Cold Case Recruit (6 page)

“That’s not love.”

“It’s a form of love.” He rinsed a plate and handed it to her.

She took it. “No. That’s impulsively going from one relationship to the next and not holding out for the one that really matters.”

But the one that really matters didn’t exist. To him, every woman he was with mattered, not just one, exulted one. One, superior woman was the stuff of fairy tales. Like Cinderella. Pure fantasy. A wonderful, magical dream. She walked into that ballroom alone and everyone stopped just to watch her come down the stairs in her fairy godmother gown that outshined all others. Something like that would never happen in real life. A man didn’t find a woman who made all others seem plain and insignificant.

But he didn’t think he could make Drury understand.

“It’s love to me,” he said.

She put the plate in the dishwasher. “No. That is not love. Clearly you’ve never
been
in love.”

“I only know what works for me.” He handed her another plate.

“Well. Thanks for the warning, then.” She put the plate in the dishwasher and glanced at him from behind a sexy curtain of hair.

He didn’t say she likely idolized her husband in death and merely
thought
she had true love with him. He wouldn’t argue over this. He wouldn’t have a chance with her. He’d scared her off. Well, good. He didn’t need his ideals put to any kind of love test anyway. Especially since he also had to put aside the nagging feeling that his attraction to her rose above anything he’d ever experienced before.

His Cinderella...?

Chapter 3

C
arter Nichols stepped out into the reception room of the Division of Alaska State Troopers, Bureau of Investigations Unit. A tall, burly man with close-cropped medium brown hair and light gray eyes, he wore a state trooper’s uniform, blue shirt with an insignia, and black pants with a gun on his belt. He must have left his hat at his desk. Drury had seen some of the other officers wearing them and Carter had always gone without whenever he could. Seeing him reminded her of Noah, but this time the sight of him seemed strangely less impactful. With Brycen by her side, she had to wonder if he had anything to do with that.

Carter went straight to Drury. “Hey, Drury.” He took her into a hug and leaned back. “How are you doing?”

He hugged her every time she came to see him since Noah’s murder. It had comforted her knowing he’d worked so closely with her husband.

“Good.” She stepped back to put space between them. “This is Brycen Cage.” Why she felt awkward introducing him, she had to wonder. Was her attraction obvious? Although she had tried to subdue her reaction to Brycen, nature kept bringing her closer to that point when she could no longer resist. The strength of the temptation made her feel guilty. She wasn’t betraying her dead husband. The guilt came from knowing and not wanting to face that she couldn’t recall feeling the same degree of desire with Noah. Theirs had been more of a comfortable companionship, a close friendship that had grown into love.

“Brycen.” The trooper offered his hand with no sign of animosity.

They shook hands briefly, Carter noticing the slight cut on Brycen, who’d removed the bandage shortly after it had been put on.

“I heard you were on your way. It’s an honor to have you, and if there’s anything we can do to help with your investigation, just let me know.” He turned to Drury. “We did our best, but we’ve reached a wall.”

“You did a thorough investigation. I read the report,” Brycen said. “But maybe fresh eyes will see something new. In my experience, it’s sometimes all a case needs. I distance myself from a case for a while, just so I can come back to it later with a new perspective.”

Carter gave a single affirmative nod. “If you find something to crack open my partner’s case, I’ll forever be in your debt.” His head bowed with the heavy weight of his failure to find a friend and partner’s killer.

“I’ll catch his killer,” Brycen said. “But I’d appreciate some assistance from your office. Access to resources and a crime lab if we need one.”

Carter gave another nod. “Whatever you need.” He took out his wallet and removed a card. “That there is my cell phone.” He pointed to the third number listed on the card. “You can reach me anytime. Or just call here and someone will radio me.” He grinned as though he had a confession. “Service is patchy once you get away from the city.”

“Of course.” Brycen put the card in his back jean pocket. “On the sexual assault call that Noah responded to, did you happen to interview any other suspects than the hunters?”

“When I questioned the victim, she didn’t report any other suspicious contacts. We spoke with her ex-boyfriend, but he broke up with her several months prior. She had a falling-out with a friend, but that led to nothing, and her coworkers said she was nice. I didn’t find anyone else who’d fit the profile and could place none of them at the scene. My other thought on that was that it could have been random.”

Drury agreed a stranger could have singled the victim out and attacked. “Have there been any rapes reported since then?”

“Almost every day.” Carter grunted sardonically. “This is Alaska. In the cities there’s more control, but law enforcement can’t always reach the remote areas in time.”

“The report said you have no fingerprints or other evidence,” Brycen said.

“No, only a vague description from the victim. It was dark and the man wore gloves and a mask. All she could say is he fit the body type of the hunter who came in to the restaurant and started harassing her.”

“Can I see the evidence?”

“Sure. I arranged for you to get in the room before you got here.” He started walking back toward the way he’d come. “Follow me.”

Carter had always worked hard to find Noah’s killer. At first he’d been ridden with guilt and grief, wishing he could have stopped the shooter somehow. But he hadn’t been there.

Passing through two hallways, Carter stopped at a metal door and used his badge to enter. The evidence room wasn’t large, but it had a decent capacity for the allotted space. Rows of shelves took up most of the room, with a small space for a table and an officer behind a desk up front.

“I’ve got your evidence ready over there. The smaller box is for the assault vic. The larger is from Noah’s scene.”

On the table, two cardboard boxes sat open. Brycen went there and started with the smaller one, lifting out a clear plastic bag containing the victim’s clothes and the forensic psychologist’s report.

“I tried to get her to confront the angry hunter with a wire, but she refused,” Carter said. “A lot of times, a rapist might start talking about the incident and he implicates himself. But she was too scared.”

Drury could hardly blame her. Although she had never been through something like that, she didn’t think she’d have refused to help the police. A predator still ran free to hurt other women.

“I’d like to talk to her myself,” Brycen said. “Would you have a problem with that?”

Carter folded his arms and shook his head. “None. Why would I?”

Brycen smiled slightly. “Some law enforcement types are threatened when someone from Dark Alley Investigations shows up. Or so I’m told. I’m new to the organization.”

“I confess I hadn’t heard of the agency until Drury said she called you, but I’ve done a little reading and threatened isn’t a word I’d use. Hopeful is much more appropriate.”

Carter did have one of those easygoing personalities. People liked him. But Drury wasn’t sure what Brycen thought he could gain from talking to the assault victim again. The hunter’s wife had claimed he’d been home in northern Washington the night of the attack. He had a solid alibi and had never been arrested. He had no motive to kill a cop other than the altercation at the restaurant, which had no connection in Drury’s opinion.

“I’ll just confirm there’s no one else Noah crossed paths with who may have been involved with the victim.” Brycen glanced at Drury and she wondered if he thought she’d be insulted if he told her what kind of path that could mean. Some kind of love triangle? Did he think it possible Noah had an affair with the victim before her attack and that maybe the hunter who’d given her the roughest time was the third party?

“Noah didn’t have an affair and he was a clean cop,” she said. “That’s going to be a dead end.”

“You think Noah may have been involved in something?” Carter asked, new interest alert in his eyes. Light from overhead in the evidence room cast deepened shadows under his brow.

“I’m not assuming anything.” He moved to the bigger box. “Just checking every angle.” He said the last to her before turning back to Carter. “I’ll need contact information on the prostitute Noah arrested prior to the shooting, as well.”

“Of course.”

Drury glowered at Brycen. Surely he didn’t think Noah would cavort with a prostitute? Checking every angle...

Brycen removed the bagged bullet. “And the domestic violence call. I’d like to talk to the wife again.”

“Do you think Noah had an affair with her, too?” Drury asked with a bite in her voice.

“No. But he may have crossed paths with someone associated with her. There are many ways he could have encountered someone with something to hide. These people might lead me to them.”

Carter observed him thoughtfully, clearly not having thought of that in his investigation.

And Drury chided herself for being so narrow-minded. She refused to believe Noah had an affair, but something or someone connected to one of his calls could have led to his death.

“I’ll have a clerk write down the addresses and contact information we have,” Carter said.

Drury watched Brycen check over the evidence, putting the bullet back and taking out blood and fiber samples and copies of photos and lab reports.

“Have there been any other calls from the woman who reported domestic violence?” he asked as he worked.

Carter shook his head. “None. She only called that one time. If she’d called again, I’d have put it in the report.”

A year had passed since the domestic violence call—the one and only that the woman had made. Did that mean the violence had stopped? Drury doubted that. She looked forward to talking to the woman. Maybe they could help her get away. Except the woman had to
want
to leave her husband on top of mustering the courage.

Brycen looked at the photos taken of the area where the fatal shot had been fired. The alley could have hidden the shooter. There was a pharmacy and an antique shop with apartments above across the street.

Next, he took out photos from security cameras at the pharmacy. Nothing or no one suspicious had been captured, but the shooter could have known the locations of the cameras and avoided them.

“Did you check out these apartments?” Brycen asked.

“Yes. I talked to the managers at both places. No new tenants were reported, and no breakins.”

The gunman could have known someone in one of the apartments, but the shots had come from the alley.

“What about cameras at the other end of the alley?” she asked.

“There were none,” Brycen said, and then to Carter, “That’s what I read in the report anyway.”

“That’s correct. No cameras. The commercial spaces on that street are vacant. One was recently leased, but the tenant hadn’t opened its doors yet.”

“What about across from those spaces?” Brycen took out his phone and brought up a street map.

“Houses,” Carter said as Drury viewed the satellite map version on the phone screen with Brycen. “We questioned all the residents in the area. In a six-block radius.”

Brycen put the evidence back in the box and moved back. “Thank you again. I appreciate your willingness to help.”

“Noah was more than my partner. He was my friend.”

Brycen didn’t react to that declaration. He remained neutral. He must go into that mode when he delved into investigations, not making assumptions, just gathering information and keeping his initial assessment to himself.

“If anything comes to mind that you may not have explored in the case, let me know,” he said. “No matter how insignificant you think the detail is, it may be important enough to lead to more.”

“I’ve been through that case so many times I doubt I’d be capable of seeing anything new.” Carter seemed to need to explain or cover his tracks if he ended up having missed something.

Which in turn explained why he welcomed Brycen’s involvement. Carter had worked tirelessly to find Noah’s killer. As with anything too close to a person, details sometimes were lost. He’d shown Drury the same support when she told him she’d gone to Dark Alley Investigations.

“Let’s hope you have better luck than me,” Carter said.

“I’ll see what I can find.”

Carter gave another of his nods. Habitual? Or was he nervous?

“We’ll need a helicopter to visit the domestic violence victim,” Drury said. “It’s a remote location.”

Carter turned perplexed eyes to her. “You’re going with him? You’re investigating with him?”

She glanced at Brycen.

“There’s nothing in the rules that say you can’t,” Brycen said. “Dark Alley only requires putting together a solid case come time for an arrest.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Carter asked.

“Don’t worry about me.” Drury smiled. “Not only am I an adventurer, I’ll be with one of the best.” She patted Brycen’s right biceps—which felt deliciously hard. “Besides, I want to be part of the investigation now, every step of the way.”

“You could get hurt, Drury,” Carter said.

She angled her head. “You should know me by now. I don’t sit on the sidelines.”

“She wanted to be a fighter pilot,” Brycen pointed out.

Carter contemplated her while she noticed Brycen looking at her in a not very professional way. Her adventurous spirit attracted him. He might say no marriage, no kids, but did he really want that?

“Nothing much does scare you, does it, Drury? All right,” Carter conceded. “Let’s go get a helicopter arranged.” He turned and headed for the door.

Brycen followed him out of the room, Drury behind, glad Carter hadn’t changed his position in the year he’d been investigating Noah’s death. He might have given up hope in himself to find the killer, but he hadn’t given up hope entirely.

*

Cora Parker lived in an apartment building in downtown Anchorage and walked to her job at the restaurant, a log structure with Old West charm next to a new shopping center. The report said the hunters had stayed at the hotel across the street from the shopping center and had flights home to Washington State the next day. Even more proof that none of them could have attacked Cora. They would have had to travel back to commit the crime. But Brycen had learned when a criminal wanted to kill badly enough, he’d find a way, and northern Washington wasn’t that far from Anchorage.

He and Drury stood at her apartment door. Cora wasn’t home.

A door across the hall opened and an old woman with curly white hair and thick glasses appeared. “She’s at work. Who are you?”

With no security in the building, Cora made easy prey for a rapist. With the police onto him, the man must have decided not to risk going after her again.

“We’ll find her at work,” Drury said. “Let’s go.”

He walked down the hall with her. “We can wait until she gets off.”

“Can I tell her who stopped by?” the old woman called after them. “We keep an eye on her after she was attacked last year.”

“Thanks, we’ll find her at work.” Drury pushed Brycen toward the elevator.

“Let’s just wait for her out front.” He’d rather not spend too much time in public. The fewer people who recognized him during his stay, the better. That was why he preferred staying at his cabin.