“Are you going to tell me what you and Skyla are up to?”
“Who says we’re up to anything?”
“Don’t play dumb, Solina. It doesn’t suit you.”
I raised my hand to stop him. “We’re honestly not up to anything.” I left the “yet” part silent.
Val went inside when I told him I wanted to call my mom and dad and talk to them in private. I didn’t tell my parents about all the recent developments, but I let them know I had finished Mani’s apartment. I had another bomb to drop on them, though, and it took me digging to the deepest wellspring of my courage to do it. I pictured Mani and all the times he had stood up to our parents, and I kept that image in the forefront of my thoughts.
“You’re coming home day after tomorrow, right?” my dad asked.
“Um… about that. There are a few more loose ends I need to tie up. I’ll need a few more days. I’m going to reschedule my return flight.” Dangerous or not, it was too soon to go home. There were too many questions still unanswered, still too many leads to follow.
Mom picked up a phone in another room and joined the conversation. “We need you here, honey. You can’t put off your responsibilities forever.”
“I’m not putting them off, Mother.” They depended on me, and it wasn’t fair to resent them for it. I made my bed long ago when I decided not to go to college, and I had been content to lie in it. This trip had changed things, though. No, Mani’s death had changed things. This was the fallout from that.
My parents protested several more times and pleaded for my return, but their arguments were halfhearted. It was easy to make them out to be cold and unfeeling, but that was unfair. Everyone grieved differently. They had each other to lean on. I had always relied on Mani for such things, but now he was gone, and they seemed to understand that. I used vague promises to put them off a while longer, told them I loved them, and ended the call. I did love them, but we lived on different planes of existence. Theirs was located somewhere warm, fluffy, and slightly medicated.
Val hid in his room for a while, but near time to leave he came out wearing clean jeans and a blue button-down that matched his eyes. He rolled back the cuffs, showing off the fine tone of his forearms.
Val smirked. “Hot stuff, huh?”
“Yes, Val.” I rolled my eyes. “Very hot.” I looked at my yoga ensemble and frowned. “Maybe I should go to Anchorage. Thorin’s store is nice, but…”
“You’ll be better dressed than most of the women in there,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”
I shrugged. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Skyla met me outside after Val accepted a challenge from another bar patron for a round of cricket on the dartboards.
“So, what’s up?” I asked. A breeze blew from the bay, and I shivered. I drew my hood over my hair.
“What do we know so far?” Skyla began by holding up one finger. “Adam Skoll has a nasty temper and a taste for blood, literally.” She raised a second finger. “He runs around with Harold Hati, who also has a notorious temper.” Finger number three. “They both went missing just before Mani’s murder.” Finger four. “Mani’s killer has a very similar modus operandi to the person who killed the guy in the parking lot of that bar.”
“Adam Skoll,” I said.
Skyla nodded. “Adam Skoll.” She flicked her thumb, holding out all five fingers. “We go around asking about him, and the next thing you know, Mani’s apartment gets trashed—looking for you? Warning or threat? Who knows? But this all leads me to a conclusion as to the likely whereabouts of Skoll and probably Hati, too.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“Not on a fishing trawler. I think they’re back in town.”
“That’s not a lot of help.”
“It’s better than wasting our time harassing commercial fishermen.”
“But, whoever broke into Mani’s apartment did it while I was with you at that bar. No way could word have traveled that quickly. Maybe it was a coincidence.”
“Uh-uh.” She shook her head. “Don’t go sticking your head in the sand, girl. If Skoll and Hati are working together, then that’s two sets of eyes in two places.”
I squeaked. “You think they’re watching us?”
Skyla jerked my arm. “Shhh! Keep your voice down.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. “But you’re giving me the willies.”
“Wouldn’t you be watching us if you were them?”
I played that through again to make sure I understood her meaning. “Maybe. I guess so.”
“Mundy, it makes sense.”
“What are we going to do about it?”
Skyla blew a breath between her lips so they sputtered together. “I don’t know. That’s why we need to talk. I’m booked for a trip the day after tomorrow. I’ll be gone three days, and you’ll be on your own.”
“On my own? I’ve got Val looking out for me whether I want it or not.”
“No,” she said. Her forehead wrinkled as her brows drew down. “Didn’t he tell you he was going backpacking for a week? We’re leaving on the same day.”
“What?” I spun on my heel, ready to go inside and confront Val about this important omission of facts. “That son of a—”
“Wait!” Skyla snatched my wrist and tugged me away from the entrance. “Let’s finish our business before you storm back in there in a snit.”
“Fine,” I said. “What’s your suggestion?”
