Darby shifted away from her, huddled on the chair in the corner. Cleary not happy.

The chief obviously believed whatever tales the FBI was telling. Signy glanced at Elliot. “I thought you’d already flown back to Anchorage?”

“All the flights were overbooked. I waited on standby for two hours trying to get a seat and eventually gave up. Looks like I’m stuck here until this blizzard runs its course.” He let out a frustrated breath and dragged his fingers through his hair.

She hated how that small display of vulnerability ratcheted up his attraction value by a factor of a thousand.

She looked at Darby and then back to Elliot. She was pissed to be sidelined but knew why it had happened. Of the other two women on the force, one patrol officer was out on mat leave and the other was on vacation. Signy was literally it when it came to available officers with vaginas. “Would you like me to wait outside in the hallway?”

Elliot grunted. “I’d rather Darby’s location not be advertised quite so obviously.”

She sent him a frustrated glare and lowered her voice so Darby couldn’t hear. “I make her uncomfortable.”

Elliot leaned closer. “Do you blame her?”

Signy’s mouth went dry as she considered how she’d have reacted in Darby’s place. She’d only been doing her job. “No, but—”

“How about you use this as an opportunity to talk to Darby like a human being? Create a little empathy and maybe gain her cooperation. Chances are she actually knows this killer.”

Signy held his gaze. “And the killer knows her.” She took a step toward the girl, but Elliot caught her arm. Signy jolted in reaction to his touch.

“One thing, Detective.”

She lifted her chin and ignored the way it made her feel when his gaze glanced off her lips.

“Be nice.”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m always nice.”

“No. I mean it. Be really nice. Darby has been through enough without this added nightmare.”

Signy met his gaze and read all the things he wasn’t saying. She knew the girl had been kidnapped in Indonesia and now also knew Darby attended group therapy for sexual assault victims. It was apparent she’d suffered even though Darby had never revealed the extent of the atrocities committed against her to the world. It was a miracle the girl had survived.

Signy nodded. If Darby was still a suspect, she’d be wondering how this helped the case against her, but she clearly wasn’t. Signy had to assume the FBI had comprehensive proof she was innocent, and Eban Winters hadn’t made this up simply to keep Darby off the hook.

A serial killer in her town? This development was both a nightmare and an opportunity.

Signy wanted that promotion she’d applied for. She wanted it so she could spend quality time with her son before he left home for good. She needed it so she could afford to send him to college. The FBI might have muscled in on the case, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t be pivotal in solving it and helping to apprehend this killer.