Chapter 3
Noelle was emotionally drained after the confrontation with her aunt and uncle, signing the paperwork to claim Allison’s body…
and running into Eli. She had to have the worst luck imaginable to have timed her trip to the ME’s office such that she ran into both her hateful relatives and the man she’d most wished to avoid while in Alaska.
Before leaving the medical examiner’s office, she donned her knit hat and zipped her coat, bundling up before heading out in the cold Alaskan autumn. She had her head down, pulling on her gloves when she heard someone call her name.
Her heart lurched as she snapped her head up and spotted Eli crossing the lobby. Of course he’d waited for her. She’d been foolish to think he’d give up so quickly and leave her alone for the duration of her stay, now that the initial contact had been made.
She grabbed for her composure with both hands, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin.
“Hi,” he said as he approached, his head tipped to one side as he studied her expression. “I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
“Isn’t that why you’re out here? You were waiting for me.” She turned and stalked outside toward her rented car.
He didn’t deny it. Instead, he bobbed a nod and caught her arm. “Wouldn’t you rather talk inside, out of the cold?”
Noelle shook her head. “Just tell me what you want. Why did you wait for me?”
“Because we haven’t talked in years. I’m interested in what you’ve been doing, how you’ve been doing.
And…well, after that scene in the lobby with your aunt and uncle, I really thought you might want to vent to someone.
Blow off steam. I can’t drink on duty, but I know a place we can get lunch, and you can get a glass of wine or a Moscow mule if you want. ”
Her pulse thumped. Moscow mule was far too specific to be random.
He’d remembered her favorite cocktail all these years.
She didn’t want to be impressed or, worse, touched that he remembered that detail about her.
Yet the tug in her core was undeniable. For him to have held on to that tidbit meant he either had a great memory for details or she’d mattered enough to him that he’d tried to remember such things about her.
She hoped it was the former. As a cop—or rather an agent with the Major Crimes Division of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation—he would need an eye and memory for detail. She’d go with that.
She opened her mouth to refuse his invitation, when a new thought occurred to her.
He’s in charge of the murder investigation.
The serial killer investigation. If she was going to get details about what happened to Allison, who better to question than Eli?
She could lean on their former relationship to beg the favor of inside information.
Surely he wouldn’t deny her the truth about her sister’s case?
“Fine. We can get lunch. But I’ll take my rental car and meet you.” She aimed her thumb toward the small sedan she’d picked up at the airport after she’d landed last night.
Eli shrugged. “All right.” He gave her the name and address of the sports bar and grill he had in mind, and once in her car, she plugged the information into the rental’s GPS.
Ten minutes later, she and Eli were tucked in an intimate corner booth ordering drinks—coffee for him and a local beer for her. She’d have liked a Moscow mule, but she didn’t want him to know how on the nose he’d been.
After the waiter left, Eli smiled broadly and exhaled.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you, Noelle.
” His brow dipped, and his expression sobered.
“And also how sorry I am for the circumstances. When the report with the identification came through—” He dragged a hand over his mouth.
“Well, it was a real shock for me, too. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you.”
“Difficult, yes. But… Allison and I haven’t been close in a long time.
She’s my sister and I love her, but—” Noelle heard what she’d said and hesitated.
“She was my sister.” She leaned back against the booth cushions with a sigh.
“Dang. The reality is still settling in. It’s so…
unreal.” Flattening both hands on the tabletop, she pinned a probing stare on Eli. “So…a serial killer? Seriously?”
“Looks that way.”
He reached out, covering one of her hands with his. The warmth of his palm against her cold skin felt delicious. Reckless.
She slid her hand out from under his, scowling her disapproval at him. “Eli, this isn’t—” She waved a hand between them, searching for the right word. A date? She didn’t want to plant that idea if she had read him wrong. “We’re not—I don’t want—”
A weary look filled his eyes. “Yeah, I get that. But for old times’ sake, can’t we be civil? Maybe even be friends?”
She’d sound like a real witch if she denied him that much after all these years. Besides, if she wanted him to share information with her, it didn’t serve her cause to be adversarial with him. Puffing her cheeks out, she exhaled her concession. “Okay. Friends.”
She made sure the word carried weight, so that he got the message that was all she could be. All her heart could take. Telling him goodbye once had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. To foster false hope of a reunion and break with him again would destroy her.
The waiter brought their drinks, and Noelle took a few large gulps of her beer before lifting her gaze to Eli again.
“Tell me about the case. For starters, why was Allison brought here to Shelby? Last I heard, she lived in Anchorage, and I’m guessing the ABI office there is bigger, better equipped. ”
He arched a dark brown eyebrow. “Our office is smaller, yes, but we have access to all the same resources. And our people are top-notch. As far as why she was brought to the ME here in Shelby…” he paused and laced his fingers as he rested his hands on the table “…because Asher and I are the ones working the case. We’re based here.
And she and the first body were found closer to Shelby than any of the other satellite offices. ”
Noelle’s stomach flip-flopped. Between the penetrating and memory-evoking blue of his eyes and the unsettling facts she was grappling with, she wasn’t sure how she would eat anything. “How…how many other victims have you found?”
Eli seemed to measure his response, taking a beat before saying, “Allison was the second victim found. We’ve found five bodies with similar traits linking them to the same killer so far.”
“And what is the unifying link between victims? Do you have any leads on who the killer is yet? Where were the bodies found? Were they together, like in a mass grave? Is there reason to think Allison knew any of the other victims? Why would the killer have singled out Allison?” She rattled off one question after another.
While she had him talking, she intended to get as much information as she could.
“You mentioned a fake diamond ring earlier. Is that what ties the victims to each other?”
Eli frowned and glanced away. “Like I said before, I’m not allowed to divulge detailed information—”
She held up a hand to cut him off, her mouth firming in frustration.
“Eli, I understand the police have their policies, but some information has already been reported in the press. And while I read what I could find online on my trip up from Seattle, I know there’s got to be more.
I’m just asking you to fill in a few gaps, give me a better understanding of the big picture. ”
Eli shook his head. “I understand why you have questions, but I really can’t divulge much. It could jeopardize the case. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
Noelle twisted her mouth, keying in on one word. “Much? Then you can tell me something. Right?”
He glanced away, and she gripped his hand to drag his attention back to her. “Come on, Eli. You know I won’t tell anyone. I mean, I want this guy caught as much as anyone. I won’t do anything to hurt the case.”
“Noelle…” he said, his tone skeptical.
“You can trust me to keep everything you say confidential.” The look she gave him pleaded for his cooperation, for his trust.
Eli pinched the bridge of his nose. Finally, with a sigh, he said, “Here’s what I can say. Based on forensics, the first victim was killed about three years ago, indicating this guy has been operating for a while.”
“Three years? That long?” She goggled at him. “H-how long ago was Allison killed?”
He leaned forward, angling his head as he narrowed his gaze on her. “Actually, you can help us with that question. When’s the last time you heard from her? Did she mention anyone new in her life, romantically or otherwise? Maybe someone who was stalking or harassing her?”
Noelle dropped her gaze to the tabletop and chortled. “I rarely talked to anyone in my family after I left when I was eighteen. Don’t you remember that I stayed on campus for holidays and worked internships during the summer?”
He nodded. “I remember everything about you and our time together. Including the fact you rarely talked about your family and changed the subject when I asked questions. But things could have changed since college. And you mentioned earlier you’d had some limited contact with Allison.”
For her sanity’s sake, she ignored his comment about their time together and focused on the investigation, on Allison.
“I only had a handful of phone calls from Allison. One on my nineteenth birthday, another when I graduated from UW, and one when Mom and Dad were killed in the plane crash three years ago.”
His expression shifted, and something akin to sorrow crossed his face. “Your parents were killed in a plane crash? I’m so sorry. I knew they were deceased because of our search for Allison’s next of kin, but not…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”