Chapter 9
Kitka stood in the parking lot behind the patrol office and wished he smoked. Smokers could stand outside, and no one asked what they were doing — they were smoking. It would be nice to stand here for a few minutes without needing to explain. The morning was crisp and light at seven. It wouldn't be long before the sun would be a memory and he'd go to work in the dark and go home in the dark. And then, for a while, it would always be dark.
But on a morning like this, he could lean against the station wall, look at Mount McKinley and think about the damn fools trying to climb it. Kitka took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose.
He'd taken Candace Marshall home and put her to bed in the guest bedroom. This morning, he'd called for a patrol officer to babysit her whil
