Alaskan Christmas Cold Case

by Sarah Varland

  Her tears picked up again. “I’d hoped when I didn’t hear anything about anyone being attacked or something like that, that she was okay.”

  “And when was this?”

  “April, three years ago.”

  It lined up with the Ice Maiden’s assumed time of death, which was difficult to pinpoint when a body was discovered in a frozen state. Based on the amount of snow on the body, it likely hadn’t been there long before they’d discovered it in May three years ago. At least that was one part of the case they’d gotten right.

  “Did she say who she was worried might be following her?” Noah asked.

  The woman shook her head. “Not a word. Just asked me to call the police if I saw anything. She bought a stack of books—a rather odd selection.”

  “Are you able to look up receipts that far back? Because we’d love to know what they were.”

  “I still remember. It was such an odd combination. She bought a book about home decorating and two about private investigators. Not fiction—nonfiction sort of how-to books that explained the profession.” Sabrina moved back behind the counter, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pad of paper. “I can write the names down for you.”

  Noah glanced at Erynn. She looked like she was struggling with her emotions. Fear? Or survivor’s guilt?

  “I’d appreciate it,” he said to Sabrina.

  She finished writing, handed him the slip of paper.

  “Did she stay here in the store long?”

  The woman was already shaking her head. “No. Just long enough to buy those books. And then she was gone.” She brushed a tear from her cheek.

  * * *

  Erynn felt her own eyes welling up with tears in response to the emotion Sabrina Baxter was showing. How terrible for her, to know she might well have been one of the last people to have seen Madison Reynolds alive. She wished there was a way to reassure the woman. It wasn’t like the bookstore owner could have called the police without a credible reason to do so.

  “Do you have an idea about who was after—?” Sabrina started to ask.

  “Madison.” Erynn supplied her name despite Noah’s earlier look reminding her that this wasn’t her case anymore, that she was supposed to be quiet. She was trying, but it was only possible to a point.

  “I’m assuming since you’re here and it’s three years later that she...that someone...”

  “She was killed, yes.” Erynn didn’t sugarcoat it, didn’t see how she could. She set her hand on the counter, leaned forward a little bit toward Sabrina. “But you telling us anything you remember may help us—” she shot a glance at Noah “—may help Chief Dawson figure out who was behind it and bring him to justice.”

  Sabrina nodded. “I’ve told you most of what I remember.”

  “Anything else? Time of day, the weather?” Noah asked.

  The woman nodded. “Yes...it was morning, I believe, and I know it was raining that day because I remember noticing when the woman left that she’d tracked mud all through the store. It wasn’t bad to clean up, but I do remember doing it after I watched her leave.”

  She looked at Noah. “Do I need to be concerned since I’ve told you all this? Will whoever was responsible come after me?”

  Erynn doubted it. The serial killer hadn’t hurt any bystanders that they knew of, hadn’t murdered anyone besides foster kids, with the exception of her adoptive dad, and he’d been a lot closer relation.

  Noah shook his head. “No, you’ll be okay. I’ll stop at the local police department before I leave town to fill them in and make sure they have a basic awareness of what we are dealing with. Just as a precaution.”

  Sabrina nodded, sniffed again and wiped her eyes. “Thanks for coming in. I’ll make sure to call you if I have any questions. Do you have a card?”

  Noah gave her one and then put his hand on Erynn’s back to guide her out of the shop. They’d only made it a few steps from the door when she shook her head. “I feel bad for that woman.”

  “Because she’s the last one to have seen Madison, as far as we know?” Noah turned his head toward her when he asked the question. Erynn blinked. His face was so close to hers. She could tell by his widened eyes and the way he backed up that he’d been closer than he’d meant to be. Somehow it was nice to know she was not the only one caught off guard. Her heart might have skipped a beat or two, her eyes noticed his lips, the way the stubble from his goatee begged her to reach out and touch it...

  Erynn looked away.

  “Erynn?”

  Oh, right. She’d forgotten the conversation they had been having, the question Noah had asked. “Yes. And I feel bad because she seems like she feels guilty.”

  “Because she knows more than she said?”

  “No. Because she wishes she could have done more.” Erynn knew what that felt like. All too well.

  “There’s nothing she could have done.” He set a hand on her arm and she looked up. “You, either, Erynn. There’s nothing you could have done for any of them.”

  Any of them was a phrase that echoed, ricocheted like a gunshot in her soul. So many people had been lost to this person’s madness. In her heart she knew he was right. She couldn’t have saved them...at least most of them. But she could work as hard as she could now to bring whomever it was to justice.

  If she hadn’t been taken off the case.

  “Where next?” Erynn asked to focus on the positive, keep herself from getting too discouraged.

  “She also spent money at Jack’s Souvenir Shop.” Noah gestured ahead of them to a building set apart from others.

  “Think we’ll get as lucky there as we did at the bookstore?”

  “I doubt it. But we may as well try.”

  It was close enough that they walked. It had not been lost on Erynn that Noah had chosen to drive from the restaurant to the bookstore. Her guess was that he hadn’t wanted her exposed for that long, something she appreciated. But not driving from here to Jack’s, when it was so close, made more sense.

  If she had to be taken off a case, especially one that meant as much to her as this one, Noah was the man she wanted in her place. He’d never let her down. Not once.

  And whatever else was true, Erynn knew that she could trust him.

  “You doing okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, not wanting to share any more of her thoughts with him right now.

  He had to know she felt something for him, at least admiration. She’d been on his side in more than one arena of life, supported his investigations above and beyond the call of “interagency cooperation” duty. He knew how she felt. Right? Yet he’d told her they didn’t have to talk about it until the case was over.

  What if she changed her mind and wanted to talk about it before then? Erynn stole a glance at him. He didn’t notice; he was too busy scanning their surroundings for threats, making sure she stayed safe, even now, when her mind had wandered away from the case and onto something she really didn’t have the luxury to be considering right now.

  Still. She wanted to talk. Maybe.

  Was that crazy? Could they possibly have some kind of future...?

  “Erynn, get down!”

  Noah’s shoulder slammed against her and she felt his weight pushing her down at the same time she heard a gunshot. Pain exploded as she fell on her wrist and Erynn wanted to lift her head, look around and figure out where the threat was, but Noah was on top of her, shielding her with his body.

  Willing to die so she wouldn’t have to.

  Just like her dad.

  A sob choked Erynn’s throat but she was powerless to move. “Where is he?”

  “On top of one of the buildings.”

  Another shot, this one close enough that the broken sidewalk sprayed pieces of concrete in her direction, hitting her on the arm.

  “We’ve got to move. You
can’t get shot because of me.” He just couldn’t.

  She felt him shift his weight.

  “Okay, Erynn, see the bushes to the right?”

  “Yes.”

  “If we can get behind those...”

  He didn’t have to count, tell her to get ready or anything. They had known each other long enough, Erynn guessed, that their minds were so in sync that they moved as one toward cover.

  When they were behind the bushes, he grabbed her arm. “We need to run.”

  “To the car?”

  “Yes.”

  They did, Noah running behind Erynn.

  Once they arrived, he stayed behind her as she got into her seat, shut the door behind her and then ran to his side. They peeled out of the parking lot and only then did Erynn almost start to breathe again.

  He’d almost gotten killed. Because of her. Grief pressed in, suffocated her with its weight. To think she’d been close to thinking maybe she and Noah should talk about what they’d avoided discussing or confronting for so many years. She couldn’t now. Couldn’t ever.

  “Get your phone out. Call the Seward Police Department. I need to focus on watching our surroundings.”

  Erynn nodded, pulled her phone out with shaking hands.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “Someone is shooting on Second Avenue.”

  “We’ve gotten a few calls about it, but thanks for letting us know. An officer is on the way.” The phone clicked.

  Erynn panicked. “Wait! No! This is different. They were shooting at me!” But the operator had already hung up.

  Erynn looked at Noah. “Do I call back or call the police department’s main number?”

  She could see him weighing their options. She knew him well enough to know how he preferred to work. If it was just his safety to think about, he’d make the report in person. She was slowing him down. Was she hindering progress on the case?

  “Call the police department.”

  “We can go by if you want to.”

  Noah shook his head. “I’m taking you back to Moose Haven. Now.”

  She wasn’t about to argue. Not now that the adrenaline was finally fading. Her hands had stopped shaking but her insides felt like they were trembling. She had been that close to the person who had killed her dad. Had come heartbreakingly close to being killed herself.

  She wanted to go home.

  “Erynn.”

  She looked up at him.

  “Call, please.”

  She’d gotten distracted. She looked the number up, dialed and asked to speak to an officer.

  “I’m Trooper Erynn Cooper.” She figured introducing herself by her title was still accurate and legitimate even though she wasn’t acting in her capacity as an officer. “And I was shot at on Second Avenue just now.”

  “Do you know the identity of the shooter? We have officers on their way to the scene. Are you there now?”

  “No, we aren’t.” She glanced at Noah. “I’m with Chief Noah Dawson from the Moose Haven Police Department. We are headed back to Moose Haven.”

  “We’d like to talk to you in person, if that’s possible.”

  “Hold on just a second. Sorry.” Erynn muted the call, looked at Noah. “He wants to talk to me in person. What, am I just going to tell him no?”

  “Tell them they can come talk to me in Moose Haven if they want, but you aren’t leaving the car. I don’t want you out in the open when we know this guy is right here, running loose.”

  “Would it be possible for you to meet us at the Moose Haven Police Department? We’re in a bit of a hurry to get out of town.”

  “Yes. I’ll head that way now.”

  “Thanks.” Erynn hung up the phone. Shook her head. “That’s got to be an unusual request for them, but he said yes, so that’s good.”

  “Good.”

  “Did the killer know we would be here?” Erynn asked as she stared out the front window of the car, trying to make sense of what had happened.

  “I don’t see how he could have.”

  But it was possible, even if neither one of them wanted to say it. Was he tracking their movements? Erynn would make sure to ask Noah to check the car for tags.

  Or, possibly even more terrifying, was he just watching her?

  She shivered. Wondered if she would ever be free of this nightmare. And prayed for its end, which couldn’t come soon enough.

  ELEVEN

  “And you have no idea of the identity of this person?” asked the Seward police officer. Noah had called the officer, whom he’d met before, to meet them at his house, for Erynn’s safety. Officer Jake Williams was about Noah’s age, a man with a thick, Southern accent who’d moved up from Alabama several years before. They had had several conversations about Alabama football last fall when working a case together about an accidental death on the Seward highway.

  “That’s correct,” Noah confirmed. “But we’re working it from several angles.”

  Officer Williams seemed to be considering it. “And the Ice Maiden case...the victim was found on the Harding Icefield, correct? Closer to Seward or Moose Haven?”

  “Moose Haven.”

  “Where had she been living?” the other man asked.

  “Anchorage, I believe.” Noah looked to Erynn, who nodded. He hated that she was more familiar with the victims than he was, promised himself he’d go over all the files online tonight to make sure he knew them at least as well as she did. It was the least he could do after having her taken off the case as a result of a phone call he’d made.

  “I’d look into that some more. The killer isn’t likely from around here, so find some of the connections the victim had in Anchorage that the others had.”

  “That’s our plan for tonight.” Erynn spoke up.

  Noah hadn’t realized, had thought she might be tired enough she’d want to sleep early, but a quick look at her face confirmed that she was in focus mode. He’d be willing to bet she wouldn’t top five hours of sleep a night until this was over. Erynn was determined at this point, and when she got that look in her eyes, few things could stop her.

  It made him scared for her and proud all at one time.

  The woman made him feel more than he’d ever imagined he could. Like his world had been black-and-white and she’d exploded color into it.

  He didn’t want to lose her. Not to this madman, not to anything else.

  “Keep me posted if you can.” Officer Williams stood. “And I’ll check on Sabrina Baxter, like you asked.”

  “Thanks, we appreciate it.” Noah rose and walked him to the door. He locked it behind the other man once he’d left and walked back to the kitchen, where he found Erynn in the kitchen mixing chocolate syrup into a tall glass of milk.

  “Hitting the hard stuff tonight, I see.” He smiled.

  “I’ve learned about two former friends’ deaths in the last twenty-four hours, had someone shoot at me and the man...and my...and at you. I’m pretty sure I’ve earned every ounce of this chocolate milk.”

  Noah tried not to let his mind catch on her hesitant description of him, tried not to wonder what it meant. “You have, no doubt. So you told Officer Williams we’re working on Anchorage questions tonight?”

  She nodded. “I thought maybe we could work out some angles, figure out who we need to talk to, and then drive to Anchorage tomorrow.”

  “Absolutely not.” He didn’t even have to take the time to consider that. He’d taken Erynn with him to Seward and look what had happened. Other officers were working this case; he’d had a phone call earlier to make sure they were all on the same page and to talk about the progress they’d made. If benching himself for a couple days, doing nothing but making sure Erynn had constant protection was what he needed to do to keep her safe, it was well worth it to him.

 
; “It needs to be done, Noah.” She didn’t even look up from where she was still stirring. He walked over to her, caught the startled expression on her face when she saw him standing there in front of her. He took a deep breath, needing more courage for moments like this than he’d needed for when they’d been shot at, and put his hands on her upper arms. He looked down at her, straight into her eyes. “It doesn’t need to be done by you, Erynn. I won’t—I can’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Noah.” She looked away but did not make any move to pull out of his arms.

  He stepped closer.

  “I thought I’d lost you today, Erynn.” He reached up, brushed a strand of hair from her face that must have fallen from her ponytail when she was mixing the chocolate milk. “I have no idea how I could make it through something like that, so I’m not going to let it happen.”

  “And that means—” was it his imagination or was her voice a little more breathless than usual? “—that you can’t let me out of the house? That I’m going to stay here until this is all solved, wrapped up neat and tidy with a bow?”

  In his experience, cases this important never wrapped up neat and tidy. He could count the number of bows he’d seen in his career on one hand.

  “No. But it does mean I’m not going to let you take unnecessary risks. There are plenty of files you could go over.”

  “Noah...”

  He was closer now than he’d ever been to her. Could see the sky blue flecks glinting like diamonds in her eyes. Noticed for the first time that her nose had the lightest dusting of freckles on it.

  Noticed not for the first time that she had the most kissable lips he’d ever seen.

  “Noah.” Erynn tried again. “I don’t want you hurt because of me. And what you said... I know that we...that there’s something here, okay? I won’t deny that. We’re both adults and you can handle the truth.”

  What was between them wasn’t one-sided. He swallowed hard, his heart thudding in his chest as his stomach jumped with the first bit of hope he’d felt in a long time.