Easy shook his head. “Like I said, I have no clue. No one would’ve had a chance to steal my truck from the parking garage or from my place. And with the weather as bad as it’s been—” He stopped.
“What is it?” Evelyn could see his expression, knew he’d just thought of something.
“On my way to work yesterday, I saw a set of tire tracks leading off into a field. I was excited about my new truck, and I wanted to try it out in the snow, have a little fun without the wife around to worry and harp at me. So I followed those tracks and did a few donuts. The fact that someone had been there before me made me feel confident that I wouldn’t get stuck, and I didn’t. But I ran over something on my way out.”
Amarok jumped in again. “You don’t know what it was?”
“I assumed it was a large rock or maybe a log. Why would I think anything else?”
“You didn’t get out to check?”
“No. It was an empty field. The ground was uneven to begin with, and I didn’t want to be late for work.”
“I see.”
Easy stepped back, as if he’d done his duty and was ready to go. “Is that it? Because I’m completely creeped out and I’d like to go home to check on my wife and kids.”
“Do you work tomorrow?”
“No, I’m off. Thank God.”
“I’m afraid you’re not going to like this,” Amarok said. “And I can understand why. But if I get you a motel room, will you stay in town tonight so you can show me where you went off-roading yesterday?”
Easy scratched his neck. “Can’t I show you now?”
“I’m in Anchorage.”
“Then maybe I can point it out to Dr. Talbot before I go home. Or circle it on a map.”
“I’m afraid not. This is important, Easy. I need to meet with you, have you go over everything you saw and show me where you found that scalp. We have a woman who’s gone missing. I’d like to be able to tell her family what happened.”
“Right,” he said on a heavy sigh. “Of course. It’s not far from the prison, so it shouldn’t take long. Will you be back early?”
“Not sure yet. Head over to The Shady Lady. I’ll let you know when we can meet as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” he said, but his tone of voice made it sound more like, Shit.
He’d already turned to go when Amarok said, “And Easy? There’s one more thing.”
The CO sent Evelyn a worried glance before asking, “What’s that?”
“Don’t mention what you found to anyone else. Until we know more, it’d be best to keep this between us.”
“Andy Smith was here earlier. He heard what I said.”
“That can’t be helped now, and I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’ll ask him to keep it to himself, too.”
Easy shifted uncomfortably. “When I took this job, I knew I might see some stuff I’d rather not, but I assumed the worst would be a prison fight or … or a shanking. This is beyond belief. You don’t think we have a murderer on the loose, do you?”
Evelyn didn’t want a rumor like that to get started, especially when they couldn’t say for sure. Not only would it throw the whole community into a panic, it’d put Hanover House in the news again, and she wasn’t convinced the institution could survive more bad press. “Nothing’s certain yet, Easy,” she said. “For all we know, this woman wandered away from that rental cabin and froze to death.”
“Did she have her own vehicle? Because I followed a set of tire tracks into that field—not footprints.”
Sierra hadn’t had a vehicle. So how would she have gotten that far? “There’s a lot riding on this,” Evelyn said. “Please use some discretion. We need to know what we’re dealing with before we cause a panic.”
He gestured at the sack. “I think that tells us enough, don’t you?”
“It’s possible the hair and scalp belong to Sierra, the missing woman, but we need to confirm it first.”
“Waiting for confirmation could be dangerous, Doc. People should be warned. If I lived in Hilltop, I’d sure as hell want my wife and kids to know they should be extra careful, lock the doors, stay in a group, that sort of thing.”
She cleared her throat. “Amarok will alert everyone if and when he feels it’s necessary.”
“If you say so,” he muttered, and cast a final horrified glance at what he was leaving behind as he walked out.
Closing her eyes, Evelyn rested her head on the back of her chair.
“You still there?” Amarok asked.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“He has a point. You realize that.”
She opened her eyes to stare at the sack on her desk. Was Jasper behind what was happening? If so, he’d destroy her yet. “I realize that.”
“Can you give me Andy Smith’s number? I’ll ask him to keep what he heard quiet for now, but I’ll have to make a public statement, revealing it, soon.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know that, too. Anyway, you’re busy. I’ll leave a voicemail for Andy Smith, asking him not to say anything. So don’t worry about that.”
“Okay. I’ll call Phil and have him bring me what Hyde found.”
“Do you want me to do that, too?”
“Have you gotten any sleep?”
She covered a yawn. What with Andy banging on the door and waking her, she hadn’t gotten enough. She’d been seriously annoyed by the interruption. But since she would’ve been awakened, anyway—by Leland Yerbowitz’s call and then Easy Hyde’s appearance—it seemed childish to resent Smith. She felt like a jerk for disliking him so intensely. “Not much.”
“Then no. Phil can do it.”
She tested the coffee Smith had brought her, but it had gone cold. She picked at the donut instead. “With the blood on the mattress and this unidentified scalp…”
“Things don’t look good,” he filled in.
“It’s Jasper,” she said. “It has to be.” She expected him to deny it, to tell her they didn’t know that yet. She’d wanted to blame every problem they’d run into on Jasper, so she could see why he might argue. But he didn’t. Someone had murdered Sierra. They hadn’t recovered her body, but they were almost certain of that now. And they’d essentially picked a fight with Jasper last winter when Amarok had contacted his parents and managed to get a little information out of his mother. After all her research, Evelyn knew the kind of man Jasper was, how he’d likely respond. He certainly wouldn’t let it go. “I’ve been waiting for him to come after me again.”
“So have I,” Amarok said.
Evelyn drew a deep breath. “Don’t take this wrong. I feel terrible for Sierra and her family. I wish he hadn’t harmed her. But he’s been torturing and killing innocent victims for over twenty years. The bodies discovered near that burned-out barn in Peoria tell us that. So, as frightened as I am, I’m sort of relieved, too. If that makes sense.”
“Relieved that it might all be over soon?”
“Yeah. One way or the other.”
“Don’t talk like it might not go our way. We’ll get him.”
She wished she could believe Amarok. But after twenty-two years spent chasing someone who seemed capable of slipping through the tightest net, she knew they could easily lose in the end.
12
“This is it?” Amarok glanced over at Easy Hyde as he pulled to the side of the road.
Easy nodded, but, unfortunately, there weren’t any tire tracks they could follow today, so there was no way to be positive it was the exact spot. There’d been too much snowfall since Easy had come here before. But the skies were clear at the moment. Although it was still colder than normal for this time of year, Amarok felt he was catching a small break, and he was determined to make the most of the opportunity.
As they got out and stood at the edge of a large field surrounded on three sides by Sitka spruce, mountain hemlock and black cottonwood trees, Amarok was glad he’d left Makita at the trooper station. He loved having his dog with him, but Makita wasn’t a trained police dog. Amarok didn’t need him making tracks in the snow or doing anything else that might make his job harder. “Where were you when you hit that bump?”
Easy pointed. “Right about there, not far from that burned-out stump.”