Valerie went on speaking to Meghan as if it was just the two of them in the considerable space. “We’re looking at increasing your expenditure budget, Chief Sheppard. We need something that will work for all of us. You might not think that this kind of expense is extraordinary, but our mayor has pulled the city out of significant red since he’s taken office. It might seem like micromanaging, and while I admit from experience, Duane can be a little pushy at times.” She looked from Meghan and smiled at Duane before continuing. “Sometimes, in life, we run into people who we need to play our foils to make the balance work properly.” She shook her head. “Before you go on another spending spree, try to talk to Duane first. If you feel like you’re hitting a wall, you can always call me.”
She folded her hands together on the stack of recipes and gave Meghan all her attention. “Tell us, Chief Sheppard, what would make your work easier. What can we do today to start making plans to incorporate in the near future?”
While she suspected most people would have immediately asked for a raise, Meghan felt she received the right amount of money for the job she did. It was a good income with great potential for retirement. Now Meghan knew she didn’t have to look for other employment, that she was staying where she was, she could settle in, maybe finish unpacking those few extra boxes stacked in the corner of the house.
“I’d like another full-time officer. Maybe a reserve officer or a few who can give my people some better hours, so no one is working seven days, twelve-hour shifts. It might even cut back on the overtime we put in every week.”
Valerie smiled. “I like the sound of that. You’ve been working for a larger organization for most of your career. Can I assume this is the first time you’ve had to work with the budget end of things?”
Meghan only nodded. Bureaucracy wasn’t something she wanted to learn or stay in for any length of time. She loved the thrill of the chase, the minutiae of solving the case.
“I’d like to see if the town can help with Nancy McCormick’s body? Her sister and brother-in-law run the restaurant and—”
“Yes, the Midnight Sun Café,” Valerie said. She nodded slowly. “I always go there when I visit. We’ll make an arrangement with the family to take care of a daughter of Kinguyakkii.”
Everything went better than expected, and Meghan sat back in the chair, pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the overall meeting.
“Is there anything else we can do for you, Chief Sheppard?” This time it was one of the mute members who watched from the video monitor. She suspected it was another subtle jab at her asking for a raise.
“No, I think we’re all set.” Then she thought quickly. “I’d like the department to have a digital camera. We need something to use in case we have something else happen. Sometimes the cameras on our phones just don’t cut it.”
“Well, find what you need on the internet. Send me the link. I’ll make sure you get that or something comparable.”
“Thank you.”
“We’re all set here.” Three out of the four members watching the meeting from their homes switched off. Valerie gathered the rest of her paperwork, slipped it into a manila folder, and stood up. Meghan stood, pushed in the chair on the plush carpet of the boardroom, and waited.
“Chief Sheppard, can I see you a moment?” Valerie said.
Meghan walked around the large oak table, following the woman down a hallway to the side of the meeting area. The other board members present went in a different direction, including Duane.
Valerie slipped through a door at the end of the long hallway, and Meghan reached the doorway when Valerie placed the file folder on an expansive desk. Valarie turned to face Meghan, smiling.
“So, working with Duane is not too easy, is it?”
Rather than agree, to admit the truth, Meghan knew better than feed into opening a door that was impossible to close again.
“All I can say is to work around him as best you can. I’ve known Duane for a long time. He can be a bit of an asshole, but I can’t think of anyone else who cares for that town as much as he does.”
“I feel like there’s another agenda with him sometimes.”
“It’s no secret that he wanted someone else in your place. After the fiasco with the corruption charges against the former chief, we have to play it close to the chest. Don’t take this the wrong way, or think we’re insensitive, but you’re an outsider, and that’s exactly what that town needs in a chief.” Valerie handed Meghan a business card. It was thick, embossed, and had all her private information on it. “Call me, day or night, if you need something.”
She folded her arms, watching Meghan tuck the card into a pocket. “I feel like you thought this meeting was going in a different direction as we ambushed you.”
“That’s kind of how it felt, yes.”
“You had limited resources; you solved a murder investigation by yourself in less than a week. Why in the world would you think you were in trouble?”
“Well, I wasn’t alone, I had help, Lester and Oliver both did great jobs. It would be nice if we had a little more issued for personal safety than pepper spray.”
“That’s a little outside my field, Chief Sheppard. It’s something the entire Council has to weigh in on, and I don’t see anything changing soon. The Alaska State Troopers have jurisdiction on what we can and can’t issue our officers. There’s talk about further incorporating the city. Once it reaches a certain capacity, we have no choice than build jails, hire more officers, and issue firearms. Right now, the best you can get is another cop and more pepper spray.”
“How about a taser?” Meghan asked. It wasn’t too far away from pepper spray and still nonlethal.
Valerie laughed. “For someone who doesn’t want much, your list might be longer than you realize. How about I’ll see what I can do. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Chapter Thirty-One
While they didn’t talk much, Duane and Meghan shared a taxi back to Merrill Field to wait until their charter flight was ready to leave. Meghan sat inside the hanger, watching the crew load the small plane with supplies. Any trip to and from villages were perfect conduits to transport any variety of supplies.
Meghan sipped on cold coffee from a paper cup while she scanned digital cameras using the internet on her smartphone.
An unmarked car pulled up to the airstrip, rolling by the small Cessna 180 that was getting ready to take off. Merrill Field was a general aviation public-use small airport. Small independent flights used the airfield because it had easier access than the international airport where most of the tourists used when flying in and out of Anchorage, Alaska.
The airstrip was designated for life-flights because it was a half mile from the nearest hospital. The troopers used the airfield when they had unregistered flight plans that took them into the bush when they were hunting poachers or bootleggers.
When a cop rolled up on the tarmac, no one took notice of the vehicle. Since they had the credentials to get through security, none of the pilots or passengers cared where they were headed, as long as the cops weren’t coming for the pilot or guests.
“You Sheppard?” the man asked from inside the Dodge Charger, passenger window down, head tipped to look at her from the other side of mirrored sunglasses. The guy couldn’t pretend to be anything else except a cop. The car was sleek, new, and shiny black. The interior had been overhauled and fitted with a see-through partition that separated the driver from the rear passengers in case the officer transported dangerous suspects.
“Who wants to know?” she asked. If he wanted to play cartoon cop, Meghan would oblige him with her version of comic book cliché dialogue.
The sunglasses shifted, pushed down the bridge of his nose with a finger so he could look at her without the lenses. “Are you for real?” he asked.
She smiled and said, “I should ask the same of you.”
She pulled herself from the lounge chair inside the hanger. It was mildly entertaining watching the pi
lot and the cargo handlers trying to pack the plane full of supplies headed for the village. Meghan tried to ignore the weight they managed to get on the flight because she had to fly across miles of jagged mountain peaks on her way back to the village.
Meghan put the coffee on the table near the hanger door and wandered out to the black Charger. She leaned over and got a better look at the driver. He was cop through and through. Overweight, overdressed in a two-piece suit and broke the golden rule about wearing a blazer while driving. Clearly, no one taught this man to hang the jacket when he was behind the wheel. His stomach touched the steering wheel as he motioned for her to climb in.
“Am I going to miss my flight if I get in the car?” She glanced to Duane, who sat by himself deeper inside the hanger. He’d been on the business laptop and his phone most of the afternoon. If they were supposed to call a truce, it still hadn’t happened, and Meghan didn’t think Duane was the kind of man to admit he was a little over the top when it came to managing the town or keeping all the cards to himself.
She didn’t wait for the detective to give her any real answer before opening the passenger door and climbing inside. The detective was heavy on the accelerator, pulling away from the hanger, swinging the car around on the tarmac and driving back toward the gate.
He got as far as the security gate before pulling over.
Once the car was in park, the detective extended his hand toward Meghan. “Chief Meghan Sheppard.”
Meghan shook his hand. “That’s funny; that’s my name too,” she said, and added, “Detective Gregory Anderson.”
“Just Greg is fine.”
“Meghan.” His beefy hand was steady and moist. Meghan absently wiped her hand on her thigh. “What can I do for you, Detective?”
“You come to town and don’t stop in to say hello?”
“I didn’t know you wanted to see me,” she admitted. “I don’t get a lot of extra information from the town if you happened to contact someone.”
“I got a call from the ME about the body coming into town. A suspect in a murder investigation was dead, and you know how it is, we have to investigate the cops in case you killed the killer.”
She shook her head. “That wasn’t me. He had an allergic reaction. That was all him, or genetics.”
There was a manila file on the dashboard that Detective Anderson reached for and shoved toward Meghan. “That’s our side of your investigation. You officially solved Nancy McCormick’s murder. That was serious police work.”
Meghan looked through the file. There was more information about Nickolas Hodge. She began to scan the first page, but Anderson talked over her, concentrating on the paperwork.
“We matched his fingerprints to an unsolved case in Arizona. Hodge wasn’t even on the radar down there.”
“Was it in Mesa or Phoenix?” she asked.
“How did you know about Mesa?” Anderson gave her a look that suggested she knew more than he did. “There was a twenty-three-year-old college student who waitressed tables at a diner in Mesa. Five years ago, Hodge lived in Mesa before he moved to Phoenix. He came up to Alaska three years ago after he got a job with a real estate outfit in Wasilla managing apartment complexes. From there he found a job in your town doing the same thing.”
Meghan nodded. She wasn’t much for profiling, never got the specialized training; she used the casework when it was available from other agents. Not every killer got a workup, but Hodge seemed to follow a pattern that she wouldn’t have noticed last week.
“So, this waitress,” she asked. “Was she strangled in her apartment?”
“She was,” Anderson said with a slow nod. “They never matched a suspect to the crime because they were looking for a Latino man who was seen near the apartment building the night of the girl’s murder. Hodge wasn’t on file, and the sheriff’s department was too busy being colorblind to see straight.” It was a dig at the racial tension that still went on in the Border States.
“Was he ever in the military?” she asked.
“Wow, I think you should come work for us,” Anderson said. “Did you see that in the file already?”
“No, he had army issue gloves; at least that’s what they looked like. He left one glove in the bedroom. I know I sent you pictures of it.”
“Yeah, I remember. He washed out of boot camp, something to do with an unhealthy mental status. They let him keep the basic issue garb.”
“Killing Nancy wasn’t intentional. Not that I saw. I think something was going on in Hodge that he hadn’t quite worked out yet. It doesn’t surprise me; it was the second time for him.” She stared out the windshield. There was a low-flying prop plane on approach. It was a clear evening; the sun was still hovering above the Tordrillo Mountains to the northwest of the Anchorage Bowl. Slight wind, the plane floated down to the tarmac and landed with little effort. “If this guy got away with it, he would have made it a habit.”
“So, what’s the deal? Peanut butter?” Anderson said frowning. “That’s one story for the books.”
“Isn’t that like flirting with disaster? I don’t know what happens inside a guy’s head, but to have something that serious to his health makes me wonder if Hodge even knew it was in the cupboard.”
Anderson belly laughed. “That’s one for the books for sure. To think that maybe someone knew he was deathly allergic and just put it in the house.”
“I’m thinking the peanut butter was already in the pantry when Hodge got to the house. I can tell you that I wasn’t looking when I grabbed the jar and hit him with it. It was blind luck. He was choking me out, and my hand wrapped around the jar.” She shook her head. “I think the house belongs to Blue Sky Realty. It was one of Hodge’s perks for dealing with the apartments in town. A prior tenant probably left it in the pantry, and he never knew it was there. I’m not going to read into it.”
Anderson was interested in her tale, but Meghan didn’t want to deal with the emotions that came with thinking about dying at the hands of a wannabe serial killer. She shook her head, shook out the dark figure that had its hands wrapped around her throat before she happened to find the right tool to take him out.
“Are they going to let you have a gun now?” Anderson was savvy enough to know when to change the subject.
“That’s not going to happen. I don’t know if you have any pull with the troopers in charge of the Village Public Safety Program, but maybe you can get them to issue me a taser at least.”
“That’s a good idea. Unfortunately, that’s not my department, and I don’t know what kind of politics is involved with running that program.”
“Me either.”
They were quiet for a minute. Meghan saw by the clock on the dashboard. They had about fifteen minutes before she had to board the Cessna 180 back to Kinguyakkii.
“You know I was serious about you coming to work with us. You could earn your detective badge in a few years. Your experience goes a long way.”
“It’s tempting, but I kind of like what I do.”
“You probably have a lot fewer headaches than we do. You don’t have someone breathing down your neck wondering if keeping you on the payroll is worth it.”
“Oh, I have one of those, and he’s standing right over there.” Meghan pointed to Duane who wandered out of the hanger and scanned the area for Meghan. She knew he’d get on that plane and leave with or without her.
Detective Anderson put the car in drive and rolled ahead along the edge of the runaway. With a departure flight scheduled it was unlikely that the detective’s car was in the way of oncoming air traffic. He pulled up to the hanger, and Meghan got out of the vehicle. She reached back through the open window and shook Anderson’s hand again.
“Don’t be a stranger, Sheppard.”
“You should come up and see us.”
Anderson laughed. “I doubt you’ll have any use for a violent crimes detective in your end of the woods any time soon. It’s been over twenty years since your last homicide.”
/> “Fifteen years actually,” Meghan corrected. “I don’t suppose you can get me a copy of that cold case, can you?”
“Are you looking to solve that too while you’re chief of police out there?”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to take a look at the file, have it on hand in case something comes up.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Sheppard.”
“Stay safe, Greg.”
“You too Meghan,” he said and revved the engine swinging the Charger around to head back through the security gate. Boys and their toys never end.
The flight back from Anchorage to Kinguyakkii was bumpy. It was well after nine-thirty before the plane touched down. Meghan had the passenger seats to herself and managed to take a nap until the turbulence shook her awake again.
Shelley Bass was waiting at the airport for Duane. He collected his travel bag as Meghan grabbed her small suitcase. She was ready to call Oliver or Lester, whoever was on duty to come to pick her up at the airport when Duane spoke up.
“Need a lift, Chief?” he asked. They were halfway across the tarmac when he called to her.
Meghan caught up to them without words and climbed into the back seat beside the cardboard file boxes Shelley had on the rear seat. Duane didn’t say anything before Shelley dropped her off at the house on Bison Street.
“Thank you,” she said, climbing out of the car.
Shelley smiled. “Bye.”
“See you Monday,” Duane said, and as the car pulled away, Meghan saw in the streetlight, Duane reached over and put his hand on the driver’s seat.
She wasn’t one to pry, to read into innocent gestures. Shelley wore a wedding ring. Duane was an authority figure and Shelley’s immediate supervisor. Whatever went on between them, as long as they weren’t breaking the law, had nothing to do with Meghan.
She unlocked the front door to the house, kicked off her boots, and shed the jacket. She’d left the bunny boots and oversized parka in Kinguyakkii. It was night and day when it came to the weather between the two cities. She had other gear that wasn’t so heavy, and it felt odd not to wear a coat that was heavy and warm and too big for her.
A Cold Day for Murder Page 14