He parked the Jeep beside a dented Ford 150. “I think this is Cash’s truck. We’re in the right place. Stay alert.”
“Always.” She climbed from the Jeep.
He followed and checked the truck’s license plate. “It’s a match, and it appears that our suspect is home. For once, we’re one step ahead of them. Let’s go, and stay behind me.”
“Will do.”
He peered at the three-story walk-up. The dilapidated building needed urgent care. He noted shingles missing, broken balcony railings and the front door hanging from its hinges.
“This building doesn’t look safe. Be careful.” Layke took a step as an SUV pulled out of its parking spot only just missing him. “Watch out!” He shoved her to the side, pushing her from harm’s way.
The vehicle raced out of the parking lot like a race car driver. Someone definitely on a mission. Wait—
“Did that SUV look like the one trying to run us off the road earlier?” It came so quickly he’d missed the license plate.
“It was dark like the previous one.”
Not good.
“Let’s get to Cash’s apartment.” Something told him he wouldn’t like what he found.
A state trooper walked toward them and extended his hand. “Officer Jim Allard. I’ve been apprised of the situation.”
Layke made introductions and they entered the building, taking the stairs cautiously. He didn’t trust anything about the structure. He checked the numbers posted on the wall to determine which direction to head, then turned right. Layke halted. He immediately noticed Cash’s broken door. He unleashed his weapon and turned to Hannah. “This doesn’t look good. Be prepared for anything.”
She pulled out her gun but stayed behind him.
“Officer, this is your jurisdiction,” Layke said. “You lead.”
The trooper edged the door open and stepped inside. “Police! Identify yourself.”
Silence and musty air greeted them.
Layke walked into the living room with Hannah at his heels.
She gasped.
He turned to see her gaze focused on the couch.
A foot protruded from behind it.
Layke rushed over to investigate and braced himself for what he’d find.
Tupper Cash lay on the floor with a bullet in his head, his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.
TWELVE
Hannah listened as Layke spoke to Goliath-type Alaska state trooper Jim Allard. She sighed. Their first real hope of solving this case had been taken out with a single shot. The image of the dark SUV barreling out of the parking lot now made sense. They had just missed the assassination. Could they have stopped it? Had the gang discovered they were on their way to interrogate Tupper and decided to take him out? He obviously knew too much.
“This guy has been on our radar,” Jim said. “However, we haven’t been able to catch him in any act of crime.”
“What can you tell us about him?” Layke had his pen and notebook ready.
“Cash is known in these parts as a major troublemaker. Always involved in the next get-rich-quick scheme, no matter the cost.” He knelt beside the body. “Looks like this was an assassination. Didn’t stand any hopes of survival.”
Hannah stepped closer. She’d seen a few bodies, but none taken out like Tupper. Nausea slammed her and she gagged. She covered her mouth and turned away from the pair. She wouldn’t let them see the effect this body had on her. Breathe, Hannah, breathe. She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She pulled out her inhaler and took a puff.
Layke touched her back. “Hannah, you okay?”
Busted.
His gentle hand at the small of her back somehow eased the terror threatening to consume her body. She could get used to him by her side. She shoved the thought away and turned. “I’m fine. Just hit me wrong.”
A knock at the door sounded.
Jim jumped up. “That would be the crime scene investigator.” He let in the lanky young man.
Layke’s eyes widened and he leaned closer. “Looks like a teenager,” he whispered.
His minty breath tickled her ear and she shivered. “I know, right?” Her cell phone played Doyle’s ring. She fished it out of her pocket. “What do you have for me, boss man.”
“I hate when you call me that.”
“I know.” She chuckled.
“Listen, my contact got back to me. Seems like there’s a smuggling drop happening at midnight tonight.” He continued to tell her about the airstrip where the plane was expected to land. She tilted her head and cradled the phone between her chin and shoulder, grabbing Layke’s notebook and pen. “Give that to me again.” She jotted the information down. “Got it. We’ll be there. Will you?”
“No, I’m following another lead. Can you and Constable Jackson handle it along with the other border patrol officers?”
“We’ll be fine. Give me the contact’s info in case we need to call him.” She added it to her scribbles in Layke’s notebook. “Got it.”
“Be safe, little one.”
She smiled at his term of endearment. “Always.” She clicked off.
“What’s happening?”
Hannah told him about the smuggling drop. She checked her watch. The day had gotten away from them and it would soon be dusk. “We need to leave if we’re going to get there on time. How about we grab some munchies for the stakeout?” Excitement bubbled and she bounced in place.
“Have you ever been on a stakeout?”
“No. Why?”
“They’re not as fun as television portrays them. Boring, actually.”
She never believed anything she saw on the tube. They rarely got their facts straight. “Can we head out now?”
“I’ll check.” He conversed with Trooper Allard and they agreed to stay in touch. Sharing information between the two agencies was necessary in this case. Layke pulled the keys out, dangling them. “Let’s go.”
Thirty minutes later, Hannah directed Layke back across the quiet border crossing and into Canada. The freezing rain had returned with a vengeance. A thick layer of ice covered the trees, fields and hydro lines. She sent up a quick prayer for their safety. The Yukon roads in the winter were already tricky enough, and throwing in a layer of ice only added to the danger. To think her life forty-eight hours ago was quiet and boring. She studied Layke’s handsome profile. God definitely had a sense of humor. With the news of her condition of polycystic ovary syndrome, He throws a man in her path she could fall for and see herself with years from now? Who was she kidding? She was already on her way to doing just that. Was God teasing her? She couldn’t fall for a potential husband when she would never be able to give him a child.
Trust.
The word raced through her mind like God had whispered it in her ear. How could she trust Him when her life was crumbling? She turned her head and stared at the passing icy trees, pressing her lips tightly together. No, God had failed her. She’d poured out her heart to Him, confessing her heart’s desire. However, He hadn’t listened.
Why, God? Haven’t I followed You all these years? Done Your work?
She sighed. A little too loudly.
“What’s wrong?” Layke asked.
He’d be horrified if he could read her thoughts. How could she share her doubts about God’s sovereign plan and her identity in Him when Layke couldn’t trust God for reasons she didn’t know? She needed this case to be over so she could go off by herself and mourn the loss of not being able to have children. “Nothing. Just wishing we could solve this case.”
He shifted his gaze toward her. “Are you sure that’s all?”
Man, he needed to stop getting into her head. “I’m sure.”
At that moment, the car slid to the left and the tires locked in a skid.
“Watch out!”
She pointed to an oncoming car. She gripped the armrest as if it were her lifeline.
Layke took his foot off the gas, but she could feel him losing control of the car on the sheet of ice.
She held her breath as the vehicle inched closer to them almost like it was in slow motion. It veered right, then left.
Then lurched into their path at full speed.
“Hold on!” Layke fought for control.
Hannah shut her eyes and waited for impact.
* * *
Layke’s defensive driving training kicked into gear and he turned the wheel to the right to get out of the car’s trajectory. He uttered a prayer that the tires would find traction and stay on the icy highway. This was exactly why he hated winter and could never live in a place where the season held its victims in a polar grip for too many months. Calgary was wintery enough for him.
Miraculously, the Jeep remained on course and Layke regained control. The oncoming car swerved around them and out of harm’s way.
Hannah let out a staggered sigh. “Praise the Lord.”
For once he couldn’t argue with her statement. Had God really heard his desperate plea for safety? “Well, that was fun. Not.” He relaxed his fierce hold on the wheel and stole a peek at the pretty border patrol officer.
She still held the armrest like it was her saving grace. She tightened her lips as a red curl fell in front of her eye. She huffed out a breath to remove it from her face, but it didn’t work.
Did she realize how cute she was, especially when she didn’t know she was being watched?
He returned his gaze to the highway. A sudden wave of emotion washed over him like a waterfall on a warm summer day. Was his heart opening a crack to allow a woman into his life? This woman? At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and protect her from every danger in her path.
An image of Amber’s face flashed before him as he kept his eyes on the stormy road. She had played him when he thought she was interested and damaged his trust in women. He’d almost lost his job over her shenanigans. Layke clenched his jaw as the vein in his neck pulsed, closing shut the crack in his heart. No, he wouldn’t let a woman into his life. Besides, after this case he would be going back to Calgary and he would not do a long-distance relationship. Even if he wanted one. Which he didn’t. He made a promise to himself that he would spend his life free of romantic relationships.
“What are you thinking?” Hannah asked.
“How much I hate winter.” A half-truth.
“It’s my favorite time of year. Well, ice storms are too dangerous for my liking.”
His cell phone rang, jarring him from their conversation. He hit the speaker button. “Constable Jackson here.”
“Hello...” The timid voice could barely be heard through the car’s Bluetooth.
“Who’s this?”
“Don Crawford. You called about my son?”
Right, the final parent he needed to talk to from the list Murray gave him. “Thank you for returning my call, Mr. Crawford. You’re on speakerphone and I have border patrol officer Hannah Morgan with me. What can you tell us about the day your son was kidnapped?”
The man cleared his voice. “Not much. My wife dropped him off at the church, and a day later we received a call from the police that he was missing along with the other boys.”
His nonchalant tone piqued Layke’s interest. No quiver and his previously timid voice had disappeared. Odd. “Were you ever contacted for a ransom demand?” None of the other parents had been, but he needed to ask anyway.
Silence.
Layke glanced at Hannah.
She steeled her jaw.
Her inquisitive look revealed she had the same suspicions about this man.
He made a mental note to check the system for any prior arrests. “Mr. Crawford? You still there?”
“Yes. I don’t know anything and I have to go.”
“Call us if you think—”
Click.
Hannah pushed the button to end the call. “Okay, that was weird. His silence tells me he’s hiding something. But what?”
“Grab my laptop. I’m already logged into our database. Can you search for his name?”
“You think he might be involved?”
“Not saying that, but I need to be sure.”
She snatched the device from the back seat, opened it and started typing.
They waited.
A ding sounded on his laptop. “What does it say?”
“Oh, my. Donald E. Crawford. Arrested five years ago for assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping of a child.”
Bingo.
“What else?”
“Lawyer got him off on a technicality. Acquitted of all charges after his wife testified on his behalf. Says here she provided an alibi for the date in question.”
Layke swerved around a fallen branch. “What happened to the child who was kidnapped?”
She glanced back to the screen. “Says here the child was never found and no one was convicted. That poor family.” She closed the laptop. “Wait! I remember that case. I had just moved here. It was all over the news.”
“What happened?”
“The child’s mother committed suicide a year later. Her agony over the loss of her child was too much for her. Her husband moved away.”
He clenched his jaw. He hated to hear heartbreaking news like that. Where was God in this situation?
“Do you really think Mr. Crawford would kidnap his own son?” Hannah asked.
“I hope not, but interesting he was charged for it in a prior case. We need to look into him further.”
His stomach growled. He glanced at the time on the dashboard. No wonder. They hadn’t eaten in hours. “Change of subject. Is there a coffee shop where we can grab some java and a muffin or something? We still have time before the scheduled drop.”
“There’s a coffee shop not far from here. Take your next right.”
Ten minutes later, they waited in the long drive-through line. “Is it always this busy?”
“Yup. It’s known for their amazing coffee beans and apple fritters. Trust me?”
Did he? He barely knew her, but something deep in his soul wanted to.
The beautiful redhead’s smile enticed him. And those eyes...
Well, they lured him in and he could get lost in their ocean of blue.
He cleared his foggy mind from her magnetic embrace. Remember the last redhead you let into your life. “Sure.” Really, what did he have to lose? Other than his heart.
He let out a long breath and rested his head as they waited in the line. His shoulders lowered as he felt himself relax for the first time in forty-eight hours.
“Good, you’re relaxing.”
Was it that obvious? “I’ve been so wound lately.”
“You mean before coming to the Yukon? Why?”
He stared into her eyes, trying to decide whether or not he could trust her with his secret.
She placed her hand over his. “You can trust me and I don’t bite.”
Wow. She was good at her job of reading people. But could he really share something he hadn’t even told his best friend, Hudson? Even though they’d only met, they had been thrust into a perilous situation. People got close fast when danger happened.
No, he wasn’t ready. He pulled his hand away.
Disappointment shone in her expression, kicking him in the gut. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. “It’s a long story. Sorry.”
“And we just met. I get it.”
He pulled out his cell phone. “Let’s call and check on Gabe. It’s probably time for him to go to bed.” Besides, he had to change the subject. He punched in Murray’s number, put it on speaker and set it on the console in the middle of the Jeep. His half brother answered on the second r
ing.
“Hey, man. How’s everything going there with Gabe?”
“Great. We’re sitting on his bed reading him a story right now.”
“Mr. Layke, is that you?” Gabe’s cheerful voice sailed through the cell phone.
“Yes. I’m here with Miss Hannah. We wanted to say good-night.”
“I miss you. When are you coming back?”
“Soon, sport.” He hoped.
“We’ll help you build a snowman tomorrow,” Hannah said. “Sound good?”
“Yay! I wanna hear the end of your story, Mr. Layke. Please.”
He smirked. “Sure. Where was I?”
“The knight killed the dragon.”
“Right.” Layke paused, pondering an ending for his tale. “Marian ran from her hiding place and hugged Richard. ‘You saved me,’ she said.” Layke once again changed his voice into a woman’s. “Richard helped Marian onto Shadowfax and galloped back to the kingdom.”
“Did she marry him or did that mean Knight Arthur steal her?” Gabe asked.
“I was getting to that part,” Layke said. “She confessed her hidden love for Richard and asked her father to let them marry.”
“Yes!” Gabe yelled.
“They lived happily ever after like all the fairy tales.”
Hannah drummed on the dashboard. “Well, did they kiss?”
Layke’s face flushed. Why did the simple question embarrass him? Was it because the thought of kissing Hannah captured his attention? He stared at her pink lips.
She cleared her throat and looked down, fumbling with her parka zipper.
“Well?” Gabe’s excited voice brought him back to story land.
“Of course they did. Richard pulled Marian into a long hug and kissed her. The end.”
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