Laurel nodded. The entire place was decorated in muted tan, white, and light purple. She looked from the front door to the balcony, then walked that way and opened the door. About a foot of snow covered the area, and ice crusted the black railing. “According to one police report, Dr. Rox found black dahlias up here. The stalker must’ve reached the balcony through the condo, right?” The rear of the building looked over an open field that bordered forested land, and deer browsed for food through the snow. She craned her neck to look over the railing and below but couldn’t see without stepping onto the balcony. “There are no footprints. I’m going to walk through the snow.”

“All right.” He was suddenly at her back, snapping pictures of the pristine area. It was vacant, save for the snow. “Go ahead. I photographed the scene.”

“Thanks.” She kicked a small trail straight to the railing, pausing and looking down. “I don’t see how he could’ve come up this way.”

Huck appeared at her side, leaning over. His sheer size took her aback for a moment. The man had such a calm demeanor, she forgot he was at least a foot taller, much broader, and more muscled than she. He probably outweighed her by a hundred pounds. “The balconies are positioned on top of each other. I could jump from one railing to the other and pull myself up each time.” He cocked his head. “But that’d be a risk because anybody inside the affected condominium would probably hear me.” He made a note on his phone.

“If the stalker lifted himself up to each balcony, he’s athletic,” Laurel murmured, the cold wind slapping against her face. She shivered. “I’ll search the master bedroom and you take the office next to it.”

“Okay.” He waited for her to step back inside before following her and shutting the door. “I called in a team to start canvassing the other condo owners, and I’ll make sure they ask about the railings and the possibility of someone climbing up. We have a new investigative team within the Fish and Wildlife office here, and they’re ready to get to work.”

She paused. “I’m surprised you wanted to expand the local office.”

“I didn’t. Monty did. He used the juice from our solving the Snowblood Peak murders to make it happen.” Huck shrugged. “It’s fine with me since Monty will be back in charge come late spring, once he’s healed up.” They were of the same rank, but Huck was a loner who only interacted with the team for search and rescue operations or for the bear program.