Polar (Book 1): Polar Night by Julie Flanders

Danny said.
    “So I’ve been told. A hazard of living in the Arctic, I guess.”
    Danny stared at Aleksei, looking into his dark blue eyes, and felt a spine-tingling chill pass over him. He pulled his hand away, startled at the terror that had momentarily overwhelmed him. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d dealt with plenty of psychos before. But there was something different about this guy. Something really off.
    “Let me know if you need anything else from me,” Aleksei said, his voice cordial. “You can always call. Fairbanks isn’t exactly a short trip from here.”
    “Thanks,” Danny said. “We’ll be in touch if we have any other questions.”
    “I hope you find that woman.”
    Aleksei watched Danny and Terry walk back to their waiting truck, and noticed they were walking much more quickly now than when they had arrived. They moved like men in a hurry now.
    Aleksei waved at Doug Matheson, and shut the door behind him. He had to admit, this had been unexpected. He’d dealt with nosy cops before, but not any that seemed to know about two of his guests. He knew the Irish detective had highlighted Anna’s name on purpose.
    Aleksei locked up the lobby and headed back towards his living quarters. He wasn’t really worried, as the cops had found nothing and would probably be out of his hair now. Most likely, Fitzpatrick was merely some stiff who had stumbled on the fact that Anna and Maria had both been to Snow Creek. Beyond that, he had nothing to go on. Aleksei knew he had covered his tracks. He always did.
    Still, if this cop kept sniffing around he’d have to do something. He wouldn’t have his winter ruined. If the cop came back, he’d get rid of him. That wouldn’t be a problem.
    Aleksei knew exactly how to get rid of people.

 
     
    Chapter 20
     
     
     
     
    “I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with this guy,” Danny said.
    He had called Tessa from the Coldfoot hanger while he was waiting for the pilot to prep the plane.
    “What’s wrong with him?”
    “I don’t know. But something sure as hell is. He gave me the fucking creeps. Gave Terry the creeps too. The whole place, Tessa. It’s like a god-damn haunted house.”
    “Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be?”
    “Yeah but you don’t expect those things to really be haunted, do you? I didn’t think we’d be hearing all kinds of shit while we were looking around. I thought I was going fucking nuts.”
    “But you didn’t find anything?”
    “No. God-dammit, I didn’t find a damn thing. Except that Anna and Maria were both there, but we already knew that. And we found a closet full of costumes that were fucking strange, but he had a cover story for them.” Danny sighed. “I kept trying to get a reaction from the guy, but he didn’t miss a beat. He was like a damn robot, saying all the right things, showing concern, insisting he didn’t know anything about Maria’s disappearance..”
    “Isn’t it possible that he really doesn’t know anything?”
    “Sure it’s possible. I told you I didn’t find shit. But I know there’s something there. I’m telling you…”
    “I know,” Tessa said, interrupting him. “There’s something off about him. I believe you. I just don’t know what we can do, Danny.”
    Danny shook his head. He wasn’t lying when he said he had been freaked out by the hallway lined with cells and the strange noises echoing around the building. He had no trouble believing there were ghosts there. And he already spent more than enough time with ghosts. Had he just imagined Aleksei’s strangeness?
    “Just get home now,” Tessa said in her best mothering voice. “You need to get out of there.”
    “I will. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    The pilot called to Danny and Terry that the plane was ready and the two of them quickly boarded. They both agreed they were anxious to leave this barren place behind.
    As the plane took off and flew through the snow, Danny couldn’t stop thinking about