Laurel nodded. “As soon as I get the budget from DC, we can equip the place. For now . . .” She moved to pick up a cinder block from the storage room. “Let’s move these into my office.”
Kate frowned. “Why?”
Laurel took in the abandoned doors leaning against the far wall. One was a dingy green that appeared fairly smooth. “I need a desk.” A killer was out there, hunting blondes, and the only thing that mattered was that he be stopped.
Now.
* * *
Huck accepted the change from the grocery cashier and shoved it in his pocket. The kid appeared to be around sixteen with purple streaks through her dark hair and a nose ring that looked infected. “Thanks.”
The cashier grinned and looked at the items in his cart. “Dog food, beer, toilet paper, and Advil. Dude, you might as well just wear a T-shirt that says ‘bachelor.’” She looked at his dirty jacket and then reached beneath the counter for a flyer. “We’re supposed to give these to everyone. The Genesis Community Church is hosting a Christmas soup kitchen every Thursday night through December, in case you’re hungry.”
He took the flyer. Did he look homeless? He stared down at his faded jeans, worn boots, and old coat. Whiskers covered his jaw. Yeah, he needed a haircut. “Thanks.” Turning, he hefted the dog food over a shoulder and grasped the two plastic bags with his other hand. His bum leg hurt like a bitch, but he made it outside and back into the gently falling snow without limping. “Kid thought I was homeless,” he said to Aeneas after dumping everything in the truck.
The dog blinked.
Huck started the truck just as his phone buzzed. “What?” he answered.
“Aren’t you cheerful as usual?” Frank Melinoli was the department director in charge of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Agency.
Huck already knew what was coming. “No.”
“Too bad,” Frank shot back. “We have a serial killer on your mountain, and I’ve let you stew alone in the woods for too long. It’s been two years since I transferred you, Huck. If you need counseling, I’ll pay for it myself. You don’t have to go through official channels.”
“I’m fine,” Huck growled, his leg aching. “I’m aware we have a killer, Frank. I saw the bodies.” The small blonde with the bruised neck would haunt his dreams, but she’d have to stand in line to do it.
Frank sighed. “I don’t have time to argue with you, considering I just spent an hour being ordered around by the governor. So here it is. We’re taking the lead on the investigation, and you’re the captain in that region, so you’re now lead and will liaise, or however they say it, with the FBI agent there. Got it?”
An image of Laurel’s dual-colored eyes shot through Huck’s head, and his mood turned even darker than the clouds piling across the sky. “Monty Buckley is the captain in charge here. I’m just a search and rescue guy with a title and no office.”
“Buckley has prostate cancer and can’t take this on,” Frank said bluntly.
Huck dropped his head. “I didn’t know.”
“Nobody knows,” Frank said. “Keep it that way. I just spoke with him, and he’s assigning you an office to use until you find this killer.”
“I don’t need an office,” Huck muttered.
“Too bad. Monty is sending all of the information his folks have compiled to the FBI agent, and you’re expected to reach out to her today. See him first.” Frank hung up.
Huck slammed his phone on the seat.
Aeneas barked and then settled down.
“Just great.” Huck drove out of the parking lot onto Main Street and then followed the road several miles, turning onto Jagged Rock Road and driving twenty more miles before sliding into the parking lot fronting the headquarters of Fish and Wildlife. Huh. The sign on the building, right in the middle, said STAGGERSICECREAMERY.A smaller sign to the left noted that a beauty school had opened there. Fish and Wildlife had a small sign above a wider door to the far right.
He parked and jumped out, opening Aeneas’s door. If he was stuck with an office, they were stuck with his dog. He strode inside a vestibule with wooden flooring covered by a large black rubber mat. Two closed wooden doors were straight ahead, while a glass door to the right led into Fish and Wildlife. He shoved the glass door open and nodded at the officer behind the reception desk. “Hi, Ena. Is Monty around?” He’d met her two years ago, at their former office, when he’d had to fill out paperwork, but he hadn’t seen her since.
She was tall with broad shoulders, black hair, and a genuine smile. “He’s waiting for you. I’m glad you’ve come off the mountain.”
“It’s temporary.” Huck strode through a door to the left and walked along a series of shoulder height file cabinets that separated the hallway from the bullpen. Several officers worked at desks arranged in formations of four. He walked to the end of the file cabinets and straight into Monty’s office. It was decorated with pictures of fish and one of Monty’s wife from years ago, before she’d passed away. “Here I am. I don’t need an office.”
Monty looked up from a pile of papers, his white hair poking in different directions. “The welcome celebration will have to wait, and you have an office whether or not you want one.” His jaw was hard and lines fanned out from his eyes. “If nothing else, the dog might want somewhere to sleep.” He stood and walked past Huck to the bullpen, then continued down a hallway to an empty office at the very end, beyond what appeared to be a vacant office. “Most people don’t want to be this far from the action, but I figured it was perfect for you. Plus, the conference room is across the hall, so you won’t have to go far if you want to throw a party.”
Smart aleck. Huck walked inside the office, which took up the northeast corner of the first floor. He looked up at the ceiling. “Who’s above me?”
“Nobody at the moment. The second floor above us is vacant, although it looks like the FBI just rented the second floor above the ice cream shop,” Monty said.
