Most of the radar dishes and civil engineering barracks meant the manned station had military personnel who completed tours and went directly back to Anchorage without interaction with anyone. The Air Force eventually had a five-mile road connected to the airport in Kinguyakkii and the high chain link fence had military warning signs. Even the wild youth of the north knew better than scale the fence and venture into federal lands. Sometimes civilian contractors stayed at the Chena Hotel during the summer when they continued performing top secret upgrades.
The military police had a fiberglass skiff with a trolling motor. They used oars to pull the boat over the submerged ice sheets, making their way to the object in the water. Something caught on a floe and colliding pieces caused the ice pan to tilt upward where the material snagged the crushed ice.
Lester pulled up next to the other snowmachines and four-wheelers on loan from the police department. Meghan saw Dana standing beside Wilcox and Reeve. Riley and Chandler had another flat bottom aluminum boat they pulled behind the Honda. They had it in the icy water and negotiated their way offshore to aid in the retrieval.
Meghan saw Wilcox with a finger in his left ear with the smartphone pressed to the right side of his head. He had a phone call active while the others watched helplessly from the shore. Meghan and Lester stayed back out of the way. She saw the nylon fabric from the distance. She didn’t want to admit what it looked like, but it was impossible to ignore. Meghan updated the Amber Alert after midnight to include the description of the winter coat Christine had on in the gymnasium.
Wilcox scanned the shore until he saw Meghan. He walked in their direction, away from the operations in the water several meters away. He finished his phone call before reaching Meghan and Lester.
“I’ve got a team in the apartments that have a suspect.”
It took Meghan by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“We’re treating this like abduction, Sheppard. That means when our boots hit the ground, we were actively looking for a perpetrator for the crime of kidnapping.”
She knew better than say anything.
“I called the AG this morning for possible search warrants. We got one for Joane Tuktu’s residence.”
“Who is your suspect?” Meghan asked.
Wilcox scanned the smartphone screen. “A man named Vincent Atkinson.”
“Why?”
“Atkinson lives in the apartment complex. He allowed one of my team to walk his apartment. Upon eyes-only review, the cadet saw a collection of women’s undergarments. Among them were two adolescent female panties. We secured the active search warrant for Atkinson residence. He had a large collection of women and girl’s undergarments.” Wilcox shook his head. “Some of his neighbors witnessed Atkinson talking to the girl three days ago in the stairwell.”
“Look, Special Agent Wilcox, I know Vincent. He’s a little slow and he has a fetish.”
“We’re sending the undergarments to Fairbanks for DNA analysis. The AG gave us priority over the other cases so we can get a quick turn around.”
He turned from Meghan to watch the progress to claim the garment caught in the ice. Meghan shared a look with Lester.
“Where is Vincent right now?” Meghan asked.
“We’re arranging transport from the apartment to the police department. I’ll calling in the rest of the team.”
Meghan saw Trooper Chandler climb on the ice pan and snatch the item before the ice sheet tipped from his weight and sunk deeper. He climbed back into the boat with Riley’s help. The military boat turned around and headed back to shore with the troopers. Meghan saw Chandler holding the coat up to examine it and inadvertently showing the rest of the people watching from the shore that the child’s jacket was identical to the coat last seen on Christine.
“We need to get divers in the water,” Wilcox said.
“Don’t do that,” Lester said. It was the first time Meghan saw her Lieutenant speak to the federal agent.
“Why not?” Wilcox said.
“We’ll get a few more boats out here. We can scan the waterway and ice floe better without worrying about a diver getting crushed between the ice sheets. It’ll be dark soon. We can use spotlights and they have a better penetration range at night. If she’s down there, we’ll see her.”
Wilcox considered Lester’s point. He pressed his lips together and nodded. “See if you can get some volunteers to loan us boats. I don’t want any civilians in the water. I talked to the capital at the base. They can get the Coast Guard out here in about four hours.”
“It’s better if we find her from the water,” Lester said. “The choppers stir up the visibility too much.”
“You have experience in recovery, Lieutenant?” Wilcox asked.
“I do, sir. Unfortunately,” he said. Lester was an invaluable asset for the community. It meant he endured a lot and saw even more.
Wilcox started back toward Dana and Reeve.
“I’d like to talk to Vincent,” Meghan called. “I know him. He’ll talk to me.” She had to shade her eyes because the sun began its descent along the western horizon. It hadn’t reached the mountaintops but the milky clouds on the far side of the Sound already had a pink hue.
Wilcox turned back to Meghan. He waited to answer.
“Have my cadets present. Make sure your interview is on record.”
“Thank you, sir.” Meghan turned to Lester. “Can you stay here and help them with the search?”
“I wasn’t going anywhere.” He climbed off the Polaris. Meghan straddled the saddle.
“Hold off on telling anyone. I have a feeling we’re already behind on the notification. We don’t have anything yet except a jacket. We still need to locate Eugene. I need to find out what Vincent knows. Are you going to be warm enough?”
Lester
