“It’s cold out there, so everyone make sure you dress warmly. Frostbite can happen relatively quickly. Thank you, and happy holidays everyone.” She turned to leave, pushing by Oliver at the door. Meghan didn’t look at Myles or the college boys because she saw in the moment she opened her mouth, the color drained from their faces.
“Is there something I should know about?” Oliver asked.
They climbed into the Suburban. Oliver got behind the wheel and pulled away from the fence, taking his time steering clear of the bush planes parked in the cold on the tarmac.
“I wanted to let everyone know they can’t bring stuff into town during Christmas.”
“That makes sense.”
Meghan didn’t want to explain what she overheard on the plane. Not when it wasn’t something she could prove. Hearsay went as far as she could throw someone. If it was out of an airplane and 30,000 feet, then it went far. But on the ground, it sounded paranoid. At the moment, Meghan didn’t want to make a spectacle she couldn’t prove without hard evidence.
Oliver accelerated once they passed through the gate and drove along Third Avenue. It was a straight shot and roughly a mile to the police department. A collection of contractor trailers refurbished for temporary use until the city could build a new police station, the trailers were twenty years out of date and still used. The city ran out of money for new construction of local government buildings.
“What are you grinning about?” Meghan asked. She saw him concentrating on the road, but he wore a grin that went wide across his face.
“It’s good to have you back, Chief,” he said.
Chapter Four
Sitting in the passenger seat of the Suburban, Meghan stared out the window as Oliver drove slowly away from the airport. She saw the one unique four-wheeler that belonged to the mayor. It was on Third Avenue heading toward the airport.
Meghan knew it wasn’t Duane. The mayor hadn’t made it back from Anchorage. She leaned over Oliver, watching for details of the ATV driver. The mayor owned an oversized utility task vehicle, a camouflaged hard top machine that was more like a four-wheel-drive pickup truck without doors. It had a windshield and cost a lot more than most of the average four-wheelers in town. Meghan never saw another vehicle like it before Duane bought it shortly after he won the reelection for mayor. It was decadent, and Meghan suspected the cost of filling the gas tank cost more than she earned in a day.
“Turn around,” Meghan said.
The driver, Nathaniel Warren, wore an expensive ski jacket with a thick blue knit cap. He looked determined and, in a hurry, to get to the airport. She knew he was late on arrival.
“Lester wanted me to pick you up and take you right to the department.” Oliver slowed the midnight blue beast, checked the rearview mirror, and did his best at a full street u-turn. Traffic wasn’t usually an issue in downtown Kinguyakkii. In the dark of winter, the street had no headlights either ahead of them or behind.
“Just pull alongside the fence,” Meghan said. Oliver complied and maneuvered the hulking truck to an area that faced the main entrance of the airport. He sat behind the wheel, waiting for further direction.
“You can turn off the lights,” Meghan said. She stared intently at the front doors to the terminal. Through the chain-link fence from that distance, she had a direct view of the extra-large utility vehicle after Nathaniel wandered into the terminal to meet his friends.
“Lester had something to tell you,” Oliver said.
Meghan glanced at her smartphone. She hadn’t received any phone calls or text messages. There weren’t any new voicemails. Whatever Lester had to tell Meghan, it waited until she arrived back to work.
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked. She noticed he fidgeted because she’d disrupted the flow.
“I’m just curious about something.” Meghan didn’t bother expounding on details. Oliver worked with her long enough to know she wasn’t someone who held all the cards away from the others. She wanted everyone ready to take charge when they needed to. Meghan held training sessions during moments she felt anyone could learn. She saw him anxious about getting back to the police department. However, Meghan suspected it had to do with Lester’s orders, and not because he had to be somewhere else.
She watched travelers filter out of the terminal doors. They separated toward their respectable snowmobiles and four-wheelers. Meghan watched the oversized luxury machine until three young men bounced out the doors. They jumped into the Motorsport UTV.
Nathaniel got behind the wheel. The machine revved. He stomped on the gas pedal, and it tore away from the terminal. The lack of sunlight helped hide the bulking SUV. Rather than race by the Suburban down Third Avenue, Nathaniel turned right on the Airport Access road toward Fifth Avenue.
Straight away, Oliver pulled off from the side of the road. He followed the taillights of the UTV. Meghan liked that he figured out her target.
“Can I ask why we’re following the mayor’s son?” he asked.
It wasn’t hard to keep a respectable distance. Once the UTV turned left on Fifth Avenue, it sped away at top speed. Kinguyakkii had a speed limit, regardless if not posted. Most of the time, it was a courtesy suggestion. Usually, it wasn’t an issue for people to keep a closer limit on driving with roads coated in ice and snow, driving faster meant sliding off the road easier.
“Remember those two guys I pointed out. They’re here staying with Nathaniel.”
“Okay,” he said.
The UTV slid around the corner on Lagoon Street. As soon as it accelerated, Oliver rolled his meaty fists on the steering wheel and pressed on the gas.
“I feel like they’re up to no good.”
“Okay,” he said again.
Meghan glanced at her sergeant. The officer focused on
