Alaskan Magic: Shadows of Alaska Book 1

by CC Dragon

  “Fish, hunt, and play with the kids and grandkids?” I suggested.

  “I’d die of boredom. The kids are fun, but they’re in school and all sorts of things,” he said.

  “No answers.” I focused on the food. “Just get stronger and back to work for now. I heard something about a second surgery?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Might be a piece of bone in there that got missed or broke off. It’s causing some pain.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “How many people did we save? It’s the job,” he said.

  I nodded. “I can’t wait until you’re back,” I replied.

  “Me too. Retirement...I love my wife, but I don’t think I can be at home that much with her,” he confessed.

  I didn’t ask how people could marry someone who drove them nuts. Love was a big mystery for me, and I had enough evil and cruelty to figure out first.

  “Green is waiting,” Zel said as I returned.

  “Good.” I smiled and headed for my office. Power plays were so political, but I needed to talk to Thorn first.

  In my office, I called Thorn’s cell phone.

  “Agent, glad you called. I’m getting some weird info here. Some cases were closed, some are still unsolved, but then tech is saying the spikes are a glitch,” he said.

  “Print it, download it, whatever evidence you can get. Glitches are fine,” I scoffed.

  “I’ll have my buddy at the PD do the same. They’ll never admit there’s an issue,” he said.

  “I agree, especially if the families aren’t bugging them. Memory spells are all over this mess, “I said.

  “Got that. FBI is taking point?” he asked.

  “Try and stop my boss. If you can get your guy from the PD over here and join us, that’d be great. See if we can sell the angle,” I said.

  “If your boss isn’t on board, are you sure you want us there?” he asked.

  “I’m going to push it now. If I have you guys coming in, he’ll be under a bit more pressure to listen and take the meeting. He’ll take the credit if we uncover something. I just want to see what’s going on with kids,” I said.

  “Got it. I’ll be there within the hour,” he said.

  “Thanks.” I ended the call and headed for Green’s office.

  “Dot, what’s going on?” Zel caught me before I got by her.

  “Just a meeting,” I said.

  “You’re supposed to be taking a backseat on the case, and you’re not,” she said.

  “Not the same case.” I smiled and knocked on Green’s door.

  “Yeah,” Green said.

  I entered. “I have something we need to discuss.”

  “Come in and close the door,” he said.

  I did and walked up to his desk. “We have a lot of women reporting they gave birth.”

  “I heard about it, but none have proof or dates. Odds of matching them with their children are tiny. Probably sold or adopted,” Green said.

  “So, you’re adding charges? I asked.

  “Without proof? No. The baby died of exposure and was too old to be the infant in question for Olive. Correct?” he asked.

  “Yes, but we have a photo and physical evidence to prove she did give birth. There was also an older child brought down. Similarly, frozen to death. No signs of a struggle or animals feeding on the corpse. It made me looking into missing children reports around Deadhorse and beyond,” I explained.

  “A lot of people go missing in Alaska.” Green nodded. “How’s Mitch? His wife said you brought him unhealthy food.”

  “She’s a narc,” I grumbled.

  “I don’t blame you, but Mitch isn’t up for work,” Green said.

  I shook my head. “I wasn’t bugging him about work, only checking on him. It’s weird not to have your partner around. Throws off my balance. I’m used to his opinion and input.”

  “I understand. That’s why I want you not taking the lead on this case. When Mitch is back to work and things are normal again, you’ll get your shot at it. You’re good at what you do, but none of us see clearly when we’re not at our best.” Green was being too agreeable.

  “Did you obtain any useful confessions?” I asked.

  “We’re still assembling all the charges, but we’ll begin interrogations later. Charges will come under the wire,” he said.

  “They lawyered up then,” I assumed.

  He nodded. “Now why have you requested the use of my personal conference room this afternoon?”

  “I was talking with the trooper about missing children cases. I did some research, and there were spikes and cases closed without resolution. Something is not adding up. Trooper Thorn ran similar data from their systems. We’re in touch with someone at the Anchorage PD.”

  “For data inconsistency?” he asked.

  “Missing children. Kidnapping is an FBI matter.” I shrugged.

  “That assumes kidnapping. Lost while hiking or hunting isn’t kidnapping. Teens who run off for a spring break adventure isn’t kidnapping or a crime,” he said.

  “Still, the parents should be screaming their heads off about their kids being missing. Some of the cases were closed, some cancelled. Something is weird.”

  Green wagged his finger at me. “You think it’s related to the human trafficking?”

  “It’s possible. What if those babies were sold off? A lot of kids get picked up in trafficking cases. Grooming them young to be sold off as slaves. It’s sick.” I hoped there was another answer.

  “Then the parents should be harassing us or the State Troopers. Maybe the kids came back?” Green suggested.

  “Maybe someone threatened them?” I countered. I couldn’t tell him it might be a spell, but I had to investigate.

  “Logically, trafficking ends here, it doesn’t start. We need more people, not less. Transporting people from here to the rest of America is a waste of fuel and money. They’d kidnap down there and bring people up. Just like those women. Way up north, those work camps don’t have enough women around. That makes sense. You’re talking crazy,” Green said.

  He wasn’t totally wrong. Logically. “Babies could be sold to people looking to adopt without red tape or waiting. They’d pay for transport.”

  “Babies, yes. These are all babies?” he asked.

  “No, we can’t compare notes or crunch the data without a task force to allow us to work together and share data. It might, in a small part, feed the other case with missing infants, but the rest—what if there is a trafficking of children who are groomed and kept for whatever purpose? We won’t know if we don’t investigate,” I said.

  Green glared at me. “I’ll take the meeting and hear what you and your contacts have to say.”

  “Can we have a day to meet first and present a clearer picture? One day and maybe we’ll find the glitch or false blips in the data and be out of your hair,” I suggested.

  Green walked up to me, barely an inch from being nose-to-nose. “If you have enough proof and we launch this task force—you know you’re on the hook. If you don’t find missing kids, if you don’t help those parents, and if you waste tax payer money—it’s going to make us all look terrible. Be sure, but I want to do this meeting today.”

  “I am. I will. Thank you,” I said.

  I left before he could change his mind. I wished I could explain magic or what part it might’ve played in this case. Maybe this was a dumb move, but I couldn’t ignore it.

  “There she is,” Thorn teased. “This is Detective Hall from the Anchorage PD.”

  Hall shook my hand. “Agent, we have some information to discuss.”

  “Just a heads up, my boss isn’t para,” I said softly.

  Chapter Ten

  Green sat at the end of the table. “What’s this new information?”

  We sat after the introductions.

  “We’ve had a few missing child cases that are mysterious. The parents are confused about what happened. It’s crazy. Then we have frozen bodies of ki
ds turning up. We’re trying to keep it out of the press, but it’s weird.”

  “Weird how?” Green asked.

  “No animal scavenging. Why would someone toss a body away after taking the trouble to freeze it first?” I explained.

  Green nodded. “Some might, but where is this happening?” he asked.

  “Around various places. Deadhorse you know about. We’ve had a few cases here in Anchorage,” Thorn answered.

  Hall nodded. “We’re investigating, obviously, but with the new information on your trafficking case and the new bodies, it’s possible that there is a child trafficking piece as well. Using the fact that Alaska has a much higher than average missing persons rate to mask it.”

  “But if you’re finding the bodies...” Green waved it off.

  “With no cause of death but exposure. It makes no sense,” Hall replied.

  “And there are many more cases pending or cancelled but without resolution—no bodies found,” Thorn added.

  Green shot me a look. He didn’t want another case to deal with.

  “The bodies you’re finding are the ones animals didn’t get to in time. Odds are you’ll find bones at some point if you scoured every inch of Alaskan bush. We don’t have the resources to do that,” Green said. “None of us do.”

  “We want to investigate these. Look for pattern. If it’s honestly a kid missing from a hike or hunting trip, that’s outside of what we’re looking for. If someone is trafficking kids as well as women in Alaska, we have to put a stop to it,” I said.

  “I’ll look over the data. The FBI of course would take point since trafficking is kidnapping essentially,” Green said.

  Hall and Thorn nodded, not wanting to stall the process.

  “A task force to investigate if there is enough evidence to proceed would make the families feel better, even if we never find the kids. It would show we’re using a coordinate approach across law enforcement agencies,” Thorn added.

  Green smiled. “Agreed. I just need to sit and sift through the data. Thank you, gentlemen. We’ll be in touch.”

  Green shook their hands, and the other men left.

  “I’d like to request to head the task force,” I said.

  “Foster,” Green said.

  “You said I can’t be out front on the other case because I got the tip. This I put together, but not from no outside source. No nothing. The cases and evidence already exist. I’m just bringing it all together,” I said.

  Green headed to his office and sat behind his desk. “Mitch will be on desk duty when he comes back. He’ll be off work for a while before that even happens. I know you’re trying to create a project.”

  “I’m not creating anything. The cases are there. We have kids frozen. You want someone to put that on the news, and we’re not doing anything? Deadhorse is a small town,” I said.

  “Is that a threat?” Green asked.

  I sighed. “No. Sir, I know without a partner you’re worried I’ll go rogue. I have a possible solution.”

  “I’ll get you a temporary partner. I’ve had other priorities,” Green said.

  “No, I don’t need someone from another department who doesn’t deal with the violent crimes. I want to bring Mason in to consult,” I said.

  Green laughed. “Are you kidding?”

  “He’s a great tracker. He has connections and talents we don’t,” I insisted.

  Mason Hunt had been a decorated FBI agent. He’d left after a serious conflict of priorities with the bureau.

  “You think a Native Alaskan is going to make a difference? None of these kids are Native, so far. None of these captors or the women are Native either. What will that help?” he asked.

  “He’s a tracker. People trust him. I grew up in Alaska, but I can’t get into Native communities the way he does. I can’t track and the hunt the way he does. We’re talking about kids dumped in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got nothing to go on, and we don’t know where it might lead us,” I pointed out.

  Green smirked. “You think Mason will be able to magically find the clues?”

  Magic was a good word for it. Mason’s magic was Native and strong. He’d grown frustrated working in the human world.

  “He’s qualified, and you could bring him back as a consultant until Mitch is back and recovered. It’ll be less threatening to Mitch and less disruptive to other divisions—a temporary fix. Mason is assigned only to this task force until Mitch is back to work,” I said.

  “He wouldn’t do it. I didn’t think you and he got along especially well. “Green folded his arms and shot me a suspicious look.

  My shoulders tightened at the thought of breaking that ice again, but I shrugged it off. “I’m a professional. I want to solve the cases. It’s not about if we are friends or not.”

  Mason and I had clashed. He wanted to break more rules and didn’t care about exposure as much. I’d had a very hard case and nearly screwed up my career, but he was a good guy overall. I had liked having another magical being around who shared similar concerns.

  He wanted to protect Natives, magical or not, from those who might hurt or use them. We weren’t in complete agreement on everything. I protected humans from bad paras. He saw a lot of bad in the humans who ran law enforcement. To me, they were ignorant of the reality around them, not evil.

  But the more I saw of some human behavior, the more I believed Mason might’ve been right.

  “Friends? A lot of the ladies thought he was pretty handsome. Did you and he have a thing?” Green asked.

  “My personal life is out of bounds,” I said.

  “So, he was in your personal life?” Green asked.

  “That’s not what I said. No, Mason and I weren’t romantically involved,” I said.

  “One-nighter?” Green pressed.

  I laughed. “No. I’m trying to get help for the task force and a partner that won’t pull resources from somewhere else. I know you need to review things, but the evidence is there. Even if you pull white collar crime division staff to help process timelines and information, it’s not the same. Mason is qualified. He might be disillusioned with law enforcement, but we hire consultants all the time. I think I can get him on board to consult on this case. It’s kids.”

  “Maybe you should get a boyfriend. You’d be less frustrated,” Green said.

  My fingers clenched into a fist. “Do you want me to file harassment charges on you? All this talk about my personal life is unacceptable.” I resisted the urge to fling magic at the problem. If I blew my cover, I’d be out, and who would help these people?

  “I’m offering friendly advice. Mason isn’t right for you. He’s only interested in what benefits Natives. You’ll never convince him to do it.” Green shrugged.

  “If I do convince him, you’ll hire him as a consultant to this task force?” I asked.

  “Fine. But you’re not heading the task force,” Green said.

  “Fine. I’ll let you get reading while I track down Mason.” I held up my hand as I walked out, and his chair magically broke, sending him backward.

  I understood more and more why Mason left. My magic was stifled, and my ability to help people had been constantly repressed by the system. But paras in the Earth realm had little choice. In the magical world, it was more mind your own business, because if you clash, the strongest wins and takes what they want.

  “Zel, I need help finding Mason Hunt,” I said.

  Zel followed me into my office and closed the door.

  “Hunky Mason? Magical Mason?” Zel asked.

  “You know Thorn and Hall are both paras. You might want to ask one of them out on a date,” I teased.

  “You’re the one who needs a social life. I agree with Green there,” Zel said.

  “Were you listening in?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Magical fun. But Mason and you didn’t always get along.”

  “I need someone on my side who I can talk magic to. This case is bigger than human law enforcement.”<
br />
  “But this is another case,” Zel said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Odds are they’re connected. Even if they aren’t, we’ll have to explore that option, or we’d be wasting resources.”

  “Got it.” Zel smiled. “I think Mason went home to Bethel. Or one of the Native Villages out on the west coast. I’ll get on it. Want me to get him on the phone?”

  “No, no way. Don’t tell him I’m coming. I need to do this in person,” I said.

  “You’re going to get him?” Zel giggled. “I think you have a crush.”

  “Please, I can’t have the conversation I need to with him. Not on an FBI line. I need to make the pitch in person and make it hard for him to blow me off.” I never denied Mason was attractive, but he and I rubbed each other the wrong way. We’d worked together when we needed each other. He’d get it, but if I didn’t make the trip, he’d assume it wasn’t important enough and ignore it.

  “He’s only been gone a couple of years. Do you two keep in touch?” Zel teased.

  “Sure, long phone calls every weekend. That’s why I’m asking you to find him.” If only I had a better idea, but Mason was the best. “He’s good at what he does.”

  “I heard that from some of his girlfriends.” Zel winked and left.

  “Lovely. A single man and woman can’t work together without it being romantic?” I flopped in my office chair. If Mitch weren’t married, I wouldn’t be interested in him, but people would probably still make crap up just because.

  After work, I stopped by Mitch’s hospital room.

  “Hey, wifey around?” I teased.

  “She’s having dinner with the kids. They’re getting sick of the cafeteria here. They’ll be back in an hour though,” he warned.

  “I’ll be gone by then. I heard you’ve got a while before you’re back in the saddle.” I sat in the guest chair.

  “Sorry about that. Did Green give you some awful temporary partner?” Mitch chuckled.

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry. Heal up right. I’m going to get my own temp and work on this task force about the kids going missing.”

  Mitch shot me a look.