Free Thaw (Detective Ellie MacIntosh) by Kate Watterson

Chapter One
    It wasn’t exactly nice outside but it was warming up a little. Typical Wisconsin spring day, steel-gray skies, every branch dripping as the snow reluctantly let go its icy grip. While it was a hint of the changing seasons, it wasn’t close enough to toss the winter coats into the closet just yet.
    Not that it mattered. She had a ton of paperwork and sunbathing was not on her agenda.
    “Detective?”
    Ellie Macintosh glanced up at the hovering secretary. “What?”
    “There’s a federal judge here to see you.”
    Of anything she expected to hear, that was not it. “A federal judge? Why?”
    “She won’t say. And guess what?’ Jessica dropped a piece of paper on her desk. “She gets to do that. Anyone else, no. But a judge, yes. Usually we are asking her for favors, so we don’t get picky when she requests a few minutes with a specific detective.”
    Ellie picked up the card and stared at it. “I’m not working any big cases right now.”
    “Feel free to ask her. I’m not about to. Sheriff Pearson said to give her whatever she wants, and that is apparently you.”
    “Must be my lucky day,” Ellie muttered. “By all means, bring her on back here.”
    She stood. It was just ingrained after testifying in court more than a few times, and when Judge Louise Nelson came around the corner, she was fairly glad she had. Maybe late forties or so, her visitor was tall, moved with a purposeful stride, and wore a plain, but obviously expensive navy blue dress with white piping, flats, and had the demeanor of someone with an agenda. Her looks had more character than beauty—dark hair, a narrow face, and a slightly Roman nose—but she was someone who would be noticed.
    “You’re Eleanor MacIntosh?”
    Ellie found it difficult to conceal her wince. She really did not like her first name. It had also been her beloved grandmother’s name, so she couldn’t exactly object. Still, it sounded more than a little old-fashioned. She extended her hand. “Ellie, please…how can I help you, Your Honor?”
    The judge’s shake was firm but very brief. “I think there is a chance you didn’t get him.”
    That made her blink. The room was hardly spacious; there were desks near hers, and people coming and going, so she wasn’t positive she’d heard correctly. Unsure how to respond, she chose, “Can you clarify just who we might be talking about?”
    “The Northwoods Killer. Detective, is there a conference room you and I can use so we can speak in private?”
    With a sense of confusion she led the way to a small interrogation area that wasn’t often used. Most crimes in northern Wisconsin tended to be of the less-than-lethal kind and she supposed that the sheriff wouldn’t mind her using it for a few minutes considering the status of her visitor. She gestured to a chair at a small, plain table and went to shut the door. “I’m sorry, but I am not sure I understand what you just said. Last fall the case was resolved in a manner that satisfied not just this county and the state of Wisconsin, but also the FBI.”
    Judge Nelson didn’t seem to mind the colorless room. They each took a chair on opposite sides of the scratched table and she placed her hands, palms down, on the surface. “Can you tell me, without any doubt whatsoever, that the man you shot and killed was the one abducting those women and hiding their bodies?”
    That had been more than five months ago. The memory of that eighteen-month investigation sent a chill through Ellie even now that the snow was melting and there was a hint of spring around the corner, but she was able to say with conviction, “I am sure. He had a potential victim tied up in an attic and there was a witness to his admission besides myself…Judge, can you tell me why you question what happened?”
    The woman had seemed cool and detached since she arrived, and for a moment that faltered. Just a shimmer of loss of control, but it made her more human, gave a hint of