Page 20 of Her Frozen Heart

Nikki understood the detective’s trepidation. She’d had more than one parent provide a false alibi for their kid. “Why don’t you email me a photo of Parker and a copy of the case file? I’ll have my partner take a look at it and see what he thinks.” That would give Liam something to do and hopefully kill two birds with one stone. Parker’s disappearance did sound odd, but they didn’t yet have any evidence to suggest that Kesha had been killed by a serial murderer, and if she had, the vast majority of serial predators stuck to one gender. Richard Ramirez was the only one she could think of who openly enjoyed killing both men and women and didn’t appear to have any real pattern other than dissimilarity.

“With all due respect, Agent, I feel like you’re blowing me off,” Dover said.

“I’m not,” Nikki said. “You’re asking for our help.”

“Parker is a missing person,” Dover said irritably. “No offense, but Kesha Williams can’t be saved. Parker may still have time.”

Nikki gripped the steering wheel, trying to think of a way to be firm and still diplomatic. “I assure you, whether Parker is a victim of the same killer or not, my office is happy to help. But we need the file first. We’ll get into our databases—”

“All of that’s been done,” Dover snapped. “We’ve combed the entire town and most of the county. He just left everything behind and walked out the back door, which is something his friends and family insist that he would never do. I think there’s a good possibility Parker was taken by the same person Kesha was.”

“Why?” Nikki asked point blank. “Despite the information you gave me, when it comes down to it, there aren’t enough similarities to suggest that. We don’t even know if Kesha’s killer knew her or not, so if there is no connection between Parker and Kesha, I can’t just shift all our resources. Send the information to us, and I will assign an agent to go through it. I assume you’ve covered the usual bases regarding missing persons: financial records, phone records, text messages, social media, that sort of thing?”

“We have,” Dover said. “No red flags at all. APBs out in Minnesota and Wisconsin.”

“Good,” Nikki said. “I’ll make sure an agent follows up with you on the twenty-sixth, Detective Dover.”

“Fine,” Dover said. “Be prepared to be hounded by me if they don’t. Parker Jameson was taken, period.”

Nikki wanted to ask her how she could be so sure, but her brain was deluged with information and the memory of Kesha’s body. She would make sure the FBI was at Forest Lake’s disposal, but right now, she had to focus on her daughter’s Christmas.

Rory’s parents lived in a gated community in Stillwater, in a modern ranch with a large backyard, a pool and now-dormant flower gardens that Lacey had helped with over the summer. Multi-colored Christmas lights covered the pine trees on either side of the house, and Rory and his brother, Mark, had strung lights along the roof and windows. The solar lights along the brick path in the front yard had been changed to red and green, casting a pretty holiday glow over the white snow.

Nikki parked behind Rory’s truck and tried to gather her thoughts. She’d always excelled at compartmentalizing, but putting on a happy face after the last few hours seemed like a herculean task. She found her mascara and powder compact in her bag and freshened up as best she could and then ran a brush through her tangled, dark waves.

She hadn’t had a chance to put on anything nicer, but her jeans and long, ivory sweater should be sufficient. Despite the new, fancy house, the Todds were as down to earth as they had been before Mark’s multi-million-dollar settlement from the state. He’d bought the house for his parents and was currently living in the guest house to help out with things when he wasn’t working with Rory.

This would be the first time Mark had celebrated Christmas outside of prison in twenty years, and Nikki was determined to keep things light, especially around Lacey. Her first Christmas without her father was hard on them both, and Nikki knew that her late ex-husband would be happy that Lacey had a big family to celebrate with instead of just her mother.

Nikki headed up the freshly salted brick path, balancing her bag and the liter of soda she’d just picked up at the gas station. Just as she made it to the first step, the front door opened and Lacey bounded out of the house, dressed in the red and green dress she and Nikki had picked out for dinner. Her dark curls had been brushed into silky waves, and the bells on her elf slippers jingled merrily.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Lacey wrapped her arms around Nikki’s waist. “I was starting to get really worried.”

“Well, Sheriff Miller needed my help, and traffic was terrible,” Nikki fibbed, too tired to make up any better excuse. She forced a smile for Lacey. “You look very festive.”

“That’s what Granny Ruth said.” Lacey pulled her toward the house. “Come on, it’s cold out here.”

Nikki followed her daughter inside, slipping off her boots in the foyer and lining them up next to Rory’s and Lacey’s.A Christmas Storyplayed on the flat screen in the living room, but everyone had gathered in the open kitchen and dining area. Rory slid off his barstool and kissed her cheek. “You made it.”

She leaned against him for a few seconds, wishing she could strip off her armor instead of putting on a happy face. “Thanks for picking up the slack.”

Rory squeezed her shoulders. “Any time.”

“Nikki.” His older brother, Mark, waved to her from his perch at the bar. Since his release from prison, Mark had been working for Rory’s construction business, slowly putting his life back together. He put his arm around the willowy woman standing next to him. “Come meet Jessie, my girlfriend.”

Nikki tried to remember what Mark had told them about Jessie. She was an accountant for some of the larger firms in the Stillwater/Washington County area, didn’t have children, owned her own home. She was tall and slim, with chestnut hair and dark eyes that bored into Nikki.

“Nice to meet you.” Nikki smiled. “I’ve heard so many great things about you.”

Jessie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You as well.”

Nikki pretended she didn’t notice the way Mark’s girlfriend had looked her up and down, as if sizing up someone she planned to chew out later. “How did you guys meet again?”

Mark had won a very sizable settlement from the state over his wrongful incarceration, and Nikki’s guard had automatically gone up when she first heard Jessie was an accountant, but she’d told herself to remain impartial. Just because Mark had money didn’t mean the woman was trying to cash in on the situation.

“A mutual friend,” Jessie said. “What about you and Rory?”

“Babe, you know that already,” Mark said, his cheeks growing pink. “We talked about this.”

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