Read Online Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock - Free Book Online Page A

determined.”
    â€œBut her family thinks she was murdered by that woman’s husband?”
    â€œThere was an investigation, of course. Then her husband disappeared.”
    â€œDisappeared?”
    â€œLeft the country. Left his wife behind. She thinks he was the victim of foul play, but we don’t have any evidence of that.”
    â€œSo why does she think Brynja knows where he is?”
    Tryggvi examined me silently from behind the wheel of his car. “You’re an inquisitive fellow,” he said finally. “Is there some special reason you’re asking all these questions?”
    â€œThe woman harassed Brynja. She came up to me today. She seems to think I can help her.”
    Tryggvi shook his head. “This is a peaceful country. Unlike America, the homicide rate is low—one or two people a year at most. And the murderers generally turn out to be mentally deranged.”
    â€œYou mean like that woman?”
    â€œI’m not saying that. But she’s clearly upset by the disappearance of her husband. Maybe he got tired of her. Maybe he got tired of Iceland. I don’t know.”
    â€œSo why does she think Brynja knows anything about it?”
    â€œMaybe you should ask her. In the meantime, if that woman gets to be a nuisance, let me know.”
    I said I would. He wished me a good day, rolled up his window and eased his car on down the street.
    The woman was still watching me from inside the grocery store.

EIGHT
    I thought about the tourist information center and its Internet connection. Then I remembered the computer in the little office at the back of Brynja’s house. If Brynja still wasn’t home…
    Fifteen minutes later, I let myself in the front door and stood for a moment, listening.
    Nothing.
    I went through to the kitchen. The door to the old man’s room was open and the nurse was inside, knitting beside his bed. I nodded to her. She nodded back. I went through to the back room and sat down at the desk. The computer was still on. I opened Google and it came up looking exactly as it always did back home. I typed in Gudrun + Njalsdottir + waterfall + death .
    It didn’t get me many pages. I clicked through them one by one. Finally, I saw a reference to a Gudrun Njalsdottir who had been found drowned at the base of a waterfall about a year ago. Just as Tryggvi had said, she’d been a reporter specializing in investigative reporting. There was a photograph. She was a gorgeous, dark-haired woman with piercing eyes. The article said an investigation was ongoing. I searched again and found a follow-up article, which said that the investigation had ruled out foul play. There was no mention of murder. There wasn’t even a hint of murder, even though Tryggvi had said the family believed someone had killed her. What had made them think that?
    â€œWhat do you think you’re doing?”
    Brynja’s voice behind me made me jump. I clicked back to Google and cleared the search history.
    â€œI was going to email my dad,” I said. She must have been in the doorway to the room when she spoke because she was halfway across the room now. “It’s okay if I use this computer, right?”
    â€œYou should ask first.”
    â€œI would have, but there was no one to ask. I couldn’t find you.”
    She was peering at the screen.
    â€œI just logged on,” I said. One thing my past had taught me to do reasonably well was lie. The Major never believed me—well, almost never—but most other people did.
    Brynja looked deep into my eyes. Good luck, I thought. Finally she said, “I guess it’s okay.”
    I logged into my email account and sent a brief message to the Major to back up my story.
    â€œSo, what are you up to today?” I asked when I’d finished.
    â€œI’m supposed to show you around.” She didn’t try to hide her lack of enthusiasm.
    â€œI can look after myself if you have