“Well, don’t worry. I can’t stand the guy,” Clara said. “He gives me the creeps.”
“Yeah, but he’s staying on his island, right?” Ralph asked.
Clara shrugged, feeling acutely uncomfortable.
“She’s got Jackson and Thor—she’ll be all right,” Simon said.
Ralph grinned. “Jackson—and Thor. So, last time, she gets the married agent. This time...hey, what do we know about this Thor guy? And who names their kid Thor?”
“He’s of Norse descent,” Simon said. “Probably a common name. Like Jesus if you come from a Spanish-speaking country.”
“He looks like a Thor,” Larry said.
“You look like a Thor!” Ralph told him with pride and affection.
“Um,” Larry said, smiling. “No, but, I mean, he really looks like a Thor.”
“You two are kind of beautiful together,” Simon said. “Really,” he added, laughing. “You’re both just exceptionally cool-looking people. And he’s not married.”
“Guys, please!” Clara begged.
“Sure. Tell me that you haven’t noticed the man!” Simon said.
“I’ve noticed the man. I noticed him—right after I noticed a body in the snow!” Clara reminded him.
Ralph waved a hand in the air. “Clara—bad things happen in life. But we move forward. We seize what moments we can!”
“That’s kind of melodramatic,” Simon told him.
“Life is melodramatic!” Ralph claimed.
“Both agents are excellent—wait! All three agents are great. Mike Aklaq is cool, too,” Clara said.
“Ah, yeah, but it’s different with you and Thor,” Simon commented, taunting her with a subtle smile.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Clara said.
“Well, of course she doesn’t. She’s Clara!” Ralph said. “Dear, dear, dear child! You never notice. Now, of course, you have noticed Marc Kimball because he practically drips slime when he’s around you. But! You should see it when you and Special Agent Thor Erikson are together!” He demonstrated, flicking his fingers in the air. “Sparks! You share something.” He leaned toward her, his elbow on the table. “Let it happen, Clara, let it happen. I’m telling you...”
“Stop. We started off with him tackling me in the snow and he really hasn’t been all that nice. Kind of a dickhead, really,” Clara said. “He’s pretty cold. Hard-core FBI.”
“Damned good-looking dickhead,” Larry noted.
“I found him to be very courteous,” Ralph said. “Just passionate—which is very good. He’s looking for a killer.”
“It is quite simply basic nature,” Simon told Clara. “Men are horrible because of biology—scatter as much seed as you can with anyone. Women are selective. They have only so many eggs—gotta get those puppies fertilized by the best there is. And I’ve heard that a man’s scent is something that kind of warns a woman if he’d fight for her or not. Supposed to be huge in the chemistry of two people.”
“Sparks, sparks, sparks!” Larry said.
“And he does smell really good,” Ralph said.
“Guys! Stop with the smells and the sparks. The waitress is coming!” Clara said. And, with her cheeks reddening, she realized that she’d never been so happy to see food arrive.
But while the others forgot their teasing conversation, Simon did not. He reached across the table and took her hand.
“I’m being serious now. We like to tease you about Erikson, yes. But hang with him and Jackson, please. And watch out for Kimball,” he said quietly. “There’s something about him...well, there’s something about him that just isn’t right.”
*
Jackson and Thor left the station.
A company car had been left for their use.
Thor slid into the driver’s seat and looked at Jackson. “You have Clara’s number, right?” he asked.
Jackson smiled. “I do. You’re driving—I’ll call.”
Thor listened as Jackson asked questions, since the phone wasn’t on speaker. “An officer is still on duty in the restaurant? We’ll be no more than another thirty minutes.”
Jackson nodded, repeated the questions and relayed the answers. “She’s fine. She’s having dinner in the Hawthorne’s restaurant with her friends, the officer is great—and she’s anxious to speak with us.”
“Does she know something else?”
Jackson asked the question and turned back to Thor. “She repeated that she’s having dinner with her friends.”
She didn’t want to speak in front of the others, Thor realized.
“We’ll be there soon,” Jackson said.
“Let’s go straight to her. I can go by my house to get a few things after we see her,” Thor said.
Jackson smiled slightly, looking down.
“She could be in danger,” Thor said.
“She didn’t sound as if she was in any danger. She’s at the hotel with three friends and an officer on duty. She’ll be all right,” Jackson said.
“Let’s get her anyway—it never hurts to make certain of anything.”