Polar (Book 1): Polar Night

by Julie Flanders

  He didn’t want to keep his guests waiting.

  Chapter 8

  The alarm blared to signal a new day and Danny reached over to hit the snooze button without opening his eyes. He was glad he had been sober enough last night when he got home to remember to set the alarm, as he couldn’t afford another day of not heading into the office until noon. Although he wondered if anyone would notice either way.

  He rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes to stare at his white ceiling. The whole apartment was painted in an institutional white shade that could have depressed even the happiest of souls. He had been meaning to hire a painter and brighten the place up a bit, but he’d never gotten around to it. Maybe next year.

  He glanced at the calendar he had taped to wall next to his dresser. December 24th. Christmas Eve. He wondered if Maria Treibel was still alive to see the holiday. If she was, he was fairly certain she wasn’t doing much celebrating.

  And Danny wasn’t going to be doing much celebrating either. He took a deep breath and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, forcing himself to sit up and turn off the alarm clock before it assaulted his ear drums yet again. He needed to get to the office and get back to the Anna Alexander case.

  Something about the case had been nagging him since he had been sitting at the bar at Abe’s Grill the night before. He hadn’t been able to pinpoint it, but something bouncing around the edges of his brain. He just needed to figure out what that something was.

  He showered and finally took the time to shave, hoping to ward off being called on his appearance, which was starting to lean more towards homeless man than police detective. He filled his thermos with coffee and chose cherry Pop-tarts for his Christmas Eve breakfast, and bundled up before heading outside into the still dark morning. The sun would not rise for quite a few hours.

  Danny drove to the office and headed for his desk as soon as he got inside. He saw Tessa already sitting at hers.

  “What time do I have to get in here to beat you?” he asked.

  Tessa turned to him and looked him up and down. “I’m glad you finally decided to clean up a little bit,” she said. “The beard was a terrible choice for you.”

  Danny smirked. “Thanks for the fashion advice, I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Least I can do. You know how I love Tim Gunn.”

  “How are you at interior decorating?” Danny asked as he slid into his chair. “I need to do something about my apartment. It’s depressing as hell.”

  “I thought that was how you wanted it.”

  Tessa was the only person in the department who had even been to Danny’s apartment. In fact, except for the one-night stands he occasionally found at one of the bars he frequented, she was the only person besides him who had been there, period.

  “Maybe I’m starting to change my mind.”

  “You know I’ll help you. I’ve told you before that place needs a lot of work. It’s no wonder you never want to get out of bed.”

  “I think we both know the alcohol is more to blame for me not wanting to get out of bed.”

  “Yeah, well, the fact that your home looks like a poorly-maintained prison can’t help. Say the word and I’ll come over and start working on it with you.”

  “Alright, maybe after the holidays.” Danny booted up his laptop and waited for his programs to load. “So you’re stuck here on Christmas Eve?”

  Tessa nodded. “I didn’t get anywhere yesterday on this Treibel case. Just trying to see if I missed anything.”

  “Can I help?”

  “No thanks. I’ve gotten to everyone I can think of. Talked to the people at the store where Nate said she was going shopping, the folks running the Solstice event, her friends, called her family in California… I’ve basically talked to everyone Maria Treibel ever met, and I’ve got nothing.”

  “What about the car? Wasn’t it found at the store lot?”

  “Yeah, with the driver’s side door open. The techs are going over it with a fine-tooth comb, but so far there’s nothing.”

  “She just vanished into thin air then, right?”

  “Looks like it.”

  Danny glanced at his laptop and brought up the case file he wanted. “Just like Anna Alexander.”

  “Yep. You get anything new on that?”

  Danny shook his head. “No. It’s bugging me the crap out of me though. I feel like I’m missing something but I don’t know what it is.”

  Tessa stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat from the back of it. “Let me know if I can help. I’m heading back to the lot where we found the car so I can canvas the stores again.

  “Good luck,” Danny said, his eyes fixed on his laptop screen. He scrolled through the files, not finding anything of interest and feeling his frustrating growing, when suddenly his eyes stopped on a name. Amanda Fiske.

  That was it. The librarian. He hadn’t recognized her name when he read her name tag, but it had been poking at his memory ever since. She was listed as a witness on the case, although she hadn’t actually seen anything, according to the files. She had come to the department to offer her services, but the original detective on the case, Ryan Cobman, had determined she had nothing of value to offer.

  Danny scowled, wishing he could talk to Cobman, but he had been killed in an auto accident more than a year ago. Although Danny had never met the man, he felt like he knew him after going through so many of his cases. And Tessa spoke highly of him. He didn’t strike Danny as the kind of detective who would blow off a witness in a case where he had next to nothing to go on.

  From his scribbled notes, it seemed Cobman had thought Fiske was a kook who was wasting his time. Danny found that puzzling. He had noticed Fiske was jumpy and seemed high-strung, but he wouldn’t have pegged her for a nut.

  He brought up the library’s web site, and was glad to see that they were open even though it was Christmas Eve. Danny was fairly confident Ms. Fiske would be manning the desk again. He got up quickly and headed for his car. He couldn’t wait to talk to her.

  Chapter 9

  Danny walked into the library and headed straight for the reference desk. As he expected, he found Amanda Fiske there at the desk, her eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her.

  “Ms. Fiske,” Danny said. “I was hoping you’d be working again. You remember me?”

  “Of course. You wanted the old newspapers.”

  “Right.” Danny flashed his badge. “I didn’t introduce myself last night. I’m Detective Danny Fitzpatrick.”

  Amanda nodded. “What can I do for you?”

  “You knew I was a cop last night, didn’t you?”

  “I noticed your badge on your belt, yes. Why?”

  “I’m wondering if that’s why you were so jumpy.”

  “I hadn’t realized I was jumpy.” Amanda placed her hands on the desk in front of her, trying, and failing, to keep them from trembling.

  “Is there a place we can talk privately, Ms. Fiske?”

  “I’m the only librarian here today, I have to stay out here. Is there some kind of problem? What’s this about? I don’t understand.”

  Danny looked around the library and realized he and the librarian were the only people present. He’d keep an eye on the door, but for now there wouldn’t be any harm in talking out in the open.

  “Honestly,” he said, “I don’t understand what this is about either. I’m hoping you can clear that up for me.”

  Danny gestured to the table he had occupied the night before. “Can we at least sit down?”

  Amanda nodded and came out from behind the desk, where she sat down across the table from Danny.

  “What do you know about the disappearance of Anna Alexander in 2009?”

  Amanda’s hands immediately went to the cross around her neck. “I don’t know anything about it.”

  “Then why were you staring over my shoulder last night when I was reading about her? And why did you go to the police station and volunteer yourself as a witness back w
hen she disappeared?”

  “I saw on the news that she had disappeared and I thought I might be able to help, that’s all.”

  “Did you know her?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you think you could help?”

  “Does it matter? The cop I talked to didn’t think so.”

  “Well I do. Tell me.”

  “I just thought it might be connected to something that happened to me.” Amanda let out a deep breath. “Some years ago I almost got abducted. When I heard about Anna I thought it might be the same guy.”

  “What made you think that? Where did this happen to you? Around here? Was it the same time as Anna disappeared?”

  Amanda shook her head. “No. It was almost 10 years ago now. And I lived in Sitka then.”

  “Sitka? Then why would you think there could be a connection? Just randomly out of the blue you decided your near-abduction 10 years earlier was connected?”

  “It was only 7 years then.”

  Danny scowled. “Why did you think there was a connection?”

  “Because it was the same time of year. The winter solstice. And, she looked a lot like me.”

  Danny looked at her and realized she was correct. He hadn’t paid enough attention the night before. But she did look similar to Anna Alexander, although obviously not as young and fresh-faced. But ten years earlier would have been a whole different story.

  He sat back in his seat. “You do look like her.”

  “I was thinking about her because I saw that another woman went missing this week,” Amanda said. “I was reading about her disappearance online when you came in asking for those 2009 papers. I just had a feeling it was connected.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

  “Because it didn’t exactly go well the last time I tried to talk to a cop in your department.”

  Danny thought back to Cobman’s notes. “Right. That’s one of the things I’m trying to understand. Why didn’t he listen to you?”

  “You’d have to ask him that.”

  “I can’t. He’s dead.”

  Amanda shifted in her seat. “Well, I’m sorry then.”

  “Don’t be, I never even met the guy. I want to know why he didn’t listen to you.”

  “And I told you I don’t know.”

  “What was your story? Tell me what you told him.”

  “That I was almost abducted in Sitka. A man grabbed me when I was leaving work late on the afternoon of the Solstice. It was already dark then and no one was round. He grabbed me near my car and put his hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream.”

  “What did he look like? Did you get a look at him?”

  Amanda nodded. “He was very tall. I mean, unusually so.”

  “Like some kind of giant?”

  “No, no. But maybe 6’5” or so. He was just big, and intimidating.”

  “What else? Did you get a look at his hair? Eyes?”

  “He was blond. And his features were handsome. But his eyes were strange. They were blue, but so dark they looked almost purple or black.” Amanda closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers on her forehead. “I still see them. Have you ever seen a corpse?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because that’s what his eyes looked like. The eyes of a corpse. They just seemed dead. You know what I mean?”

  “I’m been a cop for most of my life. I’ve seen plenty of corpses.”

  He left it at that, forcing himself to not think of the corpse that haunted his every moment.

  “There was no soul behind his eyes,” Amanda said.

  Danny nodded. “If it was dark, how’d you get such a good look at him?”

  “Because we were standing under the light in the parking lot.”

  “Alright,” Danny said. “Can you excuse me for just a minute?”

  Danny pulled his phone from his pocket and typed a quick text to Tessa. “Ask if anyone saw a tall good looking blond man with blue eyes. Will explain later.”

  He smiled at Amanda. “Sorry about that. So what happened? How did you get away from him?”

  “I don’t really know. I was struggling but couldn’t get him off me. He turned me away from him and pulled me towards him with his arm around my neck. I thought he was going to strangle me.” Amanda glanced around the library. “But then something must have startled him and he just let me go. Before I knew it, he had disappeared.” She stared straight at Danny as if she was daring him to challenge her.

  “So something startled him so much he let you go, but you have no idea what that was.”

  “Right. Maybe I just blocked it out, I don’t know…”

  Danny leaned back in his chair again. “You’re lying to me.”

  “I’m not!”

  “Then you’re not telling me the whole story.”

  “Yes I am.”

  “Did you tell the police in Sitka about this near abduction?”

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  “And they didn’t believe me. They dismissed it.”

  “So the police in Sitka dismissed your report. And Detective Cobman here in Fairbanks thought you were a kook…”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s nice to know.”

  Danny held up his hand. “Sorry, poor choice of words. But really, what the hell difference does it make? You already know he didn’t believe you.”

  “Fine.”

  “So do you understand why this isn’t making a damn bit of sense to me? Based on what you just told me, there’s no reason in the world why all of these cops would have given you the brush-off. What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I’m telling you what I know. I can’t help it if it doesn’t make sense to you.” Amanda pushed her hair out of her eyes. “This is why I didn’t say anything to you last night. There’s no point.”

  “There is a point if you know something that could help us find Maria Treibel.”

  “That’s the woman who just went missing?”

  “Right. Who also happens to look a hell of a lot like you.”

  Amanda crossed her arms across her chest. “I’ve told you what I know. I can’t help you.”

  Danny drummed his fingers on the desk and stared at Amanda. He was going to find out what she was hiding, he had no doubt of that. He wasn't about to let this go.

  He heard a noise and turned towards the front door in time to see a woman and two children entering the library. It looked like he would have to wait to question Amanda more.

  Danny stood up from the table. “Alright, you’re off the hook for now. But I’m coming back when you get off.”

  “You can’t. I have plans for Christmas Eve.”

  “Then you’re gonna have to tell me what I want to know quickly. I’m coming back.”

  Danny walked out of the library before Amanda had a chance to protest.

  Chapter 10

  Aleksei smiled as he heard the sound of his guests chattering as they finished their breakfast. They would be on their way again soon and he was certain they had been pleased with their stay. He loved satisfied customers. They could only lead to more.

  He walked into the dining area of his Snow Creek Arctic resort and waved to the family he had shown around the supposedly haunted Snow Creek Asylum for the Criminally Insane the night before.

  “Good morning,” Aleksei said. “I trust you enjoyed your breakfast?”

  “Morning, Mr. Nechayev,” a blond, slightly plump woman replied. She took a final bite of what had once been a stack of pancakes. “Everything was fabulous.”

  Aleksei turned on the charm with what he knew was his most disarming smile. “Now didn’t I tell you all to call me Aleksei? Please. We’re all friends here, right Mrs. Bailey?”

  The woman blushed slightly, and swallowed her pancakes. “Of course we are. And you know I’m Christine.”

  “Right. Such a lovely name.” Aleksei turned to the two teenagers sitting at the table with their mother. “What about you
two? What do you think of Snow Creek?”

  “It’s awesome,” the boy, who was the younger of the two, replied. “I can’t wait to tell everyone at school about the ghosts. The pics I took on my phone are perfect.”

  “I told you we’d see ghosts, Jacob,” Aleksei said. He noticed Jacob’s sister didn’t look quite as happy. “Is something wrong, Katie?”

  Katie shook her head. “No, nothing.”

  Cristine took a sip of coffee and smiled at her daughter, before turning back to Aleksei. “Katie had a little trouble sleeping. I think the ghosts scared her.”

  “They did not. I told you I wasn’t scared, Mom.”

  “Right, you did. Sorry.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and stared down at the table with the sullen expression perfected by teenage girls. Aleksei chuckled and watched her. She was blond like her mother, but much more attractive. Tall and slender, she moved with the grace of a ballerina. Aleksei had watched Katie closely while giving the family their tour the night before. She reminded him of Natasha.

  According to Christine, Katie was 17, although as Katie was quick to remind her mother, she would be turning 18 in a month. So she was a little younger than Natasha. But she had a maturity to her features and to her manner that made up for any deficiencies in age. She was a beautiful girl.

  He forced his eyes away from Katie and turned his attention back to her mother. “Where is Mr. Bailey this morning?”

  “Oh, he finished eating before the rest of us, so he went back to the room to finish packing.”

  Aleksei nodded. “So you’ll be heading up to Deadhorse soon?”

  “Yep, our coach leaves in a bit. We’re all ready for our Christmas in the Arctic.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  The family got up from the table.

  “Speaking of,” Cristine said, “we better get busy packing ourselves.” She stopped and shook Aleksei’s hand. “Thank you again for the tour. We had a wonderful time.”