“When I questioned the victim, she didn’t report any other suspicious contacts. We spoke with her ex-boyfriend, but he broke up with her several months prior. She had a falling-out with a friend, but that led to nothing, and her coworkers said she was nice. I didn’t find anyone else who’d fit the profile and could place none of them at the scene. My other thought on that was that it could have been random.”
Drury agreed a stranger could have singled the victim out and attacked. “Have there been any rapes reported since then?”
“Almost every day.” Carter grunted sardonically. “This is Alaska. In the cities there’s more control, but law enforcement can’t always reach the remote areas in time.”
“The report said you have no fingerprints or other evidence,” Brycen said.
“No, only a vague description from the victim. It was dark and the man wore gloves and a mask. All she could say is he fit the body type of the hunter who came in to the restaurant and started harassing her.”
“Can I see the evidence?”
“Sure. I arranged for you to get in the room before you got here.” He started walking back toward the way he’d come. “Follow me.”
Carter had always worked hard to find Noah’s killer. At first he’d been ridden with guilt and grief, wishing he could have stopped the shooter somehow. But he hadn’t been there.
Passing through two hallways, Carter stopped at a metal door and used his badge to enter. The evidence room wasn’t large, but it had a decent capacity for the allotted space. Rows of shelves took up most of the room, with a small space for a table and an officer behind a desk up front.
“I’ve got your evidence ready over there. The smaller box is for the assault vic. The larger is from Noah’s scene.”
On the table, two cardboard boxes sat open. Brycen went there and started with the smaller one, lifting out a clear plastic bag containing the victim’s clothes and the forensic psychologist’s report.
“I tried to get her to confront the angry hunter with a wire, but she refused,” Carter said. “A lot of times, a rapist might start talking about the incident and he implicates himself. But she was too scared.”
Drury could hardly blame her. Although she had never been through something like that, she didn’t think she’d have refused to help the police. A predator still ran free to hurt other women.
“I’d like to talk to her myself,” Brycen said. “Would you have a problem with that?”
Carter folded his arms and shook his head. “None. Why would I?”
Brycen smiled slightly. “Some law enforcement types are threatened when someone from Dark Alley Investigations shows up. Or so I’m told. I’m new to the organization.”
“I confess I hadn’t heard of the agency until Drury said she called you, but I’ve done a little reading and threatened isn’t a word I’d use. Hopeful is much more appropriate.”
Carter did have one of those easygoing personalities. People liked him. But Drury wasn’t sure what Brycen thought he could gain from talking to the assault victim again. The hunter’s wife had claimed he’d been home in northern Washington the night of the attack. He had a solid alibi and had never been arrested. He had no motive to kill a cop other than the altercation at the restaurant, which had no connection in Drury’s opinion.
“I’ll just confirm there’s no one else Noah crossed paths with who may have been involved with the victim.” Brycen glanced at Drury and she wondered if he thought she’d be insulted if he told her what kind of path that could mean. Some kind of love triangle? Did he think it possible Noah had an affair with the victim before her attack and that maybe the hunter who’d given her the roughest time was the third party?
“Noah didn’t have an affair and he was a clean cop,” she said. “That’s going to be a dead end.”
“You think Noah may have been involved in something?” Carter asked, new interest alert in his eyes. Light from overhead in the evidence room cast deepened shadows under his brow.
“I’m not assuming anything.” He moved to the bigger box. “Just checking every angle.” He said the last to her before turning back to Carter. “I’ll need contact information on the prostitute Noah arrested prior to the shooting, as well.”
“Of course.”
Drury glowered at Brycen. Surely he didn’t think Noah would cavort with a prostitute? Checking every angle...
Brycen removed the bagged bullet. “And the domestic violence call. I’d like to talk to the wife again.”
“Do you think Noah had an affair with her, too?” Drury asked with a bite in her voice.
“No. But he may have crossed paths with someone associated with her. There are many ways he could have encountered someone with something to hide. These people might lead me to them.”
Carter observed him thoughtfully, clearly not having thought of that in his investigation.
And Drury chided herself for being so narrow-minded. She refused to believe Noah had an affair, but something or someone connected to one of his calls could have led to his death.
“I’ll have a clerk write down the addresses and contact information we have,” Carter said.
Drury watched Brycen check over the evidence, putting the bullet back and taking out blood and fiber samples and copies of photos and lab reports.
“Have there been any other calls from the woman who reported domestic violence?” he asked as he worked.
Carter shook his head. “None. She only called that one time. If she’d called again, I’d have put it in the report.”
A year had passed since the domestic violence call—the one and only that the woman had made. Did that mean the violence had stopped? Drury doubted that. She looked forward to talking to the woman. Maybe they could help her get away. Except the woman had to want to leave her husband on top of mustering the courage.
Brycen looked at the photos taken of the area where the fatal shot had been fired. The alley could have hidden the shooter. There was a pharmacy and an antique shop with apartments above across the street.
Next, he took out photos from security cameras at the pharmacy. Nothing or no one suspicious had been captured, but the shooter could have known the locations of the cameras and avoided them.
“Did you check out these apartments?” Brycen asked.
“Yes. I talked to the managers at both places. No new tenants were reported, and no breakins.”
The gunman could have known someone in one of the apartments, but the shots had come from the alley.
“What about cameras at the other end of the alley?” she asked.
“There were none,” Brycen said, and then to Carter, “That’s what I read in the report anyway.”
“That’s correct. No cameras. The commercial spaces on that street are vacant. One was recently leased, but the tenant hadn’t opened its doors yet.”
“What about across from those spaces?” Brycen took out his phone and brought up a street map.
“Houses,” Carter said as Drury viewed the satellite map version on the phone screen with Brycen. “We questioned all the residents in the area. In a six-block radius.”
Brycen put the evidence back in the box and moved back. “Thank you again. I appreciate your willingness to help.”
“Noah was more than my partner. He was my friend.”
Brycen didn’t react to that declaration. He remained neutral. He must go into that mode when he delved into investigations, not making assumptions, just gathering information and keeping his initial assessment to himself.
“If anything comes to mind that you may not have explored in the case, let me know,” he said. “No matter how insignificant you think the detail is, it may be important enough to lead to more.”
“I’ve been through that case so many times I doubt I’d be capable of seeing anything new.” Carter seemed to need to explain or cover his tracks if he ended up having missed something.
Which in turn explained why he welcomed Brycen’s involvement. Carter had worked tirelessly to fi
nd Noah’s killer. As with anything too close to a person, details sometimes were lost. He’d shown Drury the same support when she told him she’d gone to Dark Alley Investigations.
“Let’s hope you have better luck than me,” Carter said.
“I’ll see what I can find.”
Carter gave another of his nods. Habitual? Or was he nervous?
“We’ll need a helicopter to visit the domestic violence victim,” Drury said. “It’s a remote location.”
Carter turned perplexed eyes to her. “You’re going with him? You’re investigating with him?”
She glanced at Brycen.
“There’s nothing in the rules that say you can’t,” Brycen said. “Dark Alley only requires putting together a solid case come time for an arrest.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Carter asked.
“Don’t worry about me.” Drury smiled. “Not only am I an adventurer, I’ll be with one of the best.” She patted Brycen’s right biceps—which felt deliciously hard. “Besides, I want to be part of the investigation now, every step of the way.”
“You could get hurt, Drury,” Carter said.
She angled her head. “You should know me by now. I don’t sit on the sidelines.”
“She wanted to be a fighter pilot,” Brycen pointed out.
Carter contemplated her while she noticed Brycen looking at her in a not very professional way. Her adventurous spirit attracted him. He might say no marriage, no kids, but did he really want that?
“Nothing much does scare you, does it, Drury? All right,” Carter conceded. “Let’s go get a helicopter arranged.” He turned and headed for the door.
Brycen followed him out of the room, Drury behind, glad Carter hadn’t changed his position in the year he’d been investigating Noah’s death. He might have given up hope in himself to find the killer, but he hadn’t given up hope entirely.
*
Cora Parker lived in an apartment building in downtown Anchorage and walked to her job at the restaurant, a log structure with Old West charm next to a new shopping center. The report said the hunters had stayed at the hotel across the street from the shopping center and had flights home to Washington State the next day. Even more proof that none of them could have attacked Cora. They would have had to travel back to commit the crime. But Brycen had learned when a criminal wanted to kill badly enough, he’d find a way, and northern Washington wasn’t that far from Anchorage.
He and Drury stood at her apartment door. Cora wasn’t home.
A door across the hall opened and an old woman with curly white hair and thick glasses appeared. “She’s at work. Who are you?”
With no security in the building, Cora made easy prey for a rapist. With the police onto him, the man must have decided not to risk going after her again.
“We’ll find her at work,” Drury said. “Let’s go.”
He walked down the hall with her. “We can wait until she gets off.”
“Can I tell her who stopped by?” the old woman called after them. “We keep an eye on her after she was attacked last year.”
“Thanks, we’ll find her at work.” Drury pushed Brycen toward the elevator.
“Let’s just wait for her out front.” He’d rather not spend too much time in public. The fewer people who recognized him during his stay, the better. That was why he preferred staying at his cabin.
“I’m hungry anyway. Let’s grab a bite to eat. I heard the Lodge has pretty good food for a pub.”
“I’ll find a drive-through, then.”
She grunted indignantly. “I’m not eating fast food. Come on. Let’s just go to the Lodge.” She stepped out of the elevator and Brycen reluctantly trailed behind.
Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, she asked, “Do you have something against restaurants?”
“People will recognize me.”
“Ah,” she said as she drew her own conclusion. His popularity with the show would get him noticed.
He let her think that was the reason, even while an inner urging told him it might be good to be seen. It might lead to putting his past behind him. He would just rather avoid any unwanted encounters.
*
Brycen opened the heavy wood door, which had no windows. Inside, the smell of cedar hit him. Pool tables and a bar took up a tidy and clean right side and the dining area with pine tables the opposite. A sign said Please Wait to Be Seated. He waited in the front entry for someone to notice them. Drury stopped with him.
A few minutes later, a woman in her sixties approached with a well-used black apron around her, tickets stuffed in her ticket holders.
“Right this way.” She took two menus with them.
“Would you tell Cora we’re here to see her?” Drury asked the woman.
“Of course. It’ll just be a minute.” She indicated a table for them.
Brycen sat across from Drury, who eagerly read the menu. He caught sight of another table where two women were talking and looking right at him.
They smiled.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “I’ve been caught.”
The women stood as Drury lowered her menu and turned, watching with him as the admirers approached.
“You’re Brycen Cage, aren’t you?” the blonde said.
Her plainer, brown-haired friend stuck out a napkin. “Can I have your autograph? My name is Amy.”
He took the napkin and looked for a pen. Drury produced one from her purse, a silent participant so far. He couldn’t tell what she thought of this.
As he wrote something flattering on the napkin, the blonde said, “We just love your show,” and chattered on about one of the episodes involving a stripper and a health club manager. When she finished she said, “Oh, and we saw you on the news. How you were planning on coming here to Alaska to solve a case, and how you joined that agency. You must be so brave.”
“And smart,” her friend said.
He saw Drury look from the women to him, still unreadable.
“And available.” The blonde laughed, her friend joining in. Then the blonde looked at Drury. “Oh...sorry.”
Drury held up her hands. “It’s all right. We aren’t together like that.”
The blonde, missing that Drury might very well be involved in the case that had brought him here, opened her eyes wider, thrilled. “Well, then, you are available.”
Some women didn’t know when they made a spectacle of themselves. Brycen handed the napkin to the plainer girl. “Not for socializing, I’m afraid. I’m here on business.”
The blonde’s mouth parted and she looked at Drury. “Ooooh.”
“Will the case you’re investigating be on one of your shows?” the other woman asked.
Brycen looked over at Drury. “We’ll have to see.”
Drury frowned with raised eyes that said, No, we won’t.
He grinned, unable to stop the reaction.
“Who was murdered? Someone you know?” the blonde asked Drury.
“I can’t discuss the details.” He saw Cora coming toward them, a moderately tall, thin woman with brown hair up in a bun. “If you’ll excuse us.” Then with a practiced smile, “Back to work.”
“Oh...all right.” The two retreated, glancing back several times as Cora came to their table, excited to catch a glimpse into the real Brycen Cage at work.
“You must smile like that a lot. I’ve seen you smile when you mean it. That smile was for the stage.”
He shot a glance at Drury before Cora stopped at their table. In her late twenties, she looked a little older than her years with the first signs of wrinkles appearing.
“You came to see me?” Cora asked.
Brycen explained who they were. “We understand you’ve already been questioned about the attack that occurred roughly a year ago?”
“Yes, Trooper Nichols came by.”
“Well, I read in the report that you and a friend of yours had a falling-out. You had relations with her brother and broke his heart. Something along those lines?
”
“Yes. Trooper Nichols asked if I had any enemies. Since the man who came into the bar that night I was attacked proved not to be guilty, he looked at others.”
“Like maybe your friend’s brother came after you?”
“Yes, but he had an alibi.”
She revealed nothing different than what he’d read in the report.
“Trooper Nichols asked me all these questions,” Cora said, rubbing her arms and looking off into the distance.
“How well did you know Noah Decoteau?” Brycen asked.
Cora’s head turned with a startled jerk. “The trooper? Not well. He just talked to me the night of my attack.”
“You didn’t meet him before that?”
“No. Why?”
“What about any of your friends? Family? Did anyone close to him know you?”
“No.” Her alertness softened as she must see why he’d asked. “No one I know would have wanted him dead. That’s a question Carter didn’t ask.”
“When did he last come to see you?” Drury asked.
“Carter? Why, just last week. He comes by every once in a while. Grabs a bite to eat and talks to me. He asked if my friend had forgiven me yet. Of course, she hasn’t.” She breathed a sad laugh. “You’d think I robbed her or something. I couldn’t help it if I didn’t feel the same way as her brother.”
“Does she have a boyfriend? Did she at the time of your attack?”
“Yes. Trooper Nichols asked about that when he was here. He said he’d look into the possibility that maybe her boyfriend did it, you know, one of those ‘I love you, so I’ll go after this girl for you because you asked me to.’ I think that’s a reach. My attack must have been random. Maybe some man I didn’t notice saw me working and followed me. Who knows?”
She seemed ready to let her ordeal go. Troubled that her attacker still ran free, but ready to move on with her life. It had been a year. In all that time she hadn’t been attacked again. If someone local had gone after her, maybe they’d noticed Carter still worked the case and backed off. If the man wasn’t local, he’d have been long gone since the time of the attack.
“Did Carter talk to you about anything else? Any other leads? Issues? Suspects?” Brycen asked.
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