Brian Freeman - The Cold Nowhere

‘Obviously.’

‘Dory told him to stay away from Michaela because she was having an affair with Stride. She said Stride would kill him if he got close to her.’

‘Did you tell Stride about this?’

‘Sure I did. He said it wasn’t true. He said there was no affair.’

‘Did you believe him?’

‘Back then? Yes. Now? I don’t know. Anyway, even if they weren’t involved, Stride was in the middle of a triangle, whether he liked it or not. When he walked into that bedroom and found Michaela’s body, he was going to feel responsible for what happened. The only question is whether Marty was alive or dead when he arrived.’

*

Church bells.

At one point during the session between Cat and Roslak, Stride thought he heard a burst of church bells chiming in the background, and it was jarring to hear something sacred echoing in the midst of something evil. In disgust, he turned off the DVD player in his office. Maggie sat in his guest chair, watching his face. He hadn’t watched the video itself, not when it meant seeing Cat completely under this man’s control. He’d simply sat in his chair and listened with his eyes closed to Roslak taking the girl apart question by question.

‘Vincent Roslak,’ he murmured. ‘Now there’s a guy who got what was coming to him.’

‘I think Cat lied to you about their relationship. They sounded like lovers.’

Stride nodded. ‘She told me about it last night.’

‘What did she say?’

Stride leaned forward on his desk and folded his hands together. ‘She said she was in love with him. She was devastated when he left town. She said she wanted to kill him. She also said she didn’t.’

‘She’s a prime suspect, boss. I’d like to go down there and check out the crime scene in Roslak’s apartment for myself.’

‘What will that accomplish?’ Stride asked.

‘I’d like to know whether this video was filmed in Duluth or Minneapolis. Cat said she never saw Roslak again after he left town. If that’s not true, we have a big problem.’

‘Cat didn’t kill anyone. I’m more concerned with who’s trying to kill her . And who murdered two other people up here. Did you find the stolen Charger yet?’

‘No.’

‘Well, find it,’ he snapped. ‘That’s your top priority right now, not a murder that belongs with the Minneapolis cops.’

Maggie saluted him sarcastically. ‘Yes, sir. Should I wave my magic wand? Exactly what do you want me to do, boss? We’ve got BOLOs out all over the state.’

‘Sorry. I realize that. We have two murders, and we have nothing . I’m frustrated.’

‘So am I. I’m just not ready to pretend there’s no connection between Cat and Roslak’s murder, just because a teenage hooker tells you she’s innocent.’

There was angry fire between them. They could both see it. Their relationship was broken.

‘I’m not saying there’s no connection,’ Stride retorted. ‘I just don’t believe that the connection is Cat murdering Roslak. I think it’s much more likely that Cat told Roslak something that got him killed. I want to see all the other videos he made with her. Maybe there’s something in there that will give us a clue.’

‘Ken didn’t see anything that would help us.’

‘I don’t care what Ken saw. Ken’s not on my team anymore. Right now, his only role in this investigation is that he’s sleeping with you.’

Maggie’s face was like stone. ‘Whatever you want. I’ll get the tapes.’

Stride stood up and grabbed his leather jacket from a hook near the door. ‘I’m meeting Serena in Canal Park. We’re going to talk to Curt Dickes about the prostitution angle. She thinks that may be what Margot was pursuing. That may be the connection to Cat.’

Maggie didn’t move.

‘Is there something else?’ he asked.

She pointed at the television. ‘You heard what Cat said.’

‘About what?’

‘She mentioned you.’

‘Right, so what? I was the one who found her under the porch.’

‘She makes it sound like more than that,’ Maggie told him. ‘Like maybe Marty was alive when you got there.’

Stride couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘What are you saying, Mags?’

‘Back then, Dory told me you and Michaela were having an affair.’

‘I remember. I also remember telling you that we weren’t.’

Maggie said nothing.

Stride sat down on the end of his desk. He and Maggie had been through ups and downs in the years they’d been together. Arguments. Disagreements. Jokes. Tears. He remembered her early days as a young, stiff, Chinese cop, obsessed with rules and protocol. He remembered her coming out of her cocoon like a wild butterfly. He remembered her standing on his porch, soaking wet, yelling at him that he was making a mistake in his second marriage. He remembered her husband’s murder and all the secrets he’d discovered about her sex life that he wished he’d never learned. He remembered the glimmer of doubt in his head that she might have killed her husband over everything he’d made her do.

As close as they were, they still kept secrets from each other. That was the problem. He’d kept it a secret every night he made love to her, when he knew they were making a mistake.

‘Do I really need to say it to you, Mags? Do I really need to say the words?’

She looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot. She pushed herself out of his chair. ‘No. You don’t. I’m sorry.’

Maggie turned for the doorway, but he stopped her. He needed to say the words anyway. He needed her to hear them.

‘I did not kill Marty Gamble,’ Stride said. ‘Would I have shot him if he’d still been alive? I don’t know. Maybe I would. But it doesn’t matter. He was dead when I arrived on the scene. He killed himself. That’s what happened.’

‘Seriously?’ Serena said. ‘She really asked if you killed Marty?’

They sat on a bench on the Canal Park boardwalk, near the lineup of tourist hotels. Choppy lake waves splashed over the rocks. ‘I don’t think she believed it, but the fact that she even brought it up tells me how bad things are.’

‘That’s a woman who does not handle rejection well.’

Stride smiled. ‘What woman does?’

Serena punched him in the arm, but she smiled, too. ‘I guess I can’t really take the high road. I asked if you slept with Michaela.’

‘I didn’t, but she and I were close to each other. Too close. I knew she had feelings for me. I should have kept her at a distance, but I couldn’t. Honestly, I didn’t want to.’

‘Did you tell Cindy about it?’

‘No, but I’m sure she knew. I suppose she figured that if I’d cheated on her, I would have told her.’

‘You told me about Maggie.’ Serena murmured.

‘Yes, I did.’

‘What would Cindy have done?’

‘If I’d slept with Michaela? Killed me.’

‘Sounds like I underreacted,’ Serena said. ‘Maybe I should have shot you or something.’

‘Since I know you’re carrying, I’ll say no.’

‘Smart man.’

He stared at the lake. He spotted a ship on the horizon, coming closer. ‘Listen … about last night,’ he said. ‘There were things I should have told you, and I didn’t. I’m sorry for shutting you out again. That was a mistake.’

‘Tell me now.’

He felt her waiting beside him, and he knew what she was waiting for. It’s worse .

‘This isn’t about Michaela,’ he said. ‘It’s about Cat.’

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. ‘Okay.’

‘When she showed up two nights ago, it was a punch in the chest, seeing what’s happened to her these past ten years.’

‘You couldn’t have prevented that, Jonny,’ she said.