“Didn’t think about it much, to tell the truth. Dad sometimes ordered the plow drivers to pile extra snow at the end of Mrs. Tsosie’s drive. It burned him that she used part of the road he paid to plow. I told them not to. That’s pretty much it.”
“That’s it. You never thought about it beyond that?”
“Nope. Didn’t plan on getting into the hotel business. Didn’t care.”
His lips thinned and the lines next to his mouth creased when he spoke about the resort. She’d always thought he was indifferent to the business, but there was more to his reaction than indifference. Since he rarely spoke about his dad, she had to guess the bitterness led back to him. Come to think of it, he rarely spoke of his mom, either. Though the one time he’d mentioned her, he’d seemed melancholy.
One of the puppies rolled to his side to display his milk tummy. She obliged by giving him a friendly pat. “I should have talked to Walt about the easement. I’m sorry. You were right. Safety outweighs an old grudge. Look what happened.”
“The avalanche was still going to happen whether or not you spoke with him.”
“I know. But I could have listened closer to what you were trying to tell me.”
“I could have been more sensitive. I’m sorry about that.” Snowball crawled into Shane’s lap, turned three times just like he’d seen his mama do, then plopped down, his head resting on Shane’s thigh. “The truth is that Graham and my dad made the choice to keep the resort open during the winter months. They knew the risk, and they did it anyway. We all got complacent because there hasn’t been that much snow for a few years. Mother Nature caught up to us.”
“Do you think Walt’s death is the end of the feud? Graham can finally buy the property now, can’t he?”
“As far as I know, the land is being donated to a wildlife trust. That’s what Mrs. Tsosie always told people. I guarantee no wildlife trust is going to turn around and sell that land to a development.”
“I suppose I’m grasping at straws. There’s no way for the resort to benefit from Walt’s death. If anything, it’s made things worse for your stepbrother, hasn’t it? When Walt was alive, at least Graham had a chance.”
“Looks like it. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider all the possible motivations. The feud is an obvious place to look.”
He was humoring her. He’d obviously gone through all the possibilities already. Everything circled back to her. Walt’s murder. The postcard from Florida. Finn was the only piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit.
The puppies had tired of their play and wandered back into the kennel to nestle against Zoya for the night. All but Snowball, who opened one eye as his siblings passed by, then closed it again and burrowed deeper into Shane’s warmth.
For the first time, she discovered she was frustrated with Shane’s dispassionate answers. She’d always prided herself on not being nosy. She gave people their space. Even Walt. With Shane, that wasn’t good enough.
He gave her the facts, but he never told her how he felt about anything. He was friendly and nice. He was caring. When she really thought about it, she didn’t know how he felt about anything—let alone how he felt about her. He never sidestepped or deflected her questions, yet the answers he provided rarely gave her insight. He gave the illusion of being open without any substance.
This should have been the perfect relationship for her. In the past, she’d felt smothered by people who shared too much or got too close. The people whose attention and affection she coveted most, those she had the strongest feelings for, were the most unavailable and unattainable. She’d been closer to Walt than anyone in her life. Even her mom. Even Jack.
If she really looked closely at their relationship, Walt had been safe. Because he was the only one who knew about her past, they’d had an automatic connection. They’d never delved any deeper. She knew the name of every favorite sled dog he’d owned in his life, but she hadn’t known he was raised in Kodiak Springs until he called her six months ago. She knew his favorite Zane Grey novel was Riders of the Purple Sage, but she didn’t know if he’d ever considered having kids. She knew he went for prime rib every Thursday night at the restaurant in town, but she didn’t know his family planned on donating his property to a wildlife preserve. They’d never talked about stuff like that.
There’d been nothing wrong with her relationship with Walt—nothing she’d change even if it wasn’t too late. She simply craved something different. Something more.
Was that what people felt about her? The friendships she’d had over the years had been mostly superficial. When they got together, she’d hovered around the fringes. People often accused her of putting up barriers, of not letting them get close to her. She’d never really understood how that must feel until now.
With a jolt, everything fell into place. No wonder she’d wound up with Shane, even if it had only been for a short time. They were both looking for the safe choice. They were both looking for the easy way out. The minute there’d been the slightest friction between them, they’d both bailed.
Sure, she’d told herself it was because he wanted too much information, and that was true, as well. There were other things at play, though. Other forces pushing on her that she was only just recognizing. In order to address them, she’d have to change. She didn’t know if she could.
She glanced at Snowball and sighed. Animals had an instinct for people. They saw through subterfuge and right to the heart. Because they weren’t distracted by language and words; they were attuned to people’s actions.
She knew one thing for certain—for any relationship to work, both people had to be invested. If she wanted to have a better relationship with Shane, she was going to have to be vulnerable. She was going to have to change.
Shane’s breathing had grown deep and even. He’d fallen asleep. She’d never seen him this relaxed before. She gazed at his sleeping face. Even if she loved him enough to change herself, was it possible for him to love her enough to meet her halfway?
None of that mattered, anyway. She was leaving soon. For good. She’d start over in a new town with a new name. Whatever might have happened, it was too late now.
ELEVEN
The sound of whirring helicopter blades was the most beautiful sound Shane had heard in a month of Sundays.
The sun had risen that morning to reveal bright and clear skies. With the fresh blanket of snow, everything was crisp and fresh and new. The windswept drifts came to razor-sharp points.
The short days meant they had to work quickly before nightfall descended once more. They’d cleared a space in the overflow parking lot at the edge of the property for the helicopter to land. The moment the skids touched down, three men exited the belly. Bent at the waist with their heads down, they jogged to where Shane was standing beside a borrowed SUV.
When they’d cleared the safe distance, one of the officers stuck out his hand. “I’m Captain Banks from the ABI. This is Fritz and Miller. I heard you’ve been busy up here.”
Shane liked him immediately. “Yep.”
Banks wasn’t quite as fit as the other two men, and his nose was bulbous at the end, making him look as though he was a caricature.
The four men scrambled inside the SUV. Even with the clear, sunny skies, the temperature was still below freezing.
They drove the short distance to the resort, and Shane led the men inside.
“I’ve got a conference room set up for you,” he said. “Any updates on the road?”
“Now that the weather has cleared, we should have the road plowed by this afternoon,” Banks replied. “We’ll be able to move trucks in and out as soon as that’s done. We were able to clear the road as far as Mr. Tsosie’s already.”
“And the guests?”
“Your safety officer is sending additional troopers in on snow machines. They’ll take statements and begin preparing for the evacuation once the road is clear
. With two murders and no one in custody, we can’t risk anyone staying. Not to mention, now that they know there’s been a second murder, I doubt anyone wants to stay. That’s about all we can do for now. Unless more evidence comes to light, we can’t hold anybody.”
“And the deceased? The geologist?”
“We’ll fly him out first thing. He’ll be transferred to the medical examiner in Anchorage. The helo will return for my team. You said there’s a witness to Mr. Tsosie’s shooting?”
“She was there at the time of the shooting, but she didn’t see the perpetrator. I’d like to fly her out with you guys. The threat to her is credible.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I need her back at the scene to map out the shots. Since we managed to get the road cleared as far as Mr. Tsosie’s house late yesterday, we have some initial findings. The coroner isn’t confident the bullet will be viable for ballistics. The team wasn’t able to search for any additional discharged bullets because they ran out of daylight. If I can get your witness up there, I’ll have a better chance tracing the shots.”
The idea of taking Kara back to the scene made Shane uneasy. “I’ll speak with her.”
“How’s our access?”
“Not good,” he said, picturing the route to Walt’s. “You won’t be able to get an ATV through the avalanche areas, but snow machines are an option.”
“What about cross-country? I looked at the terrain from the aerial. It’s less than a quarter of the distance as the crow flies.”
“It’s possible.” There weren’t many people in Kodiak Springs able to navigate the trail in these conditions. “The witness knows the trails better than anyone.”
“All right. We’ll get an ETA on the team coming from town. I don’t want to wait on them. We’re burning daylight and I want all the time I can get to search for evidence. I’ll need you with me, as well. You’re the most familiar with the events.”
“That means we’ll be leaving resort security in charge.”
Banks considered the problem. “All right. I’ll leave Fritz. The troopers Jeff is sending are only about an hour behind us. You’ve been alone for two days—Fritz should be all right for an hour.”
“I’ll hook him up with resort security. Tell him to keep an eye on the manager, Mark. I’ll point him out. He’s a person of interest.”
“This is the plan,” Banks said. “We’ll need about an hour of prep. Get us some transportation and we’ll do a sweep for evidence. Forensics will be able to reach the house from the highway. Keep the shelter-in-place order on the guests until all the interviews are conducted.”
“Will do.”
“We’ll need to interview the employees, as well.”
“It’s arranged.”
“Good. Let me know when you’ve got our transportation sorted out.” The captain started toward the lounge with his team close on his heels. When he reached the door, he pivoted. “Good work, sergeant. Not the kind of thing they see in the lower forty-eight. Alaska tests a man.”
Shane lifted his chin in acknowledgement. “That it does.”
He turned toward the front desk. For the first time since Walt’s death, he felt a spark of optimism. The weather had cleared, and he finally had backup. Until he knew the identity of the killer, delivering Finn’s body to the coroner and collecting evidence was paramount.
The only hitch in the plan was evacuating the guests. If the interviews didn’t reveal any obvious suspects, they’d have to release them. Once people scattered, the logistics of bringing them back to Alaska to face a possible trial became complicated.
He tapped on Kara’s door.
She greeted him with a smile that took him aback for a second. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her smile. Everything else was the same. She was wearing the same sweater and jeans the hotel had been laundering each evening. Her hair was pulled back into the same long ponytail, and her eyes were the same warm butterscotch.
The delicate lines of fatigue feathering from the corners of her eyes highlighted her fragile appearance. His mouth went dry and his heart thumped in his chest.
When she caught him staring, she plucked at her sweater. “I’m going to throw this thing away when I get home. You must be as sick of looking at it as I am.”
“Right back at you.” He ran his hand down the front of his uniform. “I haven’t been out of this thing in forty-eight hours.”
She tweaked his badge. “I like it.”
Something had shifted between them. He’d noticed the change when they were sitting with the puppies. He’d thought the difference was an anomaly. A litter of sleepy puppies had a way of mellowing even the toughest people.
Her smile was soft and open, and there wasn’t a hint of the tension she usually carried with her when he was in uniform. He’d thought she was joking, but maybe she actually liked how he looked.
Suddenly forty-eight hours in the same outfit didn’t seem quite so bad.
“Come in.” She stepped aside and made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Looks like this will be my last round of room service. I figured I might as well enjoy it.”
She picked up a carafe and held a coffee cup aloft with her other hand. “Like some?”
“Sure. But only a quick one.”
She didn’t ask if he needed sugar or cream, and his heart did another rat-a-tat-tat in his chest. He’d never appreciated the casual familiarity of knowing someone well until now. He’d never stayed with anyone long enough to reach the stage where they spoke in shorthand. As he watched her add cream to her own cup, he realized that he’d learned more about her in the past two days than he had in all the time they’d dated.
She was finally opening up to him, the one thing he’d wanted all along. Had it come too late?
“We’ll all be getting out of here soon, right?” She spoke over the brim of her cup. “Graham said the road should be cleared by this afternoon.”
“That’s the plan. Even if they run into trouble, we’ll be out by tomorrow.”
“Don’t get me wrong, this place is nicer than my house and the food is top-notch, but I’m ready for my lumpy couch and dinner from a can.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “You and me both.”
“You think we can visit the dogs again before then?”
“About that.” His good humor fled. “The helicopter just brought in the team from ABI.”
“What’s ABI?”
“Alaska Bureau of Investigations. They want to see if they can get ballistics on one of the bullets from Walt’s house.” He didn’t mention that the slug in Walt had been too damaged for a good identification. “They want you on scene.”
Her face drained of color and she lowered her coffee cup to the table. “When?”
“Now. They’re still plowing the road, and we don’t have much daylight to work with.”
“You want to take the shortcut, don’t you?”
He thought he saw her fingers tremble before she clenched her hands. “We don’t have to. If we follow the road, it’ll only take us another half an hour by snow machine.”
“More like forty minutes. And that’s each direction. The trail is the best choice.”
He’d gone and blown it with her again. He hadn’t considered how taking the trail might make her feel. The last time she’d visited Walt’s had been the day of his murder. Had he lost any ground he’d gained with her?
He hitched his thumbs into his security belt. “I shouldn’t—”
“It’s not a big deal. Don’t worry about it.”
She leaned forward to straighten some papers on the table and bumped her coffee cup with her elbow, splashing liquid over the surface. As she reached for some napkins, her hands visibly shook.
“I should get a towel,” she said, her voice pinched.
She stood and nearly colli
ded with him in her haste. He took the wad of napkins from her clenched fingers and dropped them over the mess. Her arms circled his waist and she pressed her cheek against his beating heart.
He put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. “It’s going to be all right. Maybe not today. But someday.”
“I know.” She sniffled, the sound muffled against his shirt.
Away from the resort and with a police escort was probably the safest place she could be right now. The thought didn’t comfort him as much as he’d hoped it would.
He set her away from him but kept his hands loosely draped on her shoulders. “The sooner we get this over with, the better. The sooner we get back to some semblance of normal, the better.”
The pressure in his chest had alleviated now that he knew there was help coming from town.
“What is normal? I don’t even know anymore.” She glanced up at him. There were little pools in the corners of her eyes. “I thought I could handle anything by learning to manipulate my own mind. When it’s cold and snowy and it doesn’t seem as though the sun will shine in the sky, I read books about the desert. After I treat an abused animal, I watch something uplifting on TV. I thought I was good at coping. I don’t think that anymore.”
He cupped her face and ran the pad of his thumb along the delicate skin on the apple of her cheek. “Everyone has a breaking point.”
“Even you?”
“Even me.”
“Tell me?”
“It’s not a happy story.”
“I don’t expect you to always tell me happy stories.”
He dropped his hands and crossed to the window, staring into a day that was bright enough to make his eyes burn. “My first year working in Kodiak Springs, I executed a wellness check on my buddy’s mom. I found her slumped behind the wheel of her car in a tightly closed garage. She’d dressed in her best outfit before starting the engine. I went home that night and decided I was never going back. The job wasn’t for me.”
“Something must have changed your mind.”
“I ran into someone I’d arrested in the grocery store. She actually thanked me. Something I’d said to her had resonated. That’s when I realized that nothing given from the heart is ever truly gone. A smile, a reassuring word or sympathetic ear can bring someone back to the surface. I can’t save everybody, but I can save somebody. That’s what keeps me going.”
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