Jack Frost: Detective Jack Stratton Mystery Thriller Series Page 25

  Alice raced behind Vicky up the icy path. The policeman lagged far behind them. It wasn’t his fault—with his patrol boots, she was amazed he’d kept as close as he had.

  Higher up the mountain it sounded like giants were pushing a cart filled with rocks. Alice’s eyes searched the slope ahead, and for a moment she didn’t believe what she was seeing. It appeared as though the mountain was moving. She watched with a mix of terror and awe as a cascade of snow swept down the slope and fell into a valley not a hundred yards away from them.

  Vicky swore. “That’s the path I was going to take. We’ll have to find another way around—” Vicky stopped short, and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, dear God.”

  As the waterfall of snow turned into a trickle and stopped, Alice gasped at what was revealed high above them. Dangling from a rope, two climbers’ limp bodies slowly twisted around and around like a watch dangling at the end of a chain.

  When Alice recognized the red sweater, she felt as though her own heart had stopped beating.

  Jack!

  60

  Hanging in the Balance

  As Jack and Bree spun in the air above the jagged rocks like a grisly human mobile, Alice prayed Jack was still alive. A rope connected Jack to the cliff above, and a shorter one joined Bree to Jack. Jack was tethered at the waist, so his abdomen was his highest point, with his back arched and his hands and feet swinging loosely.

  Then Bree began to move.

  She’s alive. Please, Jack, wake up.

  Bree, hanging head-down, grabbed the rope and tried to pull herself upright, but the motion made them drop another foot and start swinging. Jack, still hanging like a rag doll, banged against the cliff-side.

  Alice screamed.

  Someone shouted from above. “Bree! Are you hurt?” Leah was on a ledge above Jack, near where his rope was anchored. That must have been where he fell from. Cornelius was higher on the cliff, climbing down with remarkable speed.

  Bree managed to get herself into a sitting position, so her head was against Jack’s waist. She shook her head. “My arm is broken!” Sure enough, although her left arm was hooked around the rope, it wasn’t bending the right way. The look on Bree’s face was one of agony.

  “I’m going to help. Wait here,” Vicky said to Alice. “Even when Cornelius gets down to Leah, the two of them aren’t strong enough to pull up both Jack and Bree.” Vicky’s ax flashed in her hand as she ran to the base of the rocks and began to make her way deftly up. It was the first time she had done anything for anyone but herself in a long, long time.

  The rope slipped again, and Jack and Bree dropped another few feet. Bree let out a guttural cry that didn’t sound human.

  “Hang on and keep still!” Leah shouted to Bree.

  Alice watched, feeling helpless. All she could do was pray, and hope to see some sign of life from Jack.

  A knife gleamed in Bree’s right hand as she raised it toward Jack’s belt.

  “Stop!” Alice called up to her. “Please, drop the knife!”

  Bree relaxed her arm but still clutched the knife in her hand. She looked down the cliff at Alice. “You must be Jack’s fiancée.”

  “I am. Please don’t hurt him.”

  “He stopped me from making it right. Leah’s still alive, and it’s all his fault.” Bree’s mouth was contorted and her speech was labored.

  “Please, Bree.” Alice’s hands shook as she held them up like a beggar.

  Vicky was closing in on Jack and Bree, but if Bree cut the rope…

  “We’re gonna try to pull you up,” Cornelius called down. He had joined Leah, and the two of them had their hands on the rope holding Jack and Bree. Together, they pulled.

  Jack and Bree moved up slowly, inch by inch. Then, with a sudden lurch, the rope slipped, and the two of them slid several feet before jerking to a stop. Jack’s motionless body spun at the end of the rope, and his head nearly smacked against the rocks.

  “Jack!” Alice screamed.

  Rocks and snow tumbled down. Leah and Cornelius were trying to brace themselves. “The rope’s pulled loose!” Cornelius shouted.

  “Bree!” Leah called down. “You have to try to climb! Can you use your legs?”

  Bree took a long, jagged breath, then shouted, “Let us fall!” She lifted the knife and held it against the rope.

  “Bree! Please! No!” Alice took a deep breath. She couldn’t lose control. Not now. Not when Jack needed her. “Bree. I know you loved Charlie. I know you were married.”

  “You don’t know!” Bree shrieked. “You can’t know my pain.”

  “I do! I’m going through it right now.” Tears streamed down Alice’s face. “He’s the best man—”

  “Charlie was.”

  “He was. Jack is, too.” Alice looked at her Jack, her hero, her life; his face streaked with blood. Leah and Cornelius were shouting. Vicky was moving up the cliff, but she wouldn’t make it in time.

  “What would you do if someone killed him?” Bree’s knife pressed against the rope.

  For Alice, the world stopped moving. When a huge chunk of snow dropped, it seemed to make no sound. All Alice could think of was Jack and how happy she was whenever she was with him, the future they had mapped out together... At the thought of losing him, it felt like her heart was being crushed in her chest.

  Jack’s legs twitched, and he lifted his head.

  “If someone killed Jack, I’d burn the planet to ash!” Alice yelled.

  Bree cut the rope.

  61

  Dead Weight

  For a second, everything proceeded in slow motion. Snowflakes drifted down with impossible patience and melted against Alice’s hot cheeks. Leah and Cornelius were silent, wide-eyed figures above. Vicky came to a horrified stop. Bree’s knife flashed in the wintry air.

  Then Bree was falling with the snowflakes.

  She’d cut the rope between her and Jack, not the rope that attached Jack up above. Bree hadn’t killed Jack; she’d saved him.

  Her descent seemed to take forever. She hit the snow with a sickening thud, and the world sped up again.

  As Cornelius and Leah hoisted Jack up the cliff, Alice ran forward to where Bree had landed. The body lying in front of her looked like a child making a snow angel. Alice knelt in the snow, weeping.

  Bree’s eyes fluttered open. The snow all around her was melting into crimson. Her breathing was shallow and raspy.

  “I couldn’t hurt Jack. He was like Charlie,” Bree whispered. “A good man.” Her eyes looked straight up, fixed on the now clear sky. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and ears. “And no one else should feel this pain.”

  Alice held Bree’s hand. “I’m so sorry about what happened to Charlie.”

  Bree’s eyes shifted to lock with Alice’s. “Me too.” Her face twitched, and a faint smile crossed her lips.

  62

  The Winds of Tomorrow

  Kiku gazed outside, marveling at the storm that raged just beyond the safety of the glass pane. She knew all too well what a harsh place the world could be, though not all storms of life were so visible.

  She retrieved her purse and pulled out a cheap, throwaway phone loaded with prepaid minutes that had never been used. She stared down at it for a long time.

  In the world in which Kiku lived, debts came in many forms, and all had to be repaid. That was why she was here now: to repay the debt she owed to Jack Stratton for saving her life once. But the favor she was about to request would come at a steep price.

  Kiku dialed the number for Takeo Ishikawa.

  Her heartbeat sped up and her mouth went dry. It always did when she spoke with the prince of the Yakuza. He was her boss. Twice he’d been her lover. Both times they’d lain together had been consensual. With his power, Takeo could have forced Kiku; it would have cost them both their lives. She would have killed him, and that would have meant a certain death sentence for her.

  But he’d asked.

  On the other end of the line, the
phone began to ring.

  The second time they made love, it had been Kiku who asked. That was over a year ago. Now things were… different.

  And in Kiku’s world, different was not good.

  “Kiku.” Takeo’s deep voice was smooth. She pictured him now, his square jaw, his dark hair groomed to perfection. She could see his handsome face with his dark-brown eyes ablaze as he worked to decipher the reason for her call. She ached for him, and that caught her off-guard.

  “Good morning, Takeo. I need to request a favor. I need to speak to the record keeper.”

  “Of course.”

  Kiku’s heart slowed and her mind raced. Information was the most valuable and heavily guarded thing in her world, yet he hadn’t hesitated to give his blessing and full access.

  Why would he just give me the keys to the vault without knowing exactly what I am looking for?

  “Thank you,” she said quickly.

  “Two weeks from tomorrow, I need to see you.”

  A feeling of vulnerability washed over her and she instinctively stepped away from the window. It had been months since she’d seen Takeo, and face-to-face meetings with him were rare. Being summoned was not a good thing.

  Especially now.

  “Certainly.” Every thread of her being wanted to try to extract from him the reason for the meeting, but that was something she simply could not do. It would reveal her fear, and Takeo would take a very dim view of her distrust.

  Her hope that he might voluntarily provide some detail or reassurance was dashed when he hung up the phone.

  Clad only in her silk robe, Kiku returned to the window. The wind howled outside, and the sleet peppered the glass.

  She dismantled the phone. The SIM card snapped in her hand.

  Across the street, a beautiful maple tree had toppled over. It wasn’t meant to survive such a storm. Kiku thought about a more dangerous storm coming her way; the meeting.

  She remembered her mother’s lullaby and could almost hear her sing.

  Ashita wa ashita no kaze ga fuku.

  The winds of tomorrow will blow tomorrow.

  63

  Grave Digger

  Alice entered the apartment carrying a tower of cookie tins and chattering happily. “Mrs. Stevens usually makes only one kind of cookie at a time, but this time she made us seven different batches of cookies! Do you know what that means?”

  Jack laughed. “I’ll need to buy some new pants?”

  “Maybe. But she’s agreed to make a cookie cake for us! Your mother thought it was a wonderful idea. Oh, yeah—your mom called once and your dad twice while you were napping earlier. They’ll call back later.”

  “I’m sure they will.” Jack sat up on the couch. “It seems everyone is checking in on me. What’s a cookie cake?”

  “Instead of a regular wedding cake, it’s a cookie cake. Stacks of all kinds of cookies piled to look like a cake! These are samples for us to try.” Alice’s ponytail swayed as she talked excitedly about the first wedding detail she had chosen. “Is that all right? We’ll save a lot having her make it.”

  “Yes, cookie cake is great. As long as we’re not having turducken for the main course,” Jack laughed. “I am looking forward to taste-testing the cookies.”

  “Very funny. No turducken. Oh, I almost forgot, I confirmed our meeting at McAlister Insurance for next week. It will be with Mr. McAlister this time. Seems that Brian has been reassigned. Did I miss anything while I was at Mrs. Stevens’?” Alice asked, noisily setting down the cookie tins.

  Jack got to his feet, leaned against the wall by the window, and stared out. The sky was a crisp blue, and Mount Minuit rose just on the horizon. “I just got off the phone with Leah. Abe’s out of the ICU. He’ll need a lot of physical therapy, but the doctors think he’ll make a full recovery. It’s amazing they were able to save his life, let alone his legs.”

  Alice moved to Jack’s side and slipped her hand into his. “You’re a good man, Jack Stratton.”

  Jack kissed her cheek and grinned. “I think that’s the third time you’ve told me that today.”

  Alice squeezed his hand. “Bree said it too, and I can’t stop thinking about her. What she did was so, so wrong, but I understand the pain she must have felt. If anyone took you away from me, I think I’d go crazy, too.” Her green eyes darkened, the gold flakes disappearing altogether.

  Jack kissed her again. “Just don’t hunt them all down and kill them, okay, darling?”

  Lady got up and trotted to the door just before a knock sounded. Reluctantly, the lovers unlocked their embrace and Jack limped over to open the door.

  Kiku stood in the hallway listening to the sound of Lady’s approaching claws. She had debated with herself for an hour about whether or not to pay this visit. In the end, her promise tipped the scales. The information she held in her hands contained a choice that wasn’t hers to make. It was Alice’s.

  The door swung open and she stepped inside, scanning Jack’s bruised face. “Detective.”

  “Hi, Kiku,” Alice said softly.

  “I have some information for you.” She held out a USB stick.

  Alice slowly came closer, reached out, and took it with a trembling hand. “Will this tell me who killed my family?”

  “Please sit down.” Kiku’s eyes locked with Jack’s, and he led Alice over to the couch.

  Truth be told, Kiku was envious of their relationship. Jack and Alice were inseparable. If one traveled a dangerous path, she knew the other would loyally follow. Their bond had been forged in flames, but that was also now its greatest weakness.

  Lady sat at their feet, and Kiku took the recliner. “The information on that device must be kept completely confidential. It’s from a very secure source, and there would be personal ramifications for me if any word of it came out. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, of course,” Alice said. Jack nodded.

  “I do not know how much you know about your parents’ background, but I found out what I could. The files on that device include a background report on your mother. She immigrated to this country with your grandfather from the Ukraine.”

  “Kiku, please go slowly. Every bit of information is precious to me. Like golden breadcrumbs. I don’t want to miss anything,” Alice said softly.

  “Of course.” Kiku continued at an even pace. “Your grandfather had been a general in their army, and when the Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union, both parties running for president wanted his support. Your grandfather publicly refused them both. He said that in the new Ukraine, the military should stay out of politics.” Kiku paused as she recalled the horrific pictures. “Your grandmother was killed in a bombing a week later.”

  Jack squeezed Alice’s hand.

  “Your grandfather brought your mother to safety in America. He was among a great number of former Soviet military that scattered around the world. The United States granted him political asylum, but not without strings attached, I am afraid. They enlisted the help of your grandfather in convincing others to come to the United States. The United States government didn’t care if these former military did absolutely nothing for the United States directly, as long as they were doing absolutely nothing for the enemy forces too. That was enough of a win for the US.”

  Jack squeezed Alice’s hand. She had grown noticeably paler while Kiku spoke. Kiku noticed it, too, but didn’t debate about continuing. Alice needed to know the truth even if it was overwhelming.

  “Alice, your mother… assisted your grandfather. She acted in the role of liaison.”

  Alice shook her head. “I thought my mother helped my father with his flower business.”

  “She was a florist, Alice. I do not want to give you the false impression that she was some sort of spy. On the contrary, she was more of a goodwill ambassador. Included on the USB stick is a field report that she submitted after helping relocate an ex-commander and his family. Her sole concern was for the commander’s children and the opportunities they
would get here in the United States; she had no interest in any information the commander might have been able to provide the United States government.”

  “Wait a minute.” Alice stiffened and pulled her hand free. “Are you saying my mother was targeted?”

  Kiku nodded. “Yes. The evidence indicates that it was a well-planned execution by a professional.”

  “Who was it?” Alice’s voice was strained.

  “That I do not know. I have a name. Bennie. There is a man I need to speak with who may have more information.”

  “I want to talk to this man myself.”

  “I am sorry, Alice. That is not possible. It must be me.”

  Alice leaned forward and through gritted teeth said, “Then speak to him.”

  Jack put a cautioning hand on her leg.

  “It is not as simple as picking up the phone.” Kiku put her feet flat on the floor. “I am sorry for your pain, Alice. I must advise you against taking this path and encourage you to stop here.”

  “Stop? You just told me that my family was murdered, and you expect me to stop looking for the monster that did it?”

  Kiku shook her head. “I expect you to ignore all of my warnings, but I hope I am wrong and that you will listen at least to Jack.”

  “I also need to find out why my family was killed.”

  “Most likely it was to send a message to your grandfather.”

  “Wait. Is my grandfather alive?”