Edna had bruising all around her neck. No one had said anything, but it was clear that Bishop had choked her and left her for dead. It was a miracle she’d survived, especially at her age, because she also had a head injury, which was still bleeding. If they hadn’t found her when they did, who could say what might’ve happened? He admired her daughter for coming after her, in spite of the risk. Ada was a fighter. She reminded him of Evelyn.

“There’s a body in one of the coops in back—the one on the end,” he told Phil as Phil walked him to his truck. “Anchorage PD will be here soon. So will the medical examiner. Stay to meet them. Then you’re free to head home.”

“Where are you going?”

“Fairbanks.”

“Right now? It’s the middle of the night! And it’s a six-or seven-hour drive.”

They’d reached his truck. Amarok opened the door and Makita jumped into the cab. “Assuming he waited until it was dark or almost dark to leave, Bishop has a two-or three-hour head start. Maybe longer, if he didn’t wait until dark.” He hoisted himself into the driver’s seat. “It’ll only get harder to find him later.”

“It won’t be easy now,” Phil said, one hand on the open door. “In case you’ve forgotten, Fairbanks is a big city.”

Certainly not to the rest of the world, but it was to them. “There can only be so many houses for rent.”

“There could be a lot more than you think, especially if he was referring to the Fairbanks area and not Fairbanks proper. Or maybe he said Fairbanks but has since changed his mind. It’s even possible that the old lady wasn’t remembering correctly when she passed you that information. She has a nasty head wound.”

“I’ve come this far. I can’t lose Evelyn now.”

“But without something else to go on, you’ll just be spinning your wheels.”

“I have to start looking.”

“How?”

“I’ll go to each rental listing until I find the van.”

“And if he’s already ditched the van?”

“He has Evelyn with him. Until he gets another place to put her, I doubt he’ll have the mobility to do a whole lot.”

“He could leave her in the van while stealing another car, and then come back for her.”

Amarok jammed the key in the ignition. “He doesn’t know I know he has the van. Why would he risk getting caught by trying to steal another one? He might not even have the skills. It was the dead guy in the chicken coop who stole the van, remember?”

Phil covered a yawn. “How do you know who stole the van?”

“Well, it wasn’t Bishop. Bishop was still at Beacon Point when Evelyn was kidnapped.”

A sheepish look crossed Phil’s face. “Oh, right.”

“And Bishop thought the old lady was dead when he left here, so he also doesn’t know I know where he’s going. He has no reason to change his mind.”