Dana Stabenow - Whisper to the Blood

"Whoa," he said, browning the steaks for a couple of minutes on either side.

"Yeah," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Did you get the names of the other shareholders?"

"Why," he said, dragging the word out, "I just might have done that little thing."

He moved the steaks from pan to warming plate with care and deliberation.

"So?" she said. "Anybody we know on it?"

"One name kinda jumped out at me," he said. He poured a cup of chicken broth into the pan. "Is that leftover bottle of white wine still knocking around anywhere?"

Like I keep telling you, I was at the Roadhouse that night with my wife," Harvey Meganack said. "You can check. Must have been a hundred other people there. After that, we came right home. Didn't we, honey?"

The four of them were sitting in Harvey 's front room, in the largest and newest house in Niniltna, the first one you saw when you drove in from Ahtna. The frozen surface of the Kanuyaq River was just on the other side of the dock that began down the stairs from the house and extended twenty-five feet out from the bank. It looked nowhere near as well used as the Grosdidiers' dock did, although the Laurel M. was in dry dock next to it, looking very fine in new white paint with blue trim.

Inside, everything was equally brand spanking new, and it all matched. The bright floral couch matched the bright floral love seat and the bright floral easy chair. The faux mahogany coffee table with the identically turned spiral legs matched the three end tables. Four matching brass lamps with white pleated shades and swing arms stood on either side of the couch and at exactly the same distance from the right arm of both the love seat and the easy chair, and everything in the room was placed at precise angles and a precise distance from everything else on the twelve-foot-square area rug, with colors that picked up the flowers on the couch, love seat, and easy chair.

Kate thought about the chaos of her own front room, the lone couch, the aunties' quilt crumpled on the floor before the fireplace, the mismatched bookshelves that lined one wall, the throw pillows of various sizes and ages and colors and patterns that lay where they fell, until someone came along and pulled them into a pile large enough to flop down on. Mutt didn't shed a lot but there was definite evidence of dog everywhere.

She wondered if she were suffering from house envy. She looked around the room again, and then back at Harvey, sitting on the extreme edge of the floral couch, sweating bullets. Next to him sat Iris, a pillar of rectitude, presently inflamed by Kate and Jim's presence in her hitherto pristine and perfect home.

Nope.

Everyone looked at her and she realized she'd said it out loud. She looked at Iris. "You sure you want to back him up on this, Iris?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's the truth." She looked at Kate, not bothering to hide her resentment. She had wanted Harvey to be chair of the Niniltna Native Association board, primarily so she could be the wife of the chair of the board. If there could be said to be even one Park rat with a social agenda, that rat would be Iris Meganack. Kate realized for the first time that it was far more likely Iris who had spread the stories of Kate's first board meeting, not Harvey. Iris, motivated by malice and envy, would have no internal editor. Harvey, motivated by greed and ambition, would not want to be shoved out of the loop and therefore might think twice about pissing off the however temporary current board chair.

The door opened and Laurel Meganack walked in. Her eye lit upon Jim first and a smile spread across her face. "Jim, hey. What're you doing here?" She fluttered her eyelashes. "Asking Dad for my hand in marriage?"

She saw Kate. Her smile faded. "Oh. Hey, Kate."

"Hey, Laurel."

Laurel looked from Kate to Jim and to her parents as realization dawned. "Dad. What's going on here?"

"None of your business, Laurel," her mother said sharply. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick up some more of my stuff," Laurel said, still looking at Harvey. "Dad, is everything all right?"

"Of course everything's all right," Iris said. "Go get your stuff."

"Go ahead, honey," Harvey said, passing his sleeve across his forehead and managing a smile. "Everything's fine."

Laurel looked at Kate, no trace of smile present now, and her thoughts were transparent. If you think you're going to hurt my dad, think again. It made Kate think better of both of them.

Laurel left the room. Kate waited until she heard a door open and close, and said in a lowered voice, "You see how it looks, Harvey. Talia Macleod has stock in Global Harvest that reverts to the chunk of stock held by the other shareholders in her particular group. It bumps up everyone's portion, increases everyone's income. You're one of the shareholders, so far as we know the only one who is also a Park rat. So you have motive."

"I was at the Roadhouse the night she was killed," Harvey said. "Ask Bernie if you don't believe Iris. Ask Old Sam."

"You know how to drive a snow machine," Kate said as if she didn't hear him. "You know the way to Double Eagle. I'm sure you must have a few spools of monofilament lying around here somewhere."

"Ask the aunties," he said, "they were there. There's no way I could have left the Roadhouse and killed her and gotten back in time to come home with Iris."

"And he didn't leave," Iris said fiercely. "Instead of wasting your time harassing us why don't you go find the real killer?"

Kate looked at Jim and raised an eyebrow. Jim got to his feet. "All right, Harvey. We'll check your alibi. Don't leave the Park until you hear from me, okay?"

"How dare you-," Iris started to say, and Harvey grabbed her knee. "Don't, Iris." He looked up at Jim and nodded. "Okay."

Kate stood up and looked at Harvey 's bent head until he felt it and looked up. "I want to know what Global Harvest hired you for, Harvey. The board's going to want to know, too. And when they hear about it, so are the shareholders."

"We can own stock in them if we want to!" Iris said shrilly. "It's none of your business! Who are you, Kate Shugak, to be asking? You live halfway to Ahtna in a house you didn't even pay for! You get a job you don't even know how to do, and instead of learning how you run around poking your nose into other people's business! Poking and prying, that's all you know how to do!"

"Nice seeing you again, Iris," Kate said, and followed Jim to the door. " Harvey, could you step outside for a minute? Board business, Iris. You understand."

Kate pulled the door shut firmly in the face of Iris's spluttering, and said bluntly, "You and Macleod were awful friendly at the board meeting in October, Harvey. Anything you want to tell us about that?"

He tried to bluster his way out of it. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kate. I'm a married man."

She looked at him. Jim stayed quiet.

Harvey 's face reddened, and he cast an apprehensive look over his shoulder at the closed door. "Okay, maybe, once. It was just- It just happened one time when I was in Ahtna meeting with-" Too late he caught himself.

"Meeting with Macleod?" Kate said. "And maybe somebody else from Global Harvest?"

He stared at her, trapped.

She looked at Jim, who shrugged. "Think Iris is going to change her story?"

"She might if she knew Harvey 'd been screwing Macleod. Iris can get a little proprietary."

Jim didn't doubt it for a moment.

"Jesus!" Harvey said in a whisper, casting another agonized glance over his shoulder. "You can't do that, Kate! Besides, I keep telling you, I didn't do it! And besides," he said, a sudden flash of intelligence piercing his panic, "why would I kill her if I was sleeping with her?"