Page 12 of Her Frozen Heart

Miller shook his head. “As long as we don’t find anything else, I’m willing to let that slide since it’s Christmas and you’ve already had a hell of an ordeal.”

Stanton looked relieved. “Thanks, man.”

Miller and Reynolds headed outside. Nikki found a couple of dollar bills in her purse and bought two bottles of water out of the vending machine. She handed one to Stanton.

“Thanks.” He twisted off the cap and drank greedily.

“You’re welcome.” Nikki still hadn’t gotten a good read on Stanton yet. Her gut told her he was probably a victim of lousy luck, but she needed to be sure.

“Mr. Stanton—”

“Call me Danny,” he said. “That way I can pretend I’m not an old man.”

Nikki laughed. “You look around my age, and I don’t think I’m old. Most days,” she added.

“I’ll be forty next month.” He picked at the water bottle’s label. “Thought I’d have more to show for myself by now.”

“I’m sorry you’re going through hard times financially.” She knew mechanics made good money, and if Stanton had his own garage, he must have decent skills. “Have you tried other auto body places? I know it’s not the same as owning your own business, but it’s still money.”

“I’m working part-time for one starting next week,” he said. “Hoping to eventually get full-time hours. But who knows?” He looked out the big window at the lake. “Today was supposed to be relaxing.”

“Is this the first time you’ve been on the ice this year?” Nikki asked, keeping her tone conversational.

“Yep,” Stanton said. “I only go a couple times a year because I’m not a huge fan of freezing my ass off for hours.”

“Me neither,” Nikki said. “I’m always amazed at the guys who bring their ice sheds out and set them up. My dad used to leave his all winter.”

“Can’t do that now. Not if you have anything you don’t want stolen inside.” He tore a long strip of label off. “Can I ask you a question about that girl?”

Nikki nodded. “I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer, but go ahead.”

“I’ve been watching a lot of true crime documentaries.” He flushed. “I guess that probably doesn’t help my case for being innocent.”

“I’d rather talk to people about true crime documentaries than TV police procedurals,” she said. “Especially the ones about profiling that make us look like mind-reading magicians.”

Stanton grinned. “You guys don’t have a private plane and fly all over the country to solve terrible murders?”

“Not even the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico does that,” Nikki said. “At least, not how it’s depicted. What’s your question about Kesha?”

“Right, I get sidetracked. When I was waiting for the police and she was just there, in the water, I saw some of her face. That’s how I knew who it was, poor kid. But she looked kind of like she was sleeping. She wasn’t all gross like they say bodies found in water are. Does that mean she hadn’t been in the lake very long?”

Nikki studied him, trying to decide if he was feeling her out to get a sense of how much she suspected him or if he was genuinely interested. “The medical examiner will have to tell us that.” Nikki never shared details with anyone not directly involved in the case, but she wanted to see if Stanton reacted to her theory. “My first impression is that someone put her down there after the ice came in. Maybe even during the day, under the cover of an ice shack.”

Stanton’s eyes widened. “Christ, I hadn’t thought of that. Who is that demented and ballsy?”

“Someone sick and desperate,” she answered.

Stanton chugged the water. “Shit like this makes me wish Minnesota had the death penalty.”

“The evidence techs are taking a sample of the blood and fingerprinting the inside of your truck and looking for any trace evidence that might belong to Kesha,” Nikki told him. “They should be done before too long.”

“Won’t find anything,” Stanton said sullenly. “Mind if I call my wife again and let her know I’m still giving my statement?”

“Sure, but please don’t tell her anything about the victim’s identity.” Nikki decided to test him. “There’s a large reward for Kesha’s disappearance, but we want to make sure the family is notified by the police before word gets out to the press.”

Stanton reddened. “Well, I already told her it was the girl on the posters.”

Nikki leaned forward. “Did you send her any photos, Danny? We don’t want those to be seen by the family.”

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