“He can come with us,” Huck said, snatching keys off the edge of his desk. “If I have to leave him in the truck, he has his own battery-operated heater in the back seat as well as water, although he won’t need it.” He gestured Laurel out of the office and pressed a large-boned hand to the back of her waist. “Thanks for offering, Monty. I appreciate it.”
There was more warmth and respect between the two men than had been evident at the crime scene. Had something happened?
Laurel preceded him through the office, feeling the curious gazes again. When they reached the freezing cold outside, she moved toward his truck. “What was that about? You don’t trust your colleagues with your dog?”
Huck opened the passenger side door for her. “Aeneas is a working dog, and he needs a set routine.” He waited until she’d climbed up and settled herself in the seat. “I like rules. Everyone in my life sticks to them, and I don’t like anything that disrupts our schedule.” With that, he shut the door.
She blinked. Was that statement aimed at her?
* * *
Northern Washington Technical Institute exemplified the aesthetic of modern architecture surrounded by wild nature. Glass and steel buildings angled elegantly over the campus, and Huck wove expertly through the streets to a structure that held classrooms on the first floor and faculty offices on the second.
Laurel scrolled through her phone. “According to the school’s website, Dr. Caine just finished a class and should be holding office hours right now.”
“Good.” Huck parked in a visitor slot and turned off the engine. “What does she teach, anyway?”
“A surprising variety of classes,” Laurel mused, reading through the faculty descriptions. “She has degrees in computation and neural systems, social and decision neuroscience, game theory, biochemistry, and . . .” Well, that was fascinating. “Philosophy with a practical ethics emphasis.”
Huck looked at her as more snow fell on the front window. “Sounds smart. How old is she?”
“This doesn’t say,” Laurel murmured. “Based on the number of her degrees, I’d say she’s been at this for at least a few decades. I’m curious to meet her. The philosophy degree is incongruous with the science and mathematics focus.” She opened her door and stepped carefully down to the icy ground.
Huck let Aeneas out, crossed around the truck to the glass and steel door of the building and opened it for Laurel. “If you say so.”
Laurel walked inside and instantly warmed. Spotting a curved stairway, she wiped her boots on the rubber mat and walked across the stained concrete floor to ascend the hanging steel steps. The railing was steel with a glass partition extending to the cement steps beneath it. “I believe her office is to the right in the corner.” She’d memorized the layout of the building after one look at the schematics. She turned right and walked beyond several closed office doors to the last one, which held a silver-rimmed bulletin board tacked with impeccably aligned flyers and schedules. She knocked.
“Come in,” a female voice called.
Laurel opened the door wide. “Dr. Caine?”
“Yes?” The woman didn’t look up from the papers on her desk.
“I’m FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow, and this is Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers. We’d like a moment of your time.” Without waiting for an invitation, Laurel stepped inside and walked across the hard concrete floor to one of the two guest chairs opposite the desk.
When Dr. Caine looked up, she was much younger than Laurel had expected. Surprise flashed across her face. “FBI?” Her pink mouth gaped open, and she stared at Laurel.
“Yes.” Laurel forced a smile and gestured to the chair. “May we?”
“Yes.” Dr. Caine caught herself and then smiled, her gaze direct. Openly curious. She spoke with a barely noticeable British accent. “Please. Have a seat.” Her hair was platinum blond, thick and wavy, while her eyes were a dark blue. Her skin was smooth and unlined, showing her to be possibly in her late twenties or early thirties.
Laurel stared back. “I’m sorry. I expected someone older from your biography.”
Dr. Caine laughed, the sound controlled. “Child prodigy, I’m afraid. I entered college young.” Her gaze flickered to Huck and ran over his length as he took a seat while Aeneas did the same at his feet. But she turned back to continue studying Laurel. “You appear young for a special agent.”
Laurel kept the smile in place. “Yes. Seems as if we have that in common.”
“Don’t we, though?” Dr. Caine said, sitting back in her leather chair. “What can I help you with today?”
Huck settled his bulk more comfortably in his chair. “Fish and Wildlife officers have been calling you since yesterday.”
Dr. Caine glanced over at her blinking phone. “Ah. I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to check my messages. Is there something going on?”
“Yes,” Laurel said. “We’ve had an incident on Snowblood Peak, and your Escalade has been parked at the trailhead numerous times in the last six weeks. We were hoping you might’ve seen or heard something that could help us.”
Dr. Caine set her pink-tipped nails on her desk. “I don’t understand. What kind of incident?”
“Why do you go to Snowblood Peak so often?” Huck interjected quietly.
