Page 2 of Smoky Lake

“He was sick?”

“Yes, is he okay? I advised him not to get on the plane, and go to an urgent care instead.”

The trooper didn’t answer the question of whether he was okay. “Why did you tell him that?”

“Well, I’m a doctor. A pediatrician, actually. He was feverish, sweating. I gave him a mask so he wouldn’t infect the other passengers. I also gave him a bottle of water so he could stay hydrated.”

“Anything else?”

“Tylenol. He had a headache too.” She felt an uneasy pit in her stomach. Had she done something inappropriate by essentially treating a stranger in an airport? It was just water and Tylenol, and she was a medical professional, but still…“How is he?”

Again, no answer.

“Had you ever met Victor Canseco before?”

“No. Never. I’d never seen him before.” Did that sound like overcompensating to cover up a lie? Being questioned by a police officer brought back some very painful memories. That time, at age twelve, she’d been the victim, but she’d still had to answer so many questions, over and over again.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, of course! Why?”

“We have a witness who says you had a lengthy interaction. Do you usually have long chats with strangers?”

“You know what they say…a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.” She attempted a winning smile, but that gnawing sense of dread in her stomach made it difficult.

The trooper’s expression didn’t soften.

“Sometimes I chat with strangers, sure. As a pediatrician, a big part of my job is putting parents at ease. But as I recall, the sick man—Victor—started talking to me. He asked if I was going to Firelight Ridge, since he’d just come from there.”

The trooper’s gaze sharpened. “Why did he ask that?”

What kind of question was that? “Because he wanted to know, I assume?”

A gust of chilly air whistled through the window. At Fire Peak Lodge, which was halfway up the mountain, the temperature dropped fast once the sun went down, and she’d left a window open earlier. She walked over to crank it closed, and caught him watching her stride when she turned back.

So she had a damn limp. Why was that any concern of his? She folded her arms across her chest and returned his stare. “Anyway, I wouldn’t say it was a lengthy interaction. The longest part was trying to find my bottle of Tylenol.”

“What else did the two of you discuss?”

What on earth was all this about? She really couldn’t imagine, but for some reason she felt protective of the man at the airport. After all, she’d informally treated him. Doctor-patient confidentiality might not apply, but that didn’t mean she wanted to share his weakest moments with a police officer.

“I don’t know…Firelight Ridge, I suppose, since I was going there and he’d just come from there. He was waiting for another plane to take him to somewhere else, but I don’t remember where. It was an Alaskan name I’d never heard before, and I’m sorry, but it just didn’t stick. He said he was going to do some field research. Then he started coughing and I grew alarmed by the state of his health. You know the rest.”

The trooper listened attentively to the details of this very mundane interaction. “Did he speak to anyone else?”

“Not that I saw.”

“Did he have anything with him? Luggage, briefcase, anything like that?”

“I’m sure he must have, but I didn’t pay any attention to that. No, wait.” An image formed in her mind. “I think he was wearing a cross-body bag. I noticed it when he was coughing. I was thinking it must be cutting into his ribs.”

“Cross. Body. Bag.” Trooper Clay Roberts said the words out loud as he wrote them down. “One last question. Did he mention anything about who he’d interacted with while he was in Firelight Ridge?”

Ani thought that he might have, in between coughs. But she didn’t remember the name; he wasn’t anyone she knew. “Not really. He said he’d been focusing on his research. I asked if he’d been to The Fang or the Caribou Grill or any of the local hot spots, but he hadn’t.”

“Okay. Is there anything else you can tell me about him or anything he said that might be of interest?”

Ani had finally had enough of this irritating interrogation. “Of interest to whom, and why? Is he missing? Is he okay?”

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