Chapter 2-2
702 Words
North. They’d spent almost as much time trying to get North as they had Diamond.
“What do you know about North?”
He’d disappeared without a trace more than six months before. Nothing indicated Justin North had ever been in Fagerdal at all. Manning had seen him, so he knew the paper trails were false.
The man, whom they still hadn’t managed to get a name on, looked up at him with eerie dark blue eyes. Where they blue? Black? Black with silver in them? His pulse sped up, but he couldn’t say why.
“Give me North.”
His voice sent a shiver through Manning. “We? How did you come up with that?”
The man closed his eyes and Manning drew in a breath of relief. It was the eyes; they were freaking him out. And that he obviously had been starved. The collarbones were protruding, and the dress couldn’t hide the frail body. His almost black hair fell down his back and the blood from the cuts on his chest created a macabre pattern on the fabric.
What guy wore nothing but a dress in late September? What would he look like in normal clothes? Would his hair be tangled in the morning? What would it be like to wrap it around his hand to angle his head so he could—
Those eyes snapped open and looked right through him and into his core. Was the breathy sound coming from him? Manning snapped his mouth shut and glared at the man. What was he doing to him?
“I’ll bless your gun if you continue.”
“Continue what?” Jacobs gave him a wide-eyed look.
“He was—”
“I wasn’t doing anything. Now tell us what you know about North.”
The man never let him go with his gaze, but Manning refused to look away no matter how uncomfortable those eyes made him. He unbuttoned the top button on his shirt. When had it gotten so warm in here?
The man licked his lips and heat crawled over Manning’s skin. Damn him! Manning’s heart forgot to beat when he noticed the edge of the man’s collarbones softening a fraction. A trick of the light, had to be.
“I haven’t seen North in many moon cycles.”
Moon cycles? “What do you know about him?” Manning curled his hands into fists but unclenched them when Jacobs gave him a look. He tried softening his voice. “Can you tell us how you know North?”
“He visited me in the clearing with Diamond.”
“How often—”
Jacobs cut him off. “Why did he bring Diamond?”
The man frowned. “Diamond brought North.”
“Of course.” Jacobs smiled but it had the man tensing instead of relaxing. Manning pulled out the chair next to Jacobs and put his fingertips together in an attempt to assemble some calm. If this hippie had ways to get in contact with North, it could be a great breakthrough.
“Can you—what’s your name?”
“Hush.”
Manning glanced at Jacobs. Had a man in a dress just told him to hush in an interrogation room?
“Hush?”
“Yes, Hush.”
“What else?” Could it be a nickname? Who wanted to be called Hush?
“Only Hush.”
Manning held in a sigh, but he couldn’t beat a name out of him, could he? And to be honest, he doubted he could stomach hitting this frail creature. “So, Hush. Why do you want North?”
He didn’t respond.
“Why did he come to see you?”
Still no reply.
“How often did he come to see you?”
Hush pursed his lips and Manning found himself staring, which earned him a quick grin. “I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but what’s wrong with you?”
Manning bit his tongue and looked to Jacobs for guidance.
“We didn’t bring you here to discuss Detective Manning. We’re here to help you.”
“Detective Manning will help me?” Hush’s gaze focused on him again.
“Yes, him and me both.” Jacobs drummed his pen.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t need you.” Hush bit his lip. “And that’s not a bad thing.”
Shit, he was insane. As if standing in a thin dress in a clearing in late September hadn’t clued him in.
“If you help us, we’ll help you. Let’s start with you telling us what you know about North.”
“Ah, bargaining. I understand.”
Did he? Manning meant what he’d said. He wanted Hush to get help. Whether the starvation was self-inflicted or forced upon him, he would need guidance and support to move on.
“You can leave.” Hush nodded at Jacobs dismissively.
“No, that’s not how—”
“I’m bargaining with Detective Manning.”
Manning shared a look with Jacobs. He could watch them through the mirror, and everything was recorded.
“Okay. I’ll speak to you later, Hush.” Jacobs gave Manning one last look and exited the room.
“Okay, let’s begin.” Manning picked up the pen Jacobs had left behind.
- Writer
