Bear Witness by Lark O. Jensen

Author:Lark O. Jensen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

Chapter Twelve

I was aware that the Alaska State Troopers were connected to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, and that Liam’s new division within the Troopers, the Initial Response Section, was a small but important part of the organization.

I’d only been vaguely aware of their location in Juneau but learned the specifics quickly, thanks to Liam.

Our destination now, the Initial Response office, wasn’t far from the ClemTours office, so Sasha and I walked there with Liam, who definitely knew where he was going.

He explained, though, that the Initial Response Section here in Juneau had an office separate from that of the Alaska State Troopers, which had a building a distance from downtown.

“We’re more in the middle of things here,” he said. “Although that’s not always necessary, it doesn’t hurt—especially since we’re the group often brought in first in questionable situations, before it’s clear if there’s been a crime committed and, if so, what it is.”

Made sense to me—a disappearance from a tour boat being a great example of such a “questionable situation.”

And I had some more questions.

“How does your group store evidence about a crime like this?” I asked, mostly to get a conversation going. Would he give me a lot of info? I doubted it.

In fact, I remained surprised he’d agreed to let me come along with him to his place of employment—although maybe he wanted to keep an eye on me and make sure I didn’t do anything to interfere with the investigation.

Which I didn’t really want to do, unless I felt certain that their interest in Palmer as a suspect meant they weren’t really attempting to learn the truth.

And I still hoped the truth was that someone other than Palmer, or any other Clementos, was the killer.

“We have a secure system, as most law enforcement agencies do,” Liam responded, looking straight at me as if expecting me to argue—or maybe just request access to that system.

Hey, if I’d thought he’d budge, I’d definitely be making that kind of request.

“Of course.” What could I do at the moment, though, but acknowledge the information he’d conveyed? “But as I said before, I’d appreciate it if you’d share whatever you can so I can find a way to help you get your answers.”

Answers other than a Clementos family member, I continued to hope.

“I’m still assuming you’ll share anything you find.” That was his response—without acknowledging he’d do anything similar.

We turned a few corners on our walk, stopped now and then to let Sasha sniff gravel-covered areas between the sidewalk and the roadway, and wound up in an area that had buildings on a hillside overlooking the street. One building, on the right side and up the hill, was constructed of red bricks and had a sloped roof.

Liam led me up a sidewalk beside the rising driveway that turned a bit to keep the incline from being too steep, probably a good idea when the weather was bad.

My suspicions about the building were quickly confirmed. Part of the roof overhung the

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