Page 14 of Cold Light of Day

Soon the stars would come out, and if the conditions were right, the aurora borealis would mesmerize her. The beauty of Alaska had reached into her heart and grabbed her soul years ago, and it made her want to weep, right here. Right now. But more than that, as the night sky settled in and stars teased her with promises...

All of it reminded her of—

No. I’d better not go there.“I brought your dinner. It’s probably cold now.”

“When did you get back?” His voice was gritty.

“Earlier today.” Guilt suffused her that she hadn’t rushed home to check on him. If only Nolan hadn’t gotten assigned so far away last year, he could help. “There was an incident I needed to check into.” A few, actually.

“The girl on the boat,” he said.

Right. News traveled fast in small towns. “I’m going out tomorrow to look into it.”

Dad slowly turned to her with his bloodshot eyes, the sadness reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart. “Your mother—”

Please...I want to know.Pain ignited in her chest. She couldn’t stand to watch him break tonight. Nor did she want to be crushed under the pain either. “Don’t, Dad. That was a long time ago.”

Autumn stood and offered her hand. She didn’t want to know, after all. She would eventually, but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

But never tonight.

“Let’s go eat. I made you some coffee too.”

She’d been so torn about what she wanted. Did she really want to hear what he might say and stir up the horror? No, thank you. Still, she hadn’t stopped thinking about her mother since watching Sarah nearly drown today, and she would be dead had Grier not been there.

Mom had drowned twenty-two years ago after swimming Autumn to shore.

“Memories made on the water last forever.”Dad had loved the saying and had tried to make those memories.

She wanted to push the thoughts aside, but unbidden, the images flashed through her mind as if they’d happened yesterday. She and Mom on the boat, waiting for Dad and Nolan, when the strangers showed up. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head.No, no, no...

Autumn held back the flood of memories that would hollow her out if she let them.

EIGHT

Grier arrived early at the marina situated at the edge of town along the Goldrock River and boarded theLong Gone, an old twenty-eight-foot Carver Riviera cruiser. He stomped onto the deck, admiring the loving touches someone had put into updating the 1980s boat. While he waited on the chief to show up, he loaded the tanks and his gear, making two trips from his truck to the boat.

He’d almost finished preparing for the dive when he realized she should have been here a few minutes ago. He tried to dispel that prickly sensation that someone was watching him. He never ignored the well-honed instinct, and wouldn’t start now, so he walked the pier and searched for the source but found no one lurking in the shadows.

Maybe his rising apprehension over the upcoming dive with the chief had heightened his senses and made him feel “watchers” when he was practically alone at the dock. He was overreacting. Either way, he’d maintain situational awareness at all times.

Per usual, the sky was overcast and the temperature in the midfifties as the drizzle continued. With the wind at fifteen knots, the water had a one-foot chop to it—not ideal, but thenagain, they would be spending their time beneath the surface. Another group of storms was forecasted to push through the area today, so Grier hoped to go down, take a look and see what was what to satisfy the chief, then head back up and get off the water pronto. When he dove with Tex yesterday, the water was murky in the shallows, but once they got below twenty feet, the view cleared up and visibility was excellent. Grier hoped for good visibility again today.

Cold-water diving in Alaska was some of the best in the world, in Grier’s opinion. Tex agreed. But it was also more complex than diving in warmer waters. For obvious reasons, exposure protection was important, and decompression limits changed because one’s body reacted differently to the cold temps and burned more calories to stay warm and therefore also consumed more air. The correct regulator was necessary to handle the buoyancy control device, with all the additional layers beneath the dry suit. The shock of the cold added another set of problems, but one big difference made him smile—the marine life. Mammals preferred cold water, so when Grier went diving, he hoped to see seals, porpoises, and whales, though from a safe distance, along with kelp forests, which thrived in cold water.

He would love to explore all this with the chief. He was surprised when she asked him to go with her but was more surprised to learn she was a diver too. He wanted to know more about where she’d been diving and pictured them sitting at a café talking about their adventures.

Otis’s words came back to him ...“I see how it is.”

Grier had to get a grip. The chief might be something special, but he couldn’t let her become something special to him.

Another glance at his watch told him that she was a half hour late. He frowned. Had she changed her mind? He reached to check his cell but froze when planks creaked behind him. Could be another boater, but he couldn’t be sure and wouldremain cautious. He slowed his breathing. Listened. Braced for anything.

And pressed his hand to the 9mm pistol in his holster...just in case. You just never knew who might sneak up on you. Only in his case, he had an idea.

“You gonna shoot me?” the chief teased, but apprehension was in her voice somewhere.

Tension stayed in his shoulders as he dropped his hand and turned to face her, shooting her a smile instead. “You’re late.”

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