Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

two tall buildings that looked like dilapidated office blocks and a smattering of boat sheds and workshops clustered near the water. Further away, on the other side of the bay, were two more docks, these much larger than the one he now stood on and made of concrete instead of wood. Beyond that was a marina, with several boats docked within the shelter of a sea wall that stretched out around the berths like a protective arm, and a smattering of low buildings that were nothing more than a scattering of restaurants and shops, and what looked like a motel. “Where does everyone live? I don’t see any houses.”
    “Right there.” Hayley pointed toward the nearest tower.
    “That’s the town?” Decker said, surprised. “It looks like an office building.”
    “I can assure you, it’s much more than that.” Hayley steered him along the dock. “Ten floors of apartments, one hundred and twenty in total. The first, second and fourteenth floors are commercial. We have a grocery store, a movie theatre, even a health spa. We have a school on the third floor. There are a few restaurants and a bar near the docks, but we’re mostly self contained.”
    “Must be convenient. Everything under one roof.”
    “Exactly. But why don’t you come and see for yourself?” She motioned for him to follow and set off along the dock. “Follow me.”
    Decker fell in behind her, taking in the scene as he walked. When the wind dropped enough to speak again he pointed at the second tower block, which looked bleak and empty. “What’s the deal with the other building?”
    “We don’t use the north tower,” Hayley said over her shoulder, raising her voice so that he could hear her. Even then he needed to strain to hear. “This whole place used to be a Navy base, at least until the late seventies when the military pulled out. Our building was used as personnel quarters, while the other one was administrative. We looked at using it for housing several years ago, but it would cost too much to convert it for our needs. Lots of asbestos and stuff.”
    “I see. What about the docks?” Decker pointed to the twin concrete arms that stretched into the bay.
    “At one time there would have been military vessels, destroyers and escorts moored there. Now the cruise lines use them. We have six different ships that stop here at various times during the summer months. If it weren’t for the tourists who come ashore to take tours of the glacier, this town would be long gone. Half the residents make their money off the cruise ships.”
    Hayley pointed to a large expanse of blue-white ice nestled in a ridge between two mountains. The river of ice weaved down to the ocean, where it ended in a breathtaking wall of white. All along the coastline of Baldwin Bay there would be many other such tidal glaciers carving their way toward the sea, but only this one had a town in its shadow. The twin peaks, and the great sheet of compacted snow they bordered, loomed over the two tall buildings that made up the majority of the town of Shackleton, dwarfing them.
    “Must be a lonely existence,” Decker said as they reached the end of the dock, his eyes still fixed upon the spectacle of ice and the insignificant town below.
    “Not really.” Hayley stopped at a battered red truck and unlocked it. “You get used to it. Most of the residents value the solitude. They find it cathartic.”
    “Each to their own,” Decker said, pulling the door open and sliding into the passenger seat, happy to be out of the howling gale and unrelenting icy drizzle.
    “Okay.” Hayley glanced toward him, starting the engine as she did so. “Let’s get you someplace warm.”

 
     
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    The black truck moved slowly through the town of Shackleton, sticking exactly to the fifteen mile an hour speed limit. In the passenger seat Dominic Collins warmed his hands against the dash vent, the hot air finally bringing some feeling