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“Here, Prez,” Keys says from the doorway. I pull away and grab the box of Kleenex for Avery.
“Give her all the information you can on your sister and the foster parents. Keys can do some looking. I can’t guarantee anything, but we can look.”
“So it’s true.” She looks at me with hope in her eyes. I hate to dash it, but I have to be honest.
“We can only look. I can’t guarantee we’ll find her, but we can at least find out where she was last.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” She turns toward Keys and gives her the information she asks for.
After they are done, Keys nods at me and leaves the room. She’s got a full bank of computers at her fingertips back in her room. I need to designate an office for her soon so she can separate her place of work from relaxation. Keys has a way of letting her work rule her and she needs some downtime.
“Now, about the job and place to live. For now, I can have you work in the bar, but I’d like to get you set up doing tattoos and such out here. The girls are always wanting to get pierced or inked and don’t want to go to town. Plus, I have the space to do that. Start thinking if that’s something you’d like to do.” It’s true, I was going to call a friend to see if they wanted to come up and help me start a parlor out here. But if I can get a local, I will. I’ve seen her work on Poison’s body. She’s very talented. “As for a place, I can’t offer you more than a room here. Normally, prospects don’t get their own room. But we have the space, and we like to help. The state won’t let your sister stay here, but if we have to, my mom is set up to foster. She got all the paperwork together years ago.”
She wipes her eyes and looks across the desk at me. “You’d really do all that?”
“You are going to be family. Keys has already done a preliminary background check on you and there were no red flags. If you don’t mind being a slave for a bit, you’ll survive being a prospect.”
I direct her out of the office as I lean back and think of what we can possibly do to help her. Keys will get as much info as possible, but Alaska is a huge state. Avery’s sister could be anywhere. And with so many remote locations and not as many cameras as the lower forty-eight, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
* * *
Thad
Ihaven’t seen her since last Friday. My sister sat me down and explained why she wanted to prospect for the Devil’s Handmaidens MC. I’m worried this is going to drive a bigger wedge between us. Leaving Stormy here for all the years I was in the military was hard on her. With a mother like ours, she didn’t have the maternal image most young girls have. Scout’s mom was motherly to Stormy, and that’s why she started working at the café first then moved on to the saloon.
“Hey, Abbott, you got anything new on that murder out in Ptarmigan Falls?” My captain steps into my office.
“Still looking. Why?”
“We got a burned truck with partial plates to the ones you found on the camera. Here.” He hands me a message slip from the fire investigator, and I stand up. “Some messed up paper pushing caused this to get lost in the pile. Good luck.”
“I’ll check it out and then I have to head down to Palmer for that extra training you wanted me to do this weekend.” I’m working a partial shift today so I can get down there at a halfway decent time.
“Yeah, better hurry.” He laughs as he steps out of the room.
Since my fight with my mother, I haven’t taken Ryder to her house. Stormy is working, so I’m taking him down with me. I have several friends who live in Palmer. Griffin said his wife wouldn’t mind watching Ryder for me while I’m in training. I’m going to be staying at another friend of mine’s place, Dylan. We met while we were in the trooper academy. He’s stationed in Palmer along with Griffin.
Heading toward the call for the burned vehicle off of the backside of Badger Road between Fairbanks and Anchorage, I’m not hoping for a lot of information, but just a small bit could help. One fingerprint would be nice. The perp wore gloves in the saloon and hid from all the cameras. We were lucky to get the partial plate from the gas station across from the saloon. We caught the truck again on cameras coming into Fairbanks but lost it on the Steese obviously heading to where it is now.
The fire investigator is standing near the truck when I pull up. I called him before I left the office and let him know I was en route. I step out of my vehicle and slip my hat on my head.
“Abbott.” He reaches out and shakes my hand.
“Thompson.” I nod at him. “What you got?”
“1995 GMC pickup. I got some clothes and gloves in the bed. It’s a good thing there has been some rain. It left some of the interior and debris in the bed of the truck from complete damage. But there has been some animal activity.”
I walk over and look down at the long put out fire.
“Fire crews weren’t called in?”
“They were. Put it out and got called to a bad car accident. They thought the troopers had it. You all thought fire had it. Ball got dropped. But when a neighbor called it in again because it was attracting a griz, I was called in. I called you when I did my due diligence.”
I hate that this has been out here since Levi’s death, but we got it now. I look into the bed and sure enough I see the clothes. I’m not hopeful, but it can’t hurt. After grabbing bags from the back of my SUV, I start collecting evidence while Thompson holds a shotgun to keep the bear back if it shows up again.
I find several articles of clothing, including what looks like a small woman or teenager’s clothes. I’ll take them with me and get them to the lab in Anchorage while I’m in Palmer. It will be quicker than any other way right now.
“Let’s have it towed for now and put in impound. I’ve got the owner’s information and will call them too. But it was reported stolen.”
