his head.

“But you didn’t. You used sound judgment and disarmed him.” She considered the situation and made the call. “If he comes up clean, I’m not charging him. It was extenuating circumstances and his weapon wasn’t loaded. I don’t believe he intended to hurt anyone and was obviously out of his mind with worry. I’ll give him a warning and let him go. The gunshot wound to his shoulder is enough punishment.” She sighed. “If it goes to court, without the pharmacist pressing charges, he’ll only get a fine. He doesn’t have money or a job and will end up turning to a life of crime.”

“I’ll check him out.” Kane used his phone to run Grainger’s name through the records. “Nope, not so much as a parking ticket.”

“Okay, call Rowley. Tell him when the doctors are through with Grainger to give him a warning and a ride home. We’re done here.” Jenna thought for a few seconds and held up a finger to Kane. “Just give me a minute.” She pulled out her cellphone and called Doc Brown’s surgery. After a few minutes’ wait, the old doctor’s voice came through the speaker.

“What can I do for you, Sheriff?”

“I have a situation.” Jenna glanced at Kane. “I’m not asking you to divulge information about a patient, but I need immediate care for Mrs. Grainger. The nursing home discharged her some weeks ago and her son tried to hold up the drugstore to get her meds. I need a place to care for her this afternoon; she’s alone.”

“I’ll make some calls. I’m happy to treat her, and the free clinic will take care of her meds. I’ll see if Sunnybrook will take her. They have a few places for uninsured patients. I’ll pull a few strings and get back to you without delay.”

Jenna heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks. It’s urgent. We’re heading over there now but we can’t care for her overnight.”

“Dirk should have come to me for help.” Doc Brown sighed. “I’ll find her a place.”

“Thank you. I’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.” She disconnected. “I guess we’d better get over to the house and wait with her until her ride arrives. Problem is, we don’t have any pain meds to offer her.”

“Maybe Wolfe can help.” Kane opened the door of his truck and slid behind the wheel.

Jenna climbed into the passenger seat and stared at him in disbelief. Shane Wolfe, ex-marine turned local medical examiner, was the last person she would’ve called. “Don’t you think calling in the ME before the poor woman has died is a bit premature?”

“Nope.” Kane started the engine and headed down Main Street. “He’s licensed to administer drugs. He became a medical doctor well before he studied forensics. Before that, he was a field medic. As we don’t have anyone on hand and it’s an emergency, he’s the best choice we have.” He entered Grainger’s address into the GPS.

Since arriving in Black Rock Falls in the witness protection program, with a new name and face, Jenna hadn’t been involved with the elderly or infirm. Her previous life, as DEA Agent Avril Parker, hadn’t offered her any useful insight into the running of nursing homes either. She shrugged. “Okay, I’ll call him. I hope he’s not busy.”

“Unlikely—no one has died around here lately.” He glanced at the GPS and then headed through town.

A number of murders had occurred since she’d become sheriff, and she’d been enjoying a normal life for a change. Jenna shot him a glance. “Did you have to tempt fate?”

“Well, apart from today’s adrenalin rush, my last case was chasing down a crate of dog food stolen from out back of the 7-Eleven.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry. I figure the serial killers have holed up for winter.”

Jenna laughed. “Don’t be so sure. With our luck, they’ll come out for Halloween.”

Darkness crept into the room, a blackness so unforgiving that Carol couldn’t see across the bedroom to the large picture windows. Not one moonbeam came through the glass to penetrate the night. She’d lain awake for hours listening to the old house creaking in the wind. The trees outside, once so beautiful dressed in their summer green, now resembled blackened skeletons intent on scratching their branches down the walls like nails on a chalkboard. Snow was late in coming this year, but bad weather was on its way and the old house complained as if its bones ached. Her heart pounded. The strange noises from the buffeting wind sounded like someone mounting the stairs, and even the comforting scent and warmth of her husband sleeping beside her failed to ease the intense feeling of foreboding.

Eventually, she snuggled under the blankets. Eyelids heavy, she had almost grasped sleep when the floorboards outside her door creaked in a familiar whine. The doorknob rattled. Panic had her by the throat and she poked her husband. “Lucas, wake up. Someone’s in the house.”

She forced her eyes wide open. The door sweeping across the carpet sounded so loud in the silence. “Lucas.”

The next moment a blinding light flooded the room. She squinted at the dark figure filling the doorway.

Putt, putt, putt.

The light vanished, plunging her back into inky blackness. She slipped her hand toward Lucas, and her fingers brushed over the unmistakable shape of a feather floating in a pool of warm, sticky fluid. The liquid spread across the sheets, seeping through her nightgown. Petrified, she rolled off the bed and sprawled on the carpet, trembling with fear. Red spots danced in her vision, blinding her. She had to get away.

Her fingers swept the edge of the bed and she crawled into the narrow space below and made herself as small as possible. Her gasps seemed to echo around the room and she shoved one fist into her mouth, too scared to breathe. Sick to her stomach, she heard the brush of shoes on the carpet as the intruder left the room. Seconds dragged on like hours as she hugged her knees too afraid to breathe. The house shuddered and moaned as if crying out in distress and then the wind dropped, but all she could hear was the drip, drip, drip of blood as her husband’s life flowed away.

Deputy Jake Rowley, had spent all his working life as deputy to Sheriff Alton, she’d trained him well and he enjoyed taking the extra responsibilities. When he’d received the garbled call from a woman, convinced someone was in her house, he’d acted immediately. Although, since the wind had picked up, the calls from people hearing things at night had increased. Of late, if anything happened in the middle of the night, and it was his turn for the callouts, it seemed he found himself in a dark sinister house, in a moonless night. He had to admit driving up the long dark winding driveway to the Robinson’s isolated house, knowing a prowler could be close by had his adrenalin pumping. He aimed his cruiser at the front door and left his lights blazing. Surrounded by pines and leafless blackened trees that spread long shadows and moaned with every puff of wind. The modern style home stood open to the elements. The howling gusts had spread leaves across the front porch and through the open door to litter the polished wooden floor. Jake scanned the area, pulled on surgical gloves, and weapon drawn, approached the silent, dark hallway. “Sheriff’s department. Are you there, Mrs. Robinson?”

His stomach clenched the moment his Maglite picked out blood droplets on the stairs and the red ribbon smeared along the wall as if someone had used it for support. He paused for a beat—if he followed protocol, he should hightail it back to his vehicle to radio for backup. He squared his shoulders. The frantic woman who’d called him for help might be in trouble. He yelled out again but only the whine of the house answered him. Only a fool walked into a dark house alone, and using the beam of his flashlight, he found a panel of switches and flicked them on. The ground floor of the house flooded with light, and only a few dark rooms led off the hallway. Alert and heart pounding, he moved into the room on his right and found the light switch. After clearing the area, he shut the door and then moved on to the next until he arrived in the kitchen. It was empty and led to a mudroom at the back, and from there a door led outside. He checked the back door and found it locked.

The moaning sounds from the house set his attention to high. The trees grew so close, the branches tapped at the windows and scraped the walls with each gust of wind. He moved out of the kitchen. “Mrs. Robinson, are you here?”

Nothing.

He swallowed hard at the implications of his unanswered call and moved back down the hallway. With the ground floor secured, he stared at the blood trail from the top of the staircase. Stepping with care to avoid destroying evidence, he followed a line of crimson droplets to one of the two doors set beneath the stairs. One had an open sliding bolt lock, which he assumed led to the cellar, and the other had blood smeared over the door handle. Not wanting to venture into a cellar without backup, he slid the bolt across. Heart pounding, he moved to the other door; with his back to the wall and weapon aimed, he eased it open.

An anguished sob came from inside, and turkey-peeking around the opening,. . .