Page 14 of If You're Reading This
A single trooper’s jurisdiction might cover thousands of square miles, meaning response times stretched from hours to days depending on weather and terrain.
The harsh elements added another layer of difficulty. Whiteout blizzards, ice fog, and temperatures that could freeze equipment solid often hampered even the most urgent efforts.
Resources were always stretched thin, stations understaffed, and backup could be hundreds of miles away.
It wasn’t just that things moved slower than they should—it was that the very geography and climate of Alaska demanded a different approach to law enforcement altogether.
Despite these obstacles, troopers adapted. They developed resilience and self-reliance out of necessity. They did the best they could with what they had, knowing sometimes their best wouldn’t be enough.
Logan pulled to the side of the road and climbed out. As he walked toward the trail, he spotted Duke and Andi waving him down. Both wore winter coats and boots, and Andi’s white-blonde hair was held back by a thick headband.
He hurried toward them, trying to focus on whatever might have happened here—even as his mind longed to linger on Morgan. He didn’t want to think in the worst-case scenarios involving her.
Instead, he continually tried to take deep breaths and keep his thoughts under control.
“Thanks for calling.” He paused in front of them as they stood on the side of the road. “Tell me again what happened.”
“Andi and I got that message via the website.” Duke’s demeanor turned all professional. “Normally, we might ignore a tip like that. But something about the tone of this email had Andi and me both curious. We figured we’d check it out first before calling the police—just to make sure it wasn’t some kind of sick joke.”
“We didn’t see anything at first.” Andi picked up where Duke had left off. “Then something caught my eye. You know me. If something catches my eye, I’m going to check it out before I move on.”
That was actually one of Andi’s best attributes. As a lawyer, she had a keen eye for these things. So did Duke.
“We moved closer, and that’s when we saw him—just like the email said,” Duke continued.
“We didn’t touch anything,” Andi added.
These two could finish each other’s sentences seamlessly and worked so well as a team. Logan envied their relationship at times. Not that he was looking for a relationship. Or, if he was, it was only with Morgan—the very woman who now hated him.
“I just finished my shift. You did the right thing by calling me.” He drew in a breath, the cold air causing his lungs to ache. “Why don’t you show me what you found?”
“This way.” Duke nodded toward the woods.
As Logan took a step forward, his gaze scanned the area around him. The shadows were darker now, making it harder to see. Which also meant it was a good thing that he’d gotten here when he did.
They were working against time and the elements.
He watched his steps as he walked through the woods, looking for any footprints or anything else that could potentially show what happened here.
Duke and Andi stepped apart from each other to let him through.
Just ahead, he spotted a man hanging from a tree—just as Duke and Andi had reported.
The man was probably in his mid-thirties with dark hair and an average-sized build. Nothing about him seemed especially remarkable, nor did he look familiar.
Andi frowned and looked away. “Do you think it’s suicide?”
“That seems like a possibility at first glance.” But Logan nodded at the ground beneath the dangling feet. “But how did he get up there? There’s no stool or anything that could have assisted him.”
“Good point,” Andi murmured. “Which would mean someone else was involved, am I right?”
They all knew if someone else had been here, this act wasn’t suicide.
It was murder.
Logan glanced at the ground. A set of footprints stretched there, a set marred by drag marks. Beneath the tree, he spotted scuffle marks.
Why did something about this area seem so familiar? He wasn’t sure.
