Deadly Fate (Krewe of Hunters #19)(50)

“Ohhhhh,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Don’t worry,” he said to Clara. “I’ll be out before water can boil.”

“Even you are not that fast!” Astrid told him.

“Come on into the kitchen. So,” she said, leading the way. “This is Thor’s part of the complex. My parents only had two kids, him and me. My dad is a cop in Nome, so he and mom are almost never here. My great-grandfather was the guy who created the family biz, and now, Colin and I run it. My mom was the dog woman before me. Guys in this family seem to like being cops or agents or marshals—my uncle was a marshal. Anyway, not to worry, we’re not alone here, either. We have two couples who work with us, and they have families...altogether, we have ten horses and twenty-four dogs at the moment, so...so, anyway, what about you? Where are you from, what do you do—something interesting, right? You were going to be interviewed, so, I figure...”

“Actress, musical theater. I work for Celtic American Cruise Lines,” Clara said.

“Wow, cool!”

“Are you good?” Colin asked, grinning as he met them in the kitchen, a room that artfully joined a few state-of-the-art appliances with logs and an old-fashioned hearth, and copper pots that were hung from the rafters.

Clara laughed, liking Thor’s sister and brother-in-law very much.

As well as Natasha and Boris, who trotted in behind the three of them.

“Good is always in the eyes of the audience,” Clara said.

Astrid poked a button on an electric kettle on the counter and set about taking cups out of a cupboard. “We’d love to see your show,” she said. She paused, looking at her. “I take it the show is only on the ship?”

Clara nodded.

“Well, hopefully you’ll be out to sea and performing soon. But, hey, when you’re not on the ship, you live here, in Alaska?”

“New Orleans,” Clara told her.

“Oh, oh, too bad,” Astrid said, looking over at her husband.

“Why? It’s a great city, really,” Clara said.

“Oh, NOLA is super,” Colin agreed. “We just wished that you were here.”

“Um, well, thank you.”

“Except, of course,” Colin added, “that it’s terrible you’re involved in this...this horrible, awful situation. Be careful, please.”

“Do whatever Thor tells you, no matter how paranoid or ridiculous it may seem,” Astrid said.

The water had boiled. Thor wasn’t out yet. Astrid began to prepare the tea. “So he’s going back to the island. And you’re going back, too? Why?”

“I found the body... I was involved,” Clara said a little lamely.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be on the island,” Colin said.

“Why not—I mean, where is safe?” Astrid asked. “That one woman was killed in her room in a busy hotel!”

“Maybe Clara has a more personal bodyguard,” Colin murmured.

Clara was startled, certain that he was suggesting that she and Thor were a twosome. “Really,” she murmured. “We just met. I mean, he seems to be a really great agent, but—”

“You’re gifted,” Astrid said.

“What?” Clara said, startled.

Astrid shrugged. “Thor—since he was a kid—has, well, a knack. An instinct...a way of seeing things.” She smiled “I’m horrible at this. I can’t say sight, because it’s not really sight. I mean, sight is seeing, right? And sometimes, it’s an intuition, or hearing, or knowing...going to sleep and waking up and knowing something. He doesn’t talk about it much. But I’ll never forget when he worked with Jackson Crow. The two of them together, they were something. I’m not making any sense, am I?” she asked.

Yes, actually, you are, Clara thought.

But the words that came to her lips were, “Jackson Crow is here. I know Jackson. I mean, I knew him before he came here. He was...” She paused and took a deep breath. “I was on another ship when there was an incident. I met Jackson on that ship.”

They both looked at her. Boris made a noise that was partially like a howl, and partially a whimper—a reminder that he and Natasha were there and needed to be in on whatever was going on.

The dogs provided a great break.

“Treats! They need treats!” Astrid said. She looked at Clara and said, “Oh, Lord, I am way too impulsive. It’s just that...please, don’t tell Thor that I made him sound...strange. Out there... Oh, I’m so sorry! You know what I mean.”

“Astrid!” The name was spoken from behind Clara—by Thor.

Clara spun around. Well, the water might have boiled, but he was fast. His hair was still damp from the shower. He was dressed in jeans and a casual sweatshirt and he was shaking his head.

Astrid winced; Boris and Natasha woofed happily. Thor reached for a cabinet and a bag of savory dog treats and told his sister, “It’s okay, Astrid, she’s strange, too, so if you made me sound strange, she might just be a happy person.”

“So, I was right, and you’re going to help?” Astrid asked.

“We didn’t actually agree on that,” Thor said.

“We didn’t disagree,” Clara reminded him.

“And she knows Jackson!” Astrid said, nodding gravely, as if that mattered tremendously. “And Jackson is here. Thor, I can’t see where you have a choice. And we’d love to see Jackson, of course.”