Page 55 of One Last Chance

Now Axel, Deke, and Moose stood in the waiting room of the ER, and Axel wanted answers. Or at least . . . some action from the sheriff’s office. A BOLO maybe or . . .

“What exactly do you want me to do, Axel?” Deke said. “You know that area is near Bowie land. Could have been a stray bullet?—”

“It’sfishingseason, Deke. No one should be shooting anything, let alone a person.”

“People have a right to bring a gun into the bush any time of year. You know that. And they can shoot an animal in self-defense.”

“You really think that woman in there could be confused with agrizzly bear?”

“Take a breath, Axel,” Moose said, stepping between him and Deke. “No one is saying that this is okay. And yes, Deke—and Hank, really—will get to the bottom of this. But let the man finish his wings.”

They did smell good. Maybe he should have picked up an order too. “Does that have Vic’s special bacon sauce?”

“Yeah. Ribs, too. And I’ll bet they’re cold.”

“Sorry.”

Deke nodded. “Listen. I’ll talk to Hank, see who’s picked up any permits for fishing in the area. Sully should know too—he’s out on a fishing trip with his uncle right now. He’ll be back any day.”

Axel nodded. “Okay. Can you stay and get a statement from her?”

Deke had picked up the container. “Of course.” He went over to the sofa and opened the container.

“You want me to go over to the Midnight Sun, get you some ribs?” Moose asked.

Axel pressed his empty stomach, churning. “No. Did Mom make pasties?”

“She was midroll when I left, so probably.”

He walked to the window. A haze, what might be considered night this time of year, had started to settle over the valley. The hospital sat away from Main Street, overlooking it at a distance. From here, he spotted the airport, the train station, and the Bowie lodge along the river.

And the RV parking lot, jammed with tourists, hikers, and fishermen here for the summer of the eternal sun.

Yeah, Deke was right. Could have been anyone. And . . . maybe Sparrow wasn’t even the target.

“By the way, I know your girl.”

He looked over at Deke, who was finishing off a rib. Deke took out a wet wipe that came with the dinner and cleaned his hands, then his face. “Her name is Flynn. Flynn Turnquist. She’s a cop from Minneapolis.”

Huh.He sort of liked Sparrow better. But why hadn’t she told him her name?

And he knew about her being a cop. Still, “How do you know that?”

“She has a sister who went missing here three years ago. Kennedy Turnquist. She worked with Peyton, studying wolf patterns. Went out on a hike one day and never returned.” He picked up another rib. “They found her belongings—her pack and other items—scattered near one of the research sites. Peyton reported her gone, and we issued a search warrant, but nothing ever came of it, and she just disappeared into the system. Hank thought she might have been attacked by a rogue grizzly we had roaming around at the time, but—” He bit into the rib.

“But what?” Moose said, sitting on the opposite sofa.

“We found a victim in the Copper River—maybe one of the Midnight Sun victims—about a year or more after she went missing. The girl was wearing a necklace that supposedly belonged to Kennedy. Flynn flew out here, and we went through the evidence. I was a deputy at the time, and I remember her being like a dog with a bone. But we just . . . came up empty. Couldn’t even connect it to the Midnight Sun Killer. So we released the necklace to Flynn, and she left.” He took another bite of the rib.

“Why’s she back?” Moose said.

“I know,” Axel said, looking up as the elevator opened. “It’s because of me.”

A nurse wheeled Sparrow—er, Flynn—out of the elevator and down the hall to her room. He headed to follow.

Moose blocked his way. “What do you mean it’s because of you?”

He held up his hand. “Because I let the Midnight Sun Killer get away in the river two months ago.”

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