Aurora's Gold

by K. J. Gillenwater

  Now, however, without him here, I felt the full weight of what I was up against. The aggressive tactics of my competitors, the blatant jealousy and violence that lurked under the surface, waiting for the right moment to burst out and swallow me down whole. Nate was a manifestation of that world. A world my father had done a pretty decent job sheltering me from.

  Ben, however, was a whole different animal. He’d started out as my employee. Another tough-as-nails manly man who thought he could eat me up for breakfast if necessary. I’d sensed that in him from day one. The raw animal power he had. He’d been ‘The Beast.’ A compilation of everything I was up against here in Nome. I’d entered Ernie’s Pub as an alien in my own town. I’d never really fit in the way I’d wanted to. I’d assumed it had been all about learning the ropes, putting in the time, showing I could do the work. But it had been more than that.

  Ben had shown me it was about teamwork, about trusting your partners, about setting aside differences and making something really great happen. It never had been about me as the only female dredge captain. I’d learned in the short time Ben had been my diver, it had always been about showing I could lead, that I could move forward even in the worst moments and keep the trust of my team. No matter how small my team was.

  I headed up to my apartment. I took the stairs two at a time, ready to shower, eat and get a good night’s sleep. When I got to the landing, I noticed the lights were on inside. I never left the lights on. Everyone in Nome learned from a young age that electricity wasn’t cheap and wasting it was a crime worse than most. Had I been in a rush this morning? It didn’t make sense.

  I approached, key in hand. The door stood open a crack.

  Someone was in my apartment.

  My pulse raced. I heard a boom-boom-boom in my ears. The rush of blood. My nerves on edge.

  I opened the door.

  A dark shadow appeared.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The morning light shone into my eyes, and I squinted at the brightness. A throb of pain exploded at the back of my head. Reflexively, I touched the sore spot. My fingers smoothed over a bulk of bandage and medical tape right behind my ear.

  What had happened to my head?

  I dug through my memories. What was the last thing I remembered?

  A shout of surprise. Sharp, terrible pain.

  And a face. A blurry face I couldn’t remember.

  “You’re awake.” Stella held a Styrofoam cup full of a hot, steaming drink. “Thank God, you’re okay.”

  I was in the hospital.

  My mouth felt dry. “Water.” I pointed at the pitcher on the stand next to my bed. My voice sounded raspy and thin.

  Stella poured water into a plastic cup and handed it to me.

  I drank greedily. My head pounded.

  “The police want to talk to you.” Stella fiddled with her cup and picked bits of Styrofoam off the edge. A habit she’d had since our middle school days. “I already gave them a statement.”

  “Were you there?” I couldn’t remember. Everything was hazy, fuzzy. “What happened?”

  Stella’s brows came together. “You don’t remember anything?” She rubbed the ridges of the cup. “I didn’t realize.”

  “Stella, what happened to me?” I felt for the bed remote so I could sit more upright.

  My friend sighed, “Someone attacked you in your apartment.”

  “Who?” The fuzzy face. I wish I could remember.

  “That’s why the police want to talk to you. They’ve taken some evidence out of your apartment, fingerprinted things, that kind of stuff. But they need a rundown of who might’ve had access, who might’ve been inside.” Stella’s eyes became red-rimmed. “I was so worried when the police showed up at the diner this morning. I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Rory, I should’ve been there for you.” She touched my arm.

  “Yes, my apartment.” I remembered arriving, but nothing else.

  “The police asked me if I had any idea who might want to hurt you.” She picked more chunks out of the cup’s rim. “I remembered what you told me about Nate.”

  I nodded.

  Had it been his face I’d seen?

  “And then I told them about Ben.”

  “Ben?” My thoughts scrambled. “What did you tell them about Ben?”

  “That he was a murder suspect.” She glanced at me. “And I saw you two arguing yesterday. I mean, was that wrong? I thought it would be something the police would be interested in. We don’t really know much about him, do we?”

  I remembered being at the gas station. The argument we’d had. I knew people had witnessed it, but I didn’t know Stella had seen me.

  I said quietly, “Ben’s never done anything to hurt me.” I’d read the same news article as Stella. How well did I really know Ben? In fact, maybe I’d pushed aside any negative thoughts about him because I’d needed to. My gold operation depended on him. Without Ben, what would I have? And maybe that desperation had clouded my judgment a little too much—and my growing attraction to him.

  “You did say that he attacked Nate,” Stella reminded me.

  “Yes, but that was to protect me.”

  “Was it really? Or is he an unstable man who is out of control?” Stella set her cup on my tray and folded her arms. “They asked me what I thought of Ben and what I knew about him. So I told them. I’m not going to lie to the police.”

  “I didn’t ask you to lie.” The conversation was going nowhere fast. I didn’t want her visit to turn into an argument.

  “I had to give them my fingerprints, too. Elimination prints they called them.” She let out a loud breath. “Somebody had ransacked your apartment, apparently.”

  I didn’t know what to think when Stella said that. It seemed more likely Nate would’ve been the one who broke in and then attacked me. But would he really have had time to get to my apartment before me? We’d left him on the water, I thought.

  I wished I could remember more about what happened last night.

  “Look, I can see you’re tired. Me throwing all of this at you is probably pretty exhausting.” Stella picked up her destroyed cup and its bits and pieces and threw them in the trash. “Plus, I have to get back to work. It’s the breakfast rush.”

  “That’s fine, Stel. I’ll be fine.” I turned over these facts in my muddled mind. I wanted to piece them together, but my memories were fuzzy and broken. I didn’t know what was real and what was drug-induced haze.

  She gave me a kiss on the cheek and a gentle squeeze. Then waved goodbye and left.

  Someone had attacked me in my own apartment. Goosebumps rose on my arms. Somebody in Nome wanted to hurt me, and I had no idea who it was. Having this piled on top of what I already had on my plate made my life even more stressful and complicated. It also revealed how much my father had been protecting me. Without it, I’d become a sheep fed to the jackals.

  A nurse, short, dark and with Inuit features, slipped inside the curtained off area that served as privacy in the room. “Your friend told me you woke up. I’m Kathy, your nurse. The doctor should be here shortly to do some tests. I’m here to check your bandage, though, and replace the dressing.”

  “Should I just sit here or…?” I made motion to swing my legs over the side of the bed so it would be easier for her to get at my wound.

  She held up her hands. “Whoa, take it slow. With a head wound like that, you really should stay in bed until the doctor clears you. You lost consciousness, so you could have a concussion. I can check your wound right where you are.” Nurse Kathy set gauze, medical tape, and some other supplies on the tray table and rolled it over the bed. “If you could turn your head to the left, please.” She put on some disposable gloves.

  I complied and cringed as she peeled back the tape.

  “So who was that hunk who brought you in last night?”

  “Huh?” I winced as she touched the tender skin above my right ear. I hadn’t really thought about how I’d gotten to the clinic’s emergency room.
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  “Tall. Buff. Beard. And those eyes.” Nurse Kathy whistled. “Haven’t seen him around Nome before.”

  Ben. She must mean Ben.

  “I don’t remember anything about last night.” Although I’d had a few fleeting memories, nothing came together in a chronological way that made any sense.

  Nurse Kathy mused, “Hmmm. Well, he looked pretty worried about you. Stuck around for a couple of hours to make sure you were okay and then, I don’t know, he disappeared somewhere. Was right near the beginning of my shift so I was a little busy.”

  “Ouch.” Whatever cream or salve she touched to my wound stung. “By your description, I’d say it was my diver, Ben. But I have no idea why he’d be the one to bring me in.” I’d left Ben at the gas station. He’d taken off on his ATV before I’d paid.

  Although that gave Ben time to get to my place before I’d arrived…

  I mulled over the timeline.

  Ben had had opportunity. I hadn’t seen what direction he’d gone in after our dust up.

  Was it really feasible, though, that the perpetrator would attack me and then take me to the ER himself? That made zero sense.

  Although Stella had her reasons for being wary of Ben, the new bit of news let me scratch off Ben from the list of suspects. To me that left only one: Nate.

  Nurse Kathy cut several long strips of medical tape and stuck them to the tray. “Ben, huh? You know if he’s single?”

  “I think so.” I said without thinking. “You said he left?”

  “Yeah. I remember the police showed up a little while after you were brought in and wanted to talk to him. He’d already skedaddled out of there.”

  “Do you know who called the police?”

  “I assumed your friend, Ben, had.”

  I knew that couldn’t be true. Ben had likely taken off because the police had arrived. The other day he’d looked wary of me contacting them and seemed relieved when I’d decided against reporting Nate’s behavior.

  A few hours later the doctor cleared me to be released. My head wound and my response to his questions indicated I wouldn’t have any lasting effects after my attack. The only bad thing was I wouldn’t be allowed to dive for ten days while my stitches remained. I’d be 100% dependent on Ben for any diving. Money would be even further out of reach, if all I could do was tend the dredge. I wanted the nurse to pump me full of meds and let me go back to sleep.

  Before I could find the motivation to get up and change into my clothes, two officers entered. I recognized one, Mr. Isaacs. The other was younger and not familiar to me. Maybe a transfer from down state.

  “Hey, Rory,” Officer Isaacs said. “I heard about your dad. I’m sorry. How’s he doing?” He touched my arm in a caring gesture.

  “He’s doing better thanks.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be up on his feet and back to his old self in no time.” He took a step back. “This is my new partner, Brandon Garber. I’m letting him take the lead on your case. Hope that’s okay.”

  Garber nodded.

  I smiled at the younger officer. I trusted Mr. Isaacs. “Sure. But I’m not sure if I can help you very much.”

  Officer Garber went right to work, changing the tone of the conversation from friendly to serious. “Ms. Darling, this should only take a few minutes.” He took out a notepad. “We need to ask you a few questions about your attack and what you remember.”

  “I’m not sure I remember very much, to be honest, but I’ll do my best.” After my conversations with both Stella and Nurse Kathy my head had cleared some. I hoped with pointed questions, I might get closer to exactly what had happened last night.

  “That’s all we ask,” Officer Isaacs replied. “And if at any time you remember something new, you can contact us for another interview.” He handed me a business card with his name and number on it.

  “Sure. Thanks.” I set it on the nightstand next to my bed. “And you can call me Rory.”

  “Rory. Okay.” He blushed. “Do you remember what time you came home last night?”

  “Around three or four o’clock. I’d finished dredging for the day and was headed back to my apartment to get cleaned up, eat and relax.”

  “Did you notice anything unusual when you arrived at your apartment? A car? Someone hanging around the building? Anything different?”

  My mind was a blank. I dug deeper. “I remember getting in my dad’s truck and driving home from the docks. Took the usual route home down Seppala Drive. Stopped at the Bonanza for some gas. Made a right on Bering. Left on 3rd. And then home.” I scanned some more for a memory of the street. Did I notice anything or anyone unusual? “I don’t remember paying attention to who was parked there. No neighbors were out. Don’t remember seeing anyone lingering around.”

  “And then what do you remember? After you parked your truck?” Officer Garber jotted down a few things.

  “I grabbed some things out of the back…” The gold! I’d completely forgotten. “Oh, my God. Is my bucket of concentrates still in my apartment? We had a half day of dredging in that.”

  “So you grabbed some things…” Officer Isaacs prompted.

  “Oh, yes, I grabbed some stuff from the truck and headed up the stairs to my apartment. I remember the light was on inside, and I didn’t remember leaving it on when I left that morning. Then I noticed the door was ajar.” That hollow feeling in my stomach returned. The feeling that told me something was not right, to be careful, to watch out. But I’d reached for the door anyway. Instead of taking out my cell phone and calling the police, I’d touched the doorknob. Stupid mistake. “And I don’t really remember anything after that.”

  “Did you see anyone inside your apartment?” Garber asked.

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Can you recall if you’d told anyone to meet you there or were you expecting anyone that evening?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have anyone you can think of that might want to hurt you or may have wanted to break in to your apartment?” Garber added.

  My mind grabbed onto the obvious suspect. “Nate. Nate Frazier.”

  Garber wrote down the name. “Anyone else?”

  I remembered what Stella said she’d told the police. That Ben could’ve done this. But I knew that wasn’t right. He wouldn’t hurt me. Our argument at the gas station had been personal, not business.

  I shook my head.

  “What about Benjamin Abel, your diver?”

  “I don’t have any reason to believe he’d want to hurt me. Plus, the nurse this morning told me he was the one that brought me in.”

  The officers exchanged glances. Garber wrote in his notebook.

  “Your friend, Ms. Hansen, gave us the impression he had a suspect background and was someone we should look into.”

  “Ben has never done anything I’d consider suspicious or harmful. I don’t know why Stella would say those things.”

  The officer took a few more notes. “You mentioned Nathan Frazier. Why?”

  “He used to work for my father. We fired him last summer. After my father’s accident he’s been very aggressive toward me. One night he followed my truck back to town, flashing his lights. Last week he showed up at my apartment complex and wanted to make trouble. He attacked me.”

  “Did you report this behavior to the police?” Officer Isaacs asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” Garber shot back.

  “You know, Mr. Isaacs,” directing my answer at the man who understood the dynamics in Nome. “He’s got a temper, but I’ve never seen him do anything radical. I thought maybe he was in some kind of financial bind and was taking it out on me. He seems to think my father owes him money. I really didn’t think it warranted a call to the police. I thought he’d cool off and come to a right frame of mind.”

  Isaacs nodded. “For now, your apartment is a crime scene. Do you have somewhere else you can stay for a day or two?”

  My mind scanned through the possibilities. I could stay wi
th Stella, but she didn’t really have the space. I could ask Kyle for a favor, but it would put me in a really awkward position, as I’d just moved out and our relationship seemed finally back on an even keel.

  At that moment my cell phone beeped. Ben texted me. I felt a rush of warmth. I blurted out, “Yes, I have a place to stay.” Before I even asked him. Before I even knew where Ben stayed.

  I glanced at his text:

  R U OK?

  He’d have to wait.

  “Good.” The officer wrapped up the interview. “We also need you to find a time to walk through your apartment when one of our officers can accompany you and look through your belongings to see if anything is missing, such as that bucket you mentioned.”

  I thought about the bucket of gold concentrates in my bathroom. I assumed it’d be gone. Especially if the perpetrator was Nate. His whole problem seemed to be money-related. “Okay, I can arrange that.”

  “We are waiting the results of the fingerprint analysis, but we need some elimination prints from you and anyone else who has been at your apartment in the last week or so.”

  I scanned through the list of possibilities. “Stella, Ben and me. I think that’s it.” For a split second I worried about Ben needing to give fingerprints.

  “Do you have contact info for Mr. Abel?”

  Although Ben had just texted me, I shook my head.

  Isaacs gave me a penetrating look. I don’t think he believed me.

  “When you come into contact with him, please let me know we need him to come in to the station.”

  I nodded.

  The police left.

  I picked up my phone and texted back:

  Can U come get me?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I sat in the waiting room at the clinic ER. I held a plastic bag full of supplies to dress my wound for the next several days, plus a pain prescription and instructions for bathing and several warnings about symptoms to look for after a head injury.