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“Dead? Oh God.”
“Jacob has requested that an appropriate adult be present during the interview, and I can’t get hold of his dad.”
Jess made a snorting noise. “You won’t. I saw his pickup outside the Lame Horse.”
“The what?”
“A bar out on the AK-3.”
“Right. Well, maybe I should call them.”
“Don’t waste your time. He won’t be in any state to drive home.” Another flustered sigh. “Okay. Well, sure. I guess I can be there. Where’s Chief Nicholls?”
“I’m afraid he’s in Anchorage Hospital with a broken leg sustained while apprehending the suspect.”
“Shit.” There was a long pause. “Is Jacob in a lot of trouble?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Barbara said. “I’m afraid he is.”
—
They settled in the office, cups of coffee in front of them. Barbara had offered Jacob some coffee, milk or water, but he had declined.
As he sat beside Jess, Barbara was struck by the difference between him and Stephen. While Jess’s son radiated casual good looks, Jacob was thin-faced and scrawny, with pinched features and dark shadows beneath his eyes. He looked underfed and somehow beaten down. She thought again about his dad, Nathan. You can’t choose your parents. Yeah, she knew all about that.
Barbara had located a tape recorder with what seemed to be a working cassette inside it in one of Nicholls’s numerous desk drawers. She would record on her Dictaphone as well, but sometimes it was nice to have a hard copy back-up. Retro. She set both on the table in front of her and pressed record.
“Okay,” she said. “Interview with Jacob Bell. Date: November 15th. Time: 3:29 p.m. Present: Detective Barbara Atkins, Jacob Bell and appropriate adult Mrs. Jess Garrett. You have declined a legal representative, is that right, Jacob?”
He nodded.
“For the record, please,” Barbara instructed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you sure about that, Jacob?” Jess asked. “I know someone you could call in Anchorage.”
“It’s okay, ma’am,” Jacob said. “I don’t need a lawyer.”
Jess looked back at Barbara. “Just for the record,” she said, “if you try to put words in Jacob’s mouth or bully him into signing anything—”
“I can assure you,” Barbara interrupted. “I’m not in the habit of doing either of those things, but thank you for your input.”
“Fine.” Jess folded her arms.
“O-kay,” Barbara said. “Jacob, could you start by telling us what you were doing at the residence of Dr. Dalton, at approximately eleven thirty this morning?”
Jess turned to Jacob. “You don’t have to say anything.”
Barbara bit back her irritation. “Ma’am, we know Jacob was in the house. He knocked Chief Nicholls over and broke his leg, so we just need to establish what he was doing there.”
Jacob fixed Barbara with his dark eyes. “I wasn’t there stealing.”
“So, what were you doing there, Jacob?”
He let out a shaky breath. “I was there to collect the supplies and take them to the drop-off point. I do it for the Doc every week. And he pays me.”
Barbara frowned. “Supplies? You mean drugs?”
