Dead Reckoning (A Kelsey Hawk FBI Suspense Thriller—Book Two) E-Book

Kate Bold

• Herausgeber: Lukeman Literary Management
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Serie: A Kelsey Hawk FBI Suspense Thriller
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 264

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Tough and brilliant FBI special agent 30-year-old Kelsey Hawk is relocated to the desolate and unforgiving landscape of small town North Dakota, to which she'd vowed to never return, when, in a remote area, a body is found frozen to death. Kelsey, with few clues, suspects foul play—and enters into a deadly game of cat and mouse and soon realizes she may be walking right into a killer's trap… "This is an excellent book… When you start reading, be sure you don't have to wake up early!" —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is book #2 in a new series by #1 bestselling mystery and suspense author Kate Bold, whose bestsellers have received over 1,500 five star ratings and reviews. When she was just a child, Kelsey's entire family was murdered, leaving her, the sole survivor, to grow up in the foster system. A rising star in the FBI, Kelsey set her ambitions on being assigned to a field office in the big city, away from the ghosts of her past. But when she's reassigned to a small town in North Dakota, she can't help but remember all the tragedy she fought so hard to leave behind. Can she stop this killer in time? A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll, and Robert Dugoni are sure to fall in love. Future books in the series are now available. "This book moved very fast and every page was exciting. Plenty of dialogue, you absolutely love the characters, and you were rooting for the good guy throughout the whole story… I look forward to reading the next in the series." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Kate did an amazing job on this book and I was hooked from the first chapter!" —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I really enjoyed this book. The characters were authentic, and I see the bad guys as something we hear about daily on the news... Looking forward to book 2." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This was a really good book. The main characters were real, flawed and human. The story went along quickly and wasn't mired in too many unnecessary details. I really enjoyed it." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Alexa Chase is headstrong, impatient, but most of all brave with a capital B. She never, repeat never, backs down until the bad guys are put where they belong. Clearly five stars!" —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Captivating and riveting serial murder with a twist of the macabre… Very well done." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "WOW what a great read! Talk about a diabolical killer! Really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading others by this author as well." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Page turner for sure. Great characters and relationships. I got into the middle of this story and couldn't put it down. Looking forward to more from Kate Bold." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Hard to put down. It has an excellent plot and has the right amount of suspense. I really enjoyed this book." —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Extremely well written, and well worth buying and reading. I can't wait to read book two!" —Reader review for The Killing Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Leseprobe

D E A D

R E C K O N I N G

(A Kelsey Hawk Mystery—Book 2)

K a t e   B o l d

Kate Bold

Bestselling author Kate Bold is author of the ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising eight books (and counting); the HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising eleven books (and counting); the KAYLIE BROOKS PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); the EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising seven books (and counting); the DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting);  the LAUREN LAMB FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the KELSEY HAWK MYSTERY series, comprising five books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Kate loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.kateboldauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Copyright © 2023 by Kate Bold. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Louisen, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY KATE BOLD

KELSEY HAWK MYSTERY

DEAD INSIDE (Book #1)

DEAD RECKONING (Book #2)

DEAD TO ME (Book #3)

DEAD SILENCE (Book #4)

DEAD TO DAWN (Book #5)

ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER

THE KILLING GAME (Book #1)

THE KILLING TIDE (Book #2)

THE KILLING HOUR (Book #3)

THE KILLING POINT (Book #4)

THE KILLING FOG (Book #5)

THE KILLING PLACE (Book #6)

ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER

LET ME GO (Book #1)

LET ME OUT (Book #2)

LET ME LIVE (Book #3)

LET ME BREATHE (Book #4)

LET ME FORGET (Book #5)

LET ME ESCAPE (Book #6)

CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

NOT ME (Book #1)

NOT NOW (Book #2)

NOT WELL (Book #3)

NOT HER (Book #4)

NOT NORMAL (Book #5)

NOT AGAIN (Book #6)

NOT SAFE (Book #7)

NOT TODAY (Book #8)

HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

NOWHERE SAFE (Book #1)

NOWHERE LEFT (Book #2)

NOWHERE TO RUN (Book #3)

NOWHERE LIKE THIS (Book #4)

NOWHERE GIRL (Book #5)

NOWHERE TO HIDE (Book #6)

NOWHERE CERTAIN (Book #7)

NOWHERE PURE (Book #8)

NOWHERE SOUND (Book #9)

NOWHERE SANE (Book #10)

NOWHERE TRUE (Book #11)

KAYLIE BROOKS PYSCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER

LAST BREATH (Book #1)

LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

LAST WISH (Book #3)

LAST SHOT (Book #4)

LAST MISTAKE (Book #5)

EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

IN HIS BLOOD (Book #1)

IN HIS SIGHTS (Book #2)

IN HIS REACH (Book #3)

IN HIS MIND (Book #4)

IN HIS WAY (Book #5)

IN HIS THOUGHTS (Book #6)

IN HIS DREAMS (Book #7)

DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

OUT OF REACH (Book #1)

OUT OF TOUCH (Book #2)

OUT OF TIME (Book #3)

OUT OF BOUNDS (Book #4)

OUT OF LUCK (Book #5)

LAUREN LAMB FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

SOMETHING KNOCKING (Book #1)

SOMETHING CALLING (Book #2)

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

PROLOGUE

The panting was the worst of it.

No, that was not quite true. The fact that she knew she would die was the worst of it—the panting coming from the monster behind her only made things worse. She ran as fast as her frozen limbs would carry her, cracking against the hard ice that made thunderous sounds below, trying to ignore the icy wind that cut her cheeks like shards of glass. Trying to ignore the snarls of the beast as it closed in on its prey.

She couldn’t hide. Her breath, the last few she would breathe in this world, escaped her lips in large bursts of white, rising like a beacon to show it exactly where she was. She had learned about smoke signals in school, and it only came back to mind now. Knowledge that had been lost until her life flashed before her eyes, and it was still useless.

The woman tried to hold her breath, but it was impossible when she was running as fast as she could. If she held it for a few steps, the white tendrils leaped up instantly and abundantly to call out to the pursuer. It would still track her even if she were not breathing so heavily. She had known that when she first looked into its eyes. Her oncoming death was old news—she knew she was dead from the moment she looked into the dark eyes—now, it was toying with her.

But human instinct told her there was a chance. If only she could run faster, move for a minute more, get to the lights in the distance that never seemed to get any closer. If only she could live for a moment more, then she might survive. If she had not been running, she would have laughed. Even as her brain told her to keep going, she knew she was lying to herself.

The frozen lakes often became mirrored at the start of winter before the snow dusted them with a blanket of snow. The rivers did not—the rushing water twisted and snapped into uneven ripples that refracted the light and sucked it in. She did not need a mirror to know there was terror in her eyes.

Another shiver ran through her body, threatening to topple her. Still, the panting came from behind, and she did not dare turn to check how close it was, or she would freeze in place. She had been naive enough to think she had escaped, but he had let her go to torment her more.

Her foot went through the ice and into the water below. Her bare foot numbed—the water was colder than ice. She gasped as it cut through her and ran up her leg toward her heart. She grabbed her thigh, wrenched her leg from the cold, and moved even though she felt unable. She stumbled through the two-inch deep snow, limping and favoring her numb left leg.

Please! Please let the cold kill me!

She wore a thin T-shirt, already wet from the thin mist hanging in the air, and her pants clung to her legs, soaked from the kicked-up water and unfortunate breaks through the ice. She was not running for her life anymore; she was running for her death. She only had to outlast the beast, and the cold would claim her. She clouds slip into the numbness with no more pain. She would not have to look into his eyes again, or recoil from his glistening teeth, or cower from his sheer size and power.

She stopped. The silence was the most terrifying thing she had ever heard. The woman looked wildly around, trying to find the beast. The moon shone down from above, the stars twinkling in the black sky, and the white snow brightened the night. She could see all in every direction, but she could not see it. She covered her mouth and breathed through her nose, hoping to remain concealed even though she did not have a hiding spot.

Bushes stood to her right, a tree line fifty paces to the left. She could feel the water rumbling below the ice, her soles numb, and the tremoring of the rushing water moving up her like an earthquake. She had to make a decision: left or right. She took a shaky breath and focused on the bushes. They were closer—she could hide there.

A deep exhalation of breath sent ice flowing through her veins. She had not been cold out in the vast desolate landscape with scraps of clothing covering her body or when she had plunged her foot into the unforgiving water. She only truly knew what cold was when she felt the chill of its breath on the back of her neck.

Her choice was not the trees or bushes; it was to fight or run. The beast had come for her; death had come for her, but she could prolong her life even if she could not escape death.

Trembling, she took a step forward and away from the beast. Perhaps she could sneak away unnoticed. Then she ran. She only made it two steps before her feet betrayed her, and she fell, spinning and sprawling to the ground. She looked up at the night sky, wishing upon a star, but her wish did not come true.

The face of the beast replaced the beauty of the night, snarling with flashing teeth. It covered the blackness as it pounced on her, smashing her through the ice and into the waiting death below.

The water numbed her instantly—comforted her in its cold embrace. The eyes of the beast looked down into hers as it pushed her down into the depths of hell, and she could only smile. The monster could not terrorize her anymore.

She slipped away into the darkness, finally welcoming death.

CHAPTER ONE

Special Agent Kelsey Hawk twisted the coiled phone cord as she waited to be connected to the ex-detective who might help her find the person who slaughtered her family. She had called multiple times over the past few weeks, and he had not picked up the phone once. She let it ring out before placing the old phone on the receiver. She tapped it a couple of times before opening her laptop.

It was not much, but it was all she had gotten her hands on so far. No one liked a cop looking into old unsolved cases—it was like a kick in the teeth. You didn’t solve the case, and I think I can. What it really said was: you are not good at your job. It was especially worse when the cop was a Special Agent in the FBI, and the victims were the agent’s family. Kelsey’s mother, father, and younger sister were brutally murdered in a home invasion. The case had gone unsolved for twenty years, and Kelsey knew there was little chance of solving it after all this time, but she had to try.

Her career in the FBI had consumed her for years, driven toward her line of work by a thirst for justice. She had looked at the case files before but had not delved into the case. Perhaps she was scared about what she might find—why had she been allowed to live when her entire family had been slain? She’d not had the time to consider the case before, but since being shipped off to a small town in North Dakota, she had all the time in the world.

When not catching serial killers!

She hovered the cursor over the folder on the desktop marked CS Photos. She had been putting off looking at them and didn’t know if she would. She could still remember how grotesque they had looked when she had lived through it as a child. She was only ten when it happened and had only escaped the killer’s clutches by hiding in the closet. Kelsey didn’t have the strength to look at the crime scene photos of her dead family.

The window offered a much more appealing view. Her new apartment, slightly bigger than the temporary one she had been housed in when she first moved to Winchburgh, looked over the Balsam River. Most of the rivers in Vanburgh County converged or merged at points, and she knew this river fed into the river that ran through the City of Bridges. She had almost died there after plunging into the river to stop a killer taking young women to relive his childhood monstrosities. She shivered at the thought.

I would do it all again if it meant keeping someone like him off the streets.

It was home now. When she had moved to Winchburgh, thanks to her Special Agent in Charge back at the FBI office in sunny Valleyview, Kelsey hoped for a speedy expedition. He was still out to get her, meaning she would not leave small-town North Dakota any time soon. Not that she was in any rush anymore. Since working the biggest case in Vanburgh County history and getting to know the locals, she found that the place wasn’t so bad. Even if they still had four more months of snow to contend with.

The snow created a clean blanket of white over the entire state, and it would be beautiful if only it were not so cold all of the time. Kelsey had been used to beaches and warmth, and now, she had this. She stared out into the white expanse outside.

No time to daydream when there is work to be done.

With spare time on her hands after solving the previous case, she had vowed to solve her family’s case or look into it, and it was slow going. She was still waiting on some of the case files being sent over, but everything was being blocked by red tape and procedure. That was not abnormal, but she couldn’t help but think her previous SAC was hindering her progress with his sick and twisted games. She took out her cell phone and brought up the last message from Paul Granger, her ex-Special Agent in Charge.

We all get lucky sometimes. Good thing you didn’t get anyone killed with your recklessness. Don’t worry, I’m waiting for you to mess this up, as always.

It should have been much simpler in a small town, but her life was more complex and complicated here.

Now that I’m looking into the deaths of my family, I’m sure my life will be anything but simple… or easy.

The worst of it all was having to relive it. For the past two weeks, the nightmares had come. She was back in her childhood home, walking through the halls, her family already dead. She was cursed in her dreams to wander the halls forever, knowing someone was in the house with her. Every room she came across had a dead body in it. Each time she woke, she was comforted by the white snow outside, a welcome replacement for the red in her dreams.

Kelsey shook her head—she needed to concentrate, or she would get nowhere. She had less to do at work, but there were still plenty of administrative tasks, and she would not have extra time for long.

She opened up some of the files on her laptop, checking for the fifth or sixth time the files she had been sent. The neighbors had been interviewed the morning after to check if they had heard or seen anything, but no one had. The deaths occurred in the middle of the night; the three victims were stabbed to death. There was a list of suspects that had committed crimes in the area during that time, but they all led nowhere. More than half of them were dead, and a handful were now in prison. Kelsey was still waiting on the forensics from the crime scene and any other files from the investigation. She had not directly looked at the case, but she knew there was not much. They had no leads to chase, so there was nowhere to go. Still, she was determined to do something.

Kelsey picked up the phone again and dialed the number she had memorized. She stared out the window absently but was startled from her daydreams by the phone being answered.

"Will you stop calling this number!" Harvey Waters demanded.

"I will when you talk to me," Kelsey replied.

She grabbed her notebook and a pen, hoping to get something down on paper. Something told her she was only going to have one chance to talk with him.

"Listen, I get that you think you are some hotshot in the FBI because you have a decent track record, and I know you like to break the rules, but you are not special, Hawk."

Kelsey wanted to correct him and mention she was a special agent, but she didn’t want to lose him. He was disrespecting her, but she let it slide while she had him on the line.

When she had requested more case files, someone had taken notice, and she suspected it was her old SAC. Whoever it was must have spread the word, and Harvey Waters had been expecting her call.

"I don’t think I’m special," Kelsey agreed. "My family were slaughtered, and I deserve answers."

"The best detectives in the city worked that case, and there was nothing. I should know; I was one of the leads."

Sounds like someone has an ego.

"I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes, Mr. Waters. I only want to look at the case myself and see what’s there. Times change, and technology improves. He might have done this again if he’s still out there, and we can cross-reference cases. When you were working on a case, did you consult anyone else in the department? Did you get a second opinion on things, or did you think you knew it all?"

Kelsey knew she was treading a fine line.

"Your dad was a cop. Everyone worked on this case in some way. We didn’t miss anything, and we didn’t half-ass anything. Take a look all you want, but you won’t find any mistakes or anything missed."

"I’m not accusing you of not doing your job," Kelsey said. "I know it feels like I’m stepping on your toes, but I want to work with you, not against you."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Will you talk to me about the case?" Kelsey pleaded.

"Everything is in the case files," Harvey replied.

Kelsey let out a sigh of relief. He was willing to have some sort of conversation about it.

"I’ve seen what’s in some of the files, but I want to hear from you. You worked the case. What did you feel about it? Were there any suspects not in the files? Did you have any hunches? Do you know why they were killed? This wasn’t a burglary, was it?"

Kelsey still felt detached from the case, as if she were investigating another murdered family.

"No. it wasn’t a burglary. To be honest, we did have a list of people we spoke to off the record, but it was weird."

"Weird?" Kelsey asked.

"It was like we were chasing a ghost. Someone got into that house and killed your parents and sister. They knew what they were doing, and they entered with the intent to kill. They would have known you were in the house. They targeted your parents, but I was never able to figure out why."

Kelsey wrote that down in her notebook: parents had enemies?

Her dad had been a cop, but not an important enough one to gain an enemy who would have done this. Still, she made a note to check his arrest record. Her mother was a coroner. Kelsey couldn’t imagine that would gain her any enemies, but she would look into that, too.

"During that time, you had disciplinary action for mishandling evidence," Kelsey noted.

"I didn’t mess up that case if that’s what you are insinuating," Harvey replied curtly.

"I’m not insinuating anything," Kelsey clarified. "It’s just weird that a month after that, you were awarded a promotion and taken off the case."

"I wasn’t taken off the case; I moved to a different department."

"But you didn’t work it anymore. You said everyone worked the case, but you didn’t once you transferred."

"Okay, I’ve had enough of this. If you want to accuse me of something, come out and say it, Hawk."

"Have you spoken to SAC Granger?" Kelsey asked. "Is he trying to slow me down?"

"We’re done." Harvey hung up the phone before Kelsey could probe anymore.

Kelsey hadn’t gotten anything of value, but she felt she was moving forward. She wrote Harvey’s name down on her pad. He wouldn’t talk to her again, but she was going to look into him. He sounded upset and definitely knew more than he was letting on. Unless he really was frustrated at not being able to solve the case. She would follow up either way.

Kelsey picked up her cell phone as soon as it rang.

"Special Agent Hawk," Deputy Sheriff John Gallant said. "Balsam River, Ettram Bay, as soon as you can. They’ve found a body."

CHAPTER TWO

The white tent on the snow-covered ice did not blend in with the surrounding area—it stuck out like a sore thumb. That was only because Kelsey knew there was a dead body below it.

Kelsey surveyed the scene before she went down to the tent. The Balsam River wound its way through Winchburgh, with the wide part in the center of town doubling as a skating rink. Volunteers cleared it nightly through the winter, and a large metal fire pit sat on one bank. It was an inviting place where many locals gathered in the cold to skate and roast marshmallows.

The only experience Kelsey had of skating was going to a local rink once in Mikkisula, Missouri, when she was five or six. She had fallen and hurt her knee—it was enough to put her off skating for good. Kelsey had changed a lot since then, and she knew she had to try skating again if she wanted to properly fit in with the community. If she fell this time, she would get straight back up and keep going.

Kelsey trudged through the snow in her new winter boots, and for once, her toes did not feel frozen and about to fall off. She discovered she could adapt to this situation just as she did to most.

Sheriff Anderson was waiting outside the tent with two other officers. He held out his hand for Kelsey to shake.

"Thanks for coming down so quickly," Sheriff Anderson said.

"Of course," Kelsey replied.

The sheriff was a world away from her former SAC back in Valleyview. For one, he let her do her job and respected her when she did. Like Granger, he would pull her up when things were not done right, but Granger hated Kelsey and was out to get her. Sheriff Anderson was more like a father who didn’t tolerate any nonsense but wanted the best for everyone around him.

"What do we have so far?" Kelsey asked.

"Young woman with her leg trapped in the ice. She must have frozen to death." The Sheriff sighed. "Don’t know much more than that yet. Deputy Gallant is in there right now, taking a look, and forensics are on their way. I really hope we don’t have another serial killer on our hands."

"If we do, I will catch him," Kelsey asserted.

Sheriff Anderson looked at her and allowed himself a small smile. "I know you will, Special Agent Hawk. That’s why we needed you here. Take a look and tell me what you think."

Kelsey nodded, catching the eyes of the other officers at the scene. She nodded to them, too, reassuring them that everything would be fine. She was used to this sort of thing, coming from a large metropolitan city—the death, not the cause—but it was more peaceful out here. One death rocked the entire town, and they were still coming to terms with the body found at the winter festival, even if it was not a local woman.

Back in Valleyviw, a death like that would have been shocking, but people would still go about their regular lives. Things like this didn’t happen in small towns. Even though the previous case had been solved, people were still on edge. If it were a local woman this time, people would be more than just on edge. Deaths like this didn’t just affect the people connected, but the entire town. If Kelsey didn’t get ahead of this, it would change everything—two killers in the same year would have a devastating effect.

Investigating murders in the city was about catching the killer—investigating a murder in Winchburgh was about preventing hysteria.

Kelsey pushed the flaps aside and entered. Deputy John Gallant was squatted over the body, taking in the scene. He wore lycra gloves, and his fingers must have been freezing. He stood up when he saw Kelsey and reached into his pocket, taking out another pair of gloves and tossing them to her. Kelsey grabbed them in her gloved hands but didn’t put them on yet—her fingers were cold enough in the padded gloves.

"It’s good to see you," John said.

"Considering the circumstances," Kelsey added.

"You know what I mean." John looked down at the body. "I think she escaped from somewhere."

Kelsey didn’t ask yet why he thought that; she wanted to check the body first and look over it with a fresh set of eyes, unbiased by anything anyone else had spotted. It was not difficult to determine why the deputy thought that. Her wrists were red from rubbing against something, and there were no marks typical of cuffs or zip ties. She had been tied up with rope, and she had struggled against the rope for a while—she had eventually escaped and had ended up trapped in the ice.

I don’t buy it. She escaped and got herself trapped. It all feels too unfortunate.

Kelsey moved around the body, taking it all in. The woman looked in her mid-twenties, possibly a little younger. She wore a thin t-shirt and pants, both frozen completely—they had been soaked before freezing. The woman’s skin was taught and blue, her hair frozen to her head.

"She was in the water at some point," Kelsey said. "She was bound, being held hostage maybe, and she escaped. I want someone to check along the river in both directions for where she went in."

John nodded. "This sort of weather, you measure survival time in minutes, especially with what she was wearing."

One of the woman’s lower legs was caught in the ice where her foot had plunged through. She lay on her back, the knee bent on the leg with the stuck foot and the other foot sprawled out to one side. Her arms were out to each side, but the body did not seem posed. She had died while stuck in the ice, and her body had fallen backward.

The woman wore no shoes or no shoe on the visible foot, but Kelsey was confident it would be the same with the other.

"You saw the blisters on the foot?" Kelsey asked.

John nodded again. "She was running from someone or somewhere."

Kelsey leaned down near the foot and studied it. It was pale from the cold, but there were red burst blisters on the soul from running on hard ground, likely ice. She had cut her foot pretty badly, and if blood was left somewhere close, they might be able to trace where she came from.

"Her foot is dirty," Kelsey said.

"Dirty?" John asked, crouching close beside Kelsey.

"She came down the bank somewhere where the snow was thin, and dirt became trapped in the creases. She was running, headed for the river, and went through at some point but managed to get out. Maybe whoever was pursuing her fished her out so they could chase her some more."

"What makes you think that?" John asked.

"The marks on her shoulders."

John quickly got up and moved around to the other side of the body.

"I can’t be sure, but it looks like someone held her by the shoulders at some point, and my best guess is that he did it here."

Kelsey couldn’t be sure it was a man, but the death fit better with the profile of a male killer. She was already getting into his mindset to catch him better.

"So," Kelsey continued, "he had her tied up somewhere, and she escaped, or he let her go for some reason. She came to the river, fell in, and either got out by herself or he pulled her out. She ran again, and her foot went through the ice. I don't think she got stuck here—he held her in place, and she was too weak to fight. She died with him right beside her."

John sighed, the white cloud escaping and floating to the tent's ceiling. He might be second in command in Winchburgh and had commanded a unit in the army, but this was still new to him, too. John had seen death, but not like this.

"Stay here until forensic get here, and don’t let anyone touch the body before then."

"Where are you going?" John asked.

"I need to take a walk."

Kelsey left the tent and held the sheriff’s gaze for a moment but didn’t say anything. She looked downriver toward the town and then up the river in the opposite direction.

You were running toward the town, trying to get to safety.

Kelsey walked upriver away from the town. She walked for around five minutes before she found the hole in the ice. She didn’t get too close in case the ice cracked, but she saw something floating in it. She stood back up and pulled out her phone to call John, but when she looked back toward the tent, she found him almost at her position.

She wanted to scold him like a small child for leaving the body, but she was going to ask him to bring down an evidence bag. She almost laughed when she saw him hold one up.

"I thought you might need backup. I also had a hunch you would be the one to find something," John said. "Besides, the body is not going anywhere, and the sheriff is there. What did you find?"

"Looks like a wallet. I didn’t want to get too close."

"Allow me." John planted his feet with each step to check the ice below, and when he was close enough to the large opening, he crouched down and picked up the wallet, dropping it into the evidence bag."

"I don’t know how you can walk around in this cold with just those gloves on," Kelsey noted.

"The army teaches you a lot of things. Adapting to extreme temperatures is one of them. I’ll put my wool gloves back on soon, but I’m not in danger of frostbite yet."

"This way," Kelsey said, taking them farther from the town. "We’re on the right track; we just need to find where she came down the bank."