Snow Happens (Alaska Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Wendy Meadows

  “It sure does,” Conrad agreed. He saw the gleam of hope in Sarah’s eyes. “All right, Detective Garland, tell me what you’re thinking.”

  Sarah looked away from the diner and glanced up into the heavily falling snow. The snow in Montana felt somehow different than the snow in Alaska, yet it still felt clean and pure. “Bradley is trained in the game of manipulation,” she said in a calm tone. “Conrad, you and I understand his game all too well. And now it’s time to chase the Queen and get our King out of check.” Without saying another word, Sarah lowered her head and headed back to the diner.

  Conrad remained at the Subaru, gazing at the canister. He was holding death and misery in his hands—death and misery that a very deadly man wanted to expose to the world. But Conrad felt hope ignite in his chest. He felt that even though he and Sarah had lost a few battles, they were going to win the war.

  Ten minutes later, Sarah reappeared carrying an old metal coffee thermos. She waved at Conrad, smiled, and then pointed to an old payphone standing off to the side of the diner. “I need to make a call.”

  Chapter Eight

  Amanda carefully opened the office door. Leaving Gwen behind, she slipped into the kitchen, hurriedly filled a coffee mug with water, and made her way back to the office. Even though she strongly doubted Gwen’s story, she knew letting the woman suffer thirst was cruel. “Here,” she said, squatting down, “take a drink.”

  Gwen leaned up on her good elbow and, with Amanda’s help, managed to take a few sips of water. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me for anything,” Amanda said sourly. “You were going to partake in the killing of millions of people.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Gwen desperately tried to explain. “I really do work for MI-6. I haven’t contacted my superior because... if my superior finds out that I failed, I might as well be dead.”

  “Why?”

  Gwen closed her eyes. “It’s complicated.”

  “Life is complicated, my girl. Try me.”

  “Bradley Preston is not just a rogue agent, he’s also the brother of a very powerful operative within British intelligence. My partners and I were assigned to Bradley under strict secrecy. No one is supposed to even know he’s alive. But my superior... don’t ask for his name... he couldn’t stand by and let Bradley release a virus into the world that would kill millions.” Gwen sighed in disgust. “I should have known that he knew my real identity.”

  “Keep talking.”

  “By now Bradley must have contacted his brother... and his brother will contact my superior. His brother has the power to order my superior to terminate me,” Gwen explained. “I speak the truth,” she pleaded.

  Amanda stared down into Gwen’s panicked eyes. “Maybe you do,” Amanda sighed. Unable to detect a lie in Gwen’s voice or eyes, she stood up. “I—” Amanda began to speak but was interrupted when the phone on Sarah’s desk rang. Amanda bounced up and grabbed the phone. “Sarah?”

  “It’s me,” Sarah said, relief evident in her voice. “I—”

  “I’ve caught myself a little spy,” Amanda interrupted. “She was waiting in your office when I arrived. But she’s been shot and claims that Bradley Preston is the culprit. Her name is Gwen.”

  Sarah drew in a deep breath and then told Amanda all about finding the tracking device, the listening device, and the canister. “Keep that woman in my office and stay put,” she ordered.

  “I will, and—” Amanda froze. A loud crash echoed from the rear of the coffee shop as the heavy back door slammed open so violently it banged into the wall.

  “What was that?” Sarah asked.

  “I think someone just kicked in the back door,” Amanda whispered.

  “My gun,” Gwen pleaded.

  Before Amanda could reach for Gwen’s gun in the top drawer of Sarah’s desk, the office door was kicked open, too. Bradley Preston stood in the doorway, with his hired killer by his side. “Hello, again,” he said. He snatched the phone away from Amanda and held it to his ear. “Detective Garland, I presume?”

  “Detective Spencer and I are driving back now.”

  “Very good,” Bradley said in a pleased voice. “You spoke to Mr. Pence?”

  “Yes,” Sarah admitted. Amanda, her heart racing as she strained to hear her friend’s replies, silently prayed that Sarah and Conrad still had a trick up their sleeves. “You knew we would,” Sarah continued, “And we know you’ve been listening.”

  “Actually,” Bradley said, sounding disappointed, “the device planted inside your Subaru has failed to work. That’s the way of it sometimes.”

  “Please, Mr. Preston,” Sarah said in a careful tone, “I know you have your agenda, but so do we. When Detective Spencer and I spoke with Mr. Pence, he told us about Gwen, Gregory, and Edward. We know they killed Charlie Raymond. I’m asking you to let Detective Spencer and me bring them to justice.”

  Amanda almost held her breath, struggling to keep her expression blank. Was this Sarah’s plan?

  Bradley only regarded Amanda with a pleased expression, apparently satisfied by Sarah’s polite request, “I admit,” he said to Sarah, “I may have been a bit hasty in my actions. But you must understand we are dealing with three very dangerous people.”

  “I know,” Sarah replied. “Please, Mr. Preston, Amanda said one of them is in my office as we speak. Will you hold her until we return?”

  “Gwen was my last target,” Bradley informed Sarah. “I have eliminated the other two. But perhaps we can work something out. I can understand your hunger for justice and you can understand my position. So, let’s make a deal,” he offered with a cold smile “When you return, park the Subaru in front of your delightful little coffee shop so I can plainly see your arrival and then come around to the back with Detective Conrad.”

  “Will you turn the woman over to us?” Sarah asked.

  “No,” Bradley answered firmly, “but I will offer you an exchange. I can supply you with information on a certain Mr. Pence that will more than satisfy your hunger for justice.”

  “I... I’ll...” Sarah started. “Yes, okay, Detective Spencer and I will meet you at my coffee shop. I’ll call when we arrive in town.”

  “Very good,” Bradley said and ended the call.

  As he began to set the phone down, Amanda grabbed the kitten off the desk, and threw it at Bradley, so it landed squarely on his face. As the kitten’s needle-sharp claws dug painfully into his skin, Bradley roared and stumbled backward into his henchman. Amanda snatched the kitten back, then charged forward like a linebacker and slammed into Bradley as hard as she could with her shoulder. Both men fell to the floor. Amanda jumped over them, hauled butt out of the office, and ran right into the barrel of a gun. A deadly-looking man wearing a black ski cap shook his head at her in warning. Amanda frowned, panicking anew, and slowly backed up into the kitchen.

  “Put her in the office with Gwen,” Bradley snapped to the man in the ski cap, getting to his feet. He mopped at the traces of blood from the kitten’s claws with evident disgust. “We’ll deal with her later. Right now, we have to prepare for the arrival of Garland and Spencer. I want them both dead.”

  Chapter Nine

  Sarah’s Subaru drove down the dark, snow-covered main street of Snow Falls and came to a stop in front of the dimly-lit coffee shop. The Subaru’s headlights snapped off and the driver’s side door opened. A man wearing Conrad’s black coat got out and quietly closed the door. A woman wearing Sarah’s coat opened the passenger’s side door, climbed out and pointed at the side of the coffee shop. The man nodded his head and began walking. The woman followed.

  Bradley watched this scene from a closed hunting gear shop across the street and spoke into his walkie-talkie. “Our two targets are on their way.” He peered around the mannequin in the front display window. “Get ready.”

  “We’re ready,” a voice crackled over the speaker in reply. “Mitch and I are on the roof. We’ll have one clean shot apiece.”

  Bradl
ey watched the man and woman disappear around the side of the building. Lowering the walkie-talkie in his hand, he waited. The journey had been difficult and tedious, but here he stood, poised to claim his victory. Just outside, attached to the underside of the snow-covered Subaru, was his treasure. He had eliminated Charlie Raymond for capturing him speaking with Gwen, Gregory, and Edward in a photo—a photo which, if ever placed in the hands of the FBI or CIA, could have been extremely damaging.

  Charlie Raymond was dead and the photo destroyed. The virus had even been delivered ahead of time—which was unexpected, but he had managed to finagle two errand boys to go and fetch his virus and return it safely. The only task that remained on his list was the elimination of those troublesome Snow Falls residents who had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sarah and Conrad would come first, though. They knew too much, therefore they posed the most danger to him and had to be taken out.

  Bradley waited, focused on Sarah’s Subaru. And then, out of nowhere, two teenage kids appeared, running down the street. As he watched, they stopped in front of the coffee shop and began breaking into the Subaru. Before he could act, one of the boys managed to get the driver’s side door open, jumped in, and reached down to hot wire the ignition while the second boy climbed into the passenger seat. Bradley, panic-stricken, ran for the front door of the hunting shop. The door was locked. “No!” he yelled and began kicking the door. “Out front, go... two kids are stealing the Subaru!” he screamed into the walkie-talkie.

  At Bradley’s command, the two hitmen left their hidden position at the back of the coffee shop roof and ran to the front to peer down into the street.

  Conrad watched them leave their position. “Go,” he said urgently to Sarah.

  With her heart racing, Sarah ran to the back door of her coffee shop, unlocked it, and slipped inside while Conrad kept watch. “Amanda!”

  “In the office!” Amanda yelled.

  Sarah ran to her office and found Amanda on her knees, her hand on the forehead of a strange woman. “Let’s move. We have no time,” Sarah pleaded.

  “I’ll be back for you,” Amanda promised Gwen.

  “Go,” Gwen urged. Amanda handed Gwen her gun from the drawer, then ran out of the office with Sarah. “You sure took your time.”

  “So sue me,” Sarah said as they burst out into the snowy alley.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Conrad said. He offered Amanda a quick smile. “Good to see you.”

  Amanda reached out and hugged him. “I’m glad to see you, too.”

  Sarah pointed to the end of the alley. “We need to move.” She took Amanda’s hand. “From now on, we’re partners, understand?”

  Amanda hugged Sarah as tight as she could. “You bet,” she said.

  “Let’s move, ladies,” Conrad ordered. He silently made his way up the alley.

  In the dimly-lit street in front of the coffee shop, Bradley had just managed to escape the shop where he had been hiding, and he raced into the street with his gun drawn. He charged over to the Subaru’s open door and pointed his gun into the face of the startled teenager at the wheel.

  “Get out!” Bradley yelled.

  “Hey we were just having a little fun,” the redheaded kid said, throwing his hands into the air.

  Bradley grabbed the kid, pulled him out of the car and threw him down into the snow. “You,” he yelled at the blond-headed boy who sat frozen with fear in the passenger’s seat, “take a walk or die.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m going!”

  Bradley watched the redheaded boy scramble to his feet and run off down the street with his friend. “Get back into position,” he hissed, waving angrily up to the two men on the roof. “Report,” Bradley demanded into his walkie-talkie, kicking the door of the Subaru closed.

  “Alley is... clear,” came the response.

  Bradley’s face contorted with rage. “Get inside, now!”

  Seconds later, he heard a barrage of deadly gunfire echoing in the shop. And then, silence. “Report!” Bradley yelled into the walkie-talkie, “Report to me now!” he yelled into the receiver again. But no report was given.

  Throwing down the walkie-talkie, Bradley dropped down into the snow and crawled under the Subaru. Furiously, he searched for the silver canister. “There you are,” he said as his fingers touched the old metal thermos.

  Sarah stood and watched until Young Derby and Thomas Mitchell ran past the end of the building she was standing beside. Young spotted Sarah and sprinted over to her. “You owe us big time,” he said, breathing hard. “That man had a gun.”

  “It was either that or jail time for breaking into the bakery,” Conrad reminded them.

  “Remind me never to owe you a favor again, Mr. Spencer,” Thomas said wryly.

  “Go home, gentlemen,” Conrad said sternly as he pulled out his gun. Young and Thomas looked at each other and took off into the night.

  “You two think you’re clever Yanks, don’t you?” Amanda said, hugging her arms. “I need my coat.”

  Conrad quickly took his coat off and wrapped it around Amanda. “Get to the station. Andrew is waiting there. He has orders to stay with the park rangers.”

  Sarah bent down and pulled her gun out of her ankle holster. “We’re going to end this,” she promised Amanda.

  Amanda drew in a deep breath of cold Alaska night. Even though it had stopped snowing, she still felt like she was in the middle of a storm. “All this began when the dead body of a park ranger was found,” she said sadly. “And will you look at the mess that has followed.”

  “Charlie Raymond deserves justice,” Sarah said. She patted her friend on the shoulder. “You’ve been amazing through all of this. I promise, our next adventure is chocolate and a romantic comedy with a box of tissues.”

  Conrad eased his head around the corner of the building and looked down the dark street. He spotted Bradley pulling the metal thermos out from under the Subaru. “Let’s move,” he told Sarah.

  Amanda watched as Sarah and Conrad began making their way down the street, hugging the front of each building, remaining in the shadows.

  Bradley, unaware that Sarah and Conrad were closing in on him, studied the metal thermos in his hand. Something wasn’t right. “No... no... no...!” he shouted as the truth struck him. “No!”

  “Hands up!” Sarah yelled at Bradley from the shadowy doorway where she stood.

  Conrad dropped to one knee and aimed his gun at the British man. “One move and it’s over for you, Bradley!”

  Bradley threw his eyes toward the dark buildings. He spotted Sarah and Conrad holding him in the sights of their guns. “How did I get myself into this?” he asked himself in a melancholy voice, dropping the metal thermos. “I have diplomatic immunity,” he called out loudly. He exhaled into the cold night air, the white cloud of his breath dissipating as the brutal chill stole his body heat with cruel fingers. “It would be wise to realize that you can’t win this battle.”

  “Get your hands in the air,” Conrad yelled. “Now! And tell your goons on the roof to come down and put down their weapons.”

  “My goons are obviously dead,” Bradley informed Conrad in a dull tone, staring into the shadows. “Clearly, I underestimated the young woman I left wounded in your office, Detective Garland.”

  “Hands in the air,” Conrad warned again. Bradley slowly raised his hands.

  Amanda, who had watched Conrad and Sarah go with a terrible feeling of dismay in her gut, crept toward them, watching Bradley. Her instincts were screaming that something terrible was about to happen.

  “You’re under arrest,” Conrad said, keeping his gun aimed at the old man.

  “You can’t win,” Bradley promised.

  Conrad nodded his head at Sarah. She cautiously made her way over to her Subaru. As she did, a bullet ricocheted off the frozen sidewalk directly in front of her, and she stopped in her tracks. “Hands in the air,” Gwen ordered as Amanda watched in terror.

  Sarah looked past her
Subaru and saw Gwen, her left arm in a sling, but her right arm very much functional. “She has a gun,” Sarah warned Conrad.

  Gwen came closer and aimed her gun directly at Sarah. “Drop your guns, both of you,” she ordered, wincing only slightly as she cradled her bad arm to her side. “I only want the canister.”

  Sarah looked at Conrad. Breathing hard, she waited for his response. Conrad nodded his head and threw his gun down into the snow. Sarah followed suit. Gwen stumbled toward the Subaru, examined the snow around it, and spotted the metal thermos. She bent down and grabbed it. “Let’s take a walk, Bradley,” she said with cold satisfaction. “You two, get lost.”

  Bradley turned to Sarah and Conrad. “This woman intends to kill me. Are you going to allow that?” he asked, finally allowing fear to creep into his voice.

  Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t you want to hear what Gwen has to say, Mr. Preston? It seems only fair,” she said with the barest hint of a smile. Just then she spotted movement behind Gwen. “Young lady?”

  “What?” Gwen snapped at Sarah.

  “Behind you!”

  Gwen, looking in one direction, felt her other shoulder grabbed and she was pulled swiftly off-balance. The attacker spun her around and punched her directly in the face. Gwen stumbled back into Conrad, who quickly disarmed her. “And to think I once took pity on her,” Amanda said, rubbing the knuckles of her right hand.

  Sarah laughed—more out of relief than at her friend’s humor—and hugged Amanda. “My hero,” she said.

  Amanda hugged Sarah back. “I need a holiday,” she laughed.

  Conrad grinned and looked at Bradley, who was eyeing the gun lying in the snow. “I wouldn’t,” he warned. Bradley met Conrad’s eyes and stood very still.

  Conrad kicked his feet up onto his desk. “Bradley and Gwen are in the custody of the FBI,” he told Sarah and Amanda. “The British are anxious to get them back, too. And their little canister.”