“Mostly boring history stuff, but it does have a chapter on Shackleton.” She opened the volume, finding an envelope stuck inside as a makeshift bookmark. “See?”
Decker peered down at the page and read the text, his eyes scanning the words, then studied the two black and white plates for a moment. The town in the photographs looked much like it did today, except for the military paraphernalia. One shot showed the twin towers, both looking newer, the north tower not yet abandoned. The second shot was of the harbor, where two lines of destroyers were moored next to the trim, sleek hull of a large submarine, the coning tower atop the fuselage giving it away. He picked out a key phrase in the text, repeating it to her. “It says here that the base was used for weapons testing and development, that scientists were brought in to work on new forms of marine warfare. What do you think that means?”
“Beats me.” Mina shrugged. “But I’ll bet it has something to do with that key card we found in the bag. That’s why I brought this book along.”
“I didn’t see anything that looked like labs in the north tower when we were there, and Hayley said it used to be offices.”
“Unless they moved it all out when the base was shut down?”
“Possible. I would love to get another look at that tower, to make sure.”
“And get the bag. Did you give any thought to that yet?”
“A little,” Decker admitted. “It’s going to be difficult to retrieve it without Wilder knowing. He can’t watch the place twenty-four/seven, but there’s still a good chance of getting caught.”
“Unless we provide a distraction,” Mina said. “He can’t be in two places at once.”
“And who’s going to provide this distraction?”
“You will, of course.” A wide grin spread across Mina’s face. “He’s already convinced you are a threat to his authority. If you make a show of wandering off somewhere, convince him you are following up on a hot lead, he’ll follow you. When he does, I can sneak back into the north tower and get the bag. I’ll be in and out before you know it. Easy as pie.”
“I don’t know.” Decker knew what would happen if Mina got caught, what Wilder would do, and he didn’t want to put her in that situation.
“Come on. I can do this,” she pleaded, her eyes wide with frustration. “I’ve been sneaking in to that tower since I was a kid, and last night was the first time I ever got caught.”
“I’ll think about it,” was all Decker said. He thought back to Wolf Haven and Taylor Cassidy running scared with the loup garou close behind. There was more at stake than just Sheriff Wilder and his dubious threat of imprisonment. There was a dangerous killer on the loose, and it had already used the north tower as a means of escape. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Mina while she was inside the tower on her own. He had a responsibility to this girl. He might not be able to keep her out of danger, but he could do his best to keep that danger to a minimum. “I have a few things to do now. Why don’t you come back this afternoon and we’ll see.”
“What are you doing?” Mina asked. “I can come with you if you like.”
“Not this time.” Decker shook his head. “I think I need to have a chat with our local town administrator, despite Wilder’s warning not to.”
“What if he finds out?”
“I’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t,” Decker replied. “Otherwise, what’s the point in me being here?”
38
Sheriff Don Wilder saw the creature a split second before it lunged. His finger curled around the trigger of the pistol and without thinking he fired off a rapid succession of shots. Bullets flew from the muzzle. The first drove his attacker backward but accomplished nothing more. Another veered to the right, slamming into the drywall on the far side of the room with a thud. More bullets whizzed, harmless, past their target.
It wasn’t an effective defense. In fact, it did little except slow the creature down for a few seconds, but it was all the time Wilder needed to turn and bolt toward the stairs. Why the bullet hadn’t put the creature out of action was anyone’s guess, but right now Wilder didn’t care about that. All he cared about was reaching the first floor and getting back to his cruiser to call for help. Hell, he’d even take Decker’s assistance at that moment. The thought that he had been wrong, and Decker right, entered his head, and in that moment he realized what a fool he’d been to turn down the ex-cop’s help just because of his own misplaced pride. Monsters did exist.
There was no time to ponder the folly of his decisions. The creature was already moving again. He could hear it as he descended the stairs, giving chase.
He reached the store and turned in the direction of the front door, his breath coming in short, sharp intakes. He could feel his heart racing, and feel the adrenaline pumping through his system.
The front door was ahead of him now. If he could just get outside, he stood a chance. He peeled to the left, past a display of thermal mugs, perfect for a day out on the water, and came to a halt. Somehow he’d taken a wrong turn. This aisle ended at a stack of coolers, and behind those, a metal shelf unit piled high with bright yellow all weather anoraks.
There was no way through.
He turned back, intending to retrace his steps and move one aisle over, which was where he should have gone in the first place. He had barely taken two steps when his path was blocked.
The creature stopped and looked at him.
Wilder got a good look at the beast for the first time, the pale skin, scaly hide and milky white eyes that looked like they were covered in cataracts, except that he knew they were not.
The creature took a step forward.
Wilder’s throat tightened. He could feel his pulse racing.
The creature took another step, slow and deliberate, as if it was toying with him.
He realized that the gun was still in his hand.
He raised the weapon and aimed. If only he could get a clear head shot he knew he could bring the creature down. He focused his thoughts, looked down the barrel of the gun, and fired.
Click.
He looked down at the gun in disbelief. It should have fired, but it hadn’t.
He pulled the trigger again.
Click.
With growing horror he realized that the gun was empty. In his panic he’d discharged the entire clip at the top of the stairs.
He was defenseless.
The creature took yet another step.
Wilder turned and clamored at the pile of coolers, knocking them aside to reach the shelves. He fought his way through and put a foot on the base of the display, reaching up and gripping the top shelf in an attempt to reach the other side, and freedom. Instead the shelf came away in his hand, the tabs securing it to the display unit too feeble to carry his weight.
He staggered backward with a cry of surprise and let go of the useless shelf. His center of gravity wrong, he flailed his arms in an attempt to stay upright but instead his heel made contact with one of the discarded coolers, and he fell. The gun bounced from his hand and skittered away into the darkness under a display.
Wilder looked up, saw the creature mere feet away, approaching him with a glint in its eye. It stood over him and opened its mouth to reveal rows of small sharp teeth that looked like so many steak knives, ready to fillet his flesh, and in that moment Sheriff Don Wilder knew total, all consuming fear for the first time in his life.
39
At two-thirty that afternoon Decker was back in his accommodations, feeling more than a little useless. His meeting with Hayley had been unproductive, and apart from confirming his suspicions that she could not do much to control the sheriff, little had been accomplished.
By the time he left her office he was in a dour mood, and wondering how he was going to be of any use when he was pretty much hamstrung. He hadn’t expected the town administrator to be able to do much, but he was expecting some kind of support, since it was her idea to bring him in. Now it appeared that she was as stym
ied by the situation as he was. If she expected the town sheriff to play nice and welcome the outside help, that was a major miscalculation on her part. While she had told him to let her smooth things over, he had a feeling that any intervention on her part would trigger the wrath of Sheriff Wilder rather than make the situation more tenable. He had said as much, and she promised to be tactful, but he still felt as if a storm was brewing. Perhaps it would be better if he packed up and caught the next ferry to Anchorage, and then hopped on a plane back to Louisiana. He felt out of place up in this frozen expanse, and he missed Nancy.
He picked up his cell phone.
Her name was top of the recent calls. His finger hovered, ready to make the connection. He should talk the situation over with her and get some outside perspective. She was always so levelheaded and practical. On the other hand, they needed the money, and if he left now he would not get the balance of his fee, and might even have to return some of the money already paid to him. He didn’t want to make the decision alone though, and so after a moment's pause, he pressed the green call button and waited for her to answer.
“Hello?” Nancy’s voice was familiar, comforting. “John. Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” He closed his eyes, imagining she was in the room with him. “I just wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”
“Me too.” Nancy sounded subdued. “I almost called you last night, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“You can call anytime,” John said. “So how are things in Wolf Haven?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Nancy said. “But it can wait. What is it that you need?”
“It’s not important.” Decker had a sinking feeling. It sounded like his absence had not improved things around town. “You go first.”
“Alright.” She paused for a moment. He heard her draw breath, as if gathering up the courage to say what she needed to. “I’ve been thinking a lot since you’ve been gone, and I think we need to make some changes.”
“That sounds ominous.” John felt a stab of anxiety at her words. “Should I be worried?”
“No,” Nancy said, rushing to clarify her words. “Goodness, I’m not talking about you and me. Okay, I am, but not like that.”
“Thank heavens.” He let out a sigh of relief. For a moment he’d thought she was going to break up with him. “So what then?”
“Things haven’t been the same here in Wolf Haven since last year, since the storm, and Annie Doucet.” Her voice was soft and low. “People don’t act the same way around us, John. They keep their distance.”
“I know.”
“And then there’s Chad. He stole your job from you, betrayed you. The things he said to the board of inquiry, it was horrible.”
“That’s in the past,” Decker said.
“But it’s not, is it?” Nancy’s voice cracked. “It will never be in the past as long as we live in this damn town. People will always whisper behind our backs. Chad will always give you a hard time. Even Taylor has had issues at school.”
“We did what we had to. If it weren’t for us, some of those people who are causing trouble might be dead.”
“But they aren’t. And they don’t want to admit what is right there in front of them. They all knew about the legends, some of them even saw the loup garou for themselves, and they saw the damage it did, the people it killed. They hated Annie Doucet, even the ones who didn’t think she was a witch. None of that is important though. They have all convinced themselves that you were the one in the wrong. It’s easier to believe the lie that you shot and killed an unarmed old woman than that you saved the town from a vicious monster out for revenge.”
“I can’t turn back time, Nancy,” Decker said. He knew how she felt, but it was pointless dwelling on it.
“No, but we can chose not to let them harass us anymore. Do you know that my breakfast crowd today was comprised of three couples. Three.” She emphasized the last word. “Two of those were out-of-towners just passing through. The diner’s business has dropped by seventy percent over the last six months. Another six like that and we’ll be bankrupt. There won’t be a diner anymore.”
“We’ll find a way.”
“No, we won’t. The diner has been a part of Wolf Haven for fifty years. My parents poured their very soul into the place, and so have I. It’s meant everything to me, and I’ve been proud to carry on the tradition, but in all that time it has never struggled like it is now.” She paused and Decker thought he heard a sob. “I’m done with it, John. The town has made it clear that they don’t want us here.”
“So?”
“I think I should sell the diner, take the cash while there is still something to be gotten for the place.”
“That means they win, Nancy.”
“No. It means we stop letting them hurt us.” She took a long breath. “Taylor is out of school now. She’ll be going to college in the fall, thank goodness. What do we have left here? Think about it. We could take the money we get from selling the diner, and our houses, of course, and start over somewhere far away. I’ll even start a new restaurant. It will be good for us.”
“I can’t let you throw everything away for me. If anything I should be the one to leave. Once I’m out of the picture things will return to normal.”
“I don’t want you to leave. Don’t you get it? You’re the one good thing I have. You think I could stay here, in this small minded, petty town, and carry on like nothing happened after they drove away the love of my life?” Her voice trembled. “Whatever we do, we do it together. I’m not losing you twice.”
“I’m pleased to hear that,” Decker said. “I don’t want to lose you either.”
“It’s settled then. As soon as you get back, we’ll list the diner for sale.”
“If that’s what you want.” Decker could not help but feel guilty. None of this was her fault, and yet she was being blamed right alongside him. He realized something else. There was no way he could leave Shackleton right now and risk losing the consulting fee. If she was determined to sell the diner, start fresh somewhere else, they would need every penny they could muster. Even if Wilder didn’t like it, he would just have to find a way to do the job he came here for. “Don’t do anything until I get back though. We’ll deal with it together.”
“I know we will,” she said. “So now it’s your turn. Talk to me.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure? You must have called for something.”
“It can wait.” Decker didn’t want to tell her about the problem with Wilder and his lack of progress. It was pointless since he had already made up his mind to stay. How could he do otherwise after the conversation he’d just had?
“If you’re sure.” Nancy sounded concerned. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“No. Nothing,” he lied. “I just wanted to hear your voice, that’s all. I missed you.”
“I miss you too.” Nancy brightened up at this. “So does Taylor, even though she won’t admit it.”
“I know.” His mind wandered for a moment, picturing Nancy in the diner with her hair pulled back, a white apron tied around her waist. He felt a pang of longing. “I have to go. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”
“Alright,” Nancy said. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. I love you.”
“Love you too.” He ended the call and stared at the screen as it faded to black.
At that moment there was a short, sharp knock.
He walked across the room and opened the door.
Hayley was on the other side, her lips a thin line. When she spoke there was a hint of fear in her voice. “You need to come with me. Something’s happened. Something bad.”
40
Mina Parkinson was about to leave her apartment and make her way up to the tenth floor to meet Decker for the second time that day when a strange noise, a deep thrum that vibrated through the room, stopped her mid-stride. She listened for a moment, surprised, as the sound gre
w louder.
Curious, she went to the window and looked out over the expanse of land between the tower and the bay. At first she didn’t see much beyond the other tower, just the squat buildings that made up the rest of Shackleton: the bar, the motel, and cluster of stores. Further away were the fisheries that gutted and cleaned the day’s catch. She knew these well. She had spent many hours working there. But it was the bay itself that caught her attention. Coming in low and fast, almost skimming the water, were two sleek blue and white helicopters, with golden shields emblazoned on their sides, and the words Alaska State Troopers stenciled in white along the tails.
She watched the copters draw close and circle near the docks before coming to rest about a hundred feet from each other on a patch of flat land behind the building that housed the bait and tackle store. It was then that her eye was drawn to the shop itself, and the stretch of road leading up to it. Normally there would be very little activity around the docks, just fisherman coming and going and the occasional tourist waiting for a charter, but now the place was a hive of activity. There were several cars parked, one of which was Sheriff Wilder’s Jeep, although its light bars were not activated. A small crowd was gathered near the building. Mina wondered what they were so interested in. Whatever it was, something big must have happened for the state police to get involved.
She felt a rush of excitement.
She also realized something else. If there were State Troopers down at the docks, then Sheriff Wilder would be there too. There was no way he was going to miss out on action like that. He might be tied up for hours, and that presented her with a perfect window of opportunity.
She knew what she had to do.
Should she tell Decker?
She thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, and then decided against telling him. It would not take long to do what she had in mind, and there was little risk of discovery since Wilder would be otherwise engaged with whatever was taking place down by the docks. Besides, she wanted to surprise Decker, show him that she could handle things on her own.
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