Polar (Book 1): Polar Night (20 page)

Chapter 48

Lauren Cooper chewed her lip
as she sorted through her notes on the missing Katie Bailey. She didn’t even want to look at the girl’s photo, but couldn’t shake the feeling that the smiling blond teenager was staring at her and willing her to find her before it was too late. Lauren tasted blood and realized she had chewed a bit too much. Better switch to a stick of gum.

She reached down into her purse and pulled out a pack of peppermint gum. She shoved two sticks into her mouth for good measure and returned to her notes. Twirling a strand of her short brown hair around her index finger, Lauren racked her brain for anything she could have missed on Katie Bailey. She was certain the girl had not run away of her own accord. Teenage girls don’t leave their phones behind when they take off on some planned adventure.

Lauren had talked to every family member and friend Katie had and all she had was one dead end after another. By all accounts, the girl had left her job at her grandfather’s restaurant and simply disappeared into the Seattle night. Her frustration mounting, Lauren sighed when her phone rang. Now what?

“Lauren Cooper,” she said, struggling to talk over the mouth full of gum she had forgotten she had.

“Detective Cooper, my name is Danny Fitzpatrick. I’m a detective in Chi… in Fairbanks, Alaska, and I need to talk to you about your case.”

Lauren spit her gum out in a tissue and leaned back in her chair. “What case?”

“Katie Bailey. The missing teenager.”

“How do you know about my case? Who are you, again?”

“Danny Fitzpatrick. Fairbanks PD. I think your case is connected to some missing women here in Alaska.”

Lauren’s ears perked up. “How so? And how did you even know about Katie?”

“I have a colleague in the FBI who forwarded the information to me. He came across your case while working on one of his own, and thought there might be a connection.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain that soon enough, but right now I need you to do something for me. You have to find out if Katie and her family have ever been to a resort called Snow Creek in Coldfoot, Alaska.”

“What??”

“You heard me. And trust me, you don’t have any time to waste. I know they mentioned a trip to the Arctic they went on last week. If they stayed in Snow Creek, I know where Katie is.”

“What the hell are you talking about? How do you know what the Baileys told me?”

Danny felt himself losing his patience. “Did I not just tell you I have a contact in the FBI who forwarded your case to me? What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve got a kid missing there and I’m telling you I think I know where she is!”

Lauren matched his scowl on her end of the call. Just who the hell did this guy think he was talking to? For all she knew, he was some quack playing games. But, it wasn’t as if she had any other leads to go on. She’d talk to the Baileys and then find out what this pushy pain in the ass from Fairbanks was on about.

“Alright,” she said. “Let me talk to the Baileys. I’ll call you back.” She glanced at the caller ID on her cell. “Will you be at this number?”

“Yeah, I’m on my cell. If you can’t get through for some reason, call me at the Bay Inn in Sitka, Alaska. I’m in room 115.”

“Okay. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Hurry up. You don’t have time to waste, trust me.”

Lauren ended the call and scrolled through her notes for the Bailey’s phone number. Danny Fitzpatrick was pushy and rude, but Lauren felt a tingle of adrenalin just the same. She might just be dealing with a quack, but it would be easy enough to determine that soon enough. For now, all she wanted to do was follow-up on what looked like her first solid lead.

Chapter 49

Christine Bailey paced back and
forth in her kitchen, ignoring the untouched sandwich and now cold cup of coffee on the counter. While her friends no doubt meant well when urging her to eat, she knew she’d vomit if she put the sandwich anywhere close to her mouth. She couldn’t do anything right now but wait to hear from Katie. There had to be an explanation for her disappearance and she knew her daughter would be calling any minute with a bizarre story of what had happened, something they would laugh about in the years to come.

Christine jumped at the sound of the phone in her pocket ringing.

“Katie?” she answered.

“Mrs. Bailey?”

Christine’s heart sank. It wasn’t Katie.

“Who is this? Do you have news on Katie?”

“This is Detective Lauren Cooper. I’m sorry, Mrs. Bailey, I don’t have any news. But I did want to ask you a question.”

“What is it?”

“You mentioned Katie accompanying you on a trip to the Arctic, correct?”

“Yes. We went last week. Why? What does this have to do with anything?”

“Did you stay at a place called Cold Foot?”

“Yes. At the Snow Creek. That’s where we stayed overnight before we went to Prudhoe Bay. Why are you asking?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that. But..”

Christine interrupted Lauren before she could complete her sentence. “What do you mean you can’t tell me? My daughter’s the one who is missing! You certainly can tell me. Do you think she’s there? Katie wouldn’t go there. She hated it there!”

“Mrs. Bailey, I will let you know as soon as I know anything about your daughter, you have my word on that. Thank you and I truly am sorry.”

Lauren ended the call before Christine could yell at her again. She heard Christine’s anguished voice as she hung up and felt guilty for causing the poor woman even more grief, but there was nothing she could do about it.

The important thing now was to call this Alaskan detective back and find out what the hell he knew about Katie Bailey and the Snow Creek resort. She wasn’t getting anywhere here in Seattle. She’d need to talk with her captain, but she was starting to think her next move should be to head to Alaska herself.

Chapter 50

“Thanks for the ride to the airport,”
Danny said as he tossed what little he had packed back into his overnight bag. He took a quick look around his hotel room to make sure he hadn’t left anything, and headed outside.

“You’re welcome,” Amanda said. “It’s not like it’s any trouble anyway.”

“I’m just glad I could get a flight today. I need to get back to the office.”

“You really think Aleksei has the Seattle girl?”

“Lauren Cooper said the parents told her they stayed at Snow Creek. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”

Amanda shook her head as she unlocked her car. “I hope it is. I hate to think of a young girl with that monster.”

“I agree, but it can’t be a coincidence. And if it is, it should be in some kind of record book. Snow Creek is a hell of a dangerous place for blond women. And now, blond teenage girls, too.”

Danny stared out the window at the huge flakes of snow that were just beginning to fall. “Great,” he said. “I hope the weather doesn’t delay my flight.”

“Can’t you just call your Chief and let him know what’s going on?”

“I tried. He was supposedly in a meeting.”

“What do you mean, supposedly?”

“I was told he was in a meeting, but I think it’s more likely he just didn’t want to take my call. He thinks I’ve gone off the rails and he told me to stay away so he didn’t have to deal with me. And, I tried calling Tessa but she’s swamped with a new homicide case, somebody ran over a drunk who had passed out outside Anthony’s Bar and apparently it wasn’t an accident.”

“I’ll keep going through the archives,” Amanda said. “See if I can find anything about Aleksei’s history here in Alaska.”

“More power to you. But you know I don’t think there’s any point to it.”

“Maybe not. But it can’t hurt anything. And I’m interested in it anyway.”

Danny shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Let me know what happens when you get back. I want to know if Aleksei really does have Katie.”

“Sorry, but that’s not gonna happen.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I’ve already involved you in this too much as it is. I never should have told you a damn thing about what’s going on. We’re not partners and I’m not going to keep you up to date on my case.”

“You’re a real jackass.”

“Fair enough. I’ve fucked up from start with you. It has to stop now.”

“Great time for you to decide to be ethical. Can I help it if I’m curious to know how this all turns out?”

“Watch the news and maybe you’ll find out.”

“Asshole.”

“Like I said, fair enough.”

Amanda turned into the airport parking lot a little too quickly, causing her rear tires to fishtail in the street.

“Watch out,” Danny said. “Don’t run your car off the road just because you’re pissed at me.”

Amanda ignored him and drove to the departure terminal for Alaska airlines. She pulled to the curb and put her car in park.

She turned away from the road and towards Danny. “Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks. Do I get a kiss?”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Get the hell out of the car. You’re going to miss your flight.”

Danny grinned and pulled his overnight bag from the back seat. “Thanks again for the ride,” he said as he stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him.

Amanda turned back towards the road and drove away without another look in Danny’s direction.

Chapter 51

“You don’t have to be afraid
of me,” Aleksei said to a terrified Katie, who was trembling and crying on the bed in his guest room.

“You’ll actually come to love me, I’m sure of it,” he said. “We’re going to do so many things together. Travel the world. See things you never even imagined existed. You’ll thank me for rescuing you from a mundane life with nothing to look forward to but getting married and having babies. You’ll wonder how you ever tolerated working at that common restaurant for even a minute. You’re not a commoner. You’re so much more than that.”

Aleksei stood up from his chair and crossed the room to the bed. He moved towards Katie, his face less than an inch from hers. He heard her whimper through the gag.

“It’s a rush you won’t believe, becoming like me,” he whispered. “Just wait and see.”

Katie shifted backwards and tried to kick Aleksei with her legs. He had a tight grip on her ankles before her feet ever made contact.

“Bad girl,” he said. “Didn’t your parents teach you any manners? Ladies don’t kick and fight like dogs.”

Aleksei sat down on the bed, still holding Katie’s ankles with a grip like a steel trap.

“Does that hurt?” he asked.

Katie nodded, and increased her whimpering.

“Good. Think of this before you try anything else stupid.” He squeezed the ankles harder, prompting a yelp from Katie, before letting her legs drop back onto the bed.

“Do you remember me?” he asked, changing the subject. “Do you know where you are?”

Katie nodded yes.

“The trip to Coldfoot with your family, right?”

Katie nodded again.

“I watched you all the while we toured the asylum and heard the ghosts. I knew you would be mine at some point. Granted, at that time I didn’t think it would be this soon. But, sometimes you have to go with spontaneity, right?”

Aleksei watched impassively as the girl’s eyes darted around the room. “If you’re looking for an escape, you’re wasting your time,” he said. “There’s no way for you to get out of this room until I let you out. So tell me, how was your trip to Prudhoe Bay? Did you enjoy it?”

Katie stared at him without responding.

“A simple nod for yes or shake for no will do just fine,” Akeksei said.

Katie shook her head no.

“I’m not surprised. What’s in Prudhoe Bay for a beautiful young woman like you? That proves my point. You’re going to be grateful I took you away from that life. Your parents were obviously nice people, but so very boring. And your little brother didn’t have any of your spunk.”

Large teardrops fell down Katie’s cheeks at the mention of her family.

“You might miss them at first,” Aleksei said. “But trust me, soon enough you’ll barely be able to remember their faces. You’re better than they are.”

Aleksei moved closer to Katie again. “If you promise not to scream anymore, I’ll take the gag out,” he said. “Do you promise?”

Katie shook her head yes.

“Alright. I’m warning you, though. One scream and it goes back in, but the next time it’ll be tighter.”

Aleksei moved his long fingers behind Katie’s head, and untied the gag. He gently pulled it out of her mouth. Katie gasped at once, as if trying to breathe for the first time, and immediately began to sob. Aleksei put a finger on her chin and lifted her face to his.

“I told you, there’s no reason to be afraid of me. You’re going to be my partner. I’ll love you.”

Katie’s sobbing turned into blubbering. Aleksei
frowned and wiped the tears from her cheeks. It was obvious he needed to just get on with things. A crying kid was no fun at all.

“You can stop crying,” he said. “This is all going to be over soon.”

He bared his fangs, causing Katie to abandon her promise not to scream. Her terror filled the room with a piercing shriek that made Aleksei cringe. There were times he was sorry to have such exceptional hearing.

He clamped his hand over Katie’s mouth, and let his mouth hover over her neck, taking in her living scent so that he would remember it once she was dead. She smelled like citrus, a tangy mix of orange and grapefruit. No doubt the result of body lotion she had rubbed on the last time she had showered. Aleksei liked the scent, and knew he would remember it.

Aleksei pulled himself away from Katie’s neck, and took a bite out of his own arm, just as he had watched Greger do so many years before. He never broke eye contact with the terrified teenager.

“It’s all over now, Katerina,” he whispered. “Next time you see me, things will be very different.”

He sunk his fangs deep into her neck and felt a rush of arousal at the taste of her blood in his mouth. Forcing himself to stop drinking, he removed his hand from Katie’s mouth and instantly pushed his bleeding arm in its place. He gripped the back of her head so she couldn’t move away from him, and forced her to drink his blood before he returned to sucking her own blood out of her neck. Ignoring her futile thrashing and attempts to escape his clutch, he was overcome with a feeling of euphoria as he drained Katie’s blood from her body.

Within seconds, Katie stopped struggling, and slumped against him. He removed his arm from her mouth, and used it to steady her drooping head. He felt the fight leave her body along with her blood as her body crumpled into his arms.