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Chance O’Malley, an Alaskan state trooper, chuckled. “Every time you call I seem to volunteer.”
“I’m surprised I caught you at home. I thought you’d be out in this storm.”
“I’m on duty in a couple of hours. Going in early. Lots of wrecks. Some people think just because they have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with snow tires, they can do anything.”
David laughed. “You mean we can’t?”
“I’d better not be pulling you out of a ditch. Get home. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
“Bye and thanks.” David replaced the receiver and snatched up the keys to his Jeep.
When he stood, he stretched and rolled his head in a circle. Bree was probably pacing by now. His calls had taken longer than he’d anticipated, but everyone was back safely at their homes. He always liked to know that after a successful rescue. He never wanted to have to search for a searcher.
He entered the reception area and found Aubrey stretched out on his sofa asleep. Her long blond hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall caught in the golden rays of the sun. His gaze traveled down her petite body, then returned to her face. Her expression was peaceful, as though she hadn’t nearly died the day before.
She saved lives, whereas he’d taken more than he wanted to count. For a few seconds, his final mission before he’d returned stateside and retired, wheedled its way into his thoughts. Faces of the men who had died under his command haunted his dreams, especially Lieutenant Adams. He squeezed his eyes closed, as though that would stop the images. His last tour in the Middle East had been one too many, leaving its mark on him more than all the others before it.
Bree stirred, her eyes slowly opening. They captured his and held him prisoner for a long moment before she averted her gaze and swung her legs to the floor to stand. “It’s my turn to ask. Are you all right? Did you get some bad news?”
Only my memories. If only I could forget... “No. When the storm clears, I’m going to recover Jeremiah’s body. I talked with my friend—Chance O’Malley—who will help me. He’s a state trooper.”
“I’m also going.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do. I owe Jeremiah my life.”
“I understand, but—”
“Please. It’s important. If I’m going to volunteer for Northern Frontier, then this should be no different.” Although weary from her ordeal, she tilted up her chin and met his look with determination.
He shook his head, chuckling. “You’re one tough lady. It’s okay if you come. I thought it would be difficult for you to return to the scene of the wreck.”
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be, but I have to see this to the end. I want to know what those men were there for if they weren’t part of the search and rescue.”
“Me, too. When I talked with Chance, he said there haven’t been any reports recently of people going to downed planes and robbing them before rescuers can reach them. But there were a few a couple of years ago.”
“Like modern-day pirates? If that’s what those guys were doing, they didn’t get anything worth their time and trouble.”
“Good thing I started out before dawn, or we might have met in the air.”
Bree rubbed her hands up and down her sweater-clad arms. “Not a pretty thought, especially with the weapons they were carrying. God was looking out for us.”
David picked up Aubrey’s coat from the back of one of the chairs and handed it to her. “Let’s go before we won’t be able to leave here.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“That red Jeep in the hangar is mine.” David followed her to his vehicle.
He started the engine and warmed the car up. After pushing the remote door opener, he slowly made his way into the heavy blowing snow to the road, and then drove toward Aubrey’s house. With his full attention focused on the few feet in front of his SUV, the long ride was completed in silence.
When he turned onto her street, he glanced over at her. Her eyes were closed, her head resting on the window next to her. He smiled, glad his home wasn’t far from hers. It had been a long day, and sleep lured him, as well.
He pulled into her driveway close to her front entrance, switched off his car and shifted toward her. “Aubrey, we’re at your house.”
Her eyes opened, and, as before in his office, they connected with his. Again he felt a bond with her, more than anyone else he’d ever rescued. The sensation surprised him, causing him to break their visual link. Keeping his emotions checked while rescuing a person always helped him do what needed to be done. But the second he’d seen Aubrey’s brown eyes at the wreck site, something had changed. He must be more exhausted than he realized.
“Call me Bree. All my friends do.”
Her soft voice floated to him, pulling him back to her. “Ready?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to go with me. I can carry my duffel bag. No sense in you getting cold and wet. It’s not like this is a date or anything.” She reached behind her and pulled her bag over the seat. “Thank you. Please let me know when you’ll be recovering Jeremiah’s body. I have some downtime between assignments. I volunteer at a free clinic in Anchorage, but I can change my hours if need be.”
He removed his wallet and withdrew a business card, then gave it to her. “Call if you need anything. My cell phone number is on there.”
“Thank you. I hope in a few days I can repay you with dinner. I love to cook.”
“Sure. Let me know when.”
A blast of cold air and some snow swept inside when she opened the door and slid out of the SUV. He waited for her to round its front and make her way to her house. He might not walk her to her door, but he would at least stay until she was inside. When he looked out the side window, she still stood by the door, facing the house next door.
Is something wrong?
He climbed from his Jeep. “Bree?”
She peered back at him. “There’s a light on in Jeremiah’s house. I think someone is inside.”
THREE
In the driving snow, David rounded the hood of his Jeep and stopped next to Bree. “He probably just left a light on.”
Her teeth digging into her lower lip, Bree didn’t have a good feeling about this. “No, Jeremiah never does. He doesn’t like to waste electricity. There’s a switch right by the door, so it’s easy for him to come in and flip it on.” She pointed toward the back of the house. “I think there’s one on in the kitchen. I want to check to see. What if someone heard he was dead and came to rob him?”
“I know the news can spread fast when one of the bush pilots dies in a wreck, but someone would have to be crazy to do something like that, especially in a storm. There’s no vehicle around, and I can’t see the intruder escaping far on foot.” He waved his hand toward the front. “And there are no footprints leading to the porch.”
“How about around back?”
“What’s behind your houses?”
“Woods.”
“Which would make it hard to remove his valuable possessions that way and carry them through the trees to where they parked their car.”
Maybe she was overreacting, but ever since those guys showed up at the wreck site, she’d been unsettled. “Okay, chalk it up to a curious, tired woman, but I’m still going to check. What if they came earlier and the new snow covered their tire tracks and footprints? It won’t take much in this storm. Besides, he has a cat I need to bring over to my house. I know Ringo is used to being alone, but I still don’t want to leave him by himself any longer.”
“If you think there’s someone in the house, then we should call the police.”
“Who won’t be able to come anytime soon. They have their hands full right now dealing with this storm. Maybe an intruder came the day before yesterday. Jeremiah flew to Daring then and stayed overnight before bringing me back. Like you pointed out, there isn’t a vehicle around, so the person is probably gone, but what if they let Ringo out?”
“Then I’ll go with you. Do you have a key?”
“Yes, in my house.” Cold shivered down her length, and she clasped her arms across her chest.
“In case something is going on at Jeremiah’s, I’ll stay out here and wait for you to get it. And if I see a cat, I’ll grab it.”
“You might not see Ringo. He’s totally white and deaf so calling his name isn’t useful. I’ll be right back.” Bree trudged toward her house, digging her key out of the front zipped pocket in her parka. Inside her place, she quickly went to the drawer in her desk and grabbed Jeremiah’s key.
The warmth tempted her to stay, but she wouldn’t. She needed to make sure Ringo was all right and bring him over. If she couldn’t take care of Ringo because of her crazy schedule as an itinerant doctor, she’d make sure he had a home with a friend.
She joined David outside, and they plowed through the newly fallen snow to Jeremiah’s porch, where the overhang and alcove protected them from the wind and storm. When David withdrew the handgun he’d had with him at the wreck site, the action hammered home the seriousness of what they were doing. She was glad he was there. After she unlocked the front door, he took the lead and entered Jeremiah’s house.
She trailed behind him, hoping to see Ringo, who would greet her if he saw her. A few steps inside, she glimpsed the chaos in the living area off the entrance. Cushions from the couch and two chairs, as well as items from the drawers, littered the floor. She started to enter the room, but David put an arm up to stop her.
He mouthed the words, “Let me go first.”
She nodded.
He went into the living room and searched any places a person could hide while Bree swung her attention between him and the hallway that led to the back of the house.
David returned to her side and whispered close to her ear, “It’s clear and I can’t tell if anything is taken, but definitely a person was looking for something. Which way is the kitchen?”
Looking for something? What? She waved her hand toward the dining room on the other side of the entry hall. “It leads to the kitchen, but so does this hallway.”
“Stay here while I check the rest of the house. How many bedrooms?”
“Two and one bathroom. Look for Ringo.” Worry nibbled at the edges of her mind. What was going on here? Jeremiah didn’t have a lot. Most of his money had gone into his plane and the occasional vacation to Hawaii.
As David moved down the hallway and disappeared into the kitchen, Bree sidled into the living room and took in all the mess. It appeared as though the intruder had left nothing untouched. She didn’t know everything that Jeremiah had, and it would take a while to go through the mess to see if she could tell if anything was missing. But what concerned her the most at the moment was Ringo. Jeremiah loved that cat.
She checked a couple of the feline’s favorite spots in the living room. They were empty. What if he’d followed the intruder outside and was hunkered down somewhere trying to stay warm in the storm? What if the intruder took the cat or did something to Ringo?
Lord, please help me find Ringo. I don’t—
A loud cry wafted to her from the hallway. Ringo. He was in the house. She knew that sound like a baby’s whine. Hurrying into the small foyer, she hoped he would let out another belt. As David walked from the dining room, the cat protested and his paw appeared from beneath the coat closet door. She rushed to it and thrust it open. Ringo flew out of his prison, stopped halfway to the kitchen and noticed David, a stranger. The tomcat made a beeline to sniff him.
As Ringo rubbed himself against David’s leg, putting his scent on him, he said, “It’s all clear, but the rest of the house is like the living room—trashed. I called the police and reported the break-in. Since no one is in danger, they’ll get to it tomorrow hopefully. Right now all officers are dealing with emergencies and the effects of the storm. I have a buddy who is a detective. I’ll let him know what’s going on, see if this is happening with other houses, especially in this area. I told them they would need to contact you. That you’ll have a key to the place.”
“Good. When I’m not so tired, I want to go through Jeremiah’s house and see if I can tell if anything is missing. His big-screen TV is still here.”
David’s forehead scrunched as he frowned. “Too large to steal while a storm is dumping tons of snow on Anchorage?”
Bree shrugged. “You’d think a burglar would want it. It’s only a couple of months old. Did you see how they got in?”
“Back door was jimmied.”
“Is the lock broken?”
“Yes. I stepped out on the deck and noticed footprints leading away from the house, but the snow will fill them soon, even the ones on the covered stoop. Didn’t see any coming to the house. They looked about the size of my boots. Twelve. I took a picture of them on my cell phone, although I don’t know if that will help much.”
“Only one set of footprints?”
“Yes, but like us earlier at the wreck site, one person could be using the other’s footsteps. They weren’t neat impressions. I’d usually say no one would be crazy enough to be out in this snowstorm, robbing people, but after what’s happened here, anything is possible. There are some loose two-by-fours and a toolbox in the utility room. I could put them up across the door.”
“I’d appreciate it if you would. I don’t know when I can get a locksmith out here to change the lock.”
David headed toward the kitchen with Ringo following. “I can do that for you. One of my hobbies is carpentry. When I’m not running Northern Frontier, I like to make pieces of furniture.”
“You’re a man of many talents.”
When Bree came into the kitchen, the disarray, worse than the living room, stunned her. Torn boxes of food were emptied on the floor and counters. The refrigerator and freezer remained open; the contents had been gone through. Anger festered in the pit of her stomach. She curled and uncurled her hands.
David disappeared into the utility room. When he emerged with the boards and hammer, he stopped near her. “I haven’t disturbed anything, but I think it’s okay if you shut the freezer and refrigerator. The rest I think the police should see.”
She turned toward him. His image blurred as tears flooded her eyes. She’d been trying not to think of what had happened over the past twenty-four hours, but suddenly it all crashed down on her.
David leaned the wood against the table and put the hammer and nails on it, and then he enveloped her in an embrace. “I’m sorry this happened on top of everything else. It’s hard to take in.”
“He was family to me. He was always here if I needed something. I...” Her mind went blank with grief. Numb, she couldn’t even express how she was feeling.
His arms tightened about her as she cried against him. For a few moments, she didn’t feel so alone. Jeremiah was her last tie to her parents. In the past years she’d gone through three losses: first her dad, then her fiancé and finally her mom. And now Jeremiah. Death surrounded her, even in her job. Everyone she loved died. Suddenly it seemed too much to bear. Tears continued to flow from the depth of her soul, and the whole time David sheltered her, his hand stroking her back.
Slowly she pulled herself together. She never fell apart in front of people, especially someone she’d just met. She stepped away, swiping her fingers across her face. “I don’t usually do that. As a doctor, I’ve seen my share of death.”
“Having served in several war zones, so have I, but you never get used to it. With my last tour of duty, all that death started really getting to me that I couldn’t do my job the way I should. I knew then I had to retire.”
“And now you’re heading a search and rescue organization. That doesn’t seem like you’re getting away from death.”
“A lot of the times we find people alive. That makes up for the ones we can’t reach in time. I feel like I’m making a difference, doing something positive.”
“But you didn’t while serving?” Although she’d seen death as a doctor, more often she was able to help someone heal.
“There’s little positive about war. I saw a lot of destruction. A man can only see so much before it starts changing him.”
Bree swallowed at the pain echoing in his voice. A shutter fell over his features. Did something happen to him during that last tour of duty? She knew some veterans who had served in war zones and most were silent about their experiences.
The urge to comfort him, as he did her, compelled her forward. She reached out, clasping his hand. “When I can’t help a patient anymore and have to stand back and watch them die, I put them in God’s hands. There comes a time when only He can do anything. Jeremiah is with Him now, and that does console me.”
David’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “I’d better get this door fixed so you can go to sleep and I can go home.”
Bree watched David nail the two-by-fours across the door frame. With his coat off, she admired his well-proportioned build. She could see him working with wood to create a piece of furniture. He’d said he’d served twenty years in the air force, so she guessed he might be around forty. He was attractive with strong features, a small cleft in his chin and short black hair. But what really caught her attention were his smoky-gray eyes, like the clouds as a storm moved in.
He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a lopsided smile. Caught staring at him, she looked away. Her gaze fixed on the mess.
She hated standing in the middle of the chaos; she wanted to clean up. She hoped the police found some evidence pointing to who had done this. Coupled with the guys at the lake, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something nefarious was going on. Jeremiah lived a quiet life, spending time with her when she was in town or with his small group of friends, mostly pilots and outdoorsmen.
“I’m through. If someone really wants to, he could get in, but that’s true of most places unless there’s high security.” David walked into the utility room and put up the hammer.
Bree looked again at what some determined person had done to Jeremiah’s house, as though he was searching for something. But what? The most expensive item Jeremiah had in his home was the TV. A shudder rippled down her spine. “What’s going on here?”
“I suppose it could have been teens trashing a place for fun. Did Jeremiah have a run-in with a teen lately?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been gone for a month. When I talked with him, he didn’t mention any problems. In fact, he was upbeat as if everything was going great. He didn’t say anything about feeling bad, either. I know heart attacks can strike suddenly, but sometimes there are signs.” She remembered her conversation with Jeremiah right before he had his heart attack. “Of course, I might be the last person he would say anything to. He thought I was a mother hen when it came to his health.”
“You see what happens when people don’t take care of themselves. Ready to go?”
“Just a moment. I need to get the cat food, litter box and Ringo. He’s going home with me.” Bree found the carrier in the utility room as well as the food. “The litter box is in the bathroom.”
“Yeah, all over the place like everything else.”
Bree checked the floor by the washing machine and spied a twenty-pound bag of litter. While she grabbed a liner, she asked, “Can you get the empty box? I’ll fix up a fresh one at my place.”
After gathering the items she needed and Ringo, she left a couple of lights on to give the illusion someone was at home. When she stepped out into the driving snow, she tramped toward her house with David right behind her, carrying the box with the litter and food bags in it.
Inside the warmth of her place, she released Ringo, who shot out of the carrier and raced up the staircase. “He likes to lie on my coverlet.”
“Can I help you with any of this?”
She swept around and took his load from his arms. “You need to go home. The roads are getting worse by the minute.”
“Yes, ma’am. I can tell you’re used to giving orders.” He winked and strolled to the front door. “I’ll call you tomorrow, but feel free to call me if you need something.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said with more bravado than she felt. “Thanks for all you did for me. I could have died today.”
A smile spread across his face. “Anytime. Today is the good part of my job.”
After he left, Bree turned the lock. Its clicking sound shouted to her that she was alone with a deaf cat as a companion, and there was a burglar out there who had ransacked her neighbor’s home.
* * *
David arrived home thirty minutes later after creeping through the streets. The only good thing was that he hadn’t encountered a lot of traffic because of the storm and late hour. He parked in his garage, hooked up his battery to keep it charged and then made his way into his kitchen.
His dad came into the room from the hallway. “I heard the garage door. How did it go? Any problems taking the doctor home?”
“Other than a nasty night out there, no. But there was a problem when we arrived at her house. Jeremiah Elliot’s house was broken into. He lived next door to her. She saw a light on and insisted on investigating it. The place was completely trashed but nothing obvious was taken.” David went on to mention some of the more valuable items of Jeremiah’s that were still there.
His father’s eyes sparked with interest. “How did they get in?”
“They?”
“That much damage often implies more than one person.”
Since his dad had recently retired as a police chief of a medium-size town in Colorado, he would know. “Through the back door. Jeremiah’s house was not a fortress. The lock wasn’t a good one.”
“Most burglars want to hit a place fast and get out quick. It sounds like they were looking for something in particular, or it may have been mischief-making teens.”
“Jeremiah’s death wasn’t common knowledge. I reported it to the authorities, but until they checked for next of kin, they were going to keep his death quiet.” Although Bree had said Jeremiah didn’t have any next of kin, there was a possibility she wasn’t aware of a long-lost relative.
“Then something else might be going on here.” His dad ambled to the sink, filled a glass with water and took his nightly pills. “Growing old isn’t for the faint of heart.”
“You miss your job?”
“Yes. It’s been six months, and I don’t know what to do with myself. If I’d had my way, I would still be police chief.”
David knew the PD had a ceiling on how old a person could be to serve.
“Just because you retired from one job doesn’t mean you can’t do something else,” he told his father.
“Nothing else appeals to me.”
“A security consultant?”
“I’d rather do something different. That way I won’t yearn for a job I can’t have anymore. There’s nothing in Colorado for me.”
David had been ready to leave the service after twenty years. Now, at forty-one, he was enjoying what he was doing, and he wasn’t financially dependent on a paycheck because of his pension and some wise investments over the years. He could do what he really wanted. “Is that why you decided to come for the whole month of December?”
“There’s no one in Colorado, not even your daughter since she started college. I saw Melissa at Thanksgiving when she and some friends came to ski, otherwise she has been a stranger. I miss her. When is she coming for Christmas?”
“A few days before.” She was only coming because her grandfather would be there. Otherwise David wouldn’t have seen her at all. Ever since his wife had died three years ago, and David had had to go overseas for his last tour of duty, Melissa had lived with his father.
His father’s dark bushy eyebrows crunched into a single line. “Why not sooner?”
“You know Melissa and I haven’t been on the best of terms since Trish died. She blames me for her mother’s death.”
“You weren’t responsible for that, and I’ve made that clear to Melissa.”