Page 46 of Her Frozen Heart

“We didn’t find his remains today, no. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Agent Hunt, the Forest Lake police claim they asked for your help, but you refused on the basis the person responsible for Parker’s disappearance couldn’t be the same one who killed Kesha Williams.”

Nikki felt like she’d eaten a mouthful of sand. She had to keep her composure, but she couldn’t let this rumor gain any traction, and if she had to guess, the Forest Lake police had involved the media as a means of forcing her to get involved. “That is false,” Nikki said. “A member of my team has been talking with the Forest Lake police since they first contacted us, which was Christmas Eve. At the time, we believed Kesha Williams likely knew her killer.”

“Is that no longer the case?” the Channel 9 guy asked.

“It’s much less of a possibility,” Nikki said.

“But the remains in the woods are connected to Kesha’s murder?”

“No comment.”

“Is it true your team is consulting with Doctor Alex Roth to help crack this case?” The woman from the CBS affiliate finally squeezed in a question. “The press release issued this afternoon insinuated as much.”

“No comment.” Nikki headed back to Miller, more irritated than she should be with her boss. Hernandez’s attempt to make the FBI look good had wound up making her team look incompetent.

Miller jerked his chin toward the reporters. “Did they say something about a consultant?”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but Hernandez is bringing in a neuroscientist who has worked with the St. Paul police and others. He’s talked to more murderers in the last decade than just about anyone else, which is part of the reason Hernandez thinks it’s good for our image, given all the media attention.”

“I hope he’s got some kind of magic formula,” Miller said dryly. “We also need to get on this Parker Jameson thing. I’d like to know why the Forest Lake police called the FBI first instead of getting my help since the county is my damn jurisdiction.”

“Until we found the male’s remains tonight, there was very little information to make me think Parker could be another victim. Liam followed up with the detective, and he agreed, especially since Parker’s ex is still considered a suspect,” Nikki told him.

“And now?” Miller asked as she climbed into the jeep and turned on the engine.

“I’m not convinced yet, but we need to follow up with Parker’s case. If his ex isn’t involved, Parker’s been missing for about a week, so there’s a chance he could still be alive.”

Nikki prayed she hadn’t made a decision that wound up costing Parker Jameson his life. “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, Kent.”

Nikki drove home on autopilot, her mind consumed with the bodies in the woods until everything tangled together in a messy heap, just like this case. Rory would still be up, and she had no idea what to tell him about today. She couldn’t share details, but Rory had helped yesterday and would want to know what they’d found. Until her ex-husband’s murder, she always talked through heavy cases with him. His job in white-collar crimes gave him a different perspective, and Nikki could share the gruesome parts of her job without worrying about Tyler’s reaction. He knew what questions Nikki could answer and which ones she couldn’t, and he’d helped her through more than one heinous case. Rory insisted he wanted to do the same, but Nikki always refused to burden him with the horrors running around her head.

Light glowed in the kitchen window, and despite the turmoil in her head, the sight of Rory’s house gave her a sense of calm. He’d texted about keeping a plate of leftovers warm for her, so Nikki went straight from the garage to the kitchen. The downstairs television blared one of the zillion bowl games played after Christmas, so Nikki grabbed the plate of food and a beer and started for the stairs.

“Hey.” Rory was already halfway down the steps. “Is the food hot enough? Mom swears by those warmer thingies, but I’ve never tried one.”

Nikki nodded, her mouth too full to speak. Rory kissed her temple, grabbed a beer, and they sat down at the kitchen table. They sat in companionable silence as she scarfed down the food. Nikki topped things off with a long chug from her beer bottle.

“I take it tonight wasn’t good,” Rory said.

“Six victims,” Nikki said. “GPR was right on that.” She drank the rest of her beer to keep from spilling painful details to Rory.

“I saw something about a missing guy from Forest Lake too,” Rory said.

Nikki nodded.

“Sorry,” Rory said. “I know you can’t tell me anything. I just can’t help but feel personally invested.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Nikki asked. “You guys were a huge help. I have no doubt the media would have been breathing down our necks if you hadn’t put up the shelter.”

“I talked to Lacey a little while ago.” Rory grinned. “She had an encounter with a manatee. I only understood about half what she said, she talked so fast.”

“I spoke to her for a few minutes, and we’ve texted a few times.” Being able to text her mom had helped alleviate some of Lacey’s fears about Nikki’s safety. “I’m so relieved she’s having fun.” She started peeling the label off the brown bottle. “And a little jealous, I think. Maybe that’s not the right word.”

“She’s in paradise and you’re in the frozen north working a nasty murder case. Why wouldn’t you be jealous?” Rory got up and tossed his empty bottle in the recycling bin.

“Right.” Nikki shook her head, handing him her own empty bottle. “Does it make me a bad person if a tiny part of me is sad she’s not pining for her mom?”

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