Page 46 of Cold Light of Day

“Good. I need to check on Dad.”

“What about the shooting? You going to investigate that too? She’s your sister, so you can’t do that.” Craig widened his stance.

“You can rest assured, Officer Atkins, that the Alaska State Troopers will look into it.” Nolan’s authoritative tone should shut Craig down.

Nolan hadn’t asked for her weapon, but all the same, Autumn handed it off to her brother, failing to hide her indignance at Craig’s attitude.

“You have your other gun with you?” Nolan asked.

She pointed to her SIG Sauer in her ankle holster.

“Good. Just wanted to make sure you’re covered.”

The chief said nothing in response but turned and hiked away. Grier took off after her, leaving Nolan with Craig. He wanted to say a few things about Craig, but nothing he could say would help the situation.

He caught up and hiked next to her. “We don’t know if he was working alone, so you shouldn’t go off by yourself.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know, Grier. Let’s keep our guards up, though I hope there’s no one else. On the other hand, if there is someone else, we would have someone to question.”

Oh, right. Guilt pressed in on his shoulders. “I shouldn’t have let him surprise me like that, then you wouldn’t have had to shoot.”

She said nothing and they continued hiking through the woods, then hopped the creek and crossed the meadow while remaining alert to their surroundings. He could just make out Craig’s and Nolan’s voices echoing off the boulders at the base of the ridge and through the trees. The sound traveled surprisinglyfar. Sounded like Nolan was contacting someone on his radio.

“I used to love these woods. This meadow. Nolan and I used to carve boats out of fallen branches and float them down that creek. The only thing we had to fear was catching a momma bear with her cubs off guard.” Her voice sounded weirdly muted in the cold fog. “But now, the body count is rising, and I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to find out.”

Grier wanted to say he would be here to help. But he couldn’t make that commitment, and she wouldn’t accept it anyway.God, what am I doing here in Shadow Gap?He had the feeling it was time to come out of the shadows and stop hiding, even if it cost him everything.

The chief slowed as they approached the house she shared with her father. The fog settling near the water about twenty-five yards from the house cast an eerie glow. No one would ever guess there’d been a brutal battle filled with gunfire and fists. That a man had been shot.

The place looked quiet and normal.

The chief stopped at the edge of the groomed yard. “I told you not to go after him. To stand down.”

“That, you did. But he’d still be out there if I hadn’t gone after him. He’d remain a threat to you and your father.”

And to me?

She sighed.

Using her radio, she contacted Craig. “As soon as possible, I need you to collect evidence at the house and surrounding woods. I really need to get to the hospital and check on my father.”

Craig responded. “Sure, boss. Nolan says we’ll get it. Go to the hospital.”

She started for the front of the house.

Grier kept pace with her. “So what’s with your officer? He sounded insolent back there in the woods.”

“That’s just Craig. You get used to it.”

“Why get used to it?”

“His uncle is on the city council, that’s why.” She paused to look at him. Held his gaze. “Craig wanted to be chief.”

Understanding dawned, and Grier nodded.

He followed her back to their vehicles. She stopped near the front porch and crossed her arms. “Tell me what happened—your side of the story.”

“I got here on time,” he said. “Well, okay, two minutes late. When I got here, the door was open, and it was dark, and I knew something was wrong. I searched for you and saw the shooter at the same moment I spotted you.” The chief hadn’t seen the shooter, and Grier’s only thought was to protect her, so he grabbed her from behind, whispering quickly in her ear. That had been a risky move, but she was here and alive.

---