Page 33 of Thunder Pass

Gunnar’s pulse picked up a notch. What if something had happened during that visit that prompted him to leave town? “What did he come out for? A repair job?”

“Yes, of course. What was it?” She tapped her fingers against her jaw. “The forklift broke down. Yes, that was it. Right in the middle of unloading some…supplies.” She glanced obliquely at the guard.

So…not supplies. Weapons? Explosives?

He couldn’t ask that, so he tried something else. “Did he get it running again?”

“He must have. We certainly used it plenty of times after that.”

“Did anything else happen when he was there?”

Naomi shrugged. “It was very cold, twenty below zero or so. He came inside to warm up and I gave him a glass of water. He asked to use the bathroom, so I told him where it was. He must have run into someone on the way there because I heard voices. It was probably someone surprised to see a stranger in the longhouse. We didn’t usually allow that. Then he came back into the kitchen and said ‘thank you for the water. Better get home before the snow starts up again.’ And he left. Quickly. I remember being surprised at how quickly.”

“Do you have any idea who he was talking to?”

“It was probably Luke, because he was the next person to come into the kitchen. But he was in one of his grim moods, and he didn’t say anything about Anthony.” She looked from Gunnar to Ruth, and then back again. “Is that why you two are here, to hear about a boring conversation from over ten years ago?”

Gunnar looked down at the table, at his fisted hands, and forced them to relax. What else could he ask? Was my father a CIA agent? If so, why would a CIA agent spy on you and your family?

Ruth nudged him, but he shook his head, at a loss for what to ask next.

“Are you trying to figure out what happened to Anthony?” Naomi asked. “Is that what this is about? Luke told me one thing about that.”

Gunnar looked up eagerly. Her green eyes were hard and sharp on his. “Don’t get your hopes up. All he said was, ‘we won’t see him around here again.’ It sounded like a threat. I got the impression he knew more than he was saying.” One corner of her mouth drew up in a mocking smile and she turned to Ruth. “You could always ask him. It could be worth a trip to the potato cellar.”

Potato cellar? Gunnar had no idea what that meant.

Ruth cleared her throat. “I left the compound. I don’t live there anymore.”

Finally, Naomi seemed genuinely surprised. “They let you leave?”

“Seems like they have. No one’s come after me.”

“Well, you watch your back. I know Luke and he likes to pick his moment. Or maybe…” She narrowed her eyes, looking troubled.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking…things are changing there. The idea that Luke would leave me in here to rot…after all we went through establishing our perfect utopia…do you think it was easy, creating that community? I was there every step of the way, ever since he came to me with the deed for a faraway bit of land locked up in ice half the year.”

Ruth straightened up, as if something had snagged her attention. “So Luke bought the land on his own? How did he find it?”

Naomi gave an almost invisible flinch, and Gunnar realized that Ruth’s question had hit a sensitive spot. “I don’t know. He bought it from some old guy who didn’t want to pay the land taxes anymore.”

She was lying. Gunnar could tell. But why? Property transactions were public record. All they had to do was look it up. Why would she bother lying about it?

Ruth pressed on. “Where did you move to Alaska from? Was it another state, or another city, or maybe another country?”

“Where are all these questions coming from? What does any of that matter? My advice to you, since you’re out of the compound, is to stay out of their business.”

“Why? What’s going on there?” When Naomi didn’t answer, Ruth slumped back in disappointment. “You don’t know anything, do you?”

That hit a nerve. “I know that Luke blames me for the FBI raid. I know he’s shutting me out. Me, a direct descendant of the legendary Boadicea. Me, the goddess of the Chilkoot family. He’s nothing without me. That means…”

“What?” Ruth urged. “What does that mean?”

“It means he’s working with someone else,” Naomi snapped. “He doesn’t have the brains to pull off anything on his own. And don’t bother to ask if I know who it is, because I don’t. Are we done now?” Naomi glanced around for the guard and gave her a hand signal. They both watched as she wrestled her temper back under control, and produced a mocking smile. “Unless you want to hear about that time in two thousand and four when Anthony helped me put snow tires on?”

Gunnar shook his head as they all rose to their feet. “Thanks for taking the time, Naomi. I really appreciate it.” He gave her his best puppy dog smile, the one that worked on most women he’d encountered.

---