Silenced (Alaskan Courage Book #4) (12 page)

The next morning, the whole family and a few friends gathered on the dock to see Cole and Bailey off for their honeymoon. Kayden would fly them to Anchorage before heading over to Imnek with Jake to continue their investigation.

Piper had decorated the inside of the plane with balloons and streamers as a fun send-off, but Kayden would be taking them down as soon as she dropped Cole and Bailey off at Anchorage International. She wasn’t flying around all day with pink and purple fluff.

“I know you two will have an amazing time,” Piper said, hugging Bailey. “I can’t believe you’re going to Australia. Take lots of pictures of koalas for me.” If anything came in second to Piper’s love of moose, it was koalas.

“I will,” Bailey promised.

“Okay, Piper, let them go,” Kayden said. “They’ll only be gone two weeks.”

Piper made her annoyed face. “I know. I’m just
so
excited for them.”

And she was going to miss them. Kayden could read it on her sister’s face. It was sweet how much she loved them all
and enjoyed being with them, but it was only for a couple of weeks.

She turned to Cole. “We better get going if we’re going to make your flight.”

He nodded and scooped Bailey up in his arms. “Time to go, Mrs. McKenna.”

Bailey laughed. “I think you can stop carrying me over thresholds now.”

“Nope. You get the special treatment for at least another day, maybe another week.” He pressed a long kiss to her lips.

“Okay, lovebirds.” Kayden tried scooting them along while keeping her gaze off Jake. What was wrong with her? Every time she saw one of her siblings express affection with their partner, her mind went directly to Jake—wondering what his lips would feel like, longing to be back in his strong arms, to feel his hand splayed on her lower back while they danced.

Stop it! You
will not swoon over Jake. Over anyone, for that matter
.

But that was just it. She’d had boyfriends growing up, but she’d never
swooned
over anyone. Not until now. Not until Jake.

Kayden lifted off from Anchorage International Airport. They’d seen Cole and Bailey off to their connecting flight for Sydney, and after refueling and grabbing a bite of breakfast, she and Jake were on their way to Imnek. An entire day of just her and Jake together, with all the raw emotions of last night’s dance still welling inside.
Great
.

“Some wedding,” she said, feeling the need to fill the silence.

“Yeah.” He smiled. “I especially liked the dancing.”

Her mouth went dry, and she blindly scanned the instruments, even though the plane practically flew itself, struggling to think of something lighthearted to say. “Yeah. Gage puts on quite the show. I particularly enjoyed his ‘Thriller’ rendition.”

Jake laughed. “That was hysterical.”

Gage always was the life of the party. “And did you notice how he raced to Darcy’s side after his obligatory dance with the matron of honor was over?” It was so sweet.

“Obligatory?”

“Yeah, you know, the obligatory wedding dance.”

“Right. Obligatory.” He shifted back in his seat. “I got it.”

What was he . . . ?
Oh. Real smooth, Kayden.
She’d just made it sound as if she’d only danced with him out of obligation. In a way it was true. She never would have gone up and asked Jake to dance on her own, but what she’d felt during the dance was far from obligation. Her heart was still racing. When he’d cradled her back in the palm of his hand . . .

Gooseflesh rippled up her arm.

“You cold?” he asked, always too perceptive.

“No. I’m fine.”

“I’ve got a jacket.”

“No. Really. I’m not cold.”

He studied her a moment, no doubt taking in the flush on her cheeks.

A slight smile curled on his lips, and she knew she’d been had. Fortunately he was a gentleman and didn’t call her out, but the smirk dancing across his lips was painful enough.

She still hadn’t told him about the creepy phone call or the footprints outside her window, and she almost wanted to
let it just slide, knowing it would only distract him from the investigative plans he had for the day, but he’d want to know.

“Jake.”

He looked over, his green eyes dazzling in the sun streaming through the Cessna’s front window. “Yeah?”

“I need to tell you something.”

He shifted toward her. “Okay.”

“I would have said something sooner, but I didn’t want to distract from Cole and Bailey’s day.”

“I knew it.”

“What?”

“I could just tell something was bothering you.” He rested his hand on the back of her seat. “What happened?”

She explained the phone call and footprints, then tried to read his stoic expression.

Jake clamped his hand on the headrest, his knuckles bulging. “Brody’s just going to keep pushing until he ends up behind bars.”

“That’s just it.” She swept her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t think it was Brody.”

“What? Why not? Because we didn’t catch him leaving the note on our windshield?”

“You still think he left the note?”

Jake looked down.

“You don’t—the pieces don’t fit—so why is it so hard to believe the creepy call was someone else too?”

Jake looked at her, concern filling his face. “Because Brody’s easy. Containable.”

“And whoever called me?”

Jake swallowed. “Why do
you
think it was someone else?”

“Because it felt different.”

“Like the spray-painted message?”

“Yeah. The banged-up propeller rang true for a bunch of guys buffed up on alcohol and testosterone—stupid, but not dangerous—but the messages, they felt darker.”

Jake sighed, releasing his grip on the seat and folding his hands in his lap. “I agree.”

“Then who do you think is sending them?”

“Conrad’s killer.”

“Meaning . . . Viv and Stuart?”

“They’re a strong possibility.”

“But . . . ?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I’m loath to trust my instinct after—”

“Rebecca.” She reached out, touching his arm.

He closed his eyes, resting his hand over hers.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He nodded, letting the moment pass silently.

Jake wasn’t sure if he was thankful for the interruption of his ringing phone or not. The moment he and Kayden had been sharing was one of the most profound of his life. She’d reached out to him in more ways than one, and his heart hadn’t stopped hammering since.

“Cavanagh?” he said, the name becoming his own again.

“It’s Booth.”

“You got the results?”

“I could be calling to check up on you two kids,” he said with humored pleasure.

“Kids? You aren’t that old, old man.”

“Old enough to be your father, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Tell me you’ve got good news.”

“It’s definitely good news for Natalie Adams.”

“The sample was clean.”

“Yes indeed.”

“And you’re sure it came from the same chalk block as Conrad Humphries’?”

“Exact match, minus the Dodecanol, of course.”

“And you’re positive?”

“Ran them twice.”

It was good news for Natalie Adams, though who was to say she hadn’t separated the chalk earlier than she claimed and added the Dodecanol? But what would her motive be?

Booth cleared his throat. “Thought you’d sound happier.”

“Just not sure we’ve ruled anyone out.” And the threats kept coming.

“Any luck with the suppliers?”

“No. Landon’s still working that angle, trying to track any Dodecanol shipments made to Imnek in the last few months. At least we’ve been able to cross several off the list.”

“How many more to go?”

Jake sighed. “A couple dozen.”

“Landon’s tenacious. He’ll keep at it until he gets answers.” Booth chuckled. “Reminds me of someone else I know.”

As Jake hung up, Kayden said, “Samples were clean?”

“You got it.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“We know the Dodecanol was added after arriving at Natalie’s. I’m going to call Landon and get a warrant to search all areas of her shop and home, but I suspect we won’t find anything.”

“Then why go through it, and will you even be able to convince a judge to issue one now that the sample has come back clean?”

“Because we need to be positive, and it won’t be easy.” He smiled. “Actually, it might be a whole lot easier just to ask.”

Jake had been right. Rather than insisting on being served a warrant in front of her staff or patrons as Brody had been,
Natalie agreed to let Jake and Kayden search her work and home as long as she was present. Both had turned out clean—no sign of Dodecanol. Without its presence—or apparent motive—it was time to take Natalie Adams off their list of suspects.

“Where now?” she asked as Jake stepped to the driver’s side door of their rental car.

“Back to Vivienne’s.”

“Any luck obtaining a warrant to pull her and Stuart’s credit-card statements?”

“Landon went to the judge this morning.”

“You really think if they did it, they’d be stupid enough to pay for Dodecanol with a credit card?”

“It’s not something you can just walk into any store to get, and I doubt even if you could that the killer would go local. Imnek is too small a town for something like that. But just in case, Landon’s running Dodecanol suppliers, searching for any deliveries to Imnek in the past six months, plus canvassing any local businesses that might have carried it.”

“I heard you telling Booth. So no luck so far?”

“Only in crossing half a dozen suppliers off the list.”

“I know it’s frustrating, but it’s still progress—narrowing down the suppliers. Are you also checking for deliveries to Anchorage?”

“Yes, specifically to Stuart Anderson’s home and business addresses. He could have easily brought it down with him.”

“The killer would need a decent amount of time with Conrad’s chalk. Time to effectively blend the Dodecanol in,” she said.

“How long would you say?”

“Twenty minutes, maybe more.”

“So the killer would need access to wherever Conrad kept the chalk at home.”

“Or they tampered with the chalk somewhere along his route. If he left his car long enough, unlocked, they would have had access to the chalk sitting in his vehicle.”

“Vivienne said he went back to the office, which we know isn’t true according to his secretary.” Jake pulled a U-turn. “On second thought, let’s pay Patty a visit first, see if Conrad was with her that night.”

Once again they found Patty’s bungalow-style house empty and took the winding stone path around to her backyard. The sun lit her silhouette in the greenhouse, and they rapped on the open door.

She glanced up from her work. “Great.”

Jake stepped inside. “We’ve got a couple more questions for you.”

“Lucky me.” She brushed soil from her hands. “What is it this time?”

“When did you last see Conrad?”

“The night before his climb.”

“Where?”

“Here at the house.”

“How long was he here?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe an hour.”

“How’d you spend the hour?” Kayden asked.

Patty tilted her head. “How do you think?”

Kayden felt her face flush and was thankful when Jake continued the questioning without apparent reaction.

“We’re trying to determine a timeline for the day before Conrad’s climb,” he explained. “We know he worked most of
the day but left a few hours early according to his secretary. He swung by Rocktrex for a couple practice runs, stopped by Natalie’s for chalk, went home for dinner, and then according to Vivienne, went back to the office. But you said he came here instead.”

“What time did he arrive?” Kayden asked.

“Around six.”

“Six?” That wasn’t right. Vivienne said Conrad had left after dinner. Around nine o’clock. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I invited him to join me and Shane for dinner afterward, but he had to go.”

“Go where?”

“Home. Apparently Vivienne was making dinner for him and Stuart.”

So he’d dropped by Patty’s between buying his chalk at Natalie’s shop and heading home for dinner with Stuart and Vivienne. “Did Conrad come back later?”

“Nope.”

“His wife said he went out around nine for an hour or so. He claimed he was going to the office, but he didn’t. We assumed he was with you.”

“Afraid not.”

“Any idea where he might have gone?”

“No clue.”

Was it possible Conrad was seeing someone in addition to Patty Tate? Or had his work taken place someplace other than his office? And if so, why?

They were starting to lose traction. As questions were being answered, new ones were taking their place. The ex-employee-Kim angle had turned out to be a dead end. After losing her job with Conrad, she’d gotten a much higher-paying one
over on Kodiak. She sounded thrilled and didn’t express any ill will toward Conrad, according to the Kodiak deputy who had tracked her down and questioned her for them. When it came to Mrs. Humphries and ill will toward Conrad, Kayden had a feeling it was about to get much worse.