“Isn’t that Minnesota?”
“They’re Minnesota friendly. Frankly, I think it’s a scam.”
“Their friendliness is a scam?” I asked, a little confused.
“Have you ever been there? Everyone’s passive-aggressive, and honestly, they’re all a bunch of Scandinavians.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
He shook his head slowly. “Never trust a Scandinavian.”
“Because…”
“Well, the way I figure it, the Vikings were from Scandinavia.”
Glancing at him curiously, I tried to put it all together. “And you think the Scandinavians here will pillage and destroy your villages?”
“Crazier things have happened, darlin’. Crazier things.”
He shifted into drive and pulled back on the road, leaving my truck behind. I mourned the loss of my freedom for only as long as it took me to start peppering him with questions about the town. By the time we reached the diner, he was already regretting inviting me out to eat.
I could see it in his eyes.
“What about that old lady who wanders around town with a cane?”
He rolled his eyes as we got out of the car and headed toward the diner. “Mrs. Butterworth?”
“Yeah. Her. What’s her deal?”
“You mean, other than the fact that she’s our town’s oldest living resident?”
“Oldest for a reason,” I grinned, as if there was some hidden story.
“Are you gonna pepper me with useless questions the whole time?”
“I don’t see it that way. I’m simply trying to discern who’s who around town.”
“And how they might fit into your investigation,” he said, holding the diner door open.
“Well, you have to admit, if anyone’s going to know anything, it’s those who have been around the longest.”
“Well, I can’t argue with you there,” he said, holding up three fingers to the waitress.
“Sheriff, it’s awfully early for you to be in.”
“Just grabbing some breakfast with Blake,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and tugging me closer. “Remi’s gonna join us.”
The woman…Cora, I was pretty sure her name was, watched us carefully before giving a quick smile. “Right this way. I have just the booth for you.”
I leaned over and whispered, “Does that mean she’s got the perfect booth to eavesdrop?”
“Nope. That means she’s putting us away from prying ears.” His eyes shifted to mine. “Not everything is a conspiracy, Blake.”
That hadn’t been my luck so far, but I was willing to take a risk and believe it for the time being. I slid into the booth and shucked off my coat, shivering at the lingering effects from the cold. I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to the weather up here, but at least it was a change of pace from my last location.
“So, this case…what do you have so far?”
Dropping the file on the table, I flipped it open and pulled out a photo of the town. “This house right here. It wasn’t there when Dakota was kidnapped.”
