Page 68 of Cold as Hell

I shake my head. “Financially, they’re bulletproof. However, that’s why I’m asking about Lynn’s story. To determine whether it might be worth extreme measures to kill her. Also, giventhe way she died, I’m wondering whether her story might have compelled someone to enact a form of twisted justice.”

“Fuck.” Grant slams back against the wall as he shakes his head.

“Grant…”

“She thought she was doing the right thing. That was the problem. She had this very…” He gestures, as if unable to find words. “…rigidsense of right and wrong. I told her it was going to get her in trouble someday, but even when it did, she didn’t see that she’d done anything wrong.”

He rubs one temple. “And she didn’t. What she didwasthe right thing, but sometimes, you need to protect yourself, you know? Stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and someone’s going to bite it off. That’s what my mother always said, and Lynn could never understand that.”

Before I can comment, his head jerks up. “Look at Dana and her kids. Look at what they’ve suffered because Dana and her husband couldn’t just keep quiet. Now he’s dead, and she’s permanently injured, and they’re stuck here. For what? If you see something you shouldn’t see, keep your damn mouth shut. Mind your own fucking business. But when I told Lynn that—look, here’s proof of how bad it can get when you stick your neck out—what did she do? Started thinking Dana’s story can’t be that simple. Sticking her nose intothat.Surely your husband wouldn’t be murdered for doing the right thing. There must be more to it.”

He looks at me sharply. “Someone put a fucking bomb in Lynn’s car, and she still didn’t think she was in real danger. To her, it was just a warning. She said it didn’t go off because it wasn’t supposed to, not because the fucking guy screwed up. She would not listen to reason, so if you’re asking whether she would have told someone what she did? Yeah. Because she was so sure she’d done the right thing.”

“Which was…”

He throws up his hands. “Sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. She worked for this lawyer, a lot of rape cases and whatnot, and Lynn discovered this doctor had been bought off. Big-name guy, did a lot of expert-witness stuff. Was that wrong? Of course it was, but it wasn’t her job to rat him out. Let someone else do that. It wasn’t her job to get involved. But she swore nothing bad would happen to her. And it did, didn’t it?” His voice cracks. “I told her it would, and I was right, and I wish to God I wasn’t.”

I’d told Anders, April, and Yolanda that I only wanted Lynn’s backstory to see whether Grant would tell the truth. I didn’t actually think it could be a lead. Was I wrong? I don’t think so. I still can’t see how that would lead to her murder. Down south, yes, to silence her. Up here? The “damage” was done, at least in the eyes of the person she accused.

Dana’s husband was murdered because they bore witness to a murder. That was pure vengeance—the person they accused had already died in jail. But there’s no point in chasing a whistleblower. The whistleblower only initiates the investigation, and nothing they retract will change the outcome.

What if Lynn told someone here what she’d done? Even bragged about it? That’s not grounds for murder.

I’ll need to confirm this story with Émilie, but my time is ticking. I’m reminded of that when I step outside and look up. I don’t like the color of that sky, but the cloud cover has lifted. Dalton is going to be eyeing the clock—and the number of hours of daylight. It’s already late morning. I’m guessing I have about two more hours before he declares it’s time to go.

Before I interviewed Grant, I’d sent a message to Émilie requesting a meeting. She might be elderly, but she’s not sitting in her rocker beside the phone. In this case, I’m not sure talking to her is the most efficient use of my waning time. I could do that from Whitehorse more easily, and do it via video. But she’s replied to say she’s available, so I take the phone into the town hall and make the call.

I tell her what’s happened to Lynn. I also tell her that Dalton and I need to go to Whitehorse for the duration of my pregnancy. I approach the former with far more care than April did with Yolanda, but Yolanda is her grandmother’s child, and I know better than to leave out details.

It takes a few moments for Émilie to recover from the shock and horror of Lynn’s fate, but when she hears why I’m leaving, she’s quick to agree. Anders, April, and Yolanda are more than capable of handling the situation, however much I might hate leaving a killer uncaught.

As for Lynn’s background…

“Grant was telling the truth,” she says. “As Lynn said, she worked for a law firm that took a particular interest in sexual assault survivors. Of course, that is mostly civil litigation against offenders. There’s no money to be made simply helping survivors.”

Sadly true. A survivor or victim of crime can retain a lawyer, but that’s mostly for support. Technically, the prosecution is their advocate.

Émilie continues, “In the course of her job, Lynn learned that a psychiatrist expert witness was taking bribes. He was providing testimony that set the accused free. The man was exceptionally well known and well regarded, and seems to have been above reproach for most of his career, but then, with retirement looming, he got greedy.”

“And realized he could leverage his reputation to pad out his retirement plan.”

“Yes. The problem, of course, was that this man had done a lot of good earlier in his career. His list of supporters was long and vaunted, and they could not believe such allegations. I’m sure you know how that goes.”

“They called the accusations a smear campaign,” I say. “Someone wants to take this poor doctor down and paid Lynn to do it. Or, even if he did do these things, his reputation should absolve him. Forget that rapists were set free. The doctor screwed up, but he should be forgiven based on his illustrious career. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Exactly. The vitriol against Lynn was breathtaking. Or, it was to me, though you might not have been as shocked. She received rape threats, death threats, and a bomb in her car, as Grant said. I reached out and offered sanctuary, and I believe it was Grant who talked her into it.”

“The same Grant who grumbled constantly about being forced to come here because of her? The same Grant who apparently also supported her by having an affair during that whole mess, ’cause it was stressful, you know. For him.”

Émilie sighs. “Grant is an ass, and from what you’ve already told me, he was likely psychologically abusive. This is one of the issues I didn’t consider with letting in couples.”

“We focused on signs of physical abuse.”

“Yes. Back when my husband and I took refuge in Rockton, couples were allowed, obviously. I will be blunt and say that, back then, we did not really consider spousal abuse an issue.”

“It was a different time, as they say.”

“Seriousabuse would have been a concern, but otherwise, it was seen like spanking your children. Distasteful but nobody else’s business. The problem, I fear, going forward, is that in acase like this, I’m not sure what we would have done. I doubt you would have refused to let Lynn into Haven’s Rock because her husband was psychologically abusive. Even if he’d been physically abusive and she insisted he come with her…”

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