Cold light of day, p.11
Cold Light of Day, page 11
“While I can’t offer information about police business, I can say that we get all types here.”
“Really? You’ve held a prisoner on a wanted list put out by Interpol in your small jail before?”
She shrugged. “Just another day on the job.”
“You’re kidding.” Come on, lady, give me something.
“Excuse me?”
Oh, this woman was a tough one. She wouldn’t be pushed to lose her cool or give him what he wanted.
“Shadow Gap is a small, quiet town. Surely you don’t get international fugitives here often, and it’s not just another normal day.”
She laughed. “I worked for Chief Long’s father, Miles, for twenty years, and then before him, I worked for the PD over in Anchorage. I’ve seen a lot, but you’re right, it’s quiet here and that’s why I love it. Now and again, we get a crime wave, let’s call it.”
The main entrance door flew open, startling both Tanya and Grier, and the chief rushed in, her face flushed.
“The meeting went well?” Tanya asked.
Ignoring both Tanya and Grier, she passed them to enter her office, then slammed the door.
Tanya glanced at Grier, failing to hide her concern. Grier didn’t see the other two officers around. Without asking permission, he walked past the counter to the chief’s office and opened the door, ignoring the “Wait!” that Tanya called from behind him.
He didn’t care. He, too, slammed the door behind him and took the seat across from the chief’s desk, though she remained standing. Surprise widened her eyes, and her cheeks were red—but they’d been red when she rushed in. Her hair was pulled back but wet from the rain, and soft curls had escaped, framing her face.
She was more agitated than he’d ever seen. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to commiserate with you.” He couldn’t just walk out with the way she’d rushed past them, clearly upset. “You’re down an officer. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. I . . . I know nothing about you, Grier.”
“You came to me asking for my help on the dive. You trusted me to put together a recovery and investigation team. You know me.” He hated the way he sounded as the words spilled out. Why was he begging? He should shift gears. “Okay, you don’t know me.” Truth.
She stared at him and frowned. “Look, can we do this later?”
He’d never seen the chief so emotional. What had happened at the city council meeting? She wouldn’t be here if she’d been fired—at least he didn’t think. He needed to redirect, refocus her attention. Like he had any idea how to comfort her. But he could try.
“Have you heard anything about the body we discovered?” he asked.
Autumn dropped into the seat behind her desk and blew out a breath.
The tension in his chest eased, if only a little.
“Nothing,” she said. “Why do you ask?”
Come on . . . check your email.
“And more importantly, why do you care?” She pinned him with her gaze.
And he loved it when she did that.
He shrugged, huffed, and grinned. “I don’t know. Just . . . we found a body. There’s been a lot of activity since then, and I just heard the guy you had in jail is an international fugitive. Was he on some sort of list?” Like a Red Notice to all law enforcement to locate and arrest the wanted fugitive and hold him for extradition?
“Grier, how did you learn that? Tanya didn’t—”
“Come on, you know this town. I was getting gas when I heard that news.”
“It’s out of my hands now, and good riddance.”
He didn’t believe that for one second—the chief would want to know the truth, and she would keep tabs on the investigation.
“What is his name? Why is he wanted?”
She toyed with a pen on her desk and stared at it. Hard. “Look, Grier, what are you really doing here?”
“I told you already. Have you heard anything more about the body we discovered?”
“It’s part of an investigation. We don’t like to talk about investigations outside the office. And besides, you’re the one who told me it was murder. You know more than I do.”
“If you would look at your email, you might know more than me.”
She narrowed her gaze.
“I couldn’t help but see the ME sent an email. It was visible on Tanya’s computer.”
“They can’t know anything yet. They’re always behind.”
But he could tell he’d stirred her curiosity. He wasn’t sure why she was being so evasive now after she’d welcomed his help before. “Why don’t you look and see?”
“You don’t work for me, and I’m not at liberty to share.” She lifted her chin.
He might be scaring her, pushing too hard and raising her suspicions. He abruptly stood, walked to the door, and pressed his hand against the knob—
“Wait.” She sighed. “Grier Brenner. Why are you so secretive about who you were before living here? Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
And that was the crux of the matter. How could she fully trust him without knowing his past? He didn’t blame her. His throat tightened. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t.
He turned and jammed his hands into his pockets, that old cliché—If I told you, I’d have to kill you—running through his mind. Seriously, if he told her, that would only put her in danger. But he’d burst in here like a fool, and he had a feeling his time was short. Without Krueger to advise him, he couldn’t know if his enemies were closing in.
“You asked me to dive and to help. Now, I’m asking you—what did the ME say?”
The door opened behind him, forcing him to step back. Tanya pushed her way in and looked from Grier to Autumn. “Chief, you okay?”
She nodded. “Mr. Brenner was just leaving.”
Brilliant. Grier bid goodbye to both women, then exited. She was right. He was just leaving. He would get in his truck and just keep driving, only he couldn’t drive to escape Shadow Gap. He would have to fly or take the Alaska Marine Highway.
SEVENTEEN
Grier stepped out of Autumn’s office and disappeared from her line of sight. Tanya held the door open as Craig walked by, heading to his desk. As he passed, he glanced at Tanya and nodded, then at Autumn and his head swiveled away, but not before she caught his smirk.
Fury could get the best of her if she let it, and as it was, Tanya probably thought the heat reddening her cheeks was because of Grier. But it was anger flushing through her at Craig’s cocky attitude. Obviously, his uncle had notified him of the city council discussion. What she couldn’t know was if he would go so far as to sabotage her efforts to prove herself. She couldn’t imagine he would—because she believed he was a good guy. She and her three officers and two dispatchers were a team and had each other’s backs. They’d worked well together even before she became the chief. It was only the last few months that her every move was watched and criticized.
If anything, Wally was fueling dissension.
Tanya closed the door, remaining in Autumn’s office. “I can see that you’re not okay. You want to talk about it?”
“I have work to do.”
“Oh, I see how it is.”
“I’m not shutting you out, Tanya. I mean it. Grier mentioned he spotted an email on your computer from the ME.”
“Why, that sneaky—”
“What did it say?” she asked.
“See for yourself. It’s in your inbox.”
“Anything else?”
“I also emailed a link where you can view the footage you requested.”
Autumn smiled, for probably the first time today. “You’re a gem, you know that?”
The woman batted her naturally thick eyelashes as she left Autumn’s office and closed the door.
Releasing a pent-up breath, Autumn tried to breathe slowly and naturally, letting the tension drain out of her. Not all of it, though—she needed to remain diligent, enough so that she could think clearly.
Grier had been fishing for information, and he’d made her uncomfortable. What was she doing trusting him so much, more than she trusted the officers working for her? Maybe it was like Birdy had said and she only needed to know someone’s mettle. And Grier possessed a lot of it, at least his actions seemed to indicate he did. Maybe she’d turned to him because she felt like she’d been thrown under the proverbial bus, every decision she made questioned and labeled a mistake.
Grier’s sudden appearance in her world had seemed like a lifeline and she’d held on. But if she knew what was good for her, she would rein in her interactions.
She couldn’t afford any mistakes.
She’d left the council meeting hoping to convey that she didn’t care as much about their decision as she did about doing her job. She needed to find out about the criminals who had shown up in Shadow Gap.
But she did care. She wanted to keep her job.
And right now, she had to push aside thoughts of Grier and his good looks. His courage. Hero status. With his bearing, his skills, she pegged him for a Navy SEAL or someone of that caliber. One day, he might even willingly tell her the truth.
Blowing out a breath, she shook her head and focused on pulling up the email from the ME he’d referenced. She read it and learned some preliminary information about the body. Then grabbed her cell and texted Grier to meet her tonight at her house. She would use the info to negotiate.
She then began her own search into the dead man and his partner. “Okay, Alberto Acosta from Argentina and Oscar Evans from the UK, are these even your real names?”
An incredulous huff escaped.
When AST informed her of the men’s identities, she learned they each had a Red Notice out for them. They were wanted by a country or an international tribunal. But she wanted to know why. Law enforcement agents from various countries worked on loan for Interpol, but Interpol wasn’t a police agency in and of itself and had no authority to arrest or to compel countries to arrest someone who was wanted. They could work with law enforcement investigating, searching for, and arresting, but mostly they connected the police around the world. At least so far as countries chose to participate.
She skimmed the names of fugitives again, but in the case of these two, their crimes weren’t recorded in the public information she’d pulled up. Autumn read more, learning there were almost seventy thousand such notices, but only eight thousand were made public. Still, she could search the nonpublic lists made available to law enforcement if she had time, which she didn’t.
It was no secret that criminals fled to Alaska to hide, and Dad had often relied on Occam’s razor—the simplest explanation was the best one. Meaning that Autumn shouldn’t assume anything beyond the facts of the matter. Acosta was most likely in the hands of Homeland Security and possibly being extradited to his home country or to whatever country he had committed crimes against. Bottom line, like Craig said, it was out of her hands.
The man himself knocked lightly on the door and stepped in. “I’m heading out to look into the report of a stolen vehicle. Angie’s finishing up with a domestic abuse call—Mr. Ainsley and his wife are at it again—but she’s going to meet me there. Can I get anything for you? Anything else you need me to do?” Oddly, his expression appeared sincere.
This was the Craig she’d known all those years working by his side. “Thanks, Craig. Just keep me informed. I’m going to investigate a couple of things too.”
He nodded, then stepped away.
“Craig,” she called after him.
He appeared again. “Yes?”
“Thanks for all you do for the department, and for this town. I appreciate you, and I just wanted you to know that.”
A frown flitted across his expression, then he nodded and gave her a tenuous smile. “Thanks, Chief.”
Then he disappeared, leaving her door open.
Tanya stepped in. “Nice.” She sat down in the chair Grier had occupied earlier.
“Honestly, I don’t know where that came from.”
“It came from your heart. You’re a good person. A good cop, and the best chief since your father.”
That elicited a chuckle, and Tanya joined her.
“What happened at the meeting?”
“It went as well as you might expect. Wally declared they would vote me out.”
Tanya pursed her lips.
“Then I told them to go ahead and vote, but I had work to do, and then I left.”
A broad smile spread across Tanya’s lips. “I’m glad you stood up for yourself. Honestly, I would have lost respect if you had cowered before the great Wally Atkins.”
Autumn waved her hand. Enough about that. Now it was time to do her job as she’d so boldly claimed she would do. She might not be able to investigate the international criminals, but she could look into the body she and Grier had found in the shipwreck, as well as follow up with Sarah.
“Did you happen to find contact information for Sarah?”
“You mean Sarah Frasier? The woman who lied about her boat?”
“That’s not her real name, I’m guessing.”
“The only Sarah Frasiers I could locate aren’t in their midtwenties and certainly don’t fit her description.”
Autumn sagged. “And she’s gone.”
“Not to worry, Chief. I’m sending you fake Sarah’s cell number from a burner phone she used, per my cousin Jett. She chartered his boat to take her across to Haines.” Tanya batted her lashes again.
Autumn never doubted that Tanya, her huge family, and their connections were an asset. “I love it when you work your magic and then flaunt your lashes.” If Autumn had lashes like that, she might flaunt them too. She stood and grabbed her jacket. “I’ll contact her on my way home.”
“Say hello to your father for me.”
“I will.”
Autumn headed out of the office through the back door. Once inside the cab of her Interceptor, she called the cell number Tanya claimed belonged to Sarah but got no answer. She left a voice mail that she hoped sounded compelling and was filled with concern. But Sarah might simply toss the phone and get a new one.
Autumn was grateful for her family and friends, the local characters who made up the community of Shadow Gap and had been here for decades. Otherwise, her world might be filled with only murderous fugitives and those just passing through.
Her heart suddenly kicked up—was Grier just passing through? She shouldn’t care so much about a man she knew so little about.
But she cared. Oh, she cared.
Autumn sped home after she realized how late it already was. She wasn’t sure how her father would react if Grier showed up before she got there.
Maybe she should have just turned up at his cabin and talked to him there, but she needed to check in on Dad as well—she had a feeling he thought she was neglecting him. Well, more than a feeling. She’d been busy. Did that count as an excuse?
It was dark by the time she got home with five minutes to spare. She opened the front door and stepped into a dark house.
Alarm kicked her heart rate into overdrive, and she removed her Staccato P from her holster and gripped it.
“Dad?”
She stared into the utter darkness and listened. Chills prickled her arms. Autumn took a step to reach the light switch and stumbled over something. She flipped on the lights, but the darkness remained.
Autumn radioed dispatch to request backup and ask for an ambulance, though she prayed one wasn’t needed. Using her flashlight, she slowly crept through the house, clearing every room and searching for her father. Hoping she would find him and praying he was safe. But sensing something entirely different.
Fear gnawed her gut.
After clearing the house, she stepped through the back door, quietly. Her skin crawled—she felt it.
The sensation that she wasn’t alone.
Leading with her pistol, she walked around the perimeter of the house and shined her flashlight into the woods to search for an assailant and her father, hoping those two were mutually exclusive—she’d find her father or the criminal, but not together.
God, I don’t want to lose Dad too. Help me.
A hand covered her mouth at the same moment a voice whispered in her ear. “It’s me. Turn off the flashlight.”
Her heart jumped to her throat.
Grier? That he’d been able to get so close told her a lot—about herself and about Grier. He gently urged her into a crouch against the side of the house near some bushes.
In the shadows of the cool, wet night, she could barely make out his face, but she could see clearly enough that he pressed a finger against his lips. Before he gave her any explanation, he signaled for her to wait.
He started to leave, but she caught him. “I’m not sitting this out. What do you think you’re doing?”
He leaned in so close, his warm breath tickled her ear when he said, “You’re in danger. Stay here.”
“No, Grier. I’m the law here. You stay.” She started to move, but he held her in place. Her insides twisted. “Take your hands off me or I’m going to hurt you, and then I’ll cuff you.”
“I respect you, Chief, but I can’t get to your dad until I take care of this. Stay here or you risk his life.” He released her and was gone before she could move.
His words had stunned her and were the only thing he could have said to cement her in place. He knew where her dad was? And he was using that to his tactical advantage? How would she risk her dad’s life if she moved?
She couldn’t see much in the darkness but waited and listened. The seconds ticked by, and as the time increased, so did her heart rate. Her breaths came faster until she couldn’t hear any sound over the pulse in her ears—not even the incessant rain.
Autumn slowly stood as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. No way was she going to cower in the bushes.
Grunts, groans, and punches resounded in the woods.
Then shouts.
Bursts of gunfire blasted the night.
No, no, no . . .
People she cared about were getting hurt. Autumn held her gun at the ready and maneuvered between the trees with stealth. She knew these woods next to her home and might be able to walk them blindfolded. An unsettling silence now met her ears. Silence except for the patter of raindrops.
