Page 21 of Cold Light of Day

However, some people went missing by choice. Disappearing in Alaska was part of their grand scheme.

And others were forced into hiding to survive.

ELEVEN

While Grier and his volunteer dive team set out to recover the body this morning, Autumn remained in the office and worked through the stack of paperwork.

This morning she’d also checked on Sarah, who’d had to stay another night at the hospital until her lungs sounded good. Dr. Combs had been worried about pneumonia developing, but she would be good to go later today. Autumn wanted to talk to her more but was waiting to hear from the Shadow Gap dive team first.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. 2:30 p.m.

Shouldn’t she have heard from Grier by now?

The more she knew when she questioned Sarah, the more she could learn about whether the woman’s incident was connected to the body found in the shipwreck. Perhaps Autumn and Grier had missed Sarah’s boat, and the dive team would come across it.

Shadow Gap Dive and Rescue.

A smidgeon of pride swelled at what could be a good thing, and she definitely needed something good going for her. The whole town needed it.

Could she really give the loosely cobbled group a name yet, since at least two of the volunteers hailed from across the water and not Shadow Gap at all? Still, the idea excited and scared her at the same time. She’d taken off on this endeavor without talking to the city council, but who had time to wait for every decision to go before a committee of controlling, small-town politicians?

Exiting her office, she stopped at Tanya’s desk. “I’m heading out, but I’ll be back shortly.”

Dad had called her but hadn’t left a message and now he wasn’t responding to her calls. She needed to check in on him, but she wouldn’t broadcast that.

Stepping onto the boardwalk and into the rain, she drew in a deep, calming breath to steady her nerves. Seeing the body in the old shipwreck had affected her more than she’d thought. The image of the drowned body stuck in the helm, arms up and waving in the current, had collided with her memories of her mother missing ... drowned ... forever lost to her. Another gulp of air and she pushed past the gruesome images and deep remorse.

One thing at a time.

She could do this. No matter the trials of policing a small town, she was blessed to live here with the Goldrock River ahead of her, mountains at her back, and good people she’d known for most of her life by her side. She hiked over to her vehicle and gave a cursory glance at her surroundings. Across from her vehicle on the southeast street corner—there he was again. His eyes flicked away from her.

He’d seen her too, which didn’t mean anything, except— Did she know him? The man was somehow familiar. She rushed back to the boardwalk and started toward him. A shop door opened, blocking her view. Hiding her frustration, Autumn smiled and said hello as she passed a family of five as they exited the store. When the door closed, the man was gone. Autumncontinued her purposeful hike to the street corner. She kept a calm expression and waved at Leslie Crank as he loaded supplies he’d purchased at the local outfitters.

At the southeast corner of Main and Spruce, Autumn paused. She knew most of the residents, but tourists often found their way here, coming across the Chilkoot Inlet from Haines when the cruise ships docked. So she didn’t know everyone, but never before had a face seemed so familiar—one she couldn’t place.

But it was much more than that. Her gut had twisted and tightened when she saw him. Why that reaction? Autumn wanted to know who he was. But after walking up and down two blocks, she hadn’t caught sight of him again. She didn’t have time to chase shadows, so she gave up the hunt and climbed into her vehicle, thinking about what she would say to Dad when she got home.

After diving with Grier yesterday, she’d wanted to talk through their discovery with Dad, but he was in no place for a serious conversation. She needed his advice. Longed to connect with him—theoldhim. She wished he hadn’t retired and that she was still working under him, but that was no way to think. She hoped when she got home she wouldn’t find him on a binge already.

Lord, help him to pull out of this!

Watching him broke her heart, and really, he was no longer anything like the father she’d known growing up.

Tanya’s voice squawked over the radio. “Chief, Hank Duncan is asking for you. It’s about his dog again.”

“Didn’t Ross go out to talk to him?”

“He did, and they searched for the dog but didn’t find him. Ross left to look into a more urgent call, but now Hank is demanding to talk to you.”

She didn’t have time for this and inwardly groaned. Hank was the local cryptozoologist, but he wasn’t a Bigfoot believer when he first arrived—at least Birdy had shared that much.After attending an expo in Fairbanks, Hank had become obsessed with Bigfoot or Nantiinaq—big, hairy creature—not to be confused with the Tlingit tribe’s Kushtaka—land otter man.He’d then become an official member of several Bigfoot societies. Odds were that he now blamed the mythical ape-man for his missing dog. “I’m on my way.”

“Ross said he’ll meet you there. He’s just leaving an accident site. Everyone’s okay. Lander’s car rolled in the ditch, and the tow has already pulled it out.”

“Glad he’s okay. Can I get more details on why Hank needs to see me? Is there something more besides his missing dog?”

“If I had any to give, I would. Sorry, Chief.”

Every time Tanya called her Chief, she thought of her dad, because he’d filled that role for the better part of Autumn’s life. Now she’d have to put off checking on him.

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