Page 6 of Frozen Secrets

But it never hit the floor.

“I got it.” Adrial’s voice was right there. Too close. How hadn’t she noticed? The round metal feet of the pleather dining table chair screamed as he pulled it across the linoleum. “Here. Sit down. Where are your rescue meds?”

“In my purse by the front door.” He’d remembered her migraines? Winnie didn’t give herself more than a couple of seconds to let that sink in. Of course, he remembered. She’d ruined their prom night because she hadn’t brought her migraine medication with her, and they’d had to leave the dance early. And forgo the plan she had to give him her virginity. Kind of hard to forget.

Before she had a chance to specify where she kept them in her purse, Adrial was crouched in front of her with her meds in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Here.”

“Thank you.” She took both and downed the pills. It’d take a few minutes for them to kick in, but her brain was clear enough to recognize the truth of the matter. Who the hell would agree to help her with this case? Who would want to? It’d destroyed her dad’s career in the end. It’d turned an entire town against him to the point that not a single neighbor or friend had deemed him worthy of showing up at his funeral. It made sense Adrial didn’t want to get involved. He’d built a life for himself here. A family. An agency. A home. Nobody in their right mind would put those at risk, and she had no right to ask him to. “You don’t have to stay. I can take it from here.”

“I’ll wait until I’m sure the meds are working.” Straightening, he grabbed for the chair next to hers, pulled it in front of her and took a seat. His knee knocked into hers, jarring her entire nervous system with something to focus on. “Wouldn’t want you to walk into the wall again.”

“That was one time, and it hasn’t happened in a while.” It happened a month ago. She’d gotten used to the migraines since she was a teen, but they varied in intensity and timing. Sometimes she could catch them before she lost her vision. Most of the time, they steamrolled her into burying herself under the blankets and blocking out any hint of light for upward of three hours. “I meant the case. You don’t owe me anything, and I’m sorry if I made you feel like you did. I don’t… I don’t want to ruin what you’ve built for yourself here, and I’m sure looking into the Mercer investigation again has brought up a lot of unpleasant memories. I shouldn’t have asked for your help, but I appreciate you bringing your files all the same.”

He regarded her with the most unreadable expression. Utterly devoid of any indication of what was going on in that head of his. He hadn’t always been like that, had he? Not with her. There’d been moments when she could read him better than anyone else in her life. But a lot had happened since then.

“You’re not going to stop, are you?” he asked.

“I can’t.” She hadn’t realized how much truth sat in those two little words until right now. This wasn’t just about giving her father’s life purpose, restoring his reputation or honoring his memory. It might’ve started that way, but there was more, and it had everything to do with her needing to do something no one else in this town had been able to accomplish. To prove she was worth something to someone, even if that someone had been dead for twenty years and wouldn’t appreciate her effort.

The tendons down the side of his neck flexed. Adrial tapped four fingers against the table in a descending rhythm, his full attention on the movement. “We’ll need to go through these boxes and create a working investigation file. We won’t get anywhere trying to piece things together with it all spread out like this. And I’ll reach out to a friend in BHPD. See if I can get access to their notes and reports. If there are any family members or local witnesses still around, we’ll want to talk to them again.”

Her rib cage filled with a burning weightlessness, and the pain dwindled to a mere nudge at the side of her head. “You’re going to help me? Why?”

“Because I know what it feels like to go without answers.” He drummed his fingers one more time before shoving to stand. “I’ll call you when I have the case file and official evidence list. Until then, see if you can organize some of this chaos into something we can use. Put those research skills of yours to use. You might find something police overlooked.”

She didn’t know what going without answers meant for him, but she wasn’t going to turn down his experience as a former detective. Additionally, there were things in these boxes that surely only Adrial would be able to understand, having worked with her father for those years on the job. Winnie rose, trailing him to the front door. She could do this. For her dad. For herself. And maybe a little bit for Adrial. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me until we have a lead. Cold cases don’t play out like new homicide investigations. Witnesses and family move away, relationships with the victim change, resources run dry and the case files might be impossible to read. Not to mention perpetrators get cocky the longer they go without being caught, believing they’ve gotten away with murder.” Adrial grabbed for the bronze door handle, showcasing bulky muscle and years of dedication. And his bare left ring finger. “And they’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”

Chapter Six

Lila Mercer was still haunting him.

“This everything?” Adrial flipped through Black Hollow PD’s investigation file as his forensic investigator took a seat in his favorite chair across the desk.

“Everything I could find in the ten minutes I was allowed free rein of the records room.” Baxter interlaced his fingers behind his skull, leaning the chair back on two feet as he had a thousand times since they’d opened Cold Hollow Investigations together two years ago. Neither of them had expected the agency to grow as it had. With their pasts, they’d been content to work cases no one else would touch to fulfill some sick need of getting closure by proxy, but their work had attracted other investigators and officials with that same need. Now, they were a team of six with a constant caseload coming not only from Black Hollow, but also clients from all over the state. “My contact in BHPD is risking their job for this, so I hope it’s worth it.”

Yet to be determined. Adrial had this entire case file memorized. While he hadn’t come into the investigation until four years after Lila Mercer had been killed, nothing had changed in terms of evidence or leads. “Does your contact happen to be the officer you’ve been dating?”

“We may have gone out a couple times.” Baxter’s Cheshire cat smile made the lines at the corners of his eyes crease. The smile was fake, a weapon the forensic anthropologist used to disarm, charm and bed unsuspecting partners. Of which there seemed to be an endless supply. Hell, Adrial wasn’t sure the man actually remembered how to smile, but they all had their vices in this line of work. “And bought a cat together.”

“Aren’t you allergic to cats?” Better than the time-share Baxter had purchased with one of his flings last year, but at some point his best friend was going to have to stop investing in the bachelor persona and face the fact that the woman he loved wasn’t coming back. Ever.

Baxter shrugged, setting the chair back on all four feet. “What can I say? My love language is gift giving, and she’s always wanted a cat. Paid off for me in the end. Except for the stuffy nose and feeling like I might suffocate every time I step into her apartment.”

Adrial flipped over the first few pages of the file Baxter had conned out of BHPD. This file—unlike the ones stashed in case-file boxes at Winnie’s house—had been organized and laid out with the first days of the investigation at the front and the years of notes and theories in chronological order. “What did you promise this contact in return for this favor?”

“Nothing you’ll have to pay up on. Though I might need to use a couple of my vacation days soon. She wants to see the arches in Utah.” Rubbing the back of his neck, the forensic investigator shifted to the edge of his seat. Those icy eyes centered on Adrial. “So the famous Winnie Hutton is back in town. How’s that going?”

The muscles down Adrial’s spine locked in place, one by one. He didn’t want to talk about Winnie. Didn’t want to think about her. Though, of course, that was all he’d been doing since he’d left her house yesterday afternoon. How she’d responded to the barest of touches. How her smile had lit up something unexpected inside of him and triggered a craving he’d convinced himself he’d never feed again. “You get the other thing I asked for?”

“Bottom of the stack.” Baxter motioned to the files with his chin. “Background check, university transcripts, marriage license, finances, employer records, phone records, mortgage docs, divorce decree. Michal went the whole nine yards on your girl.”

“Divorce?” Adrial couldn’t stop himself from flipping to the signed paperwork and skimming through it. His body suddenly felt heavier. Winnie had gotten divorced. Just three months ago. Hell, he hadn’t expected that. He thought she’d found someone worthy to provide her with the life she’d always wanted. Someone who would put her needs above his and get her as far from this town as possible, like she’d dreamed of since her mom had died. Who’d support her in becoming a psychotherapist and do whatever it took to make her happy. Like she deserved.

Adrial’s breath rushed from his chest. In defeat. Why hadn’t she said anything? He shut down that thought. Why would she have said anything? They hadn’t spoken in over a decade, and after the way he’d broken their engagement, he hadn’t given her any reason to trust him with that kind of personal information. From what he could see, her husband—now ex-husband—had been the one to file for divorce. Citing irreconcilable differences. They’d sold their house in Seattle and split the profits, as well as the credit-card debt under the husband’s name. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hell, the man had saddled her with his poor life choices, forcing Winnie to come back to Black Hollow to pay the price.

Just as Arthur had done in shouldering Winnie down with the Lila Mercer case. Because Adrial had no doubt in his mind his former partner had left that sticky note with Cold Hollow’s name for her, knowing she would feel obligated to go settle his affairs and see her father’s life work through.