Free Just Enough Light by AJ Quinn Page A

her and had stolen almost a year of her life.
    But no. That would classify as good news, and good news wouldn’t have Special Agent Grant hanging back in the shadows. Only bad news waited in the shadows.
    They made brief eye contact while she spoke to the county coroner. It sent a chill through her already frozen body and left her hopelessly caught between conflicting desires. Fight and flight. She gave him full marks for not intruding, simply watching from a distance, his shoulders hunched against the cold.
    But she didn’t give him an opportunity to approach her. Instead, in the emotional aftermath that surrounded the transfer of a thirteen-year-old boy’s body to the coroner and his parents, Kellen slipped away.
    Easing slowly behind the main building, she cut through an interconnecting hallway between two buildings and back out again, whistling for Bogart as she ran into the woods.
    Fear had a taste all its own. It also had a feel, like an icy fist reaching inside her, finding her broken places and twisting them. In that instant, Bogart appeared at her side out of nowhere. As if he knew she needed him. And then they ran together until they reached her cabin.

    *

    Dana stayed in the background, still as a stone. The people around her, watching the helicopter land, were equally still. The three Donaldsons, the county coroner, and members of the Alpine team all stood in a solemn show of respect.
    Kellen came out first. There were signs of fatigue on her face, and Dana caught a flash of something in her bruised eyes. Anger and sorrow. Then it was gone and they were simply blue.
    She stood tall as she approached the family. Took a telltale breath and spoke softly to the grief-stricken couple and their remaining son. Remained calm when Andrea Donaldson railed at the God that had forsaken her son, slipped from her husband’s restraining hand, and crowded into Kellen. Pounding briefly on Kellen’s chest before collapsing in her arms.
    Kellen remained beside them. Supporting Mrs. Donaldson on one side while her husband supported her on the other as their son’s body was removed from the helicopter and placed in the coroner’s vehicle.
    Everything that happened did so according to plan. But at some point during the exchange, Dana heard a discordant note in her head that had nothing to do with grief. It caught her by surprise and she looked around, trying to determine what was off, what was out of place and didn’t belong in the emotional tableau before her. And then she saw him.
    He was standing shadowed by the trees that crowded the clearing. Late forties, tall and heavyset, with a military haircut and a dark blue suit, he couldn’t have looked more out of place in a skier’s mecca.
    Her years working emergency departments in New York and Boston had her immediately pegging him as a cop, but not local or state. Something told her this was genus FBI. But it wasn’t just his unexplained appearance that was troubling. What made Dana increasingly uncomfortable was the way he was watching Kellen. Much too intently.
    She anticipated Kellen would make her escape shortly after her part of the script was complete. While attention was focused on the black body bag being transferred to the coroner’s wagon. But there was no time to bask in the correctness of how she’d assessed the situation. As Kellen silently backed away before slipping behind the main building, the cop made his move, appearing determined to follow her.
    That was when Dana made a move of her own, with no thought beyond intercepting the cop and giving Kellen the time she needed to disappear.

    *

    The only sounds Kellen could hear as she neared her cabin were her own harsh breathing and Bogart’s panting. But apprehension continued to prickle on her skin.
    Once safely inside, she immediately stripped off her clothes and crawled into the shower. But the heat from the water pounding down on her didn’t seem to help. No matter how long she stayed there, she was