Free Polar (Book 1): Polar Night by Julie Flanders

showed up at their door on Christmas.
    Danny headed back to the kitchen and poured a second mug of coffee. He grabbed the last of his blueberry Pop-Tarts and ate one cold while he waited for the other to toast. He could feel his energy returning. For whatever reason, he had a good feeling about meeting the Alexanders. His gut told him the visit was going to be worthwhile.
    He just needed to get cleaned up and make himself presentable. He finished the last of his coffee and headed for his bathroom and a steaming hot shower.

 
     
    Chapter 16
     
     
     
     
    An hour later, after more coffee and several Excedrin tablets, Danny pulled into the Alexander’s driveway, glad he had remembered to call them and ask if they would be willing to talk to him before he had left his place. He was actually surprised he had been able to concentrate enough to make the call and relieved that the coffee combined with the shower had clearly had the desired sobering effect.
    Danny trudged through the snow-covered sidewalk to the front door, anxious to get inside and out of the still falling snow. He wondered if the snow would stop falling before March. Danny had been sure the Alaskan winters wouldn’t bother him, as Chicagoans knew all about cold and snow. But he was now sure that this had been a naive assumption.
    A man Danny assumed was Ted Alexander opened the front door to the house as Danny stepped onto the porch.
    “Detective Fitzpatrick?” he asked.
    Danny nodded. “Mr. Alexander, I assume?”
    “Right. Call me Ted, please.” He opened the door and stepped aside to give Danny room. “Come on in and get out of the cold.”
    “Thank you,” Danny said, stomping his boots on the floor mat. “This has to be the coldest day of the year.”
    Ted raised an eyebrow. “You new to Alaska?”
    “Why do you ask?”
    “Because this isn’t even all that cold. Wait until January.”
    Danny shivered at the thought. “I was sure growing up in Chicago would prepare me for this.”
    Ted took Danny’s parka and hung it up in the narrow hall closet.  “You’re more prepared than I was. I grew up in Florida.”
    Ted led Danny into a small living area, where a petite woman with short silvery-blond hair stood up to greet him.
    “Detective, this is my wife, Marilyn.”
    Danny shook the woman’s small hand. “Mrs. Alexander.”
    “I want to say it’s good to meet you, Detective, but in these circumstances…”
    “Believe me, I understand. Social niceties usually don’t matter too much in my line of work.”
    Marilyn nodded and gestured to an olive colored armchair. “Please, have a seat.”
    She sat back down on the matching olive sofa and folder her hands in her lap. Ted rubbed his hand through his curly black hair and sat beside her.
    “So you’re working on my daughter’s case now,” he said, his voice instantly strained.
    “I am. I’ve been following up on my predecessor’s work.”
    “I don’t mean this as a knock on him,” Ted said. “But I doubt there’s much for you to follow up on. He never found anything.”
    “I know,” Danny said. “But I guess I want to start at the beginning with you. Try to see if I can dig up something that could have been missed.”
    Marilyn clutched her hands more tightly together. “I don’t know what we can tell you that we didn’t already say.”
    “Probably nothing,” Danny said. “But I’ve got a new angle I’m working on, another missing woman case. I’m hoping something will tie in that wouldn’t have made sense before.”
    “Another girl’s gone missing now?” Ted asked.
    “Yeah. A few days ago.”
    “This is when Anna disappeared.”
    “I know. That’s why I’m trying to see if I can find a connection.”
    Both Alexanders seemed to perk up, however slightly. “What do you want to know?” Marilyn asked.
    “Was there anything unusual that happened before Anna disappeared? Did she meet anyone new? A new job, maybe?”
    Ted shook his head. “No. Not that we were