I Bet on Losing Dogs - Patrick Jane

309 - Red Moon

 Kenzie and Patrick trailed down a patch of dirt, surrounded by trees. Hills stood behind them at a fair distance. Their shoes crackled against the ground. Patrick suddenly slowed to a stop.

"Kenzie," Patrick whispered. "Kenzie. Don't move."

She stopped. "What?" She peeked over his shoulder to see a dog with brown fur softly trotting toward them. Kenzie glanced up at him, deadpanned. "Oh, I'm so scared. He could've killed me."

"Shh."

Kenzie rolled her eyes and bent down, holding out her palm. The dog began to sniff her palm. After a moment, his tail wagged, and he began to eagerly lick her hand. Kenzie giggled before petting his head. "Good boy."

The sound of a radio caught her attention and spooked the dog, who ran off. Kenzie and Patrick made their way to the crime scene. She couldn't fight back the sigh that left her mouth. Three bodies lay in a distinct pattern, somewhat obscured by a row of trees.

Sheriff Mullery walked up to them with his hands on his hips. "CBI?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Kenzie answered. "Patterson. Jane."

"Mullery. What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry. I understand this is a tough situation for you."

"Tough," he scoffed, pointing at one of the dead bodies. "This is Deputy Nelson Capel, been with me 15 years. Got three kids. He answered a 911 call last night at 10:23 from a local girl... Keeley Farlowe, on her cell phone. She gave her location here, and the line went dead." He pointed to the other male body. "This is Deputy Lance Conner. Five years in. His Head was at high school with me." He pointed to a man in a plaid shirt, rocking back and forth as he held a dead girl. "That EMT captain you see there, crying like a baby... that's my nephew, Todd. The reason he's crying? That's his fiancée. Throat cut." Kenzie's face quickly scrunched in disgust. "So, yeah, tough situation. Go and look at whatever you wanna look at. Let me know when you're done so we can take these folks someplace decent."

Kenzie sighed as the sheriff walked away. "This is trouble."

"Interesting though," Patrick noted. "Three different methods of killing. Why is that?"

"It's always bad when local cops are personally involved," she muttered. "Would the feds want this?"

"Bodies have been arranged. Not in an ostentatious way, but there's a definite aesthetic at work here. He took his time. Yeah, it's a truly complicated maniac we're dealing with."

"Yeah. I'm gonna call the feds."

Patrick whipped around. "No, don't do that. I don't know why, but I want this case. Or vice versa."

"I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this."

"You people done yet?" The two looked up to see Sheriff Mullery approaching them.

"Sheriff Mullery, just so we're on the same page... in cases like these, we, the CBI, have sole jurisdiction. Your department would have a strictly advisory role."

"That's—"

Kenzie flinched as the sheriff's nephew, Todd, stormed up to them with blood caked on his face. "Have all the jurisdiction you want," he growled. "I swear to God, the man who did this will not live to see a courtroom."

Todd stormed off. Sheriff Mullery turned to them. "You didn't hear that."

"Yep. Already regret it."

After that, the team headed to the police station and began setting up their operations at the sheriff's office. Kenzie and Jane made their way to Keely's residence, and Teresa decided to tag along. According to Teresa, Kenzie needed to stay with her in order to prevent unprofessionalism. In reality, it was code for "I need you to not say anything that will get you suspended."