Page 50 of Cold Light of Day

She watched him sit in the vehicle—his mobile office—and put his cell to his ear. He could have worked out of her police department, but she suspected he wanted privacy. Right—he sure hadn’t wanted to giveherprivacy. His grilling about Grier frustrated her. But at the same time, he cared about her, and that was important too.

Autumn whipped out of the parking lot and drove the short distance to park at the police station. She entered the building and ran into Angie, who was just leaving. Angie was an undercover DEA agent before she ended up in Shadow Gap and engaged to one of the locals, avalanche specialist Ridge Ledger.

“How’s your father?” Angie asked.

“He’s out of surgery and will recover.”

Headset in place, Kelly looked up from the computer—she replaced Tanya on dispatch after hours. “Angie’s heading out to answer a call regarding a drunk driver.”

For a moment, Autumn’s stomach took a dive. But it couldn’t be Dad. He was in a hospital bed.

“Where’s Craig?”

Angie stepped up to the counter. “Well, let’s see, he finished up at your house, then I think he went home until the next call comes in. It’s almost midnight.”

“You need me to assist with the drunk driver?”

Angie hurried past her. “I got this. You look a mess. Get some rest. This will be my last call for tonight, then I’m heading home too.”

She watched Angie leave. “Please be careful out there.”

“Always.” Angie disappeared through the door.

Kelly smiled at Autumn, then glanced down at her computer. If any calls came in after hours—and they always did—Kelly would route them to her cell and home.

Autumn headed into her office and closed the door, then glanced at the clock. She wanted to increase the number of officers and remain open 24/7, but it wasn’t in the budget, so their main office hours were 8:00 a.m. to midnight. She couldn’t sleep, so she might as well work, which would bring her closer to finding answers and take her mind off Dad’s situation.

At her desk, she woke up her computer. Tanya had sent her emails containing the news footage she’d requested. She watched the video and replayed it several times. Grier ducked into Tex’s boat at the beginning and she didn’t see him again, but a few boat slips down, she spotted the suspicious man she’d seen in the alley. He was watching them unload the body. She stopped the video and zoomed in, wishing she had a much bigger department with computer techs and facial recognition software so she could get a good, clean look at his face. She could have her answers quickly.

She printed off an image of his face and would ask Angie and Craig to keep an eye out for him.

Nolan texted.

Dad’s in his own room now. He’s sleeping. Come see him in the morning.

I’m on my way.

She wasn’t waiting until morning. She locked up the office and got into her vehicle and drove the short distance back tothe small hospital. Though it was well past midnight, no one would stop her from seeing that her father was okay.

She joined Nolan in Dad’s room. While he slept, his face was creased and looked anything but peaceful. “He looks like he’s in pain.”

“He’s on meds.” Nolan spoke softly. “I doubt he’s in physical pain.”

“There are other kinds of pain.” Autumn retrieved her cell and pulled up the image of the man from the video footage and showed it to Nolan.

He stared at her cell. “Who is he?”

“Don’t know, but he’s suspicious to me. If you see him around, find out what you can. Better yet, take this image and use the tools at your disposal to run it through the state system.”

“I need more information. Why is he suspicious? Are you thinking he’s connected to the shooting?”

She shook her head. “He showed up in town, and then there were two shootings. All within the same time period. I’ve seen him a few times, and he caught my attention. I can’t put my finger on it, but he seems shady to me. Call it instinct.”

Nolan pursed his lips. Would he agree? “Text me the image, and I’ll do what I can. Now, get some rest. Tomorrow’s another day, sis. You need sleep so you can think clearly for what comes next.”

What comes next...

Nolan’s words stayed with Autumn even as she lay in bed upstairs in Birdy and Ike’s apartment over the Lively Moose. She tried to sleep, but images of the dubious stranger remained on her mind, floating in and out with the memory of her father’s blood, then Ross bleeding out. Gunfire echoing in her head.

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