Together they searched the bathroom and McKenna’s bedroom. Everything was clear. Will’s mind was telling him to relax, but his body wouldn’t obey. Something still had his shoulders tense.
“It’s clear,” she insisted again. “Nothing but that note on the table.”
“Remind me what that said again?” Will requested as he checked the hall closet for a third time. He couldn’t shake the feeling they were overlooking something.
“Something about how he might have missed that time, but he wouldn’t the next time,” she recounted again, her face twisting in distaste at the words.
He couldn’t blame her. The guy, whoever was behind this, had certainly made his intentions clear.
Maybe that was why Will felt as if he couldn’t let his guard back down. Maybe there was nothing in the house right now that could pose a threat, just the general threat that the man was still out there.
“Where’s Mollie?” He’d only just noticed she wasn’t with them. She’d followed them from the living room at the start of their search and had been faithfully nosing around behind them. Will had watched her lift her snout to sniff the air a few times, as if she thought she could help that way, but even her best attempts hadn’t uncovered anything. She’d seemed extra needy for attention as they’d continued searching, but then had disappeared.
McKenna looked around. “She was just here, wasn’t she?” Alarm crept into her tone.
They retraced their steps around the small house until they found Mollie stretched out on the floor in McKenna’s room. “You okay, girl?” McKenna knelt down next to the dog, who sleepily raised her head to meet her owner’s gaze, then flopped back onto the floor.
The eyes McKenna turned on Will were full of panic. “You don’t think...”
He watched the dog for a minute, seeing what McKenna saw even after the limited exposure he’d had to Mollie. The dog wasn’t herself.
“You don’t think they poisoned her?” McKenna finally asked, the words trailing to a whisper at the end of her question, as if she’d had to force herself to ask.
Poisoning the dog after sneaking into the house undetected didn’t make sense. If someone were going to hurt Mollie, they would have done it already. But that didn’t explain her strange behavior. Will watched her again, thought back on her behavior since he’d arrived. She’d seemed fine initially, then sniffed around as if she was helping them search....
He pictured her with her nose in the air sniffing. What if she hadn’t been searching for an intruder’s scent, as he’d initially thought? What if she’d smelled something wrong? Was that why she’d tried to get their attention?
Will sniffed the air himself, finally catching hints of an odor like rotten eggs that triggered alarm bells in his mind.
He scooped the dog in his arms. “Gas leak!” he called back to McKenna as he hurried out into the hallway. “Get out. Follow me!”
He glanced behind him once to make sure McKenna had listened.
“I’m here! Keep going, get her out!” she yelled.
They burst through the front door, leaving it standing open. For a few seconds they just stood there, staring at the house. Then Will dialed the fire department’s emergency number.
The North Slope Bureau Fire Department truck pulled in front of the house within ten minutes. “You said it’s a gas leak?” a firefighter confirmed as he stepped out of the truck.
“Yes.” Will cast a glance at the dog, who seemed to be recovering from the effects of inhaling the gas. He stole a look at McKenna’s face, too. Her eyes looked haunted.
“Gotcha.” The man went back to what he was doing. “These things can be dangerous. Lucky no one was hurt.”
Will didn’t know if he should warn the man that they suspected the gas line had been cut on purpose, but decided after a few seconds that it wouldn’t change how he handled the scene. And anyway, Will wasn’t sure who they could trust. He turned to McKenna, hoping she was ready to be reasonable about her living situation.
“I have a friend at the hunting service where I work. His sister-in-law mentioned she was thinking of looking for a roommate. Her name’s Anna Richmond and I think we should call her.”
McKenna nodded, eyes darting to Mollie even as she reached to stroke her fur. “I agree. I’m not going to risk her getting hurt again.”
What about you? he wanted to ask her. But he didn’t see any reason to remind her of the number of near-death experiences she’d had during the course of twenty-four hours.
Unfortunately, today had taught them both a lesson. Whoever was behind this was serious. He wouldn’t stop until he was sure McKenna was out of his way.
* * *
“You had a gas leak for sure.” The firefighter had reported, face grim. “I’ve got the gas shut off, but the gas line needs to be repaired as soon as possible. You should be thankful the whole house didn’t—” He looked at McKenna and cleared his throat, like the rest of the words were stuck there.
“Go kaboom?” she finished for him. She turned to Will. “I guess this means we’ll have to take a rain check on watching a movie” was all McKenna could find to say.
“Looks like. But we can eat pizza in the car on the way to Anna’s house.” He’d stepped aside to call Anna, and returned with assurances that the other woman was looking forward to her arrival. They climbed into Will’s truck, McKenna second-guessing her decision to stay with a stranger a little more with every passing moment.
This whole plan made McKenna uncomfortable. “Are you sure she won’t mind a total stranger living with her?”
“I’m sure.”
He sounded confident, as if he knew Anna well. McKenna’s stomach clenched. Were he and Anna a couple? She’d assumed this whole time that Will was single, as he had been since his wife had died so young. Not that it mattered...or should matter. Because it shouldn’t.
She let a few minutes of silence pass, hoping her curiosity would fizzle naturally.
It didn’t.
“You sound like you know her well,” McKenna began. “Are you...”
Will looked away from the road long enough to raise his eyebrows and shake his head. “Dating? No.”
She wanted to ask why, her curiosity kindled even more by his abrupt reply. Although she suspected she already know the answer—Rachael, his late wife, had been a vibrant, beautiful woman. It would be hard for anyone to measure up to the invisible standard Will must be carrying around.
She didn’t want to think about why that thought fell over her like clouds covering the sun. McKenna focused on her dog, who was curled up on the floorboards at her feet. She reached down to pet her.
“So we’re going to try to move all my stuff tonight?” she asked to try to distract herself from the unpleasant might-have-beens that kept threatening to overwhelm her imagination.
“I think that’s wise. I don’t want you going back there. What if he’d been waiting outside when you opened the door tonight?”
She’d thought of that already. McKenna suppressed a shiver.
“Or worse,” he continued, “what if, instead of cutting the gas line, he’d decided to hide in a closet or something to wait until you were inside with the door locked to attack you?”
“He probably couldn’t have done that without Mollie giving him away.” She reasoned.
He frowned in her direction. “I don’t like this at all, McKenna. Why is he pursuing you so seriously?”
“Because I found his crime scene?”
He nodded. “Yeah...but what does he gain by attacking you? The troopers would just send in someone else to investigate. It’s almost like it’s getting personal with him.”
“What do you mean?”
Will shrugged. “Call it a feeling more than anything. You can’t think of anyone you know who might be behind this
, can you?”
“Not unless they followed me from Anchorage. I’m new here, remember? Maybe the pilot the troopers were using before...but I don’t have any evidence against him. It’s just a feeling.” Nothing more was said, since they pulled up in front of a house that McKenna assumed must be Anna’s.
“This is it.” Will motioned in front of them with his hand. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s nicer than your old place. Better part of town, too. And—” he pointed to another house within sight range “—my friend Matt and his wife, Lexi, live right there.”
Uneasiness swirled in McKenna’s stomach. Being reminded that these were people Will knew and cared about made her hesitant to move in. What if her presence put them in danger?
“You’re not worried about your friends being close to me when I’m obviously a target?”
“You’re my friend.”
“I know that. But what about the others?”
“I’d do anything to keep you safe, McKenna. Don’t you get that? Matt, Lexi and Anna all know what they’re getting into, anyway. And they’re used to danger. There was quite a bit of that involved in Matt and Lexi’s lives right when they met and started dating, from what they’ve told me.”
She nodded slowly. “If you’re really sure—and if they are, too.”
“Everybody’s sure.”
“I guess this is it, then.” McKenna reached for the door handle. “And you did tell her I have a dog?”
Mollie’s head lifted, as though she knew she was being talked about. Will reached down to pet her. “Like I’d forget you, girl. Yes, McKenna. And she doesn’t care, she has one, too. Everything has been taken care of and is going to be fine.”
He seemed confident. She could hear it in his tone. She could only hope he was right and that he had enough faith for both of them.
McKenna knocked on the front door, making an effort to stand straight, which was more difficult than usual since she could feel the stress of the past forty-eight hours weighing on her.
The door opened and a petite blonde smiled before stepping forward and wrapping McKenna in a hug. “You must be McKenna! I’m so glad to have you here. I’m Anna Richmond.”
“Nice to meet you, Anna.” McKenna managed to remember the manners her mom had taught her, despite her surprise at getting such a warm reception. “I appreciate your letting me live here.”
“You’re doing me a favor,” she said with a smile as she released McKenna. “Checkers is good company, but he doesn’t talk back, you know?” She motioned to a dog that looked like a mix between a border collie and a terrier.
“I understand.” McKenna reached down and petted Mollie between the ears. “This is Mollie.”
The two dogs were nose to nose, sniffing each other cautiously, and then ran inside the house together.
“I think they’re going to get along fine,” Anna said with confidence. “Now, let’s get you moved in. What can I help with?”
They walked to the car and the three of them brought in McKenna’s things. Thankfully, she’d anticipated having less space in Barrow and had left a lot of her possessions in storage in Anchorage. The dumpy trailer she’d rented had come furnished, so she hadn’t needed much. It made moving into Anna’s house much easier. Will only had to make one more trip to her old house and back, one he insisted on making alone, to pick up the last of her belongings.
Over an hour later, McKenna sank into one of the chairs in the living room. “What time is it?” she asked, looking around for a clock. It was still light outside, but in September that didn’t tell her much. “I’m ready for bed.”
Will checked his watch and laughed. “It’s almost nine.”
McKenna tried to stifle a yawn. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“You have had kind of a long day,” Anna offered.
Had they really only been shot at that morning? “I guess if you don’t mind, I’m going to turn in early.”
Will stood as McKenna did. “I’m going to head over to Matt’s and say hi before I go home.” He started toward the door, then paused and faced McKenna. “Be careful, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He’d insisted on keeping her company the next day, “just in case she needed him for anything,” he’d said. She knew he was concerned about whoever was after her and felt as if he needed to look out for her. To be honest, she thought it was overkill. Moving in with Anna had ensured that she wouldn’t be alone at night anymore, which seemed like the most vulnerable time. During the day? Well, she had a gun and she knew how to use it. Personally, she thought Will should go back to work, but if she knew him at all, she knew he was stubborn—almost as stubborn as she was—and she knew telling him to do anything would be useless.
Besides, it was a little sweet that he cared.
FIVE
Will knocked on his friend’s door, willing himself not to shiver in the cold that crept through his jacket.
“Hey!” Matt greeted when he opened the door. “Did you get her all settled in?”
He nodded. “Yep. She and Anna seem to get along fine, so that’s good, too. It was nice of her to let McKenna move in.”
“It didn’t sound like a good situation, living alone where she was.”
Once again, Will marveled at the independence—or was it stubbornness?—McKenna continued to show. She was no longer technically a kid, but she was still young, still needed taking care of.
“You okay? You seem distracted,” Matt asked as Will followed him inside. The whole house smelled like warm cinnamon.
“I am a little. But it’s nothing that a little of whatever I smell couldn’t cure.” He looked around and found the source of the aroma—several pans of cinnamon rolls—sitting on a kitchen counter.
“Help yourself,” Lexi said with a smile as she pulled another pan out of the oven. “There are plenty.” She handed him a small plate and put a warm cinnamon roll on it.
“Thanks.” He picked up a fork and after one bite, closed his eyes and smiled. “This is epic.” He looked at Matt. “How you don’t weigh five-hundred pounds is a mystery to all of us.”
Matt laughed. “She is an amazing cook. I highly recommend this whole marriage thing.”
Will swallowed hard in the sudden silence. Lexi fixed her husband with a look.
“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean—” Matt started.
“It’s okay,” Will said.
“It has been a long time, Will. Maybe it is time for you to think about dating again.” Lexi said it gently, with a smile. “Tell me about your friend.”
“Who? McKenna?”
“Like there are other women I could be talking about?”
Some part of him had a hard time thinking of McKenna as a woman. Clearly she’d grown up and wasn’t the girl he remembered. But woman made her seem...
Lexi had a point, though. Who else would she be talking about? He had made a very concentrated effort to avoid getting involved with anyone since he came to town. It wasn’t too difficult since women were scarce in the area anyway. But he wasn’t ready for another relationship. He wasn’t sure his heart had recovered from the last one.
He said as much to Lexi, who just waved him off. “It’s been, what, five years since you came here? So you’ve had a long enough time, I would think.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Will shrugged. “I’ve never done this before—thought about dating after being married.”
“So, you are thinking about dating her?” Lexi, ever the matchmaker, rubbed her hands together.
Great. That hadn’t come out the way he’d meant. “No. She’s my best friend’s little sister.” He shifted uncomfortably, knowing there was more to it than that. McKenna was the kind of woman who would engage every emotion—which would only make it even easier to get his heart thoroughly shattered if something ev
er happened to her, the way something had happened to Rachael. He was better off single. “Hey, can I have another cinnamon roll?”
Lexi pushed the pan toward him but maintained a steady stare. She clearly wasn’t letting him get away with the change in subject.
Surely someone could use this woman’s persistence in an interrogation room somewhere. “Matt, do you want to help me out here?” he called to his friend, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, and listening to the whole conversation with what seemed like great amusement.
“Nah, you’re doing great on your own.”
Will turned back to Lexi the inquisitor. “You should stick to baking rather than matchmaking. You’re much better at it.”
She raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t say anything. You brought the subject back up, technically, which makes me think you really are interested.” She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “The question is, why aren’t you doing something about it?”
Will set his fork down. “Even if I was interested. And that’s something I’m not saying, by the way. If I was, she’s still my best friend’s sister.” And there was that host of other reasons, too....
“So?”
Matt laughed louder.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” Will called over his shoulder.
“Oh, I am.”
“It’s just not something guys do,” Will tried to explain. “Sisters are off-limits.”
“Because that makes sense. She’s an adult, Will. Really pretty, too. I looked out the window while you guys were moving her stuff in.”
“Look, she’s off-limits, guys. Leave it alone.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Matt and Lexi exchange a look. They might not believe him, but he was sure of it—nothing beyond friendship could ever happen between him and McKenna Clark.
* * *
Nothing had broken all day on the case McKenna had been working so hard on. Of course, part of the problem was that no matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t give the case her full attention.
She’d learned even in the past eight hours how difficult it was to multitask when you had no coworkers to rely on for support. In Anchorage, if she’d had a case this critical, someone else would have taken the other duties she held and taken care of things like the moose that had mysteriously dropped dead too close to town and was attracting wolves. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been discovered until the meat had gone bad, so McKenna hadn’t been able to give the meat to anyone. She’d just had to load it up in the back of an old pickup and drive it farther from town where the wolves wouldn’t pose a threat to townspeople.
Tundra Threat Page 5