Page 39 of Cold Light of Day

It was no secret that criminals fled to Alaska to hide, and Dad had often relied on Occam’s razor—the simplest explanation was the best one. Meaning that Autumn shouldn’t assume anything beyond the facts of the matter. Acosta was most likely in the hands of Homeland Security and possibly being extradited to his home country or to whatever country he hadcommitted crimes against. Bottom line, like Craig said, it was out of her hands.

The man himself knocked lightly on the door and stepped in. “I’m heading out to look into the report of a stolen vehicle. Angie’s finishing up with a domestic abuse call—Mr. Ainsley and his wife are at it again—but she’s going to meet me there. Can I get anything for you? Anything else you need me to do?” Oddly, his expression appeared sincere.

This was the Craig she’d known all those years working by his side. “Thanks, Craig. Just keep me informed. I’m going to investigate a couple of things too.”

He nodded, then stepped away.

“Craig,” she called after him.

He appeared again. “Yes?”

“Thanks for all you do for the department, and for this town. I appreciate you, and I just wanted you to know that.”

A frown flitted across his expression, then he nodded and gave her a tenuous smile. “Thanks, Chief.”

Then he disappeared, leaving her door open.

Tanya stepped in. “Nice.” She sat down in the chair Grier had occupied earlier.

“Honestly, I don’t know where that came from.”

“It came from your heart. You’re a good person. A good cop, and the best chief since your father.”

That elicited a chuckle, and Tanya joined her.

“What happened at the meeting?”

“It went as well as you might expect. Wally declared they would vote me out.”

Tanya pursed her lips.

“Then I told them to go ahead and vote, but I had work to do, and then I left.”

A broad smile spread across Tanya’s lips. “I’m glad you stood up for yourself. Honestly, I would have lost respect if you had cowered before the great Wally Atkins.”

Autumn waved her hand. Enough about that. Now it was time to do her job as she’d so boldly claimed she would do. She might not be able to investigate the international criminals, but she could look into the body she and Grier had found in the shipwreck, as well as follow up with Sarah.

“Did you happen to find contact information for Sarah?”

“You mean Sarah Frasier? The woman who lied about her boat?”

“That’s not her real name, I’m guessing.”

“The only Sarah Frasiers I could locate aren’t in their midtwenties and certainly don’t fit her description.”

Autumn sagged. “And she’s gone.”

“Not to worry, Chief. I’m sending you fake Sarah’s cell number from a burner phone she used, per my cousin Jett. She chartered his boat to take her across to Haines.” Tanya batted her lashes again.

Autumn never doubted that Tanya, her huge family, and their connections were an asset. “I love it when you work your magic and then flaunt your lashes.” If Autumn had lashes like that, she might flaunt them too. She stood and grabbed her jacket. “I’ll contact her on my way home.”

“Say hello to your father for me.”

“I will.”

Autumn headed out of the office through the back door. Once inside the cab of her Interceptor, she called the cell number Tanya claimed belonged to Sarah but got no answer. She left a voice mail that she hoped sounded compelling and was filled with concern. But Sarah might simply toss the phone and get a new one.

Autumn was grateful for her family and friends, the local characters who made up the community of Shadow Gap and had been here for decades. Otherwise, her world might be filled with only murderous fugitives and those just passing through.

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