Just turn around.
His voice came into her other ear; however, a lifetime of similar ambushes kept her from jumping. Brows arched, she swung slowly on her heel to confront him.
Welcome to Painters Bluff, Detective. Why the delay? She sniffed. I dont smell any liquor, so you didnt stop for a beer. I didnt pass you, so my SUV must be fine. And you dont strike me as an addle-brained cop, so I cant believe you got your hotel wires crossed.
Nick! Dana hastened over. You made it.
Nick unzipped his lined leather jacket. I stopped by the clinic on my way in.
Concerned, Sasha gave him a once-over. He was even more gorgeous out of the snow. Did you hurt yourself hooking up our vehicles?
A frown appeared. I wanted to see something. Someone, actually. She was about your age and height. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, of Swedish descent.
A slippery tendril wound its way through Sashas stomach. Was. Past tense. I take it shes dead.
For an answer, he curled his long fingers around the nape of her neck. Her name was Kristiana Felgard. Her body was discovered up at Painters Rock early this morning. She was murdered.
Chapter Two
I think were dealing with a serial killer.
In the Mountain House bar, Nick went over the grisly details. The case has gone cold twice since the first murder eight years ago, he said, but back then the media dubbed the perpetrator the Snow Globe Killer because at each murder scene he left a snow globe with an angel inside.
Sasha felt trapped and edgy, but refused to let either feeling show. Dana said the police found nothing at the scene of Kristiana Felgards murder, so your theory already has a hole in it.
A big one, she hoped. Because ever since Nick had appeared tonight, her stomach had been tied in knots.
Nick slid her a sideways look. There was an imprint in the snow to the right of the victims head. Thats where the killer always placed his mementos. The impression is consistent with the bases of previous snow globes.
She wanted to leave. More than that, she wanted Nick and Dana to stop looking at her as if she had a big red X on her chest.
She drew a deep, steadying breath, caught the smells of leather, whiskey and wood smoke from the bars enormous stone fireplace.
The room felt like an old saloon, warmed with polished oak tables and a mirrored bar that spanned the entire back wall.
Everything was gouged and timeworn and, given Skye Painters reputation, no doubt authentic, down to the glasses currently being placed in front of them by a rather baffled-looking server in high-heeled cowboy boots.
Sasha waited until shed left and the drinks had been rearranged. The waitress is a blonde. Why arent you terrifying her with your serial killer story?
Mandys color comes from a bottle. Dana looked through the crowd to the entrance. Shes a lovely woman, a grandmother of three whose husband passed away last month, which is why Skye hired her. Believe me, Mandy Cullens not our boys type.
No, according to Nick, your boy prefers women with Scandinavian ancestry.
Nick eyes remained steady on hers. It was unnerving how he did that.
He does, Sasha. In every case Ive investigated Ive found a Swedish or Finnish connection. And you already told us youre Swedish.
If she hadnt been so freaked, she would have been tempted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Shed come to Painters Bluff to design a resort and now she found herself the target of a serial killer. Or so the cop and mayor sharing the booth with her believed.
My grandmothers only half-Swedish, Nick. Her father came from Finland. He built ships in Sweden, but he was born in Helsinki.
Nicks eyes didnt waver. There you go then.
Her hackles rose. No, there I dont go. You said its been five years since this guys murdered anyone.
That we know of.
But you would know, wouldnt you? Youre a homicide cop.
I was a homicide cop. I work cold cases now. Theyre my specialty. My partner and I have been working on this particular case for the past nine months. Six weeks ago, just after Thanksgiving, a woman was attacked in Aspen.
Attacked, Sasha repeated. Not killed?
She managed to get away, but she couldnt tell us much. It was getting dark and her attacker was wearing a wool mask when he grabbed her. Shed been skiing all day and took the lift up to one of the more difficult slopes, hoping to squeeze in another run before meeting her friends for dinner. He skied right into her, then dragged her into the trees. She was disoriented, but not as badly as he believed. When he started to tie her up, she fought him.
And either pulled off his mask or scratched him. No description, so Ill go with scratched.
Not bad, Detective Myer. Long story short, we were able to get his DNA from the blood and skin under her fingernails. We had a suspect in mind. Unfortunately, his DNA didnt match. The investigation continued through Christmas, but for all intents and purposes, the case has gone cold again.
Sasha felt as though shed been thrown into a patch of quicksand, one that was sucking her in deeper and deeper. She spread the fingers of both hands on the table. Okay, say Dana was right to call and tell you about Kristiana Felgards death. Here you are in Painters Bluff, a police officer from Denver who specializes in cold cases. Why on earth would the killer still be in town? I wouldnt hang around, would you?
No, but then Im not a killer.
Nick, hed have to be crazyNo, scratch that, obviously he is crazy. Hed have to be stupid to remain at the scene of a murder that he must surely know is bound to attract even more police attention than usual.
Havoc, Nick replied simply. Some serial killers thrive on it. They get a rush from the act, then relive it through the media attention.
You said the murderer strangled Kristiana and left her naked inside a snow angel? God, but that was a grisly image. And hes murdered seven other women the same way over the past eight years?
Nick nodded, rolling the base of his beer glass on the table. Two of the victims were discovered in Boise, one in a town outside Minneapolis, another in Otter Lake, Utah.
Thats only four.
Its the first of two clusters. He murdered those four women eight years ago, then appeared to stop. Three years later, three more women died. The first was visiting her sister in Lake Tahoe, the second was skiing in Wyoming, the third was killed on the rim of Yellowstone Park. The woman in Aspen six weeks ago was extremely fortunate to escape.
There were times, Sasha reflected, when an imagination could be a curse. She envisioned eight clones, lying naked in snow angels, with the wind blowing their hair over their faces and their eyes wide open and staring. She could even picture the angel snow globes, like the one her uncle Paul displayed on his console table every Christmas.
Across the bar table, Dana drummed his fingers on the scarred wood. I told Will Pyle to meet us here at seven oclock. Its eight now. Where is he?
Sasha didnt know or care. If there was one person she had no desire to meet it was the sheriff. She was having a difficult enough time dealing with the men beside her.
Across the bar table, Dana drummed his fingers on the scarred wood. I told Will Pyle to meet us here at seven oclock. Its eight now. Where is he?
Sasha didnt know or care. If there was one person she had no desire to meet it was the sheriff. She was having a difficult enough time dealing with the men beside her.
Maybe the Sickerbies ran him off the road, she suggested.
Or hit the liquor store again, Nick murmured.
Dana rubbed his temples. Thanks for that, Nick. The Sickerbies into theft. God help us if thats true.
Sensing an opportunity to change the subject, Sasha asked, Were you a local boy once, Nick?
In a way. I grew up in Outlaw Falls, about a hundred miles from here. Dana and I went to grade school together. His family moved away before we started high school, but we managed to stay in touch.
Dana continued to massage his temples. We made a point of going fishing every summer at Sun Lakethats near Outlaw Fallsbut the fish got scarce and the licensing laws changed. Now we hike up Hollowback and do the camping thing. My five-year-olds already pestering me to take him along next summer. Fawn would love it. Fawns my wife, he added. Were celebrating our fourteenth His pager went off, and he unhooked it from his belt. And even as we speak, she wants me. Taking a quick sip of beer, he slid from the booth. My cell phones dead. Gotta use a pay phone.
My cells charged, Sasha said, but Dana waved her off.
I want to call Will, too. Besides, its quieter in the lobby. He stabbed a finger at Nick. Tell her about Kristiana Felgards features.
No, dont tell her, Sasha said when he was gone. She has a pretty good idea already. Tell me about camping on Hollowback Mountain.
Nick shrugged. Hundreds of urbanites do it every summer, which is probably why Skye Painter wants to build a resort.
Sasha smiled. You dont like cities, do you, Nick?
I dont mind them.
Humor nudged aside fear. My, but you are an enigma.
The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. Not so much. I work in the city but grew up on a ranch. I like to hike up mountains in the summer, fish when I can. Doesnt seem overly enigmatic to me.
I sense a strong desire for solitude.
The dimple in his cheek deepened. Point taken. Rocks and trees dont ask questions.
Or commit crimes. She regarded him in profile, noticed the length of his lashes and the way his hair curled over his shirt. Are you married?
The vague smile held. Not anymore. You?
Almost. I did the runaway bride thing, except I was more civilized and left him in his living room rather than at the altar. Do you have a partner? Amused by the way his eyes narrowed, she clarified, I mean a police partner. Then she raised her brows. Oh, thats right, you dont like questions, do you? But Im not a rock or a tree. You and Dana want to pry into my background, Im going to pry into yours. Fairs fair, Detective Law.
I ask questions for a reason, Sasha.
So do I.
You dont want to talk about Kristiana Felgard. Why not?
For the same reason I dont walk behind horses. If you were me, would you want to spend your first evening in a strange town talking about a dead woman?
I would if her death might pertain to me.
Guess that makes me totally perverse then. Or maybe I just find it a little spooky that a lunatic killer who couldnt possibly know I was coming to Painters Bluff might want me dead.
She saw Nicks lips curve as he watched a group of rowdies at the bar. Are you trying to goad me, Sasha? he asked.
Her own smile blossomed. Maybe a little. If I am, I come by the trait honestly. I also know a loner when I meet one. And Im truly curious about why a person like you would want to separate himself from the rest of the world.
News flash, loners dont all live in caves.
Or even close to it in your case. Why Denver?
Why not?
Okay, lets go back further. Why a cop?
He tipped his face to the ceiling. You are perverse, arent you? And persistent. Theres no deep mystery. Im a kid from Colorado who watched TV and fell in love with the idea of becoming a cop. The kid grew up, moved to Chicago, learned the difference between reality and fantasy and slowly made his way back to the mountains.
She watched the play of expressions in his eyes when he turned them toward her. They truly were amazing.
Thats a very succinct story, Nick, but its not an answer. Why a cold case cop?
Why an architect?
She regarded him for a moment, then sighed. My mother wanted me to design clothes.
With the glass raised to his lips, he chuckled. That wasnt succinctit was downright confusing.
Not if you knew my mother. And our relationship. She watched Mandy the waitress spill a shot glass of whiskey onto the bar, and relented. Okay, give, why do you think the man who killed Kristiana Felgard will come after me?
I didnt say he would. I said he might.
Subtle difference. Come on, Nick, I dont even live here. And not that I want any woman to be killed, but in a town of three thousand residents, there must be one or two blond females with Scandinavian backgrounds.
The sheriff and his deputies are looking into that.
So youre what? Here in an official capacity, or merely as an interested Denver cop?
He reached for and captured her right hand. Stroking the back of her fingers with his thumb, he said, Dana contacted me early this morning. Im official. He regarded her through his lashes. Stories about this serial killer were all over the newspapers eight and five years ago. How is it you never read any of them?
Tiny threads of electricity raced up her arm. Sasha considered removing her hand from his, but for the moment the sensation fascinated more than it unnerved her.
Eight years ago, I lived in Atlanta, and Philadelphia after that. The East Coast has murders of its own, serial and otherwise. I moved back to Denver three years ago when two of my Atlanta associates decided to make a lifestyle change and thought I might like to do the same.
So youve lived in Denver before. When his thumb grazed her knuckles and made her shiver, she knew she really should pull away. That she didnt both surprised and intrigued her.
I was born in Denver. I lived there until my parents divorced and my mother took me to New York. She remarried, divorced again. We moved to Miami. By then I had a brother. Another marriage, another divorce, on to New Haven. Then it was London for a while and Paris, but it was difficult in France. She couldnt speak the language, and I refused to take the modeling course she enrolled me in. It didnt matter. Her relationship there failed as miserably as her previous marriages. We went to Stockholm, stayed with my grandmother for a year. I finished high school and moved to Boston to study architecture. Thats where my mother lives now.
It was more than she usually told people. Unsure why shed become so garrulous, Sasha gave her fingers a subtle tug. He released her hand but continued to regard her in an assessing way.
Did you enjoy living in all those places?
I liked the people. I make friends easily, so the moving part wasnt a problem. And who wouldnt love New York, London and Paris? From an adjacent booth she heard Mandy laugh as she served her customers, and once again, the image of eight murdered women flitted into Sashas minds eye. Vexed by her lack of mental control, she released a breath. Do you have any idea why he killed her?