Page 58 of Snowman

I let out a dry chuckle, turning to face him. "Why would we know? She'syourgirlfriend."

"Do you have her address?" Isak asked, ignoring the jab. His voice cracked.

I looked at Erik, who raised an eyebrow. "We do," Erik said slowly, "but we can't give it to you. You're too close to this. It's personal."

Isak's shoulders dropped slightly, but his voice didn't waver. "Then call her. Please. I need to talk to her."

"Why?" I asked, my tone sharpening.

Isak leaned in, whispering. "I think she believes I'mtheSnowman. I need to clear that up before the new profiler drags her in and paints me as the prime suspect."

The room seemed to get smaller. Erik shifted in his chair, the grin on his face curved at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh," I said. My gaze didn't leave Isak's face. "Should we be suspecting you?"

"No, man, I swear," he said, his voice jittery, barely keeping it together. Erik stepped in closer, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder. The grip tightened just enough to make a point.

I ignored them and pulled out my phone, pressing my number. The call connected after a couple of rings.

"This is Detective Thor Karlsson," I said, keeping it formal. "May I speak with Bree?"

"What's this about, youshmuck?" Lena snapped, clearly unimpressed. "But yeah, hold on. She's here."

There was a muffled rustle, and then Bree's voice came through, soft. "Hi."

"Hey, Bree," I said."How are you?"

She paused, and for a second, I thought the call had dropped. Then, quietly, "Bad. I'm… waiting for you."

I closed my eyes, took a breath, and focused. "I need to ask you something. Be honest, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

"Detective Isak wants to see you," I said. "Do you want me to give him your address? It's completely up to you."

"No." Her voice cracked, but the word came out firm. "Please, Thor. I don't want to see him again."

"Got it," I said. "Thanks for letting me know. Goodbye, miss..."

Miss you.

The thought hovered in my head as I hung up, but I didn't let it stick. There wasn't time for that now.

I turned to Isak, who had been standing nearby, arms crossed like he owned the room. "She said her family's out of town tonight. You can stop by tomorrow morning."

"Right," he said, a smirk creeping across his face. "Perfect."

"I'll send you her address half an hour before," I added, keeping my tone clipped.

"Thank you." He gave a slight nod, then turned and walked off, his footsteps fading into the background.

I looked at Erik, who had been watching everything without a word. "We have to go," I told him.

He stood and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. No words, just a quick nod. We had a plan.

NINETEEN

BREE

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