“Where are you going to stay, now? Aren’t you scared?”
“Yes,” I said. “I am scared, but I’m pretty determined to stay until I’ve finished my business. Mani’s friend, Val Wotan, he’s letting me stay at his place until I can find something else.”
“Oh, Val, I’ve met him. He’s nice.” Nisha’s tone implied she wasn’t merely talking about his personality. “Are you two…?” She waited for me to finish her sentence.
Since I didn’t know the answer myself, I ignored her bait. “Hey, Nisha, random question for you.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding uncertain.
“You ever hear of Adam Skoll or Harold Hati?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“Their names came up in passing, and since Siqiniq is a small town, I thought you might know them.”
“Do you think they know something about—”
“No.” I cut her off, guessing the destination of her train of thought. Nisha needed to stay clean and innocent of this whole affair and not endanger herself by playing Watson to my totally inept Sherlock. “I don’t think anything. I just want to talk to anyone who might have talked to my brother before he died. Harold Hati worked for Aleksander Thorin, and he’s the only one I haven’t been able to get in touch with.”
“Take it as a sign. It’s probably best if you leave it to the police.”
“Where does your sister live?” I asked, switching, I hoped, to a neutral topic.
“In Anchorage.”
“That far? What about your job?”
Nisha snorted loud enough to carry over the phone. “I’m a waitress. Like I can’t find a hundred jobs just like it.”
After we ended the call, I dialed voicemail and discovered Detective Vanderleigh had left me a message. He wanted to talk about the break-in. I called him, and we agreed to meet at Mani’s apartment in an hour. Val shuffled into the living room as I hung up. He plopped onto the sofa next to me, still half asleep. His hair was rumpled, his eyes still drowsy, and – Lord help me – he wore boxers and nothing else. Something inside me jumped and stood at attention.
“Any grand plans for today?” Val asked.
“The detective wants to meet with me at Mani’s apartment in a little bit.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
“You don’t have to work?”
“I’ve got the day off.” Val yawned, stretched, and then scratched his stomach, and by stomach I mean rock-hard, six-pack abs. He knew what he was doing, coming out here like this, all warm and frowzy and half naked. “I’m hungry.” He grinned and batted his lashes at me. Cinnamon-colored lashes that framed a stunning pair of sapphire eyes. “Go in the kitchen and cook me some breakfast, woman.”
“I was going to say the same thing to you.”
“But you’re Little Miss Betty Crocker. The kitchen is your natural domain.”
“I’m going to pretend you did not just say that.”
Val grinned again and shifted, stretching out, long legs dangling over the couch’s low arm. He put his head in my lap. Unable to resist, I twined my fingers through the soft waves of his hair. Val’s eyes rolled back in his head, and I could have sworn he purred. My heart did a funny little dance. Aw crap, I thought. I’m in so much trouble. “I’m on sabbatical,” I said, “which means the kitchen is closed.”
“But I’m going to waste away.”
I circled my fingers around one of Val’s well-formed biceps. “I think you’ve got plenty to spare.”
Val flexed his arm and grinned when I exhaled an appreciative sigh. I pinched his shoulder. “Show-off.”
He snatched my fingers before I pulled away. He tugged my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “Are you going to hang out with me today?”
“Well…”
“Please?” Val’s blue eyes penetrated into mine. He might get most anything he wanted, looking at me that way.
“I’m going to have to clean out what’s left of Mani’s place. The month is over, and the landlord has a tenant ready to move in. Plus, I’ve only got a few days left before I have to catch my flight back home. I’m running out of time.”
“I’ll help you,” he said, sitting up and moving away. I almost pulled him back into my lap. But if I did, I would accomplish nothing on my to-do list, and Val was not on my to-do list. Not yet, anyway.
“You will?” I asked.
“If you pay me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “With what?”
“You know what I want.”
My heart skipped a beat, but a grin tugged at the corner of Val’s lips. I sighed in mock defeat and said, “Okay, pancakes. It’s a deal.”
Detective Vanderleigh glared at Val when we him met outside of Mani’s apartment. “Who’s this?” Vanderleigh asked.
