Free Polar (Prequel): The Turnagain Arm by Julie Flanders Page B

knew they would all be too excited to question the fact that Dzubenko had two gunshot wounds in his body. They were all too idiotic to wonder how Hawkins managed to get off two shots after Dzubenko had slit his throat. Imbeciles, every last one of them.
    For his part, Aleksei would be as shocked as all the others that the saloon keeper they had all trusted had turned out to be a murderer. He’d wonder with the rest of them what had become of Dzubenko’s wife and speculate on whether or not she had been an accomplice in the murders. He could hear the camp workers insisting that she must have been, why else would she have disappeared in the dark of night and left her home behind? He’d shake his head and sadly agree that they must be right.
    Aleksei burst out laughing at the thought of it, his laugh echoing off the trees as he walked through the woods. It was all going to be such fun.
    The smoke and lights of the Turnagain Arm saloon came into view. His saloon. He heard the whistle of the locomotive coming from the direction of the camp, the signal that workers had finished laying more track and it would soon be time to move on from Potter Creek.
    The railroad company had years of work ahead before they would be finished with the railroad. And Aleksei and the Turnagain Arm would be there the rest of the way, moving along with the camps as they worked their way towards Fairbanks and the completion of the project. By the time the railroad was completed, Aleksei would have all the money he could ever need for setting up his next venture.
    Aleksei smiled as he prepared to go inside and tell everyone the shocking and tragic story of the tragedy that had befallen the heroic James Hawkins and the terrible truth that had been revealed about Vasyl Dzubenko. It was all he could do to keep from laughing again. There was no question in his mind that coming to Alaska had been the best decision he’d ever made.
    He liked it here.
    ***

Aleksei Nechayev’s story continues…
     
    POLAR NIGHT
     

     
     
    At noon the sun awakens as rural Dalton highway is painted on the arctic, Alaskan horizon. Silhouetted against the burning haze, a haunted asylum pierces the never-ending sky.
    A woman screams.
    A silken voice and a powerful grip to the throat persuades her silence. His classic Russian features, not unlike the minted image of Czar Nicolas II, remain frozen in time. “Please do not disappoint me like the others, my darling.”
    The doorbell chimes. He releases his hold and caresses her cheek. “Natasha,” escapes his lips as he ascends the creaky wooden stairs. A calm hand opens the door. The glistening snow on the front porch pales against Aleksei’s skin and charming smile.
    The callused hand of detective Danny Fitzpatrick flashes a search warrant. His puffy, bloodshot eyes lock onto Aleksei’s …
    The young woman cries out, but only Aleksei hears. They will never find you my dear. This beaten and hung over man does not have a clue.
    Hours later, the detective crosses the threshold and shudders as if encased in a block of ice. The sun drops to sleep and an eerie shadow creeps alongside him. He shakes his head.
    Aleksei watches from the peephole. You feel my immortal essence … do you not? A forceful hand bolts the door. Aleksei probes his elongating eye teeth.
    It is time for a new plan …
     
    Polar Night on Amazon
     
     
    And coming in January, 2015 from Ink Smith Publishing:
     
    The midnight sun heralds the arrival of a new enemy in the sequel to Polar Night, POLAR DAY.
    ***