Don't Look (Pike, Wisconsin #1) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,95

if Rita had been in the alley, it would have been awkward to try and kill her there. Why not wait for a more convenient location? “He would have had to back out and pull away after he hit her. It’s hard to believe no one noticed anything.”

“Especially if it happened around lunchtime,” Lynne agreed.

Kir considered the various possibilities. At last he pointed straight ahead. “What’s on the other side?”

Lynne took a step back, glancing around as if trying to orient herself. “Empty buildings, I think,” she finally said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been around here.”

“Let’s check it out.”

Without waiting for her to agree, Kir was striding down the alley. There didn’t appear to be anyone around, but it was possible someone might notice their flashlights and decide to call the sheriff. It would be his luck to have the sheriff show up and toss them in jail for trespassing, even if she couldn’t be bothered to listen to the message Rita left.

Their footsteps crunched loudly as they exited the alley to halt on the frozen sidewalk. It was even darker on this side of the block than the other, and he realized the streetlights had burned out. Either no one had bothered to complain to the city, or Pike was too financially strapped to deal with the outage.

He glanced from side to side. Nothing but empty buildings. “Not much to see.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Pike seems to die a little more each year.”

Kir started to sympathize only to stiffen as he caught sight of the store across the street. It was a low building that had cheap siding to make it look like a log cabin and a tin roof. Plastered on the large front window were several faded posters that advertised the various beers and spirits available inside. The door, however, was hidden by a heavy slab of plywood.

“Shit.” He pointed across the street. “That used to be a liquor store.”

“Yes. It closed down years ago.”

“Eighteen years ago.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “Did you know the owners?”

“No, but they shut down the store and moved away from Pike a few months after my dad was shot in the middle of this street.”

“Oh.” She glanced toward the street, her hand lifting to press against the center of her chest. “That was here?”

Kir nodded. “The owner . . .” His words trailed away as he forced himself to recall the night that had destroyed his father’s life. It wasn’t easy. Not after eighteen years of trying to block it from his mind. “I think his first name was Gordon. Anyway, he called the office to say he’d seen a man loitering in his parking lot. He suspected the guy was selling drugs.”

“Your dad came to check it out?”

“Yep.” Kir’s mouth felt oddly dry. “He’d gone into the store to talk to Gordon, and when he came out he saw the suspect in this alley. He was crossing the street when the dealer pulled out a gun. A few seconds later the dealer was dead, and my father was lying in the street with a bullet in his head.”

He said the words in clipped tones, battling back the image of his father lying in the dark street with blood pouring from his shattered skull.

“Did the liquor store owner blame himself?”

“I think so.” Kir had a vague memory of a silver-haired man stopping by the hospital, tears in his eyes as he stood next to Rudolf’s bed. “He packed up and moved away a few months later.”

Lynne wrapped her arms around her waist. “I remember when it happened, but I didn’t realize it was here. I’m sorry.”

For a pained moment Kir was unable to look away from the spot in the street where his father had nearly died. Then, with a shake of his head, he turned back toward the alley. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

“What can’t?”

He pointed toward the dumpster. “Rita’s body being left here.”

“Do you mean she decided to come to this location because she knew this was where your father was shot?”

“No.” It had never felt right to assume Rita had left the cemetery and headed to the café instead of returning to her home as she’d said she was going to do. Still, there hadn’t been any other explanation. Until now. “I don’t think Rita came here at all. Not until she was already dead.”

Lynne arched her brows. “The killer brought her here?”

“He could have run her down as she was leaving the graveyard,