Polar (Book 1): Polar Night (4 page)

Chapter 6

Maria opened her eyes, groaned
, and immediately shut them again. Unfortunately, closed eyes did nothing to stop the throbbing in her head. She wished she could return to unconsciousness.

She waited a few moments, or maybe it was hours. Her sense of time had disappeared along with her freedom. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, or for that matter, how long it had been since the psychopath upstairs had captured her.

Her muscles tensed at the mere thought of him. Maria wondered what kind of drug he had given her to knock her out, and make her so disoriented she hadn’t even been able to put up a fight against him. She had felt frozen in place as he dashed around the room at speeds that couldn’t possibly have been real. She began to wonder if her encounter with him had been real at all. Had she been given some kind of hallucinogen?

Maria suddenly realized that something about the room was different than it had been the first time she had woken up on this dirt floor. It wasn’t dark.

Ignoring her pounding head, she pushed herself into a sitting position, her arms barely holding her weight. She leaned back against the wall, and forced her eyes to focus. She wasn’t imagining the light.

It was clear that the blond man had returned while Maria was unconscious. He had left a lantern on the floor, next to a plate of bread and a glass of water. Maria’s memories of her earlier encounter with him came flooding back. She knew it had been real, and that certainty chilled her to the core.

The lantern in the room now was tiny and its light paled in comparison to the huge lantern the blond had carried with him. The lantern lit only its own small area, causing shadows to dance on the wall behind it. The rest of the room was still pitch dark.

It dawned on Maria that she had no way of knowing what, or who, else was now in the room with her. For all she knew, she wasn’t alone.

Maria steadied herself and slid along the wall to the lantern. She picked it up in her shaking hand, and shone the light across the room. She jumped when she saw something there.

Forcing herself to hold the lantern steady, Maria tried to make out what that something was. It looked like a ceramic vase, or a jar. Puzzled, Maria shifted the light closer to the vase. A wave of humiliation washed over her as she realized what the jar was. It was an old-fashioned chamber pot.

She put the lantern down as tears seeped from the corner of her eyes. Just how long did this psycho plan to keep her in this room? She glanced over at the water and bread, wondering if he had put more drugs into either of them. She knew she shouldn’t touch anything he provided for her.

But she also knew that she couldn’t deny the hunger pangs in her stomach. Or the pain of her parched, aching throat. And, she knew she was probably close to being dehydrated. If she ever wanted to be able to fight this son of a bitch, she had to get some nourishment.

Intent on making sure she didn’t spill a drop of the water, she picked up the glass with both hands, and brought it to her cracked lips. She took a sip and immediately cringed at the increased pain in her throat. She wouldn’t have believed that the simple act of swallowing could be so painful. The tears returned to her eyes, but she forced herself to take another sip. Eventually, the swallowing got easier.

When she was fairly sure she could manage it, Maria grabbed a slice of the bread. She took a small bite and felt immediate relief when she could swallow it. It was just plain white bread, but it was thick and it had substance. She finished the first piece, took a few more drinks of water, and grabbed the second slice of bread.

Maria took a deep breath when she finished eating and slid down the wall again, away from the water and the lantern. She was dying to finish the glass of water, but because she had no idea when she would get more, she wanted to save some for later. She needed to pace herself.

Ignoring the humiliating chamber pot across the room, she focused her attention on what her next move could be. Obviously, she couldn’t do much of anything until the psycho came back. But when he did, she wanted to be ready.

While her head still throbbed and her face ached from the pain of being thrown on the unforgiving dirt floor, she felt more human now that she had been able to drink and eat. She felt more alive. She had every intention of staying that way.

Maria tried to motivate herself by thinking of difficult situations she had faced in the past. But nothing seemed to come to mind. At least, nothing that could possibly compare to this. What had she faced? A difficult course in college? Unemployment? It all seemed remote and silly now that she found herself alone in this dark, cold hole in the ground.

Regardless, this was what she had to face, and she would. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged her legs to her chest. Whenever that psycho outside returned, she told herself, she would be ready for him. She wished she could make herself believe it.

Chapter 7

Aleksei lay in the center of
his king-sized bed and dreamed of blood. He clutched at the thick black bedspread and recoiled from the sounds of gunfire in the distance. The gunfire came closer now, and was accompanied by screaming.

Men screaming for their mothers, for their wives, for God. Ear-piercing screams of unrelenting agony. He tried to block out the yelling, but it was impossible. The screams were so shrill they echoed through his skull, causing him to cover his ears with his frozen hands and beg for silence.

The hunger was even worse. Pangs of hunger threatened to take over his whole being. And the cold. Icy, bitter cold covered his body and left him shaking from head to toe. He longed for a real coat and gloves that were more than tatters on his fingers.

He couldn’t have that, but he had her. She was there, next to him, her hand brushing his blond hair from his forehead. He was sure she was an angel.

Aleksei opened his eyes with a start and sat straight in bed. He cursed at the bedspread crumpled in his hands. He had never intended to rest now. He had work to do.

He got out of bed and quickly re-arranged his bedding and pillows. He hated an unkempt bed. He ran a brush through his hair, and straightened his black sweater and pants. He didn’t need a mirror to know that he looked perfect. He always did. Satisfied that his bedroom was back to being presentable, he left the room and headed for his kitchen.

He didn’t want to keep his guests waiting.

Chapter 8

The alarm blared to signal a new day
and Danny reached over to hit the snooze button without opening his eyes. He was glad he had been sober enough last night when he got home to remember to set the alarm, as he couldn’t afford another day of not heading into the office until noon. Although he wondered if anyone would notice either way.

He rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes to stare at his white ceiling. The whole apartment was painted in an institutional white shade that could have depressed even the happiest of souls. He had been meaning to hire a painter and brighten the place up a bit, but he’d never gotten around to it. Maybe next year.

He glanced at the calendar he had taped to wall next to his dresser. December 24
th
. Christmas Eve. He wondered if Maria Treibel was still alive to see the holiday. If she was, he was fairly certain she wasn’t doing much celebrating.

And Danny wasn’t going to be doing much celebrating either. He took a deep breath and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, forcing himself to sit up and turn off the alarm clock before it assaulted his ear drums yet again. He needed to get to the office and get back to the Anna Alexander case.

Something about the case had been nagging him since he had been sitting at the bar at Abe’s Grill the night before. He hadn’t been able to pinpoint it, but something bouncing around the edges of his brain. He just needed to figure out what that something was.

He showered and finally took the time to shave, hoping to ward off being called on his appearance, which was starting to lean more towards homeless man than police detective. He filled his thermos with coffee and chose cherry Pop-tarts for his Christmas Eve breakfast, and bundled up before heading outside into the still dark morning. The sun would not rise for quite a few hours.

Danny drove to the office and headed for his desk as soon as he got inside. He saw Tessa already sitting at hers.

“What time do I have to get in here to beat you?” he asked.

Tessa turned to him and looked him up and down. “I’m glad you finally decided to clean up a little bit,” she said. “The beard was a terrible choice for you.”

Danny smirked. “Thanks for the fashion advice, I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Least I can do. You know how I love Tim Gunn.”

“How are you at interior decorating?” Danny asked as he slid into his chair. “I need to do something about my apartment. It’s depressing as hell.”

“I thought that was how you wanted it.”

Tessa was the only person in the department who had even been to Danny’s apartment. In fact, except for the one-night stands he occasionally found at one of the bars he frequented, she was the only person besides him who had been there, period.

“Maybe I’m starting to change my mind.”

“You know I’ll help you. I’ve told you before that place needs a lot of work. It’s no wonder you never want to get out of bed.”

“I think we both know the alcohol is more to blame for me not wanting to get out of bed.”

“Yeah, well, the fact that your home looks like a poorly-maintained prison can’t help. Say the word and I’ll come over and start working on it with you.”

“Alright, maybe after the holidays.” Danny booted up his laptop and waited for his programs to load. “So you’re stuck here on Christmas Eve?”

Tessa nodded. “I didn’t get anywhere yesterday on this Treibel case. Just trying to see if I missed anything.”

“Can I help?”

“No thanks. I’ve gotten to everyone I can think of. Talked to the people at the store where Nate said she was going shopping, the folks running the Solstice event, her friends, called her family in California… I’ve basically talked to everyone Maria Treibel ever met, and I’ve got nothing.”

“What about the car? Wasn’t it found at the store lot?”

“Yeah, with the driver’s side door open. The techs are going over it with a fine-tooth comb, but so far there’s nothing.”

“She just vanished into thin air then, right?”

“Looks like it.”

Danny glanced at his laptop and brought up the case file he wanted. “Just like Anna Alexander.”

“Yep. You get anything new on that?”

Danny shook his head. “No. It’s bugging me the crap out of me though. I feel like I’m missing something but I don’t know what it is.”

Tessa stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat from the back of it. “Let me know if I can help. I’m heading back to the lot where we found the car so I can canvas the stores again.

“Good luck,” Danny said, his eyes fixed on his laptop screen. He scrolled through the files, not finding anything of interest and feeling his frustrating growing, when suddenly his eyes stopped on a name. Amanda Fiske.

That was it. The librarian. He hadn’t recognized her name when he read her name tag, but it had been poking at his memory ever since. She was listed as a witness on the case, although she hadn’t actually seen anything, according to the files. She had come to the department to offer her services, but the original detective on the case, Ryan Cobman, had determined she had nothing of value to offer.

Danny scowled, wishing he could talk to Cobman, but he had been killed in an auto accident more than a year ago. Although Danny had never met the man, he felt like he knew him after going through so many of his cases. And Tessa spoke highly of him. He didn’t strike Danny as the kind of detective who would blow off a witness in a case where he had next to nothing to go on.

From his scribbled notes, it seemed Cobman had thought Fiske was a kook who was wasting his time. Danny found that puzzling. He had noticed Fiske was jumpy and seemed high-strung, but he wouldn’t have pegged her for a nut.

He brought up the library’s web site, and was glad to see that they were open even though it was Christmas Eve. Danny was fairly confident Ms. Fiske would be manning the desk again. He got up quickly and headed for his car. He couldn’t wait to talk to her.

Chapter 9

Danny walked into the library and
headed straight for the reference desk. As he expected, he found Amanda Fiske there at the desk, her eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her.

“Ms. Fiske,” Danny said. “I was hoping you’d be working again. You remember me?”

“Of course. You wanted the old newspapers.”

“Right.” Danny flashed his badge. “I didn’t introduce myself last night. I’m Detective Danny Fitzpatrick.”

Amanda nodded. “What can I do for you?”

“You knew I was
a cop last night, didn’t you?”

“I noticed your
badge on your belt, yes. Why?”

“I’m wondering if that’s why you were so jumpy.”

“I hadn’t realized I was jumpy.” Amanda placed her hands on the desk in front of her, trying, and failing, to keep them from trembling.

“Is there a place we can talk privately, Ms. Fiske?”

“I’m the only librarian here today, I have to stay out here. Is there some kind of problem? What’s this about? I don’t understand.”

Danny looked around the library and realized he and the librarian were the only people present. He’d keep an eye on the door, but for now there wouldn’t be any harm in talking out in the open.

“Honestly,” he said, “I don’t understand what this is about either. I’m hoping you can clear that up for me.”

Danny gestured to the table he had occupied the night before. “Can we at least sit down?”

Amanda nodded and came out from behind the desk, where she sat down across the table from Danny.

“What do you know about the disappe
arance of Anna Alexander in 2009?”

Amanda’s hands immediately went to the cross around her neck. “I don’t know anything about it.”

“Then why were you staring over my shoulder last night when I was reading about her? And why did you go to the police station and volunteer yourself as a witness back when she disappeared?”

“I saw on the news that she had disappeared and I thought I might be able to help, that’s all.”

“Did you know her?”

“No.”

“Then why did you think you could help?”

“Does it matter? The cop I talked to didn’t think so.”

“Well I do. Tell me.”

“I just thought it might be connected to something that happened to me.” Amanda let out a deep breath. “Some years ago I almost got abducted. When I heard about Anna I thought it might be the same guy.”

“What made you think that? Where did this happen to you? Around here? Was it the same time as Anna disappeared?”

Amanda shook her head. “No. It was almost 10 years ago now. And I lived in Sitka then.”

“Sitka? Then why would you think there could be a connection? Just randomly out of the blue you decided your near-abduction 10 years earlier was connected?”

“It was only 7 years then.”

Danny scowled. “Why did you think there was a connection?”

“Because it
was the same time of year. The winter solstice. And, she looked a lot like me.”

Danny looked at her and realized she was correct. He hadn’t paid enough attention the night before. But she did look similar to Anna Alexander, although obviously not as young and fresh-faced. But ten years earlier would have been a whole different story.

He sat back in his seat. “You do look like her.”

“I was thinking about her because I saw that another woman went missing this week,” Amanda said. “I was reading about her disappearance online when you came in asking for those 200
9 papers. I just had a feeling it was connected.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“Because it didn’t exactly go well the last time I tried to talk to a cop in your department.”

Danny thought back to Cobman’s notes. “Right. That’s one of the things I’m trying to understand. Why didn’t he listen to you?”

“You’d have to ask him that.”

“I can’t. He’s dead.”

Amanda shifted in her seat. “Well, I’m sorry then.”

“Don’t be, I never even met the guy. I want to know why he didn’t listen to you.”

“And I told you I don’t know.”

“What was your story? Tell me what you told him.”

“That I was almost abducted in Sitka. A man grabbed me when I was leaving work late on the afternoon of the Solstice. It was already dark then and no one was round. He grabbed me near my car and put his hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream.”

“What did he look like? Did you get a look at him?”

Amanda nodded. “He was very tall. I mean, unusually so.”

“Like some kind of giant?”

“No, no. But maybe 6’5” or so. He was just big, and intimidating.”

“What else? Did you get a look at his hair? Eyes?”

“He was blond. And his features were handsome. But his eyes were strange. They were blue, but so dark they looked almost purple or black.” Amanda closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers on her forehead. “I still see them. Have you ever seen a corpse?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because that’s what his eyes looked like. The eyes of a corpse. They just seemed dead. You know what I mean?”

“I’m been a cop for most of my life. I’ve seen plenty of corpses.”

He left it at that, forcing himself to not think of the corpse that haunted his every moment.

“There was no soul behind his eyes,” Amanda said.

Danny nodded. “If it was dark, how’d you get such a good look at him?”

“Because we were standing under the light in the parking lot.”

“Alright,” Danny said. “Can you excuse me for just a minute?”

Danny pulled his phone from his pocket and typed a quick text to Tessa. “Ask if anyone saw a tall good looking blond man with blue eyes. Will explain later.”

He smiled at Amanda. “Sorry about that. So what happened? How did you get away from him?”

“I don’t really know. I was struggling but couldn’t get him off me. He turned me away from him and pulled me towards him with his arm around my neck. I thought he was going to strangle me.” Amanda glanced around the library. “But then something must have startled him and he just let me go. Before I knew it, he had disappeared.” She stared straight at Danny as if she was daring him to challenge her.

“So something startled him so much he let you go, but you have no idea what that was.”

“Right. Maybe I just blocked it out, I don’t know…”

Danny leaned back in his chair again. “You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not!”

“Then you’re not telling me the whole story.”

“Yes I am.”

“Did you tell the police in Sitka about this near abduction?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And t
hey didn’t believe me. They dismissed it.”

“So the police in Sitka dismissed your report. And Detective Cobman here in Fairbanks thought you were a kook…”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s nice to know.”

Danny held up his hand. “Sorry, poor choice of words. But really, what the hell difference does it make? You already know he didn’t believe you.”

“Fine.”

“So do you understand why this isn’t making a damn bit of sense to me? Based on what you just told me, there’s no reason in the world why all of these cops would have given you the brush-off. What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m telling you what I know. I can’t help it if it doesn’t make sense to you.” Amanda pushed her hair out of her eyes. “This is why I didn’t say anything to you last night. There’s no point.”

“There is a point if you know something that coul
d help us find Maria Treibel.”

“That’s the woman who just went missing?”

“Right. Who also happens to look a hell of a lot like you.”

Amanda crossed her arms across her chest. “I’ve told you what I know. I can’t help you.”

Danny drummed his fingers on the desk and stared at Amanda. He was going to find out what she was hiding, he had no doubt of that. He wasn't about to let this go.

He heard a noise and turned towards the front door in time to see a woman and two children entering the library.  It looked like he would have to wait to question Amanda more.

Danny stood up from the table. “Alright, you’re off the hook for now. But I’m coming back when you get off.”

“You can’t. I
have plans for Christmas Eve.”

“Then you’re gonna have to tell me what I want to know quickly. I’m coming back.”

Danny walked out of the library before Amanda had a chance to protest.