“Damn it,” Jake muttered.
“We need to contact Pinecrest PD,” Frank said.“Let them know—” He stopped, realization dawning.“Except we can’t tell them how we know.”
“Exactly.”Jenna ran a hand through her short hair.“How do I explain this?‘Check your radio towers because a dead woman told me in a dream that’s where she might be?’“
“What about Colonel Spelling?”Jake suggested.“If another body’s been discovered, he’d be looped in.”
Jenna nodded, reaching for her phone.“If Sandra’s body has been found, that’s the first thing he’ll mention.”
She dialed Spelling’s number, putting the call on speaker so Jake and Frank could hear.
“Sheriff Graves,” Spelling answered crisply.“I was about to call you.”
Jenna’s pulse quickened.“Colonel.Any developments I should know about?”
“Indeed.Chief Morgan and I will be spending the day building our case against Harris Lynch.The evidence is compelling.”
Jenna’s eyes met Jake’s across the table.“So nothing new has come to your attention?No other...incidents?”
“Nothing beyond what we discussed yesterday.Morgan is confident Lynch is our man.I’m yet to be convinced, but I’m open to the possibility.”
Jenna knew that, if her dream was accurate, Harris Lynch wasn’t the killer.But she couldn’t say that.
“I see,” she managed.“Keep me updated.”
“Will do, Sheriff.”
The call ended, leaving the kitchen in uncomfortable silence.
“Lynch couldn’t have killed Sandra,” Jake said, voicing what they were all thinking.“He’s been in a cell since soon after Marcus Derrick’s body was found.”
“But we can’t tell Spelling that because we can’t explain how we know Sandra’s dead,” Frank added, his expression grim.
The ticking of the clock seemed to grow louder, punctuating the gravity of their situation.Frank, usually ready with advice, looked as perplexed as Jenna felt.
“So what’s our next step?”Jake asked, pushing his plate away.
“We need to go to Pinecrest,” Jenna decided.“If Sandra’s body is anywhere in that area, bound to something like she described, there is a serial killer at work.We need to figure this out before he strikes again.”
“Jurisdictional nightmare,” Frank warned.“Pinecrest PD won’t take kindly to Genesius County Sheriff poking around without cause.”
“I know.”Jenna rubbed her temples, feeling the beginning of a headache.“But what choice do we have?We can’t sit on this information.”
“Could call in an anonymous tip,” Jake suggested.“Get them searching without revealing how we know.”
“And if they don’t take it seriously?”Jenna countered.“Or worse, if they do and find her body but miss crucial evidence because they’re not looking for the right things?”
The three of them fell silent, each weighing the impossible situation.
“We check it out ourselves,” Jenna finally said.“Quietly.If we find something, then we figure out a plausible way to explain our presence and the discovery.”
Frank nodded slowly.“Not by the book, but neither is this whole situation.”
They finished their coffee, the remainder of their breakfast forgotten.As Jenna and Jake prepared to leave, Frank walked them to the door.
“Be careful out there,” he said, his voice carrying the weight of years of similar warnings.“Whatever’s happening in Pinecrest, it could be bigger than anything we’ve seen before.”
“We will,” Jenna assured him, squeezing his arm gently.
