Page 81 of Cold Light of Day

“Do you know who the men were connected to? Did Krueger know?”

“He told me they were connected to his counterpart who’d tried to frame you.”

Sarah glanced at the chief, then back to Grier. “We were tied up and hidden away as we traveled on a private plane halfway around the world. I lost track of time and where we were exactly. At some point we were put on a boat, and we traveled up the Alaska Marine Highway to the waters near Shadow Gap.” She angled her head to look at him, grief filling her eyes. “He hid you well, Grier, but it would have been better if he didn’t know where you were.” She shrugged. “I guess they planned to use us against you in some way after they located you. They needed to confirm that Martin wasn’t lying about your location.”

“Didn’t you try to escape? Krueger had skills.”

“Several times. That only earned more beatings. More torture. If he hadn’t hired me, if I hadn’t been working for him, maybe things would have turned out differently. I don’t know.”

Or they would have found some other way to compel Krueger to give away Grier’s location. His gut seized. Brown was going to pay for the murders, one way or another.

Sarah wiped her nose. “That day...that day you found me.We were on the boat when one of them returned from visiting Shadow Gap and had found you near the water overlooking the inlet. Said you’d been diving. And because they’d found you, they no longer needed Martin.” Sarah covered her face then, and her shoulders bobbed up and down.

“And that’s when they shot him?”In the head.

Hands still covering her face, she nodded.

Grier wasn’t sure how to comfort her. Krueger should never have been put in this position.

“Why was he put in the shipwreck?”

“I listened and only caught some of their comments. They spoke Spanish. Unlike Krueger, I’m not fluent in several languages. They didn’t want his body to wash ashore. One of the guys had been diving earlier and found the shipwreck. I think he thought it was a joke of some kind to put Martin down there. Some kind of weird irony, maybe, since you were a Navy SEAL before.”

“They didn’t put him there as a warning to me?” With Brown’s twisted personality, Grier could see that happening.

She shuddered out a breath. “I don’t know what they were thinking. Maybe that was the plan. All I know is that I was next. Maybe after they used me to get to you. I don’t know. They were waiting on you that day. Waiting to make their move. Had planned to turn the boat and steer over to where you’d been spotted. A whale caught their attention, and I took advantage of the distraction and slipped off the boat, preferring to take my chances in the cold water. It was better than dying at their hands. And I thought if you were near, there was a chance you could help me from the water. A long shot, really, but one I was willing to take.

“I stayed underwater until I saw the boat take off. I think the seaplane scared them away. Maybe they thought I had gone belowdecks and didn’t discover I was gone until it was too late. Once I came up out of the water, I saw the plane in the distance.I started swimming for shore, but I wouldn’t have made it without your help. And then...I was terrified. I had to get away. I’m sorry about that. I should have warned you as soon as I was able, but I was scared. I fled the first chance I got. I’m ashamed of my actions.”

Grier fisted his hands. Opened. Closed. Opened. Closed. As the train entered a tunnel through the mountain, he stared into the darkness.

He’d love to get his hands on the men responsible for Krueger’s death. “I’m so sorry about everything, Sarah. I don’t want his death to be for nothing. We have to take the killers down. If Martin Krueger found the evidence he was looking for, did he tell you what it was?”

In the darkness, he barely heard her whisper.

THIRTY-THREE

As they passed through the tunnel, laughter erupted from the people standing on the platforms at each end of the cars and echoed off the carved rock walls. A chill crept over Autumn, and it had nothing to do with the cooler air in the higher altitude. She squeezed the grip of her Staccato P, expecting danger at any moment.

The train finally exited the tunnel, and she released a slow, easy breath, but tension remained in her shoulders. The familiar sensation of being watched tickled her back.

But how could they be watched here? The two couples in the front were retirees and paid them no attention, so they certainly were not involved with Mateo or Brown.

Sarah stood and pressed a hand on the seat to steady herself. “I...I’m going to splash water on my face.” Then she headed for the restrooms at the very back of the car.

Autumn studied Grier. He must be grieving over his colleague, but angry as well about what happened. The injustice of it all. Sometimes it felt like the bad guys always won. But she would fight to the end and help to prove Grier was innocent. And she’d really like to know what Sarah said in answer to his question.

She leaned forward and kept her voice low. “I couldn’t hear what she said, Grier. What did Martin Krueger find as evidence?”

He watched out the windows of the car as they entered another cloud that reduced visibility. According to the tour narrator, they approached a bridge.

“She only told me that she knew, but she didn’t tell mewhatshe knew.” He leaned back and scraped his hand over his jaw, then covered his mouth.

“Well, is she going to tell you or not?” Seemed to Autumn that Sarah still held on to the most important information they needed, and really, the whole purpose for meeting with her.

Wind whipped through the train car, alerting them that a door had been opened. Autumn glanced to the back of the train. Grier stood, then slowly made his way to the door.

Palming her gun, she pulled it from the holster and followed Grier. Fortunately, the two older couples were caught up in the scenery and hadn’t yet noticed the police officer wielding a gun. She knocked on the restroom door. “Sarah?”

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