“Then he stabs Lovett so he can’t talk.”

“But how does the man with the scar fit in?”

Lewis mulled it over for a few seconds. “He has to have a connection to Beacon Point.”

“Or a connection to Terry Lovett.”

Amarok knew Lewis agreed with him when he said, “Right. I’ll keep working on the widow.”

“Thanks.”

As soon as Amarok hung up, he asked Phil if he’d look after Makita and Sigmund for a few days and went online to book a flight to Minneapolis first thing in the morning. As much as he hated to leave Alaska, he had to do it. He was convinced that the answers he needed to save Evelyn were in Minnesota.

18

Anchorage, AK—Sunday, 3:40 p.m. AKDT

“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by. I was in the area, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to meet you.”

Bishop wiped the sweat from his forehead. He’d caught his landlady—Edna Southwick—with her keys out. She’d been just about to go in through the store.

Or maybe she was coming out.…

He watched her closely, trying to determine how long she’d been on the property and what she might’ve done before he arrived. Had she seen anything that might put him at risk?

He didn’t think so. She would’ve been far more nervous if she had. He’d come upon her just in time.

“I’m glad you did,” he lied. “But it’s a good thing I arrived when I did, or it would’ve been a wasted trip. Next time, I hope you’ll give me some notice.”

“Of course.”

When she glanced at her keys, still dangling from the lock, he got the impression she was hoping he’d invite her in, but he had no intention of doing that. He’d have to lead her to the staff room in order to sit down—it would seem strange if he let her into the store only to keep her standing in the garbage that littered the floor—and that meant she could easily see that the freezer had a slot in the door Emmett hadn’t gotten permission to put there, as well as a chain and padlock on the handle so it couldn’t be opened.

Bishop didn’t want to have to come up with some way to explain those things. It was bad enough that, if he was reported missing and the police made a big deal about finding him, she might see his face splashed across her TV screen and recognize him.

“Are you finding that you have everything you need here?” she asked as she returned her keys to her purse. “This location isn’t too remote, I hope?”

She looked like the TV actress Betty White—sweet and small, with white hair and a sweater over her turquoise shirt and matching slacks, even though it was plenty warm today. She took care of herself. He admired her for that. He could smell her lavender perfume, which brought back a vague recollection of his grandmother. Mrs. Southwick came off just as harmless as Grandma Henning. He’d always thought his life would’ve turned out very differently had his grandmother not died when he was six.