Page 36 of Cold as Hell

My jaw tightens on Thierry’s behalf, but I say nothing.

“You left the general store shortly after entering,” I say. “Did you see Lynn later that day?”

“No.”

“Communicate with her in any way?”

“No.”

I watch him for a moment before continuing, “Where were you when the storm hit?”

“I was at work when Will came by with Marlon. They were rounding up help to close shutters. I did that, and then we were sent home.”

“We,” I say. “Who else was helping?”

He waves at Dalton, still standing inside the door. “Ask your husband, he was there.”

“I’m asking you.”

He reels off the names as fast as he can. “The sheriff, Will, Marlon, Kenny, and one of the guys from the bakery—I forget his name. We all paired up. I worked with Kenny.”

“What time did you get home?”

“Around six.”

“Lynn wasn’t there?”

“No.”

I make notes, stretching it out before asking, “You weren’t worried?”

“We went from a little blowing snow to whiteout conditions within minutes. I barely found my way back. I figured she was at the store. Around nine, when the wind died down, I went tocheck on her. She was gone. Someone said they saw her walking with Thierry just before the storm.”

My head jerks up. “Who said that?”

“A guy in a parka. That’s all I know. I was peering in the windows of the store, and he was walking maybe twenty feet away. Shouted that if I was looking for Lynn, Thierry had escorted her home before the storm hit.”

When I don’t comment, Grant crosses his arms. “Let me guess. Thierry didn’t mention that little tidbit when you questionedhim.”

I haven’t officially questioned Thierry. Before we checked his apartment, I’d asked whether he’d seen Lynn, and he repeated what he told Kendra—that he hadn’t seen her since yesterday. She’d believed him. So had I. Time to take another run at Thierry.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Do I like Grant’s story? Of course not. Even if he’s telling the truth, it means he heard Lynn had last been seen with Thierry, concluded she was screwing around, and went home. During a snowstorm. When she didn’t return by morning, he just continued on with his day. Presuming she was still screwing around. In the aftermath of a snowstorm.

I’m not saying Lynnwasn’tscrewing around during a snowstorm, but there is another explanation, one that should be worrying Grant at least enough to have checked on his suspicions. Someone saw Thierry escorting Lynn from the store, apparently taking her home. Grant said it went from a flurry to a whiteout in minutes. Imagine Thierry starts to walk her home, and they separate once her goal’s in sight. Only, within seconds, that goal could have disappeared, leaving her wandering into the forest instead.

Did Grant really never consider this?

Or is it that—despite his insistence he’s fine with her marital bookkeeping—he’s so furious that he’s decided he doesn’t give a shit what happened to her? Got lost heading home afterwalking with Thierry. Got lost heading home after being at Thierry’s apartment. Whatever. She fooled around, and so she deserves what she gets.

I cannot fathom that sort of thinking about a life partner, even if it’s someone you’ve fallen out of love with. You might not be willing to cook breakfast for them or wash their laundry or all the dozens of small things couples do for each other. But to presume if they didn’t come home during a blizzard they were just screwing around… and not check? Even the next morning?

I don’t like it on a visceral level, the one that whispers there’s more to this story. Grant establishing his alibi? God, I hope not.

Before I analyze that any further, the obvious next step is to interview Thierry. I don’t have Dalton bring him by. My danger meter is too high for that now, and it really is starting to feel as if I’m just lounging around, casually investigating while a resident is missing.

Dalton must sense my unease, because he doesn’t argue when I want us to find Thierry together. We track him down outside the now-fixed kitchen complex, where a lineup awaits the first hot meal of the day.

---