Alaskan Christmas Cold Case

by Sarah Varland

  She hit the gas, floored it out of the parking lot, the edges of her tires hitting the curb as she did so. Did she head farther into town, toward Miller’s Point, despite knowing it was a dead end, or back toward the Seward Highway? The darkness and isolation would make it even more dangerous for her because no one would see if her attacker managed to hit her car, shoot at her, or anything else. But at least she’d have somewhere to drive.

  Erynn glanced at her gas gauge. Plenty of gas. She’d take her chances with the highway. She whipped the wheel to the left, gunned the engine and grabbed her phone. Dialed 9-1-1.

  “Moose Haven Police Department, what is your emergency?”

  “It’s Erynn Cooper. I’m being followed by a four-door sedan—last few model years. Unknown male driver. I think he’s trying to hit me.”

  “Location?”

  “I’m in town, heading toward the Seward Highway on Ballentine Street.”

  “We have an officer in your area. Stay on the line.”

  “Sure, but I’m putting the phone down.” She wanted both hands for this. She turned down Seventh Avenue, toward Bear Mountain, then made a left almost immediately on Hamilton. The car followed her evasive maneuvers perfectly. Either the man following her was an expert stalker, a former race car driver or someone who’d been trained in defensive driving practices.

  That was something she’d need to tell Noah so they could investigate fully later. She wouldn’t let herself consider the possibility that she might not have that chance. She wasn’t going to come this close to finding the man responsible for destroying so many lives and then let him get away with it.

  The car edged closer as Erynn left the lights of town behind her. She passed the fire station. Passed the turnoff for Noah’s house and Moose Haven Lodge. Not much more in the way of civilization lay between there and where the Moose Haven turnoff connected to the Seward Highway. Only darkness and countless miles of Alaskan wilderness.

  For a second she toyed with the idea of crashing her car on purpose, disappearing into the woods. Besides the fact that this was her personal vehicle and not her patrol car, and not one she could afford to replace, there was also her lack of wilderness skills to consider. She could probably last a little while in the woods, but she wasn’t prepared for it. No, her chances were better in the car.

  She gripped the wheel, her hands cramping at the pressure she’d been exerting since she’d realized she had a tail. She released them, one at a time, and flexed to get the blood flowing again. Who knew how much longer she’d be driving?

  The road curved left and she hugged the bend even as she accelerated. Surely the person behind her had to tire of this kind of driving eventually. Unless, as she’d worried earlier, he was trained for it. It was a possibility Erynn hated to consider. Her dad had insisted he didn’t think it was one of his fellow officers in blue. Erynn hated to consider the possibility, also. But her dad was dead and the killer was somehow evasive enough to have escaped capture. She’d be willing to suspect about anyone reasonable if it brought her closer to discovering the killer’s identity.

  The road ahead stretched in front of her and she could see all the way to the two-lane bridge over Moose Creek. Erynn wasn’t sure if that was a liability or an asset at this point. Her pursuer was impossible to predict, but if she wanted to stay one step ahead of him, she had to try.

  She sped up, but so did the car behind her, edging closer still. He increased his speed even more, to the point that Erynn wasn’t comfortable driving any faster.

  God, help me. She pressed the gas pedal another millimeter, as far as she dared, as the bridge drew closer.

  She started over it, hands even tighter around the wheel. They were taking it too fast; bridges iced sooner in winter, and hadn’t she made a career of public safety and done her best to keep people from harm in all areas? This was one of them. But she had to take the risk now. It was less dangerous than letting whoever was behind her catch up.

  The front bumper of the sedan was so close now that she couldn’t see its headlights. Erynn pushed her gas pedal a bit farther, but braced for impact in case it wasn’t enough.

  It wasn’t.

  Metal crunched on metal as her head slammed forward then back, though she’d done her best to hold herself steady. The back end of her car swung right. Because of the impact or as a result of the ice on the bridge, she wasn’t sure, but she was slamming into the guardrail. Instead of another impact, she plowed straight into the rail without it catching her, and the car pitched right as the front nosed down, straight into the creek.

  The water slowed the impact, but Erynn felt it shudder through her and cried out in pain as the seat belt caught her chest, sent a blinding flash of pain through her. Her screams were worthless, she knew; no one could hear her. Not right now. And not in a few minutes, when the man she’d been so desperately trying to avoid finally managed to catch up to her. The impact had shattered one of her windows and as the car sank deeper into the shallow creek, frigid water poured in, soaking her seats, her feet, climbing up her body and filling her with a cold so all encompassing, Erynn almost couldn’t think. She struggled to put her thoughts together, keep some amount of coherency.

  The officer in the area when she’d made the 9-1-1 call—had he gotten the message that she’d headed down the highway?

  Please, God, if he kills me, don’t let Noah find me.

  She might not have been able to give him the answer he’d wanted when he’d made his confession, but it didn’t mean she’d wanted him hurt.

  No, Erynn admitted to herself as she saw a shadowy figure wade through the water as her vision blurred and threatened to take her under, she was fully, completely in love with Noah Dawson. Had been almost since the day she’d met him.

  And would be until the day she died. Which was apparently today.

  Erynn felt no fear, only resignation, disappointment, as the rising water in her car reached her shoulders. Her neck.

  Then the dizziness and cold overtook her.

  This was the end.

  She’d tried.

  And, just like her dad, she’d failed to succeed.

  EIGHT

  The water in the river was freezing and it burned Noah’s legs, filled his boots as he trudged through it, fighting the current that pushed against his thighs, threatened to take him under.

  He’d been too late, too slow. He’d hesitated when Erynn left and somehow in those short minutes a madman had managed to get on her tail and stay there, chasing her out of town and into this.

  Noah had seen the crash, watched Erynn’s car go over, and immediately driven close enough, jumped out and hurried into the water after her.

  His gun was at his side, but he was exposed and vulnerable, and if the killer were armed, he’d be at a huge advantage. But none of that was worth thinking about now, because in Alaskan winter, the cold, swift-running water was as real a threat as any serial killer.

  Noah stumbled, gasped against the shock of the cold water but kept moving. Erynn didn’t have long.

  He made it to her car, the open window adding to his panic when he saw the amount of water rushing in. Noah bent his head, could barely make out Erynn’s shape in the darkness of the car. She was unconscious, her head back against the seat, and creek water was up to her neck. If her head fell in either direction, she’d breathe in water and her chances of survival would drastically diminish.

  He had to get her out of there.

  Noah ran his options through his mind as fast as he could. Go to the driver’s side and break her window? Extracting her from the vehicle would be easier that way, but then he risked getting glass in her face. He didn’t like that option.

  Instead he broke a back window, desperate to equalize the pressure, and tried to pull the passenger door open. It gave easier than he’d expected and he wrestled it open all the way.

 
Thank You, God.

  He moved his arms through the water, released her seat belt and then tugged her to him. She was entirely unconscious, as he’d feared, and unable to help him at all. Noah kept pulling till he finally had her in the passenger seat and then he yanked hard one more time.

  She was in his arms and he was holding her tight against him, careful to keep her head near his shoulder, so that once they were away from the car he could stand, keep her out of the water and out of the danger of drowning.

  As Noah moved away from the car, back into the middle of the creek, he looked around, searching the darkness for signs of Erynn’s pursuer. The car had kept going when Erynn had gone off the bridge; Noah had seen that even as far back as he’d been, just edging into the straightaway.

  Would the man come back or assume that the cold water and imminent hypothermia would finish the job he’d started?

  Noah didn’t know. His gun was soaked now, but would still work, though wrenching it from his holder would be more difficult now. He could defend them if necessary, but for how long? While guarding an unconscious Erynn?

  He glanced at the road above, tried to assess the best route along the rocks that held the least amount of risk. Staying there, laying low, wasn’t an option in these temperatures, not with how cold Erynn was already. Hypothermia was a danger here, even in the summer, especially if someone was wet. Now, in mid-December? It was edging ever closer to reality.

  No, he needed to get her to his vehicle. He walked out of the creek, onto the rocks, praying his balance would hold even in waterlogged boots, and carried her to his car.

  No signs of any other vehicles.

  He opened the passenger door, slid Erynn into the seat, fighting back the panic at her stillness. He’d gotten there before the water had risen. Had she been breathing? Or had something happened to her in the impact?

  She looked normal, just asleep. He hadn’t felt anything amiss when he’d lifted her, but internal bleeding could be tricky.

  Please, God, let her live.

  * * *

  The glaring white of the hospital floors, the walls, the ceiling, was giving Noah a headache. Tension in his jaw had crawled up to his temples and settled in not long after he’d arrived with Erynn and a flurry of activity had taken her away from him. He had counted at least five people, looking concerned, huddled around the stretcher they’d loaded her onto immediately. He’d been sitting on an uncomfortable green plastic chair for... He glanced at his watch.

  Two hours. That couldn’t be good.

  Noah wanted to hit something.

  “Noah Dawson?”

  He jerked his head up, met the eyes of a nurse he didn’t recognize. Waited.

  “She’s awake and asked for you.” The nurse hesitated. “If you don’t mind hurrying, she seemed to think it was urgent that you come with me.”

  Noah was already standing, walking to the double doors that led to wherever Erynn was. The nurse had hurried on ahead of him, taking him through the labyrinth of ER hallways. Finally she stopped in front of a door that was partially open.

  Noah needed to get an officer posted here, in case he had to leave for any reason. Better yet, he needed to stay until Erynn was ready to be discharged and able to leave with him.

  Still, the case needed attention. The scene at the bridge had to be processed. He wanted to be the one to do it, to be certain nothing was missed. But he didn’t want to leave Erynn.

  “She’s a little beat-up,” the nurse said, presumably by way of warning, as Noah walked through the door and pushed past the eighties-style patterned curtain.

  Erynn lay in the bed, white sheet pulled up all the way to her chin, her face so pale the color of her skin was almost no different than the sheet, except for the bruises around her eyes. She must have hit something when the wreck happened and he hadn’t noticed in the darkness and in the urgency to get her to the hospital.

  Her hair was down, something he’d only rarely seen since she always wore it up and pinned back while working and in a ponytail when off duty. It was thicker than he’d realized, the dark red falling in waves across her pillow.

  She looked like she’d have quite the headache when she woke up. But she was beautiful, had never seemed more so to Noah. His stomach churned at the thought of the phone call he’d made while he’d waited. Any hint of partnership they’d had, any relationship, stood the chance of being destroyed because of the choice he’d made, but it was one he’d had to make. For her own good.

  Her eyes blinked open. “You came.”

  “The nurse said you asked for me.”

  Erynn struggled to sit and Noah moved closer to the head of the bed to rearrange the pillows. “I did. I wanted to make sure you knew it wasn’t an accident—the fact that I ended up in the creek.”

  “I know. I was following. Far enough back that whoever was following you may or may not have noticed me, but I saw everything.”

  Erynn nodded, closed her eyes. Noah didn’t know if he should say something or let her rest.

  His decision was made for him a minute later when she opened her eyes again. “We need to get back to the scene.”

  “I need to get back, but I’m not sure you do.”

  “We have to investigate, see if he left any evidence.” Her voice seemed to get stronger as her feelings about this case built and showed through her tone.

  “Erynn...”

  “Noah, I can’t let him get away with this. Not again. Not anymore.” She was shaking her head.

  Noah steeled himself, took a breath. “I called your boss after I dropped you off.”

  She blinked, kept her eyes focused on his. “You...”

  “Erynn, he needed to know why you weren’t coming in today.”

  “And you get to be the one who decides if I’m fit to work?” The idea that redheads had a temper was a stereotype, Noah was well aware of that. However, this once it was true, when it came to Erynn. He’d borne the brunt of her frustration before—they’d disagreed and sparred over cases—but to his knowledge she’d never been truly angry with him.

  Until now. Now, she left little doubt she was truly angry. Her tone was tight, her anger oozing out through her words, indicating she was on the very edge of control. Her facial muscles were tight, her cheeks red.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” she continued.

  “I didn’t have a choice.” He felt his frustration bubbling, heard a tone coming out of his mouth that would have betrayed his feelings if he hadn’t already done so. Had it really just been this morning? The day wouldn’t end. “You could have died, Erynn.”

  “It’s my job.”

  “No. This wasn’t because of your job. This was because someone is after you, and no matter how much you want to be the one who solves this case, it’s against protocol and you know it. You’re too close, too involved and, frankly, it’s too dangerous.”

  If steam could come out of people’s ears, Noah would have sworn he saw it coming out of Erynn’s.

  “It wasn’t your decision to make.”

  Noah shook his head. “It wasn’t yours, either.”

  She stared him down. He hated her anger, hated that it was upsetting her, judging by the rise in her heart rate on the monitor beside her hospital bed, and hated that it meant she was no longer officially involved in the investigation. But he stood by his choice.

  When Erynn had been hurt badly enough that Noah didn’t know when she could personally inform her boss? Yes, he’d taken it into his own hands. It had been what needed to be done.

  “Leave, Noah.”

  He looked over at her, swallowing hard against the burning in his chest. He’d known she’d be upset. Had apparently underestimated to what degree.

  “Erynn.”

  “I. Said. Leave.” She punctuated the words, closed her eyes and turned away from him, pain chasi
ng across her clenched facial muscles as she fought against who knew what kind of pain and to get away from him as much as she was able.

  It hurt. More than anything he’d felt before. But Noah nodded, pulled the curtain behind him and stepped outside the door. Then he leaned against the wall, pulled out his phone. He wasn’t leaving until he got someone else posted here to make sure Erynn would remain safe.

  He wasn’t going back in there, either. He knew when he wasn’t wanted.

  * * *

  Pain stabbed Erynn’s temples and her eyes and nose throbbed, a full symphony of facial pain.

  It was amazing she’d escaped with as few injuries as she had. Especially when the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the water rising...

  How had Noah gotten there in time? When he had, how had he managed to pull her from the car by himself, fighting against the frigid water’s current?

  She had no idea. Did not want to think about it now. Because however heroic his actions, however much she’d thought he cared, he’d proved today that he hadn’t. She’d devoted years of her life to this case and, from what he’d implied, was off of it within the span of... How long had she been out of it?

  Erynn looked at the clock on the wall across from her bed. Hours. She’d been out for hours. Her head injuries must have been worse than she’d assumed. That explained the stabbing feelings and the throbbing.

  In the space of a few hours, her purpose was gone. Over.

  Now what was she supposed to do?

  Erynn struggled to sit up further, pain in her rib cage making it harder. Not bad enough to be broken, but maybe bruised, she guessed.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and fumbled for the phone on the bedside table. She assumed the hospital had never imagined it being used to conduct trooper business, but she wasn’t a usual patient. She’d call her boss, do her best to smooth out whatever problems Noah had created.

  It hurt to think he’d been the one to take this away from her. Especially after he’d claimed to care about her.