Page 19 of Her Frozen Heart

“Are you also aware that Dion’s been participating in a brain study of criminal offenders?” Wiley asked with a smirk.

Nikki looked at Miller, who shook his head. “Would you enlighten us?” she asked.

“Dion’s been part of a big neuroscience study since his last juvenile offence. His paternal uncle is a violent offender, and this study is looking for biomarkers in juveniles.” Wiley took a drink from a blue coffee mug adorned with snowmen. “His mom wanted to find a way to keep him out of trouble, and the study pays a stipend. We tried to look at the records, but the neuroscientist leading the study fought the warrant, citing HIPAA.”

Nikki asked for the neuroscientist’s contact information and scribbled down the response.

“Look,” Wiley said. “We know, in most cases, the victim turns out to be killed by someone she knows, so we did our due diligence.” Wiley rubbed his temples. “I’m part of the old guard. Looking back, I’m sure I did make mistakes and assumptions based on race, and that’s my cross to bear. But I promise you that wasn’t the case with Kesha’s disappearance. Her family and other friends were accounted for, Dion was at the mall with her. And if he didn’t do it, then how did someone force Kesha out of the mall without drawing attention? She was a runner and took self-defense classes, but she just vanished, almost like she’d been erased.”

“Her killer must have had a weapon, knew how to scare her,” Miller mused.

“We’ll follow up with you if we have further questions,” Nikki told the detective. “By the way, did anything about Washington County come up in your investigation?”

Wiley shook his head. “Like I said, the trail was cold as ice from the beginning.”

Nikki winced at the play on words. “Whoever did this definitely planned to take someone from the mall that day, probably capitalizing on the crowds and chaos. And you’re right, most of the time murders are committed by someone who knows the victim, but I don’t know if that’s the case with Kesha.”

She and Miller thanked the detective for his time and ended the call. Nikki leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, trying to put her thoughts in some kind of order. In her experience, nineteen-year-old men were impulsive. If Nikki’s theory about Kesha’s remains being left in the ice was correct, she had a hard time seeing a nineteen-year-old who probably hadn’t been on an ice lake in his life embark on something that took planning and experience. She could tell that Wiley’s opinion of Kesha’s boyfriend had already been tainted by his own bias, so she didn’t bring it up. Nikki preferred to make her decisions on her own merit.

“Hey, it’s getting close to five p.m.,” Miller said. “You go ahead to the Todds’ and have Christmas Eve with Lacey. I’ll call you tonight and we can plan for tomorrow.”

“What about you?” Nikki asked.

“I’m going to finish paperwork and then head home,” he said. “Now, go before you wind up being late.”

FOUR

Nikki tried not to break too many traffic laws on the way to Rory’s parents’, but she’d promised Lacey that she would be at the Todds’ in time for dinner, and she was cutting it close.

Her ringtone suddenly cut through the music. Nikki glanced at the touch screen. Why were the Forest Lake police calling her? Forest Lake was a small town in Washington County, but unlike Stillwater, they had their own police force, and Nikki had heard Miller complain about jurisdictional issues with them on more than one occasion.

She answered the call. “Agent Nikki Hunt.”

“I’m sorry to call on Christmas Eve, but my name is Jill Dover. I’m a detective with the Forest Lake police. We heard about Kesha Williams’ remains being found at Big Marine Lake.”

Who hasn’t heard by now, thanks to Mrs. Stanton? “How can I help you?” Nikki asked.

“My boss told me that calling was a waste of time, and that my case couldn’t be connected to the Williams case, but I just can’t shake the feeling that it must be. Women’s intuition, I guess.”

“You have a missing female?”

“A missing young man, twenty-five,” Dover said. “He’s one of the owners of an artists’ co-op here in town, and he vanished a week ago, just like Kesha Williams. His name is Parker Jameson.”

“He was taken from a mall?” Nikki slowed her speed as she reached the Todds’ neighborhood.

“Well, no,” Dover said. “But he disappeared from the co-op while he was closing for the day. His car was still in its usual place, and he’d left his cell and wallet in the back room. Security camera shows him lock the door and start closing duties, but then he hears something and goes to the back. And that’s it.”

Nikki hesitated. She didn’t want to blow any detective off, but at this point she couldn’t see a connection. “Did he know Kesha or her boyfriend? Or the Williams family?”

“No,” Dover admitted. “But he just vanished, like her. And Big Marine Lake isn’t that far from here. Are you going to be searching for other victims?”

Nikki knew nothing about Dover, so she wasn’t about to answer that question. “Do you have any suspects?”

“His ex-boyfriend has been a pretty strong person of interest,” Dover admitted. “They were only together a few months, but it was volatile, according to Parker’s family and friends. The ex didn’t take the breakup well, and he’s got a prior history of stalking, but his alibi is semi-solid.”

“Semi-solid?”

“His mother alibied him,” Dover said. “That’s always an iffy one in my book.”

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