Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) (16 page)

39

At two-thirty that afternoon Decker was back in his accommodations, feeling more than a little useless. His meeting with Hayley had been unproductive, and apart from confirming his suspicions that she could not do much to control the sheriff, little had been accomplished.

By the time he left her office he was in a dour mood, and wondering how he was going to be of any use when he was pretty much hamstrung. He hadn’t expected the town administrator to be able to do much, but he was expecting some kind of support, since it was her idea to bring him in. Now it appeared that she was as stymied by the situation as he was. If she expected the town sheriff to play nice and welcome the outside help, that was a major miscalculation on her part. While she had told him to let her smooth things over, he had a feeling that any intervention on her part would trigger the wrath of Sheriff Wilder rather than make the situation more tenable. He had said as much, and she promised to be tactful, but he still felt as if a storm was brewing. Perhaps it would be better if he packed up and caught the next ferry to Anchorage, and then hopped on a plane back to Louisiana. He felt out of place up in this frozen expanse, and he missed Nancy.

He picked up his cell phone.

Her name was top of the recent calls. His finger hovered, ready to make the connection. He should talk the situation over with her and get some outside perspective. She was always so levelheaded and practical. On the other hand, they needed the money, and if he left now he would not get the balance of his fee, and might even have to return some of the money already paid to him. He didn’t want to make the decision alone though, and so after a moment's pause, he pressed the green
call
button and waited for her to answer.

“Hello?” Nancy’s voice was familiar, comforting. “John. Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” He closed his eyes, imagining she was in the room with him. “I just wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

“Me too.” Nancy sounded subdued. “I almost called you last night, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“You can call anytime,” John said. “So how are things in Wolf Haven?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Nancy said. “But it can wait. What is it that you need?”

“It’s not important.” Decker had a sinking feeling. It sounded like his absence had not improved things around town. “You go first.”

“Alright.” She paused for a moment. He heard her draw breath, as if gathering up the courage to say what she needed to. “I’ve been thinking a lot since you’ve been gone, and I think we need to make some changes.”

“That sounds ominous.” John felt a stab of anxiety at her words. “Should I be worried?”

“No,” Nancy said, rushing to clarify her words. “Goodness, I’m not talking about you and me. Okay, I am, but not like that.”

“Thank heavens.” He let out a sigh of relief. For a moment he’d thought she was going to break up with him. “So what then?”

“Things haven’t been the same here in Wolf Haven since last year, since the storm, and Annie Doucet.” Her voice was soft and low. “People don’t act the same way around us, John. They keep their distance.”

“I know.”

“And then there’s Chad. He stole your job from you, betrayed you. The things he said to the board of inquiry, it was horrible.”

“That’s in the past,” Decker said.

“But it’s not, is it?” Nancy’s voice cracked. “It will never be in the past as long as we live in this damn town. People will always whisper behind our backs. Chad will always give you a hard time. Even Taylor has had issues at school.”

“We did what we had to. If it weren’t for us, some of those people who are causing trouble might be dead.”

“But they aren’t. And they don’t want to admit what is right there in front of them. They all knew about the legends, some of them even saw the loup garou for themselves, and they saw the damage it did, the people it killed. They hated Annie Doucet, even the ones who didn’t think she was a witch. None of that is important though. They have all convinced themselves that you were the one in the wrong. It’s easier to believe the lie that you shot and killed an unarmed old woman than that you saved the town from a vicious monster out for revenge.”

“I can’t turn back time, Nancy,” Decker said. He knew how she felt, but it was pointless dwelling on it.

“No, but we can chose not to let them harass us anymore. Do you know that my breakfast crowd today was comprised of three couples.
Three
.” She emphasized the last word. “Two of those were out-of-towners just passing through. The diner’s business has dropped by seventy percent over the last six months. Another six like that and we’ll be bankrupt. There won’t be a diner anymore.”

“We’ll find a way.”

“No, we won’t. The diner has been a part of Wolf Haven for fifty years. My parents poured their very soul into the place, and so have I. It’s meant everything to me, and I’ve been proud to carry on the tradition, but in all that time it has never struggled like it is now.” She paused and Decker thought he heard a sob. “I’m done with it, John. The town has made it clear that they don’t want us here.”

“So?”

“I think I should sell the diner, take the cash while there is still something to be gotten for the place.”

“That means they win, Nancy.”

“No. It means we stop letting them hurt us.” She took a long breath. “Taylor is out of school now. She’ll be going to college in the fall, thank goodness. What do we have left here? Think about it. We could take the money we get from selling the diner, and our houses, of course, and start over somewhere far away. I’ll even start a new restaurant. It will be good for us.”

“I can’t let you throw everything away for me. If anything I should be the one to leave. Once I’m out of the picture things will return to normal.”

“I don’t want you to leave. Don’t you get it? You’re the one good thing I have. You think I could stay here, in this small minded, petty town, and carry on like nothing happened after they drove away the love of my life?” Her voice trembled. “Whatever we do, we do it together. I’m not losing you twice.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” Decker said. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

“It’s settled then. As soon as you get back, we’ll list the diner for sale.”

“If that’s what you want.” Decker could not help but feel guilty. None of this was her fault, and yet she was being blamed right alongside him. He realized something else. There was no way he could leave Shackleton right now and risk losing the consulting fee. If she was determined to sell the diner, start fresh somewhere else, they would need every penny they could muster. Even if Wilder didn’t like it, he would just have to find a way to do the job he came here for. “Don’t do anything until I get back though. We’ll deal with it together.”

“I know we will,” she said. “So now it’s your turn. Talk to me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? You must have called for something.”

“It can wait.” Decker didn’t want to tell her about the problem with Wilder and his lack of progress. It was pointless since he had already made up his mind to stay. How could he do otherwise after the conversation he’d just had?

“If you’re sure.” Nancy sounded concerned. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No. Nothing,” he lied. “I just wanted to hear your voice, that’s all. I missed you.”

“I miss you too.” Nancy brightened up at this. “So does Taylor, even though she won’t admit it.”

“I know.” His mind wandered for a moment, picturing Nancy in the diner with her hair pulled back, a white apron tied around her waist. He felt a pang of longing. “I have to go. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”

“Alright,” Nancy said. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. I love you.”

“Love you too.” He ended the call and stared at the screen as it faded to black.

At that moment there was a short, sharp knock.

He walked across the room and opened the door.

Hayley was on the other side, her lips a thin line. When she spoke there was a hint of fear in her voice. “You need to come with me. Something’s happened. Something bad.”

40

Mina Parkinson was about to leave her apartment and make her way up to the tenth floor to meet Decker for the second time that day when a strange noise, a deep thrum that vibrated through the room, stopped her mid-stride. She listened for a moment, surprised, as the sound grew louder.

Curious, she went to the window and looked out over the expanse of land between the tower and the bay. At first she didn’t see much beyond the other tower, just the squat buildings that made up the rest of Shackleton: the bar, the motel, and cluster of stores. Further away were the fisheries that gutted and cleaned the day’s catch. She knew these well. She had spent many hours working there. But it was the bay itself that caught her attention. Coming in low and fast, almost skimming the water, were two sleek blue and white helicopters, with golden shields emblazoned on their sides, and the words
Alaska State Troopers
stenciled in white along the tails.

She watched the copters draw close and circle near the docks before coming to rest about a hundred feet from each other on a patch of flat land behind the building that housed the bait and tackle store. It was then that her eye was drawn to the shop itself, and the stretch of road leading up to it. Normally there would be very little activity around the docks, just fisherman coming and going and the occasional tourist waiting for a charter, but now the place was a hive of activity. There were several cars parked, one of which was Sheriff Wilder’s Jeep, although its light bars were not activated. A small crowd was gathered near the building. Mina wondered what they were so interested in. Whatever it was, something big must have happened for the state police to get involved.

She felt a rush of excitement.

She also realized something else. If there were State Troopers down at the docks, then Sheriff Wilder would be there too. There was no way he was going to miss out on action like that. He might be tied up for hours, and that presented her with a perfect window of opportunity.

She knew what she had to do.

Should she tell Decker?

She thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, and then decided against telling him. It would not take long to do what she had in mind, and there was little risk of discovery since Wilder would be otherwise engaged with whatever was taking place down by the docks. Besides, she wanted to surprise Decker, show him that she could handle things on her own.

Her mind made up, Mina grabbed a jacket and a flashlight, and left the apartment, her heart racing with excitement. She rode down in the elevator, crossed the lobby, and stepped into the cold afternoon, zipping her coat up against the chill wind.

Once outside she paused and looked around, but the parking lot was empty save for a few solitary cars that hadn’t moved in days.

This was great.

She slipped the flashlight into her jacket pocket, took one last look around, and then set off in the direction of the north tower.

41

By the time Decker arrived at the bait and tackle store, a crowd had already gathered, drawn by the excitement of the two police helicopters coming in to land. The docks were packed with gawkers, town residents and a smattering of the workers from the tunnel project as well as visitors. Inside the bait and tackle store, things were not much better, except that the people crowding around wore uniforms.

There were several State Troopers, the coroner, and two forensics experts decked out in white jump suits. As if to complete the tableau, a forensic photographer stood with his camera at the ready. The attention of most of these people was focused on a small patch of floor between two displays. There, surrounded by large plastic coolers, lay the corpse of Sheriff Don Wilder, his lifeless eyes looking up toward the ceiling, the pupils already clouding over. A pool of dark red blood surrounded the sheriff, most of which had come from the large hole where his neck should have been. More blood had sprayed up the side of the nearest display and covered the scattered coolers in a thick crimson coating, and there was even a little splatter as high as the ceiling. The sheriff’s gun lay a few feet away, waiting to be recovered and examined. Decker had a feeling it wouldn’t tell them much.

He turned away for a moment to compose himself. No matter how many times he attended violent crime scenes, it always left him with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Many years before, while he was still in training at the police academy, the instructors had told him that he would get used to such things, but he never did.

Upstairs, in the apartment, lay the mutilated body of Verne Nolan, the other victim. Decker had only met the man once, and he came away with the impression that he could handle himself. That hadn’t helped against whatever had found him the previous evening. He too was armed, and he had emptied his pistol at someone, or something, as evidenced by the empty cartridges and the multitude of bullet impact sites near the stairs. Whatever he was firing at, it wasn’t the sheriff, since neither man bore any gunshot wounds, which ruled out any kind of actual gun battle between them. Verne had died many hours before the sheriff, as confirmed by the coroner, who wasted no time taking temperature readings from both bodies. Besides, if the storeowner had died when the coroner said he did, that would put his demise right around the time that Decker and Mina were having their midnight conversation with Wilder. He was surprised that they had not heard gunshots, but the north tower was a long distance from the bait and tackle shop, and if they were upwind of the shots, the sound would have carried in the other direction, straight out across the bay.

He stepped away from the body, careful to avoid contaminating the scene, and pushed past two young state troopers that stood by watching the coroner finish up, a bored look on their faces.

He approached Hayley.

As soon as she arrived on the scene, she’d excused herself and took up a position near the entrance, which was where she still lingered, her face ashen.

“This is horrible.” She looked at Decker with tears welling in her eyes. “Wilder was an ass, but he didn’t deserve this.”

“Whatever did this was not human, I’m sure of it,” Decker told her. “The damage to the bodies is too organic, haphazard.”

“I know what did this. I saw it, remember?” Hayley wiped a tear away with the back of her hand, then looked down as it dried on her skin as if she expected something more than salty water. She looked back up, met his gaze. A haunted expression crossed her face for a moment, but then it vanished, fading like the last rays of the evening sun.

“Whatever you think you saw, we don’t know that it did this.” Decker’s voice was soft, low. He knew from experience that eyewitness testimony was often flawed, especially when preconceived notions such as myth and superstition were in play. On the other hand, he also knew that sometimes things were as fantastical as they sounded. After all, he was in Shackleton because of just such an event. He was certain of one thing, it wasn’t a normal man who had killed the sheriff and bait shop owner, and it could not have been a wild animal.  Each of the four confirmed killings so far had taken place in areas that were unlikely places to meet a bear or a cougar, and besides, there was no way a wild animal could have escaped the sub-basement through the tunnel and then found its way out of the north tower. Likewise, it was unlikely it could have gotten in and out of the bait shop after the killings without leaving a trace. This was something else, something more frightening.

“I know what killed the sheriff and Verne,” Hayley said though clenched teeth. “And you need to stop it before it kills again.”

“I’ll do my best.” There was a sudden burst of sunlight as the door was pushed open, and two paramedics entered, wheeling a gurney with a black plastic body bag folded on top. Decker watched them maneuver the stretcher toward the back of the store, to the stairs leading up to the apartment, before turning back toward Hayley. “I need to know, who will be taking over as sheriff now?”

“I wanted to speak to you about that very thing.” She cleared her throat and looked at him. “I was hoping you would agree to take over.”

Decker was taken aback. “I’m not looking for a job.”

“I don’t mean permanently,” Hayley said. She glanced past him, toward the paramedics, who were lifting the corpse of Sheriff Wilder, now in the black body bag, onto the gurney ready to transport to the morgue. “But it will expedite things if you are in charge, at least until we clear this mess up. I’ll sequester a deputy from Anchorage in the short term to take care of the everyday stuff, traffic tickets, domestics, and the like. You will be free to devote your time to putting a stop to these murders. You will have total discretion to investigate however you want, free from further interference.”

“Just until this thing is settled?”

“And not a minute longer. You have my word,” Hayley replied.

Decker thought for a moment, weighing the options, and then nodded his agreement.