26

Anchorage, AK—Thursday, 1:00 a.m. AKDT

Steeling himself for what he might find, Amarok crept toward the back of the processing plant, Edna Southwick’s daughter close on his heels. After the gruesome sight of Emmett’s decomposing body in the chicken coop, he felt certain Bishop had been here. He could still be here. There wasn’t a vehicle on the premises—not one he’d seen—but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Bishop and Evelyn could be in the plant.

The alternate scenario—that something had spooked Bishop and he’d either killed Evelyn and driven off or taken her with him—was also a possibility, one that was too upsetting to contemplate.

And what about Ada’s mother? Where had she gone?

Once again using his service pistol, a Gen4 GLOCK 22, Amarok motioned for Ada to hang back a bit more as he approached the window. Although he typically preferred using his rifle, was more accustomed to it since it was better for the types of things he usually policed, that wasn’t the case here. He had to rely on his sidearm. He missed Makita, too. Approaching danger without the superior eyes and nose of his dog made him feel slightly handicapped.

He’d called Phil as soon as he’d found the address for the chicken ranch at Edna Southwick’s and asked him to return to Anchorage. If Phil had left right away, he and Makita should both arrive soon. But he couldn’t stand around and wait. If Evelyn was on the premises and she was still alive, he wouldn’t want Bishop to return before he could set her free.

“Do you see anything?” Ada whispered as he tried to peer into the room.

Although the light was on, a navy blue sheet covered the window, making it difficult to determine what, if anything, was going on inside. “No.”

“So what are you going to do?”

He eyed the door that was boarded shut. It would take too much time to rip off the boards and enter from behind. Even if he could do it quickly, which he couldn’t, the noise would give his presence away.

But would it be any smarter to go in through the store? Breaking glass might be fast, but it wouldn’t be any quieter.

Maybe it was unlocked. Since the gate had a padlock on it, which was why he’d had to climb over the fence in back, he doubted Bishop had left the plant open, but it was worth a try.

He gestured for Ada to remain silent as they slipped around to the side. He had to concentrate so he didn’t miss something that could get one or both of them killed.

Fortunately, with it being light in the building and dark outside, he had a slight advantage, despite all the windows.

Although he’d made it clear she wasn’t to talk, Ada murmured, “The van’s gone.”

“What van?” he asked.

“The one that was here before—in the carport.”

“Was it a blue carpet-cleaning van?”

“No. It was spray-painted black.”

That didn’t rule out the carpet-cleaning van. Anyone could spray-paint a vehicle. That gave him hope everything was coming together as he peered into the store.