Chapter 6
Chapter Six
May slowly climbed out of her truck, her boots hitting the muddy road that ran by the creek.
Apparently it had rained a bit earlier, and she hadn’t heard it.
After Ace had left, she’d slept rather soundly, having torrid dreams about that innocent kiss.
She forced her mind away from the sexy rogue and looked at the wilderness around her.
The stretch ahead had been blocked off with crime scene tape tied from one tree to another. The yellow strip snapped in the rising wind. She ducked under it without hesitation and started down the road.
The air felt heavy, wet, and alive. This was Alaska in July, unpredictable and stubborn.
The sky had turned a deep gray with the clouds stacking fast. A summer storm meant lightning and possible forest fires, so hopefully the rainfall would be a good dumping.
They shouldn’t be having rain this late in the season, but Mother Nature never asked permission.
May’s rain boots sank with each step as she followed the road for half a mile.
The mud clung and released in slow pulls.
The creek roared somewhere ahead, louder than it should’ve been.
The wind slid down from the hills, a warning against her skin.
She rolled her shoulders, tension already creeping in.
She hated this part. Always had. Death didn’t scare her, but the violence behind it sat wrong.
“Hey,” AWT Dutch Reddick called out as he strode up from the embankment. His movements were steady and sure despite the uneven ground. “Thanks for coming, Doc. Sorry you had to walk, but we kept getting looky-loos, so I blocked off the entire roadway.”
May stopped. “No problem.”
Up close, Dutch looked every bit his eighties with his weathered face and unruly gray hair. He must’ve ditched his usual hat in a nod to the rapidly increasing wind. “It’s good to see you,” he said.
She forced a smile for his benefit. Truth be told, the mystical Alaska Wildlife Trooper was one of her favorite people, and she liked when he stayed in town. “We’ve missed you.”
He shrugged, his blue eyes as steady as the mountains around them. “Yeah, I missed you, too. I’ve been hunting all over hell and back for what they’re calling the Glacial Butcher. How stupid is that name?”
“Very.” She looked down the embankment toward Two Trout Creek, fully understanding he was giving her time. She didn’t need it. “I’m fine, Dutch. Let’s do this.”
He held out a hand to help her over the bank. “I know you’re fine, but I don’t like taking you to a dead body. It goes against my nature.” He grimaced. “That sounds dickish, but you’re pretty, Doc. Sweet.”
She grinned more naturally this time. His overprotectiveness warmed her, and his grip did steady her. “You’re kind and not a dick, Dutch. I’m glad we’re friends.” The ground was slick, weeds bending under their weight as they climbed down.
“Me, too. I’ve called in the state troopers, mainly because I have to head out again in a couple of hours into the wilds,” Dutch said. “They’re a good four hours out because the rain is coming down hard in Fairbanks. They don’t want to take off yet. We’re hoping you could do a quick prelim.”
May adjusted the strap of her pack. “Of course, but I can’t declare manner of death. I’m happy to give you my impressions for your records.” Happy was definitely not the right word. “Not happy, but you know what I mean.”
“I surely do.”
The wind picked up, cutting across the creek. Cold seeped through her light sweater, and she shivered.
“You want to go back and get a coat?” Dutch asked.
She focused on the water. “No, thanks. I’m fine.
” Brock and Ophelia stood near the rapidly flowing creek.
Brock’s broad shoulders were stiff and his posture locked tight.
Ophelia stood beside him, as calm and composed as always.
She took notes on an old-fashioned notepad, her pen moving quickly despite the damp air.
“I have Brock and Olly on this until the state troopers arrive.” Dutch winced. “I don’t want a jurisdictional fight, especially since Alaska doesn’t have sheriffs.”
“I know.” May sighed softly. “It’s one of the town’s…quirks. Brock’s good at his job, though. Plus, Ophelia is a federal agent, and I know the troopers like working with her.”
Dutch brushed a hand over his weathered jaw. “Yeah, but we’re on state land and nowhere near federal jurisdiction right now.”
May didn’t argue. The entire town would revolt if the state ever tried to force them to get rid of the sheriff, but she didn’t see how they’d win. The town was remote enough the troopers didn’t fuss much about it, but if it ever became an issue, things could get ugly.
Dutch led her around several tall weeds toward a pebbly area near the creek. The ground shifted underfoot with slick stones. The water rushed by hard enough to hinder conversation as the snowpack kept on melting.
In the weeds, a woman lay face up, one arm flung across the river rocks.
May’s breath caught. Just for a second.
The young woman’s eyes were open, staring sightlessly up at the stormy sky. Dirt and mud matted her blonde hair, while her skin was pale against the darker ground. Rain dotted her cheeks. The wilderness didn’t soften scenes like this. Didn’t blur the edges. Everything stayed raw and exposed.
May stepped closer, her training taking over even as her stomach twisted. “Well,” she said quietly, “I don’t need to determine cause of death to tell you what this was.”
“Yeah,” Dutch muttered. “I know.”
Ugly purple bruises mottled the woman’s throat.
May crouched carefully, scanning without touching.
Tiny red bursts dotted the whites of the woman’s eyes.
“Petechial hemorrhaging. She was definitely strangled. But again, it’s not my job to determine cause of death.
The medical examiner in Fairbanks will do so. ”
“Can you tell me anything?” Dutch asked.
“Yes. This was violent.” May reached into her pack and pulled on gloves.
The snap of latex sounded too loud in the charged air.
She pressed fingers gently against the woman’s neck, then lifted an arm with careful precision, avoiding anything that might disturb trace evidence.
“Rigor mortis has set in. She’s been dead at least eight hours. ”
“That’s what I thought.”
The wind surged again. The creek churned, relentless. Trees bent and whispered. The storm was nearly on top of them now. May could feel it in her bones and in the pressure building behind her eyes. Lightning slashed across the sky.
May flinched. “Oh, crap.”
Dutch gently leaned over her to stare at the body. “Yeah. Rain’s coming. She’s too exposed out here.” He pressed a hand to May’s shoulder. “At least she’s dressed.”
“True.” May studied the deceased woman’s creme-colored sweater over jeans that led to tennis shoes. She squinted and angled in, careful not to touch. “There might be fingerprints indented in the skin, but I’m not sure.”
The first drops of rain hit the stones like scattered taps.
“The wind is picking up too much.” Brock’s gaze tracked the sky and his jaw visibly flexed.
“We need to get the body out of the elements and not wait for the troopers, especially since they haven’t taken off yet.
I have a body bag in my rig. I’ll go get it.
” He turned immediately, his thick boots digging into the slick bank as he climbed.
Ophelia drew out her phone and started taking pictures.
“I already have a full set of shots of the entire scene, but I’ll take another set before the wind destroys everything.
” Her hair blew wildly in the breeze, thick and black.
She pivoted slowly, methodical, documenting every angle.
The creek, the disturbed pebbles, the flattened weeds.
Her expression stayed neutral and controlled.
“Did you find anything around the body?” May asked.
“Not a thing,” Dutch said. “Didn’t even find a beer bottle.”
May took a deep breath of the pine-scented air, fighting the urge to close the woman’s eyes.
That wasn’t her job, and she couldn’t get in the way of the medical examiner.
“I can declare time of death as of now.” May looked at her watch and gave the time.
“But that’s about all I can do.” Although she’d bet on the cause.
“What else do you observe?” Dutch asked.
“Just that she…” May exhaled slowly. “I’m not a medical examiner, Dutch. The procedure is to send the body to Fairbanks. They’ll do a good job.”
“I know. She’s so young,” he said softly.
May swallowed. The woman had to be in her early twenties, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
She looked like the girl next door. The kind who should’ve been laughing somewhere, complaining about the rain, not lying still on a cold patch of river stones.
Her face had already gone waxy. No life left in those eyes. “She fought back.”
May gingerly lifted the girl’s arm to reveal bruises and scrapes on both arms as well as her hands. “Gave it a good fight. There are several defensive wounds on her fingers, knuckles, and hands, as well as her other arm. There’s hopefully trace evidence under her fingernails.”
The wind gusted again, colder now. Rain thickened with the drops landing heavier and faster. The smell of wet earth intensified.
May lifted her head. “Hey, Brock. Tell me you have paper bags.”
“I do.” Brock lumbered down the embankment just as the rain began to fall in earnest. His jacket glistened with moisture as he handed the over the bags.
May quickly secured the paper bags over the woman’s hands, sealing them carefully, protecting any evidence that might be on them or under her nails. “Do we know who she is?”
“Yeah,” Brock said. “Laura Jordan from Montana State. She and a bunch of friends came up to camp for a week.”
May’s heart clutched, but she kept her movements steady. This part never got easier. “Let’s get her into the body bag as smoothly as we can.” They’d have the body flown to Fairbanks for an autopsy.
Brock laid the bag down on a clear area and pulled on fresh gloves. He crouched, his movements respectful and controlled. He gingerly picked the woman up and placed her inside. The zipper slid closed just as a heavier rain began to fall.
Ophelia instantly took pictures of the ground where the woman had lain. “I don’t see anything here but small pebbles and dirt.”
Rain hammered down now, drumming against their jackets and soaking the earth. The creek surged louder, water churning white against rock. The wind tore through the brush, bending tall grass flat.
“We’ll put her in the cooler in the back of the hospital and will fly her out as soon as we can later today,” Dutch said grimly.
May’s heart hurt. The woman had been so young. What a tragedy.
Dutch cleared his throat. “May? We need you to come in for a formal interview.”
May blinked. “A formal interview? Why?”
“We need to talk about Ace,” he said.