Page 42 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

“Would you please forward that report to me?” Bit asked, waiting for confirmation. Once Natalie assured him that she would forward the documents to the email address on record from receipt of the federal warrant, he thanked Natalie for her assistance before ending the call. “You have leverage to cut a deal with Norona. He’ll probably give you the name of the individual who killed Kate in return for a lenient sentence, but you’ve got him on another murder—Chester Bernard. The residents of Blackpeak called him ‘Old Man Croc’. He was killed in a hit-and-run back in 2014. The rental car had front-end damage. Right side of the bumper, exactly where you'd expect to see damage if someone clipped a person or object while driving.”

“You think Norona killed that man on the night of Lusa Kalluk’s disappearance?” Nathaniel asked, his interest clearly piqued. “That’s circumstantial evidence at best, Nowacki.”

“Maybe, but Norona doesn’t know that.” Bit turned back to his laptop, where one of his programs had finished collecting information regarding nearby cell towers. “The number used by the other individual pinged off one cell phone tower—the one in Blackpeak.”

“So, your theory is that Mitch Norona and Nanuq Kalluk worked together to kill a man named Chester Bernard, join forces with Jacob Walsh to kidnap and kill Lusa Kalluk, and then somehow have the wherewithal to lure a federal agent to Alaska to kill her?”

“I don’t know how everything ties together, but those three people are connected to these crimes.” The wind picked up, rustling through the nearby pines and sending a chill through the open window. Bit pulled his beanie lower over his ears. “At least the connections are becoming clearer. We can?—”

Bit's phone alarm cut off his sentence.

He had set it precisely for when Brook had requested that he provide her with unfounded information about the ice cave. He set his phone in the cup holder before reaching for the satellite radio on the passenger seat.

He met Nathaniel’s gaze. The false narrative regarding the earthquake needed to sound authentic. After a brief hesitation to organize his thoughts, he pressed the button.

“Boss, you copy?”

“Go ahead, Bit.” Brook's voice came through, clear and composed as always.

“I looked into the ice cave, accessing several resources. The USGS archives indicate there was some seismic activity about twelve months ago. The NEIC records also verify a significant seismic event, which apparently led the state to conduct a survey on the mountain’s southwest side. From their documentation, it looks as if some of the passageways collapsed, cutting off access at several locations. I’m not sure how far inside you’ll be able to go, but you’ll need to keep in mind the instability of the cave.”

“Any surveys completed from our location?”

“No, but the main tunnel that spanned horizontally from your position no longer exists. If you give me an estimated region, I can try to figure out if that area is accessible.”

Now that the main part of their discussion was over, the lies flowed more easily. There was a brief silence from the other end.

“Understood. Thanks for the info.”

“Boss? There is one more thing, and it’s regarding Slick Mitch.”

Bit had forewarned Brook on the subject in case she needed to step away from the group. He wasn’t certain what she wanted Jacob to overhear and what should be kept secret for the time being.

“Go ahead.”

“That hit-and-run on the night of Lusa Kalluk’s abduction? A man named Chester Bernard died on impact. I thought it would be wise to check the vehicles of everyone involved in the case. It turns out Slick Mitch’s rental car was returned with a dent in the front bumper on the right-hand side.”

“Bit, you just solved half the equation.”

Nathaniel quickly lifted his own radio, clearly intending to ask Brook to elaborate on her response. However, Bit reached out and snatched the device from his hand, surprising even himself.

He quickly muttered an apology, but they both understood it wasn’t sincere.

“When we get back to D.C., you can go ahead and order that fingerprint analysis device you've been wanting—the one that connects directly to the FBI database.”

Bit couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, invisible to Brook but warming him nonetheless. It wasn't just the permission to get a new toy, though that was certainly part of it. It was Brook's way of conveying that she valued his contributions and trusted his judgment.

Her response was practically a bear hug.

“Back at ya, Boss.”

Nathaniel rubbed his face with both of his hands in frustration, but no one was going to ruin this moment for Bit. He placed his radio on the passenger seat, mentally configuring the specifications for the fingerprint analyzer that he had been eyeing for months. He would have enjoyed the idea of such an expensive convenience, but he realized he couldn’t do so until Theo and Sylvie were found safe and sound.

“Do you not realize that Brook is doing more harm than?—”

A distinctive chime emanated from Bit’s laptop.

A program of his had detected something of significance. He swiftly changed screens, reducing the burner phone extraction tool to display a background application he had been using on financial records.

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