2. December, Present Day

CHAPTER 2

DECEMBER, PRESENT DAY

FOUR DAYS UNTIL THE NEXT MURDER

“ S lasher was not the name of one of Santa’s reindeer,” Duke McAllister called over his shoulder with wry amusement in his voice. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“You’re thinking of Dasher .” Andi Slade turned from the front seat and looked at Mariella Boucher, who sat in the SUV behind her, her twin brother Matthew beside her.

“Wait . . . how did I mess that up so badly?” Mariella rolled her eyes at herself.

The four of them were playing a silly Christmas trivia game as they headed to their next investigation. Things would turn serious soon enough. For now, it felt good to relax a moment.

“Let’s face it: our lives now revolve around murder,” Matthew said. “Slasher is only appropriate.”

“You’ve got a good point.” Andi tugged her stocking cap down lower on her brow, chilly despite the heat billowing into Duke’s SUV through the vents at her feet. Christmas music played on the radio—“Jingle Bells.” The lyrics about dashing through the snow seemed especially suitable right now.

“I so wish we were coming here under other circumstances.” Mariella peered out the window at the winter wonderland around them.

As Andi followed Mariella’s gaze and observed the snow covering every visible surface around them, she couldn’t help but agree.

Though Andi normally boasted about enjoying tropical vacations, she might make an exception for this place. At least, she might if she weren’t here to hunt a killer.

But Andi and her team had come to the Borealis Reindeer Camp for work, and they couldn’t lose sight of that. Someone’s life depended on it.

A moment later, they spotted the sign for the camp.

The sprawling, five-hundred-acre resort was in the subarctic boreal forest. It had started as a reindeer farm and had grown into a family vacation destination.

The camp had twelve cabins, a large lodge with ten rooms, and a dining hall. Twenty-two people were employed here, and more than ten thousand guests came through each year.

Some of the cabins had glass ceiling tiles so visitors could see the northern lights over the White Mountains. In the winter, they offered snowmobile rides, campfires, and ice fishing. In the summer, they took guests on UTV rides to the Arctic Circle, hikes, river rafting trips, and panned for gold.

Andi had researched it before coming.

The camp seemed like such a lovely place for such a horrible thing to have happened.

Andi’s throat clenched at the thought of it.

This was where the December Dismemberer had claimed his last victims.

For the past six years, the killer had struck on the same date in various locations around Fairbanks. He slit his victims’ throats and then built a snowman . . . leaving various body parts on the snowman as his calling card.

There was no rhyme or reason to his chosen victims. They shared nothing in common.

That made the man even more terrifying. And people in the Fairbanks area hadn’t forgotten. Andi had heard customers whispering about the upcoming date in the grocery store. She’d read news articles in the local paper. She’d seen social media posts where people proclaimed they were leaving town on the date, just to be safe.

Residents of Fairbanks shouldn’t have to live in terror.

But maybe that was what this guy wanted.

December 6 was quickly approaching.

Andi and her team had only four days to stop this guy before he continued his murderous spree this year.

Juniper Burrows, the daughter of the most recent victims, had personally reached out to them—to Simmy, specifically—to ask for their help. She wanted closure.

She’d actually approached them much earlier, but they had too many other cases they had been tied up with. Unfortunately, they were now down to the wire.

Two and a half months had passed since the team had brought oil tycoon Victor Goodman down.

Since then, Ranger and Simmy had gotten married and moved into a nice home in Fairbanks with Ranger’s daughter, Anastasia. They would live there during the school year but utilize another cabin Simmy’s father had left her in the summer. The three of them seemed so happy together. They had a live-in nanny, Karen, who helped take care of Anastasia when they were on trips like this.

Mariella was mostly living in Anchorage, partially so she could be closer to her boyfriend, Jason Somersby, who lived farther south in Salmon-by-the-Sea.

Matthew had moved to Anchorage with his sister. The two of them managed the day-to-day operations and production schedule for their true-crime podcast, The Round Table.

Then there were Andi and Duke.

Andi glanced at Duke’s strong profile as they slowed near the entrance of the camp.

Duke with his wavy, dark hair and barely there beard and mustache. The former Army CID investigator had given up his Alaska tour agency in order to go full time with the podcast.

But really, the only reason he’d started the business was so he could find his fiancée, Celeste. He’d accomplished that, and now he’d moved on.

Not just career-wise either.

He and Andi had officially been dating for more than two months.

She’d never been happier.

Duke stopped in front of a large log cabin, and Ranger and Simmy pulled up behind them. They’d driven separately so they’d have two vehicles on hand, just in case. Plus, the newlyweds probably wanted some alone time.

Andi glanced at the camp in front of her.

Black light poles lined the road, each draped in evergreen. In the dim light of the midafternoon winter day, colorful Christmas lights twinkled on several buildings in the distance, including a large one at the center.

That must be the lodge.

On the other side of the property, dipping low on a hill, she spotted a fence with several reindeer behind it.

This was the perfect Christmas village, wasn’t it?

Car doors slammed then they all trudged through the snow together toward the owner’s private cabin.

A young woman stood on the porch. Andi recognized the nineteen-year-old as Juniper Burrows. She’d looked up her picture before coming. A middle-aged man stood beside her. Based on their body language, they were in the middle of a heated exchange. The woman’s hands flew in the air, and the man crossed his arms as he shook his head.

He looked at their vehicles, scowled, and then stomped down the steps away from them.

Interesting.

Andi turned back to Juniper and observed the woman a moment. She wore an oversized white jacket with a red-and-white knit cap that reminded Andi of a candy cane. The tall, slender woman had fair skin and curly blonde hair that came past her chin. Snowflakes had landed on her long eyelashes as she stood there staring at them.

Andi climbed the porch steps. “You must be Juniper.”

Behind her, Matthew filmed their meeting. They liked to add video clips of their interviews to supplement their podcasts. The feature had been a real hit with their fans, who often went online to find more information about the cases they talked about. They’d already asked Juniper if it was okay to record everything, and she’d given her permission.

The rest of the team stood on the ground behind Andi, somberness on their faces as they prepared themselves to dive into this latest case. All talks of Slasher the Reindeer were forgotten.

Andi held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Juniper shook Andi’s hand and then glanced at the rest of the team. “It’s a real thrill—and honor—to meet you all. I’m a big fan. Of course, I wish the circumstances were different.”

Andi cast her a tight smile. “We do too.”

“You’re Andi—the brains of this podcast.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “What was that?”

Juniper shrugged. “You’re the brains. Duke is the instinct. Mariella the face, Simmy the heart, Ranger the muscle, and Matthew the logic.”

Andi rocked her head back and forth as she thought through the assessment. The woman wasn’t wrong. In fact, she’d pretty much hit the nail on the head.

“That’s the first time we’ve been described like that,” Andi said.

Juniper shrugged again. “I analyze things too much sometimes. It’s one of the hazards of living so far away from civilization and having limited contact with the outside world.”

“Thank you for having us here and letting us record everything,” Andi continued. “I know this interview won’t be easy for you.”

“People thought I was crazy when I decided to keep this place open after . . .” Her voice trailed, and she swallowed hard. “Anyway, I know that’s what my parents would have wanted. I just have one rule: no snowmen.”

“Makes sense to me.” Andi stomped some of the snow off her boots.

“Anyway . . .” Juniper drew in a deep breath as if mentally shifting gears. “It’s cold out here. Eleven degrees last time I checked. How about if I get you guys inside? I just made some peppermint hot chocolate. Really, I’m not trying to be a cliché. But Christmas is kind of what we do around here.”

“That sounds amazing,” Andi murmured.

“My friend Pepper—I call her Peppermint—has started a whole business based on the flavor,” Juniper continued. “She makes candy, hot chocolate, candles, etc. She even crocheted this hat I’m wearing.”

“She sounds fun.” Andi instantly envisioned what the woman was probably like—eccentric but driven.

They walked inside the cabin, shedding their shoes and coats at the door. A husky greeted them, and they all rubbed his head.

The place smelled like evergreen and cinnamon. A tall tree with sparkling lights stood next to a large window, reminding Andi just how close Christmas was.

She really needed to do some shopping. With everything going on and all her recent therapy appointments, she hadn’t had the chance. She wasn’t exactly in the holiday spirit, despite all the answered prayers in her life.

Everyone gathered around a large stone fireplace, finding seats on the forest green couches and tawny brown chairs. Juniper served them hot chocolate, which had been kept warm on the stove, along with a tray of sugar cookies.

“I like your necklace,” Matthew murmured. “It’s an Evenstar pendant, isn’t it?”

Juniper touched the chain at her neck. “Oh, this? Thanks. I’m a closet Lord of the Rings fan. My parents always said I liked to read too much. I always responded by asking if it was even possible to read too much? Not in my book.”

“Beautiful place.” Duke’s gaze swept the cabin.

“Thank you.” Juniper glanced around also before smiling sadly. “My parents built this themselves. They even gathered all the rocks used on the fireplace from a nearby river.”

“It looks like quite the operation you have going on.” Mariella picked up a cookie shaped like a star.

Andi noted there were no snowmen sugar cookies. Only Christmas trees, wreaths, bells, and stockings.

“I read the reviews,” Mariella continued. “People love it here.”

“I’m glad. I’ve been doing some stuff on Instagram, and the posts have become super popular. People are finally seeing what I’ve found special here for so many years.”

“Sounds like you’re in a good place, despite everything that happened.” Simmy held her mug closer, letting the steam hit her face. “When we do something we love, it doesn’t feel like work at all, does it?”

Juniper practically beamed as she glanced at Simmy. “My mom used to say that too. She also used to insist on having cookies and hot chocolate for every guest who came into the lodge to check in for their stay. I’ve tried to carry on that tradition.”

Juniper paused, and her smile faded as she let out a long breath as if she dreaded what she knew was coming.

Reliving what was undoubtedly the hardest, most horrible day of her life.

Andi licked her lips, trying to be sensitive and choose her words carefully. “Do you want us to jump in with questions? Because we can wait if we need to.”

Juniper shook her head, her expression suddenly tight. “No, we don’t have any time to waste. This guy is going to strike again in four days unless we find some answers. We can’t let that happen. I don’t want another family to go through what I have. What happened last year haunts me every single day.”

“I can only imagine.” Andi glanced at the rest of her team. “If y’all are okay with it, then we can set up and get started.”

“That would be fantastic.” Juniper rubbed her hands on her jeans, showing her first sign of nerves. As if sensing Juniper’s anxiety, Tundra sat beside her near the fire.

Andi stared at the questions she’d written on a piece of paper. She held it in her hands as she waited for Matthew to finish setting up the sound and cameras.

A few minutes later, he gave her a thumbs up.

It was showtime.

Juniper licked her lips as she prepared to begin.

But before the first question left her lips, Juniper’s radio crackled. “Juniper . . . I need . . . your help. Now!”

Duke heard the urgency in the man’s voice and rose.

“Emmett?” Juniper put the radio near her lips. “Where are you?”

“The reindeer . . . pen. Come . . . now.”

Juniper raced to the door, Duke on her heels.

They quickly threw on their shoes and coats before flooding outside. The whole gang hurried across the icy snow, down the road, and paused beside a UTV parked near a fence.

Duke’s eyes widened when he saw a man lying in the snow, spilled containers of hay beside him as he writhed with pain. A UTV was parked only a few feet away.

Juniper rushed toward the man, who was probably in his early sixties with a salt-and-pepper beard and large belly. “Emmett . . . what happened?”

“Don’t worry . . . about me.” His expression tightened.

“Of course, I’m worried about you.” Juniper fell onto her knees in the snow beside him. “Are you hurt? What happened? It’s slippery out here.”

He shook his head, though clearly in pain. “It’s . . . not me. It’s . . . her.”

Emmett pointed inside the reindeer pen beside them.

Duke walked toward the wooden fence and peered over it.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

A young woman lay frozen in place, partially covered by drifting snow. Based on the blue tinge of her skin, she was dead.

Juniper climbed to her feet and ran to the fence.

She glanced down.

A soft cry escaped, and then she murmured, “No, Peppermint!”