Page 97 of Just the Nicest Person

His thoughts shifted back to her again. If she was still alive, what was she eating now? If she was being held captive, was the killer feeding her every day? Just giving her enough to stay alive?

What if whoever had taken her had let her go? Or left her wandering this wilderness having to make it on her own? Had she wandered to one of the many villages up north, and they had taken her in?

But if that was the case, she would have come back to him, right? Wouldn’t she try to return?

The only other possibility he could think of other than those two were that . . . she was dead.

That was an option he didn’t want to contend with.

But why had her bracelet been in Craig’s cabin?

Duke had so many questions.

He finished his sandwich and tried to ward away his thoughts . . . for now.

chapterthirty-nine

As Andi finishedher last fry, a man paused by their table.

“If it isn’t Ranger Garrett,” a man said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Andi observed the man. He was probably in his fifties with a thick salt-and-pepper beard. He appeared relatively thin and fit, with intelligent—and perceptive—eyes. His clothes were clean yet functional, making him appear like more of a supervisor than a worker.

“Hey, Tommy.” Ranger shook the man’s hand before turning to the group. “Duke, Andi . . . this is Tommy Palmer. He’s a community advocate here in Coldfoot.”

Tommy Palmer? She’d heard Craig mention his name.

“A community advocate?” Andi asked. “What exactly is that?”

“I was a community advocate before they were cool.” The man laughed. “I’m just someone who looks out for people in this area. When I see a problem, I try to get in touch with the proper authorities and make things happen. I’m not always successful, but I try.”

“How does that work?” Andi asked.

Tommy leaned against a chair as he settled in for the conversation. “I’m glad you asked because I enjoy educating people on the area. Alaska has no counties, therefore no county police or sheriffs. Did you know that within the entire State of Alaska, there are only about 1,300 full-time sworn law enforcement officers who patrol a state one-fifth the size of the entire lower forty-eight?”

“I didn’t know that,” Andi said.

“That number includes the only metropolitan police agency in Alaska in Anchorage, which has almost five hundred officers. The remaining officers are spread out over the rest of the state.”

“They’re definitely stretched thin.”

“There’s no real sense of government in this area,” Tommy continued. “In many ways, it’s the Wild West.”

Andi perked at his words. “Is that right? How long have you done this?”

“About six years.”

That was after Henrietta was killed.

Her hopes of finding out information about the murder through Tommy disappeared faster than the sunshine on a winter day in the North Pole.

Tommy turned to Ranger. “Heard about that podcaster. The state police are looking into it.”

Ranger nodded slowly, showing no emotion or familiarity. “That’s right. Hopefully, they can figure out who’s responsible.”

“No one around here is going to sleep unless they do.” Tommy straightened and glanced around the room as if he was responsible for everyone inside.

A town guardian? Seemed like a nice concept.

---