Page 32 of Her Frozen Heart

Lacey launched into her story again, earning a loud laugh from Rory. They chattered with her while they ate the leftovers, her sweet voice making Nikki miss her.

“I’m glad you’re having fun,” Nikki said. “How are Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Fine,” Lacey said. “They didn’t say anything mean about you, and Grandma asked me if I wanted to talk about Daddy instead of just blabbering on.”

“That’s good,” Nikki said. “If you feel like it, you should ask her about taking Daddy down to Florida when he was a kid. I know there are lots of good stories she’d love to share, but only if you’re ready.”

“I’ll think about it,” Lacey said. “Grandma is telling me to clean up because we’re going to get something to eat. I’ll talk to you later.”

Nikki and Rory barely had time to say goodbye before Lacey ended the call, chattering excitedly to her grandmother. “Kids are so resilient, it’s amazing.”

“I’m glad she’s doing so well.” Rory eyed her. “What a freaking day.”

“Thanks for your help,” Nikki said.

He shrugged. “I wish we’d had time to build a proper shelter, but at least the area’s blocked off now. Hopefully Miller and his deputies will get a break from the wind too.”

“I wish Liam had been cleared for the field,” she said. “Having him work from the office is better than nothing, but it’s different.”

“I can see that,” Rory said. “You guys read each other well, and you trust one another. But he was tired today, Nik.”

“I know,” she said. “He swears the headaches are coming less and are less intense, and he stopped getting blurred vision a few weeks ago so he can drive. He’s just impatient.”

“I would be too.” Rory spoke between mouthfuls of leftover cheesy hash brown casserole. “I have to tell you, today was really sobering. Even though I didn’t see anything graphic, just knowing what’s in the ground and what you guys have to do, it’s amazing and sad at the same time. How do you not get emotionally involved? As soon as Miller said the GPR showed multiple human remains, I teared up. I kept hoping someone would say they’re old or maybe historic Native American, even though I know that’s unlikely.”

“Very much so,” she said. “Buried together the way they are, at the depth… this is likely an active grave. Thankfully, Miller has the Powerblanket. There’s no other way to get to these victims without thawing the ground out.”

“I kept thinking, why would this guy wait until the middle of December when there’s snow on the ground, but then I remembered that we didn’t have all that much until last week. Seems like it’s been months of snow already.”

“Because winter’s miserable,” Nikki said. “And who knows why he waited? Maybe he travels for his job, that sort of thing.”

Rory nodded. “I should probably stop talking about it. I know you can’t share much information and you want to relax.”

Nikki snorted. “Relaxing never happens on a case, but you’re right, I can’t share much.”

“I probably don’t want to know any more anyway,” he said. “Today was enough.”

A video call prompt flashed on her phone. “I have to take this.” She headed into the living room. “Dion, thanks for calling back. I didn’t expect a FaceTime, but that’s okay.”

“You said that you wanted to talk face to face,” he answered. “I work tomorrow and don’t know when I’ll be available.” Dion spoke softly, emotion in his voice.

Nikki remembered that Dion worked part-time at a local gym. “Your employer won’t give you the day off considering everything that’s happened?”

Dion shook his head. “I need the money, and he’s already short on staff. Besides, if I don’t work or go to school, I’m thinking about Kesha.” His voice caught. “I loved her. I don’t know why the Bloomington police wouldn’t look at anyone else but me, but I would never hurt her.”

Nikki grabbed her notebook and a pencil and then propped her phone up with the napkin holder. “Tell me what happened that day, Dion.”

He nodded and took a deep breath. “We got to the mall around two, and it was still crazy crowded. I tapped out pretty quickly, so we grabbed something to eat. She wanted me to walk with her to the other stores, but I hate shopping.” Dion wiped the tears brimming in his eyes. “So, I told her to go without me. She wasn’t happy when she walked off. That’s the last conversation we had.”

“How long before you realized something wasn’t right?” Nikki asked.

“Probably after around forty-five minutes. I figured that she was just mad and taking more time, so I decided to wait a bit, but then I texted. She always texts back, even when we’re arguing, but every text I sent stayed on ‘delivered.’ That’s when I found a security guard. Me and him walked the route Kesha would have taken, checking with the stores she told me she’d stop in.”

“Did you check in with her parents or friends to see if she’d contacted them?”

“Her best friend, Noni. She hadn’t talked to Kesha since before we left for the Mall of America, and Kesha wasn’t responding to her texts or calls. I didn’t want to check with her parents at first because I kept thinking Kesha was going to show up, and they didn’t need to get upset over nothing. But Noni called them, and they hadn’t heard from her, either. She was just gone.”

“Kesha’s parents think a lot of you,” Nikki said.

---