I sat at the small kitchen table and watched Thorin pull things from the cabinet, fill the water pot, and measure the coffee. Even in those simple and mundane tasks, strength and elegance graced his movements. As much as he irked me, Thorin’s allure was undeniable. How did a tiny town like Siqiniq collect such a high concentration of attractive men?
“Sugar?” Thorin asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Huh?” I said, misunderstanding. Before she died, my grandmother had always called me “sugar,” a common term of affection in my neck of the woods.
“For your coffee,” Thorin said. “How many scoops?”
“Oh, uh, two.” I turned away to hide my blush. “Two’s good.”
“There’s only canned milk. I don’t keep the refrigerator stocked unless someone’s staying here.”
“That’s fine.”
Thorin brought me a cup of hot, sweet coffee, and I wrapped my hands around it, appreciating its warmth. He settled into a chair next to me, and an electric hum filled the air. Or maybe I imagined it. “Are you from Alaska?” I asked, in an inane attempt to fill the silence.
“No,” he said. I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t offer to expound.
I drummed my fingernails on the table and sipped coffee in the awkward silence until Val arrived and brought in a breath of congeniality. He rushed to where I sat at the table and threw his arms around me. He drew me out of my seat and into a crushing hug. “Thank God you’re all right,” he said.
I pushed at him until he eased up. “What’s going on? You’re freaking me out.”
Val exhaled in a whoosh of breath. “It’s Mani’s place. Somebody’s demolished it. The door was ripped from the hinges, and what was left of his stuff was shredded. Your things were torn up too.”
Dizziness washed over me. I swayed, and Val caught me. “Why—why would anyone do that?”
“To give you a warning,” Thorin said. “Or ‘threat’ may be a better word. I told you that coming here was going to stir up trouble.”
Thorin’s smug accusations sobered me. I straightened and pushed Val away. “I’ve done nothing to threaten anyone. Who would want to hurt me?”
“Who have you been talking to?” Thorin asked.
“Just the police.”
“And tonight, when you were with Skyla?”
“You were with Skyla?” Val asked. “She’s halfcocked about Mani’s murder. She’s going to get you mixed up in some bad stuff if you don’t watch out.”
“It looks as though she’s already mixed up,” Thorin said. “Who else have you been talking to?”
“I’ve been talking to Nunya,” I said. “As in Nunya Business.” Their stony expressions didn’t waver. I blew out an exasperated breath. “Skyla’s trying to find an old contact. His name was Adam something.”
“Adam Skoll?” Thorin growled the name.
“Yes.” The people closest to Mani knew more than they let on, to me or the police. I intended to change that. “We talked to some old roughneck at this bar outside of town. He said he thought Adam ran off to a fishing crew with Harold Hati.”
A livid tint of fuchsia pooled into Val’s cheeks. A vein throbbed in his forehead. “What do you know about Harold Hati?”
“Just what I read in the police report.” I didn’t mention Skyla’s story about Adam Skoll’s fight in the bar’s parking lot and the similarity between his victim and Mani. If they didn’t already know, then the story was Skyla’s to tell.
Val leaned forward and met me eye to eye. “This is as far as you go, Solina. No more Nancy Drew for you.”
“Nancy Drew?” I said. “I think of myself more as Stephanie Plum.” Judging by the look on his face, Val had never heard of her. “How did you find out about Mani’s apartment anyway?”
“What?” Val was thrown by my diversion tactic, as I had planned.
“Why were you at Mani’s apartment?”
“I was coming to check on you,” he said. “Last I knew, you had a debilitating headache.”
“Why didn’t you call first?”
Val leaned back. A look of hurt streaked across his face. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“No,” I said and sank into the kitchen chair. The coffee steam enticed me, so I picked up my mug and sipped. “I appreciate your concern, Val, but I can take care of myself.”
“Oh yeah? How are you going to do that with no place to stay?”
Damn. Hadn’t thought of that. Nisha Hemmings’s face flashed before my eyes. I wondered what she thought about the attack, if she even knew about it yet. Maybe she was working and had missed the whole thing. “I’ll rent a room… or I’ll call Skyla and stay with her.”
“No,” Val said, stepping close to loom over me. “You’re coming with me.”
I rolled off the chair, ready to run if necessary. “Aren’t you supposed to club me over the head first before you drag me to your cave?”
Thorin had the gall to snicker, but his face went flat when Val shot him a dirty look.
“This isn’t up for discussion,” Val said.
“Oh,” I said. “You are so right about that.”
