Page 31 of Cold Light of Day

“Are you sure? I don’t want to keep you up too late.”

He chuckled. “As you can see, I’m already up, and you gave me such a start that I won’t be able to sleep anyway. At least until you and I have talked.” He winked.

“Sounds like you’re saying I put you to sleep.”

He chuckled and squeezed her shoulder as she entered through the back door, glancing behind her up and down the alley one last time.

No bear.

No two-footed creatures either—at least that she could see. She tucked away her gun while Grandpa Ike stashed his in a safe behind the counter.

Birdy was already upstairs in bed, so Autumn and Grandpa Ike sat in a booth and drank warm milk to “bring on the calm,” as he put it. Autumn shared about the events since she’d arrived back from Anchorage, including her gruesome discovery on the dive with Grier, and then finding another body.

Grandpa Ike grunted. “And Ross is okay?”

“In stable condition. He’s in Juneau. They didn’t have to transport him to Anchorage.”

“So you’re down an officer.”

“I am. And tomorrow I meet with the city council, and Mayor—”

“I’ll speak to them.”

“No, I don’t want you involved. I can handle this.” She didn’t need her grandparents’ political sway.

He leaned back and toyed with his napkin. “Your meeting is to talk about the Alaska Police Standards Council’s decision.”

“And now, the added criminal activity. This is a small town. Why do we even need to mess with politics?” She shook her head and stared at her empty cup, doubting warm milk would help her sleep once she finally got home. “I’ve been putting off talking to Dad about... his drinking.” And what happened before.

“You’re good to him. You and Nolan. He needs to recognize how blessed he is to have the two of you. I keep praying God will open his eyes. He’s a good man. Honestly, sometimes I think my daughter didn’t deserve him.”

Autumn frowned at those words. How could he say that? But she didn’t ask for an explanation. Instead, she hung her head.

“I miss her, and I’m sure he does too. It wasn’t until the incident that left his arm useless that he just couldn’t seem torise above things. What else can I do besides pray and be there for him?”

“Prayer is everything, and don’t you forget it. But you need to let go of the past too, Autumn. I can see it in your eyes. You’ve been through a lot, and you’re here now, in this place and in this position, because God put you here. You need to believe that and know you’re the exact person needed for this hour.”

Grandpa Ike yawned, which Autumn took as her cue. “I appreciate the warm milk and good company. I think I need to head home and get some rest, and you’re going to fall asleep on me anyway.”

“Never.” He winked and stood.

She had so much more she wanted to say to him and to Birdy too. She couldn’t imagine her life without them. Autumn said her good nights and exited the restaurant. The sound of Grandpa Ike locking up behind her made her feel better. Times had changed. He never used to lock the doors.

The warm milk had relaxed her, after all, and she hurried across the street to her vehicle but stopped in the middle to glance up at the sky. With the sudden break in the cloud cover and endless rain, the stars shone bright.

The constellations had been different that night she lay on the beach waiting for help to arrive, her mother gone forever in the depths of the Caribbean. On starry nights, she could never escape the reminder, and that was one reason she loved Southeast Alaska’s gray skies and rainy days and nights. No stars to jar the trauma back to life in her mind. Dad had loved the saying “Memories made on the water last forever,” but for Autumn, the stars seemed to seal those memories—the ones she hadn’t wanted—in her mind for eternity.

Maybe that’s what Grandpa Ike was referring to when he said she needed to let go. She thought the memories from long ago held her captive, but she refused to let them go. It was all she had of her mother.

Once inside her vehicle, she drove slowly through town and spotted a man walking the boardwalk. She peered at him, and he barely glanced up. His face was in the shadows, but her heart lurched.

That’s him!

She flipped on her lights and turned the Interceptor around. He’d disappeared into an alley, so she steered slowly between the outfitters and the IGA grocery. He hadn’t committed a crime, at least that she knew about, but she wouldn’t ignore her instincts either. But once again, he’d slipped away. Tomorrow she would find out who this outsider was—especially since she had the strangest sense that he was watching her.

She steered her vehicle up to the house and thought how nice it would be to finally lie down in her bed. The lights were out except for one on the porch. She breathed a sigh of relief. She loved her father, but his current state of mind drained all her energy. Still, he was her father—she would be there for him. She could do this.

Lord... help me.

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