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“Alina!” Dmitri thundered. “You want me to have them removed?”
“We are police detectives,” Joyce blasted—clearly raising her voice to match his volume—even as she tucked her badge back into the pocket of her coat. “You aren’t removing us. You’re going to remove yourself. We need to speak with Alina. It’s about her case.”
Dmitri held his position. One between Alina and the cops.
“I didn’t think I was supposed to speak with you unless my lawyer was present,” Alina temporized as she tried to figure out what was happening. Why are they here?
“We’ve already spoken with Bradford. Extensively.” Joyce grimaced. “Him and your father. They are aware that we are here. I can assure you, there is no risk involved to you. We have an update on your case.”
She nodded. “It’s okay, Dmitri,” Alina told her coach. “I’ll talk with them.” Especially if they had news about her kidnapping.
“Five minutes.” A sniff from him. “Then you are back on the ice.” He lingered. “I will be close, should you need me.”
Then he marched toward the shadows on the left side of the rink.
Joyce watched him with a bemused expression. “Charming guy. Real people person.” She closed in with her partner. “Working with him must be a nightmare.”
“He’s one of the top two figure skating coaches in the world.”
“He’s a dick.” Joyce exhaled. She studied Alina, then winced. “You look tired.”
Her spine straightened even more. “Practice can be intense. We’re entering the final stretch.”
“The Olympics.” Calvin had been scanning the ice. Now his focus shifted to Alina. “Gonna bring home the gold?”
“I’m going to do my best.” That was all she could hope for. Though she hardly felt at her best these days. She maintained her pose on the ice. Calvin, Joyce, and Ophelia were on the regular floor.
A chill skated over her because she’d known this visit would be coming. Her mother’s body had been exhumed. A new autopsy ordered. A new investigation opened.
“You’re still playing bodyguard?” Joyce asked Ophelia.
Ophelia laughed, as if the question had delighted her. “I’m not playing anything. I am her bodyguard. One of many. Her father has seen to it that Alina has an army at her beck and call. He wants to ensure her safety. After all, the mysterious leader of the kidnapping ring hasn’t been apprehended.” The words held definite censure. As in…why haven’t you caught him yet?
“We think he has been.” Calvin grimaced. “Not apprehended, but…taken down.”
Alina jerked forward. “What?”
“Our investigation has concluded that Bowie Dodge was the man behind the abductions.”
Her head shook. “But—”
“He was on the security staff for Kiera Thatch’s father long before she was ever taken. He was already familiar with the family and their routine. He arranged her abduction, then stayed on as her bodyguard after she was released so he could make sure she never said anything that might incriminate him.” Joyce hunched her shoulders. “It’s cold in here. How can you stand being on that ice for so long?”
“I love being on the ice.” When she skated, she didn’t have to think about anything else. Not her past. Not pain. Not Midas…
I’m such a liar. I’m always thinking about him.
The ice had been her escape for years. After she’d lost her mother, she’d abandoned herself to the ice. She could soar and be free on the ice.
Except, she couldn’t seem to free herself of Midas.
He left you. Stop this.
“We discovered Bowie was part of the security crew at one of the charity balls arranged by Maureen O’Sullivan.” Calvin had picked up the story. His voice was emotionless as he continued, “He got close to her. Realized just how much money her family possessed and decided to try his abduction routine again. Only this time, it didn’t work. She must have fought him and his men—Shayne and Fallon—and they killed her. They received a ransom for her, and her family received a dead body in return.”
Ophelia stepped closer to the cops. “Why’d they pick Alina as their next victim?”
“Once upon a time, Bowie worked for Ryker Bellamy. A security job in one of your dad’s real estate firms. But he was fired because he was accused of getting too rough with a coworker.” Joyce shivered. “It’s just cold near the ice, right? If I move back like, ten feet, I’ll be warmer?”
