He wished that he had had more time to prepare. But a man can’t always choose when his world will turn upside down. He eased up to the side of the cabin and parked.

CHAPTER 77

Max approached the glass door wearing mud-covered hiking pants and a patina of grime from his two nights in the Boundary Waters. He was tired, and sore, and smelled like sweat and river water. This was not how he wanted to look when he and Niki met once again.

Niki sat on his couch beneath a dim floor lamp, watching as he stepped onto the front porch. She wore a flannel shirt, and blue jeans, and no smile.

Max opened the door slowly. “I see you found my cabin,” he said.

“I’m a detective.”

He closed the door behind him. “Bennet called you?”

“He said that some guy was being flown out of the Boundary Waters with a crazy story. He wanted to know if you were a nut job. I told him you were, but you were also a passable homicide detective in your day.”

“I appreciate the reference.”

“He said there were dead bodies?”

“You already know about Sandy Voight and Olivia Molinar. Add to that Peter Molinar.” Max let his eyes drift to the floor. “And Lyle Voight.”

Niki allowed a brief moment of silence before saying, “I’m sorry. The child’s okay though?”

“Physically, but his mother’s dead. His grandfather died saving his life. His father’s going to prison. Just a few weeks ago he was looking forward to Halloween with his family. Now…”

“They said you brought the father back alive.”

Something about that still didn’t sit right with Max, like it was an admission of weakness. “I had him in the sights of my shotgun—ten feet away.”

“He killed your friend? Lyle?”

Max started to answer, but something stuck in his throat, so he simply nodded.

“No one would have faulted you if…” Niki looked as though she were studying his face for some unspoken understanding. When Max didn’t respond, she said, “It would have been self-defense.”

Max thought back to those few seconds, how easy it would have been to cut the man down.

Niki continued, “But you brought him back.”

“A little worse for wear, but yeah, I brought him back.”

“Now he’s in the hands of St. Louis County?”

“And the BCA. That guy Bennet seems to be a good egg. Spent the day giving him my statement. I kept you out of it.”

“What do you mean, you kept me out of it?”

“The ping that led us to Peter Molinar. They don’t have to know about that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want you getting in trouble for doing me a favor. I shouldn’t have asked you in the first place.”

Niki shook her head slowly, exasperated or maybe angry.

“What?” Max asked.

“You’re still treating me like I’m your little sister. You were always like that. I did that ping because I was being a good cop. If anyone wants to make an issue of it, let them. I can take the heat. I’m tougher than you think.”