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“I should have enough left over for you to stuff a few in your pockets when you head to your site,” Nate said, giving her a wink. “All of you,” he said, addressing the larger group.
Hanna’s smile was soft. Gunn remembered that Maddie had told him that the two were involved romantically.
Which pushed them down the list of folks who might be jealous of Em and Mateo.
Gunn checked his watch, then pushed up from the table. “I should probably check in with my boss back in Yellowstone. He asked me to keep him updated.”
Maddie nodded. “So long as you’re in the building or within a hundred feet of the building, you should be able to connect to the Wi-Fi.”
Gunn headed back to his room. He’d have enough privacy there, seeing as everyone else was in the kitchen.
He quickly dialed Stone.
“I was wondering when you’d give us a call,” Stone said. “I’ve got you on speakerphone. I’ve got Kyla, Booker, and Wolf with me now.”
In the background, he heard a chorus of greetings.
“How’s it going?” Stone asked.
“Well, I arrived yesterday, along with a Mountie investigating the murder, a Polardyne rep, and Lieutenant Commander Anthony Navarro, who’s embedded with Polardyne. Apparently, our victim was doing some work for him. He installed and monitored a Magnetic Anomaly Detection device under the ice floe and uploaded data from the device daily—of course, depending on the weather.”
“Well, that explains the Pentagon’s involvement,” Booker said. “They’re looking for subs.”
“I’ve met everyone working on site,” Gunn said. “You already have the list of names I sent before I left Cambridge Bay. Has Swede had time to run background checks?”
“He’s still working on it. He did find that you have a former Ranger there.”
“Nate Holcomb. Seems solid.”Even if he does love to paint.
“Yeah, good record. Bronze Star. Honorable Discharge. So far, no red flags.”
“I’m heading out for a sightseeing tour with the project manager today. We’ll see the work sites. Shouldn’t take long since we’ve only got to cover five square miles. But at least I’ll have a feel for the terrain and can assess how likely it is that someone snuck on the floe to kill Schild. When we get back, I’ll install the surveillance equipment, which will give you all a view of who’s moving around the site.”
“Well, I hope something breaks soon,” Booker said. “You are missed. I’d hate for you to be stuck there through the winter.”
“Thanks, man. It could get pretty damn monotonous if I’m here too long. There’s not much of a nightlife here.”
“As if you were ever a party guy,” Wolf said, then chuckled.
“What do you think of the project manager, Madeline Russo? She’s worked in some sketchy places,” Stone said.
Gunn’s back stiffened. “She seems all right,” he said when he knew he couldn’t say that he felt drawn to her. That he instinctively trusted her. That wasn’t his head thinking. He was attracted.
“We haven’t found anything derogatory,” Kyla said. “She seems to be a typical save-the-world kind of do-gooder. But she did spend some time in Syria before most of the U.S. forces withdrew—and before she took the job with Polardyne, she worked in Puerto Rico, organizing relief on the ground after the big hurricane.”
“If she’s on the up-and-up,” Stone said, “she sounds very competent. Keep close to her, but also keep your eyes open. Someone killed a scientist on a floating island. It’s weird. It’s a weird environment for people to want to be there in the first place. Maybe someone snapped. Maybe someone’s been bought.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open. If I learn anything more, I’ll contact you.”
“Keep warm, man,” Booker said.
“Out here,” Gunn said, then ended the call.
A knock sounded on his door.
“Hey, Gunn?”
It was Maddie. “Door’s not locked,” he said.
