Page 27 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

“Did you not hear me, Sloane?” Nathaniel exclaimed, turning around so that his voice wouldn’t travel over the wind. Still, Bit noticed that Toklo was now observing them intently. “Bring the group—and the prisoner—back now.”

When Brook didn’t immediately respond, Nathaniel lifted the radio to his mouth once more.

“You worked with the FBI for years, Sloane. You know very well that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments will come into play if you don’t end this. Walsh needs new counsel before any other deal can be made.”

Bit noticed Nathaniel hadn’t mentioned that such a plea deal probably wouldn’t be offered a second time. He didn’t want Jacob overhearing the prosecution’s future plans. Given the evidence collected regarding the 1996 murder of Stella Bennett, a conviction was secured. The death penalty, on the other hand, was the only reason Jacob had offered to provide closure to the Kalluk family.

Considering the political ties, no other family could have pushed for such a plea deal in the first place.

“Jacob has revoked his right to counsel.”

“Damn it, Brook.” Nathaniel raised his voice to the point that he now had the attention of the entire Kalluk family. “No judge will?—”

“My call, Carter.” Russell had taken the satellite radio from Brook. “I brought a pad of paper and a pen in my pack. Walsh is waiving his right to counsel, and I have it in writing, along with several witnesses who can testify that the request was voluntary. According to Walsh, we’re twenty minutes away from the site.”

Nathaniel pressed the radio to his forehead. He had no control over the situation, and it was evident that nothing he said would be considered in the decision.

“Carter, these are our coordinates,” Brook said after having reclaimed the radio. Her voice lowered significantly. “Send in the other agents. Now.”

Nathaniel might have been surprised by Brook’s request, but Bit wasn’t at all shocked that she was taking precautions. She believed Jacob was likely to attempt an escape, and she wanted agents ready for when that attempt happened.

Nathaniel would notify the chopper, and the three agents on board would be lowered to the ground. She or Russell could have made such a request, but by going through Nathaniel, they were alerting the federal prosecutor to a potential situation.

“Consider it done.”

Nathaniel handed Bit the satellite radio a little harder than necessary after notifying the pilot to search for a clearing. The three agents aboard were to hike toward the coordinates that Brook had provided them.

“Since you’re sticking around, keep this close. You have two officers and four other agents at your disposal.” Nathaniel nodded toward the two separate groups that had taken up positions on either side of the clearing. Bit hadn’t planned on staying too long, but then again, he had no idea what Brook thought he could discover that they hadn’t last night. “Don’t mention a damn word to Governor Kalluk about there being a mistrial or that Jacob waived his right to counsel. I have enough on my plate as it is. Contact me if anything changes, and I’ll let you know if the warrants turn up anything useful.”

Bit wasn’t comfortable being left in charge, but at least four federal agents were available to take over if he needed to leave the site. He carried the radio with him as he made his way over to the Kalluk family. Their focus remained on Nathaniel as the federal prosecutor got into one of the SUVs and drove off.

“Has something happened? Is there something we should know?” Toklo asked with concern as those around him stepped to the side so that he could speak with Bit. “Has my daughter’s remains been found?”

“Not yet, Governor Kalluk.” Bit wasn’t sure if he should address the former governor by his title or not, so he played it safe. He held up the satellite radio. “As soon as I have some information, I will pass it along to you. While we wait, I’d like to speak with Aputi. I have some follow-up questions.”

“Of course,” Toklo replied, nodding toward his son that he should step forward. “The temperature has dropped since the clouds moved into the area. Would you like something hot to drink? My wife brought some hot beverages for everyone while we wait to hear from Miss Sloane.”

“I wouldn’t mind a cup of hot chocolate.” Bit thanked Mrs. Kalluk after she handed him a paper cup. The steam rose in the air as he and Aputi began to distance themselves from the group. Nanuq and Kavik weren’t near the rest of the family. They weren’t even in view, but Bit had caught sight of them earlier. “I appreciate your time, Aputi.”

“Sure.” Aputi came to a stop in front of an officer’s patrol vehicle. “I’m not sure what else I can tell you about that night. Everything was in my statement, and I spoke with Mr. Neville at length yesterday.”

“I understand Lusa went to the restroom around an hour into the evening,” Bit said, mentally agreeing with Aputi. This entire morning seemed like a waste of time when there was so much more to be done to figure out who killed Kate. “Can you recall if anything unusual happened beforehand? Was your sister acting strange? Did she receive a phone call or text? Was she preoccupied?”

“No. Everything was fine. We were waiting for Delilah to finish her shift. She was supposed to have gotten off at seven o’clock that night, but a coworker was late. Lusa and I were already on our third game of pool and our second round of drinks when she excused herself to use the restroom.”

Bit lifted the hot chocolate to take a sip, but the steam was still rising into the air. He decided to let the drink cool a little longer. He thought about Delilah serving the drinks at the bar and decided to take a different approach to jog the man’s memory.

“You said that when Lusa didn’t return after fifteen minutes, you became concerned,” Bit recalled from Aputi’s statement. “Did you see Delilah during that time?”

“It was more like twenty or thirty minutes,” Aputi said with a frown, shifting his weight in regret. “And yes, Delilah came by to ask if we wanted another round. The two of us ended up talking about the road closure. It was the reason the bar was so crowded, because anyone who lived in Whittier couldn’t go home until the officers cleared the area.”

“Why was the road closed off?”

“Fatal accident. Old man Croc, who owned the hardware store on the east end of town, didn’t even make it to the hospital. Of course, we didn’t find out about his death until the day after. We spent most of the night searching for Lusa.”

“Did you and Delilah talk about anything else?”

“Now that you mention it, Delilah took the opportunity to ask how the conversation went with Lusa and my dad. They had gotten into a huge fight that morning.” Aputi’s gaze drifted toward his family. A somber expression crossed his features. “Dad threatened to cut Lusa out of his life, but he never would have gone that far.”

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