Chapter One #3
Jiro opened his mouth to speak, but M?rten held up a hand to stall him.
“I trust this man. He’s one of the best tour operators in the area.
Some of the others can be a bit…cavalier when it comes to people’s safety, but Dávvet’s not one of them.
So if he says your father isn’t there, then I believe him.
But he’s going to start a search straight away.
He’ll call on his surrounding neighbors to help as well.
Dávvet is Sámi, so he knows what he’s doing.
He knows the country, and if your father is there somewhere, he’ll find him. ”
“Good, good.” Jiro nodded with relief. “So when can we get out there?” He left his implication that the police would join the search hanging in the air.
M?rten looked at his watch before answering.
“It’s already dark. I’m not sure there’s a lot we can do right now.
” M?rten was apologetic, but even Aurora was a little taken aback.
She had yet to be involved in a full-scale search and rescue and so didn’t know the exact protocol.
Perhaps it made sense not to search in the dark, as they might miss something important.
“What. No! You have to do something. You have to mount a search.”
“We will,” M?rten raised a hand to placate the man.
“But it’ll take a couple of hours to get everything organized.
I think you might underestimate the severity of a winter night up here.
People would be putting their lives at risk to search for your father,” M?rten replied.
“And at the moment we only have your word that your father is missing. We need to be one-hundred percent sure he didn’t just return early and isn’t on the boat somewhere. ”
“He’s not.” Jiro slapped his beanie against his thigh in agitation. “I checked our cabin. He definitely hasn’t been back since we left this morning; I’m sure of it. And I checked most of the obvious places on the ship, it’s not a big boat, you know.”
Aurora knew that the ships that made it all the way north into Lule? harbor were much smaller, but also more opulent, than the enormous cruise ships you got in the Caribbean.
They were designed to be able to break through sheets of ice if need be, all the while keeping their customers toasty warm as they watched the winter wonderland float by in the lap of luxury.
“He’s not answering his phone either,” Jiro said, nearly shouting now. He held up a hand and apologized. “Sorry. I know you have to ask these questions, and I know there’s a procedure to follow. But if my father is lying somewhere in the snow…” He left his sentence unfinished.
“If he is, Dávvet will find him,” M?rten assured him. “I’ll mobilize a team to set up a base at the property to coordinate the search. They’ll be heading out soon.”
“Okay.” That seemed to mollify Jiro a little. “Can I go out with this team of yours, then?”
“I’d like you to accompany us to the ship first, if you don’t mind. It’s due to leave the harbor in a few hours, and I want to make double sure your father isn’t on it somewhere.”
“What? The boat would leave without us?” Jiro seemed shocked at M?rten’s revelation.
“I’m afraid so. I’m sure they made it very clear to you that if you missed the departure time, they wouldn’t wait.
” Aurora knew the cruise lines had very strict policies about this.
They had to, otherwise they’d constantly be running late waiting for passengers to re-board because they got sidetracked by a pretty souvenir, or decided to stay an extra hour to sit and sip cocktails in an ice bar.
“Yes, I remember hearing that. But surely this is different. My father is missing. He didn’t just get carried away and forget the boarding time.” Jiro’s chin jutted forward, his eyes flashing with anger. “They can’t just leave without us.”
“I’m sorry, but they will,” M?rten replied, pity written in the downturn of his lips “So I think we should go and talk to the ship’s captain, as well as the crew, to make sure no one has seen him this afternoon, and then conduct a thorough search first before we head out to the property.”
Jiro stared at M?rten as if he couldn’t fully grasp what he had just been told.
Aurora felt a surge of sympathy for the man.
He obviously cared about his father deeply, and wanted him back safe and sound.
What would it be like? To have a bond that strong with a parent?
To love someone that much, you’d do just about anything to get them back?
Aurora pictured her own father and felt the familiar anxious crawl in her guts when she did so.
What Jiro had with his father seemed to be the polar opposite of what she had with hers.
M?rten tapped Aurora lightly on the shoulder. “You want to come?” His question caught her off guard. She’d been expecting to stay here and continue to cover the desk. “I’ll get the chief to assign someone else out here. You’re needed in the field,” he added.
“What? Oh yes please.” She was out of the chair in a flash.
If M?rten said it was okay, she didn’t have to be asked twice.
Anything had to be more interesting than sitting here for the next four hours.
And Jiro was definitely interesting, she mused as she watched him pull on his beanie over his curly hair and zip up his jacket impatiently.
Her interest had been piqued, not only by him, but by the case he presented.
A missing elderly man, possibly lost in the snow and ice, with time running out to rescue him before he succumbed to the elements.
Aurora had to tamp down the curl of adrenaline that spiked through her body.
It always happened on the cusp of a new case.
It was one of the reasons she loved being a cop.