Chapter 1
Twenty-eight years later
Seattle, Washington
Noelle Harris jolted when her phone rang. She’d been so deeply involved with the data on her computer screen, so enthralled by the analysis of her client’s intricate web of finances that she’d shut out everything else. Until the melodic jingle of her ring tone had sliced into her concentration.
With an irritated huff, she glanced at the screen. Her caller ID identified the origin of the call as Shelby, Alaska, and her pulse bumped for the second time.
She aimed her finger at the red disconnect button, fully intending to reject the call.
She had no interest in talking to anyone in Alaska.
As a Korean-American, she’d always felt like an outsider growing up in Anchorage.
Especially within her own white adoptive family.
When she’d left for college, she’d put Alaska and all of its bad memories and heartache behind her, thank you very much.
But some odd niggle, a spike of pure curiosity made her shift her finger to the answer icon instead. Her muscles tensed as if bracing for a blow as she reluctantly raised the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
The caller took a beat before saying, “Noelle?”
“Yes.” A tingle of premonition, a familiarity she couldn’t quite place chased down her back in the few seconds it took before the caller continued.
“It’s Eli.” He cleared his throat and added, “Eli Colton,” as if she wouldn’t instantly know who Eli was, wouldn’t know the voice she’d longed—or maybe dreaded—hearing from again.
Her fingers tightened around her phone, and her heartbeat reverberated so loudly in her ears, she could barely hear herself reply, “Eli. What…what in the world do you want?”
Yeah, her tone was a tad steely. But she had to project a coolness to mask the deep ripple of emotion his call triggered.
She couldn’t cave to the well of heartache she’d taken years to quash.
As she’d asked twelve—no, thirteen years ago—she and Eli had maintained complete radio silence.
But now he’d called her? What the actual heck?
Her gut coiled, and her already tight muscles knotted even more. She should just hang up on him. She didn’t want to revive all those bittersweet, painful memories or—
“I’m afraid I’m calling with bad news, Noelle.”
Noelle sat back in her desk chair, startled by his announcement. “Bad news? What do you mean?” Her doorbell chimed at that moment, and she groaned. Talk about bad timing. Ignoring the door, she said, “What kind of bad news?”
“Did I hear your doorbell?”
“Yeah, but I don’t—”
“You need to answer it.” Something about his tone sent a chill through her.
“Why? How would you know who—”
“Just…please let them in.”
Her mind spinning and heart thumping, she made her way from her home office to the front door. Two uniformed Seattle police officers were on her front stoop.
Bad news. Police officers. Noelle gripped the doorknob and silently waved the officers in.
They both introduced themselves in grim tones, and with legs trembling, she showed them into her living room and took a seat on the couch. “All right, Eli. The policemen are here. What’s happened?”
He cleared his throat again, and she heard him take a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to tell you this, but…your sister, Allison, has been killed.”
Noelle replayed the words in her head, once…twice. Eli must have thought her silence meant she’d not heard or had hung up, because he repeated the stunning news.
“I heard you. I just… How? When? And why the hell are you calling to tell me instead of letting these officers you obviously sent deliver the news?”
“I’m with the Major Crimes Division of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, and her murder is part of a bigger serial killer case I’m investigating.
I thought I should be the one to break the news to you instead of a stranger, because of our history.
But protocol calls for officers to be present in person, so… ” He let his words trail off.
She angled a glance at the two Seattle officers who wore awkward expressions, as if expecting her to melt down any moment.
Except her brain felt numb. Overwhelmed. Eli… Allison… “I—d-does Aunt Jean know? I mean, she probably wouldn’t call me even if she did, but—”
“No. I haven’t informed your Aunt Jean yet. You are Allison’s next of kin and—”
“Next of kin?” She barked a humorless laugh. “What a joke.”
“I assure you this is no joke,” Eli said. “Surely you don’t think I’d do something that—”
“No. That’s not what I meant. It’s—” Noelle plowed one hand through her inky black hair, trying to process all the truth bombs Eli was dropping on her. Allison was dead. Murdered. He was an ABI agent. He was working a serial killer case.
She shoved off her sofa to pace. The explosion of adrenaline dumped into her system made her too restless to sit still. She felt the gazes of the officers following her. “Hang on. Back up. Allison was murdered by a serial killer?”
“I know. It’s a lot to take in.” Eli’s voice was calm and soothing. Kind. Warm. Damn it, she remembered his dulcet baritone voice all too well and how whispered intimacies could make her burn for him.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. That was not where her thoughts needed to go at the moment. Focus!
“And you’re in charge of the case to find the bastard who killed her?” She goggled as the pieces of the picture finally slotted into place.
“Me and my partner, Asher Rafferty, primarily. Although we have a large support team.” He hesitated. “Why?”
She scoffed. “Well, because…you know. Of all the gin joints in all the world…”
He grunted. “Yeah. That was kinda what I thought when the victim’s ID came across my desk.”
“The victim?” An eerie chill sank into her bones as the reality of what Eli was telling her sharpened into focus. Her sister had been murdered by a serial killer. Oh, Allison! She and her sister hadn’t been close for years, but no one deserved to be brutally killed—
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so clinical. Family notification isn’t usually my job, but I wanted… I thought you should hear it from me first. I thought I owed you that much.”
Her gut roiled. He hadn’t said how her sister had been killed. Had it been quick? Had she been tortured? Acid climbed her throat as the questions mounted and the horrific possibilities spun out.
“Noelle? Are you still there?”
One of the officers stood and crossed to her. “Are you all right, ma’am? Would you like to sit down?” He touched her arm gently, but she shook her head and paced away.
“How did it happen?” she asked Eli, hearing her voice shake. “Wh-what did he do to her? Has her killer been caught?”
“No. He’s still at large, and we’re still working on the details surrounding the manner of death. Her autopsy results are pending.”
“Eli, don’t play games with me. I want the truth! I can take it. Did she suffer?”
“I’m being honest with you. I don’t have definitive answers yet, and I don’t want to speculate.
In truth, I can’t reveal details of the investigation even if I had them.
I only called because you are next of kin, and the medical examiner should be able to release the body for burial next week.
” His sigh filtered through the connection. “So you can make funeral arrangements…”
“Funeral arrangements,” she whispered numbly. The shock of talking to Eli, the weight of this tragic news and the ramifications of her sister’s murder all hit her anew. Her knees buckled, and she slumped down on the closest chair.
One of the officers moved to sit close by, a look of compassion creasing his forehead.
“Noelle, I’m so sorry. You’ll need to come to Shelby to sign paperwork at the ME’s office. If you need anything while you’re here for the funeral…if I can help in any way…”
While she was there for the funeral?
Her chest squeezed. Oh hell! She had to go back to Alaska to make the arrangements for her sister’s funeral. Back to the state she’d avoided for half her life. To the town where Eli, the man who’d broken her heart, lived.
Her lungs seized, and she could only take small, shallow breaths.
Would she have to see Eli, deal with him at the ABI in order to claim her sister’s body? She prayed not.
“Ma’am?” the officer nearest her said, leaning closer as she sucked in rapid pants.
“No.” She lifted a hand to the officer and shook her head, answering both Eli and the Seattle uniform at the same time.
Get a grip! Fighting for calm, she mustered a firmer tone along with some semblance of composure. “No, Eli. I don’t need anything from you. I don’t want anything from you. It’s too late for that.”
Eli scoffed. “Right. I got that message a long time ago.”
She bristled at his angry tone. “What does that mean?”
“Never mind. I didn’t call to rehash our history. Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I’ll text you the details about claiming Allison’s remains. The Seattle officers can take it from here. Goodbye, Noelle.”
She was still swallowing the harsh grittiness of the term remains and all it implied when he hung up. Before she could say any more. Before she could ask any more questions. Before they could poke any more old wounds.
Probably for the best. Her past with Eli was better off left in the past.
Lowering her phone from her ear, she stared at the floor blankly while the conversation rewound in her mind.
Allison. Murdered. Serial killer.
“Ms. Harris?”
She jerked her head up, having almost forgotten the two policemen in her living room. “I—I’m fine.”
“Would you like a glass of water?”
She shook her head and rose unsteadily. “I’d just like to be alone right now.”
The two officers exchanged dubious looks.
“Really. I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming, but… I just need time to process it all.” She crossed to her front door, signaling her readiness for the men to leave.
Finally with stiff nods and expressions of their sympathy, the two officers left.
Noelle leaned back against the closed door and choked on the sob that rose in her throat.