Page 53 of Her Frozen Heart

Nikki jumped in before Roth had to answer. She hadn’t worked with the Forest Lake police before and knew nothing about Dover or Peek. Given the media leaks in the case, she wanted as much pertinent information kept back as possible. “Colton’s mother owns the diner, correct?”

“Yes, and he started working as a cook after he was fired from his previous job,” Chief Peek said. “He and Parker got together soon after. Parker broke it off because Colton was obsessive and controlling, they fought. Colton didn’t take it well. He showed up at the Artists’ Co-op a few days before Parker disappeared, and they got into a big argument in the back room. Parker’s co-owners said they tried to ignore it, but they did hear Parker tell Colton to stop following him and showing up at his place.”

“Makes sense he’s your main suspect,” Nikki said.

“Hewas,” Dover corrected, her eyes on Nikki. “When I called you and asked for help after Kesha’s remains were found, you said the cases couldn’t be linked—”

“I said it was unlikely.” Nikki tried to keep her tone respectful, but Dover’s snide look made it difficult. “And I forwarded your information to Agent Wilson, and we both agreed they probably weren’t linked. At that time, we had no idea there were other victims.”

“You should have informed me about the new victims as soon as you discovered them in the woods,” Dover said.

Miller’s head shot up from his notes. “Detective Dover, I don’t think you understand chain of command. If anything, as the county sheriff, I should have been contacted first instead of the FBI. And until we were able to uncover the remains, we knew nothing about the victims.”

“So?” Dover demanded. “This isn’t LA or New York or some other dangerous city. The idea that these weren’t related is preposterous—”

Chief Peek’s mouth tightened. “Detective, let’s remain civil.”

“Are you not from this area, originally, Detective Dover?” Nikki asked.

“I’m from Chicago, but that’s irrelevant.”

“No, it isn’t. Coming from a big city with so many police jurisdictions and different types of crime makes Washington County seem idyllic. Bad things don’t happen around here and if they do, they must be related because this isn’t the big city you used to be in, and there just aren’t that many bad guys here.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Dover said, her cheeks red. “The circumstances of Parker’s disappearance—”

“Enough.” Miller’s sharp tone silenced everyone. “We’re wasting time pointing fingers. The bottom line is that we have new information, and frankly, the photo you received today is the reason we’re here. We need the file sent to the FBI’s tech experts immediately. We may not be able to trace the IP, but we might get some idea of where the photo was taken from the stuff in the background. Was the back door of the co-op forced open?”

Chief Peek shook his head. “Parker must have opened the door. We initially thought someone he knew might have knocked on the door and needed help or something, but that theory didn’t pan out. We canvassed the area, but it’s a commercial street in a small town. That time of night, very few businesses were still open. A couple of days after Parker disappeared, a witness claimed she’d seen him in the passenger seat of an old, white Chevy pickup at a stoplight about three blocks from the co-op. It struck her as odd because Parker looked straight ahead, sitting stock-still. The witness couldn’t see what the driver was wearing, but she did notice that he had a neck gaiter pulled up to his nose.”

“This would have been useful to know Christmas Eve when we were putting together a list of suspects,” Nikki said.

“We receive tips like this all the time on cases.” Dover’s irritated tone matched Nikki’s. “Including this particular witness.”

More like Dover had screwed up and was trying to pass the buck off to the FBI. “What time did this witness see Parker?”

“Around six p.m.,” Dover answered. “The woman was on her way home from work. When we spoke to her, we still weren’t sure if Parker had left on his own or if he’d been taken by his ex—”

“You’re kidding,” Roth interrupted. “Credit cards and his phone could be used to track him, but he’s in a short-sleeved shirt in that security video. Why on earth would he leave on his own without taking his coat?”

Dover bristled. “Doctor, I’d like for the law enforcement officials to do the talking.”

“Doctor Roth has been brought in by my boss to help with this case,” Nikki said. “If I didn’t think he could help us catch our killer, I wouldn’t have brought him here.”

Chief Peek spoke before Dover. “Parker’s had some issues with depression. He and his co-owners have known each other since college, and they said Parker had talked about ‘dropping everything and running off,’ when he had bad moments.”

“Recently?” Nikki asked.

“No,” Peek admitted. “But given that he was known to carry cash and the lack of any real evidence, we had to consider the option. With the holiday coming up, we were short-staffed, but we still searched open fields, parks, any place a body might have been dumped, and found nothing.”

“You should have asked for my help,” Miller said. “The county sheriff has more resources.”

“And yet you need the FBI’s help,” Chief Peek countered.

Nikki bit the inside of her lip to keep from losing her temper. It seemed like the FLPD was as naïve as many locals, who often described Washington County as some kind of impenetrable place where only outsiders did bad things, despite evidence to the contrary. And when bad things did happen, people often looked to outsiders to blame instead of a homegrown citizen of Washington County. “What did the woman notice about the white truck?” Nikki asked, thinking of Danny Stanton’s. “I assume she didn’t get a license plate.”

“No,” Dover said. “She said there was a big dent on the passenger side door, but the truck was dirty.”

“What about the bed?” Miller asked. “Maybe a toolbox or something else?”

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