Free Mist Revealed by Nancy Corrigan Page A

Greenland?”
    “I haven’t seen him. The message left with me said he’d be in Washington for several days discussing UP-33 with the president and his staff.” Sam chuckled. “The old man’s got balls. I have to give him that. He threatened to take our findings to the press. Suddenly, they had time for him.”
    That explained his failure to answer her email. Roland had been pulling every favor he had earned to find out why the CDC refused to acknowledge UP-33. All along, he’d hinted at a conspiracy. It made perfect sense that he’d contact someone from the village to be her go-to person. The question remained—how did he find out?
    “Did you tell anyone that I was coming here?” Nobody else knew.
    He ran a hand through his hair and snorted. “Who would I tell? You’re the only one I talk to about things outside of work.”
    Her cheeks warmed. She dropped her gaze to the floor. If they weren’t discussing their projects, they were talking about sex or engaging in it.
    “Speaking of talking, you and I haven’t had a chance to meet for drinks and unwind in months.”
    Their code-phrase for fucking. She cleared her throat. Time to change the subject back to important stuff. “Focus, Sam. Did anyone ask where I was?”
    He rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, now that I think about it. A guy called looking for you to confirm your flight and stuff. Igor…”
    “Ivan?”
    “Yeah, Ivan.” He nodded. “He said he wanted to help in any way he could. Then he went on to talk about murders and…”
    Another swipe of his hand through his hair, and he flashed a smile. “Something. You know me. I stopped listening. By the time I remembered I was on the phone, he’d hung up. Sorry. Susie said he’d called her too, and she handled it. Was it important?”
    A matching smile tugged at her lips. “No. You answered my question.”
    Susie, their administrative assistant, would’ve reported the call to Roland. With the mystery surrounding Rune shelved, she broached another. “I need you to gather some information for me.”
    “Sure. What kind?”
    “The locals mentioned artifacts had recently washed up on the shores here, but I can’t find anything on a basic internet search.”
    He rubbed the edge of his hand back and forth under his chin. A considering look passed over his face. “You’re thinking UP-33 came from some ancient tomb?”
    “Or from the ice itself.”
    “So you’ve hypothesized.” He stretched across the desk and typed on another open laptop. “I’ll see what I can come up with.”
    “While you’re at it, I want you to think about this…” She waited until he met her eyes. “What do vampires, Ragnarok and UP-33 have in common?”
    He raised a brow. “I’d ask if you were serious, but I know you are.”
    “Unfortunately I’m deadly serious. The townsfolk seem to think supernatural forces are at work, not simply a mutating virus.” She shook her head. “It sounds crazy, but if there’s some clue mixed into the legends, I have to explore it. It might trigger an idea. You know how it works.”
    “Yeah, I do.” His image froze for a second before skipping to life. “What exactly have you walked into over there?”
    “I don’t—”
    A cold gust of wind swept into the room. She glanced over her shoulder. The sight that met her stopped her heart. Rune stood just inside the doorway, mist swirling around his feet. She looked from the odd fog to his face. The light from the nearby lamp left half of it in shadows. It didn’t dim his expression, however.
    Hungry. Intense. Primal.
    He focused his blue-gray eyes on her. She couldn’t have looked away if she wanted to.
    “Catherine? You there? Your image cut out. All I hear is wind wailing.”
    Wind? What wind?
    Rune glanced from her to the computer. The lights flickered. A pop sounded. She gasped and swung her head to peer at her computer. Only a black screen showed. The lights wavered again, then went out.
    The sound of a door slamming tore a squeak