Draugr

Five

Five:

"Did you have any reason to harm Miss Hofferson?" Mala asked Hiccup directly. "Did you have any reason to kill her?"

Astrid felt fury roil through her, utterly enraged at the implication. This was Hiccup-her Hiccup, the gentlest, kindest, most loving man on Midgard. How dare this...person...suggest that he could mean her any harm? He would have died for her and was suffering so badly right now. Her fists balled and the windows began to rattle, just slightly while Toothless gave a whine, flattening his ears and ducking down behind Hiccup.

"No," he said in a dry, toneless voice. "I love her with all my heart. I would never hurt her. I wish...I wish it had been me, not her..."

"But the commonest perpetrators of murder are partners and family," Mala insisted coldly. "Did you have a good relationship with Miss Hofferson?"

"I loved her with all my heart," Hiccup said softly.

"And did she love you?" Throk asked him coldly, staring at the young man. Lifting his red-rimmed eyes, Hiccup nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I know she did."

"But..." Throk prompted him seductively.

"She never said it," he sighed, his hand tousling Toothless's ears and Astrid felt a curl of shame-and guilt. "I-I know she loved me because she showed it every day, every second we were together...she...she just didn't like to say the words. To her, they were just words, that didn't mean anything..."

"And did her refusal to acknowledge your feelings make you angry?" Throk pressed. "Did you wish to force her to speak the words-and kill her in the process?"

"Wha...? NO!" Hiccup shouted. "Gods, you have no idea...I watched her die! I held her in my arms..."

"Wracked with guilt?" Mala pressed. Hiccup stared at her, green eyes wide with horror and mouth hanging open as Astrid's rage filled her. The windows rattled more definitely and the lamp nearest to where she was sitting on the arm of the couch began to sway...and then fell over. Toothless growled as Stoick rose to his feet.

"HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE MY SON?" he roared, eyes flashing with rage that fully matched Astrid's own. "My son is distraught at the murder of his beloved and you come here and sling around dirty, lazy accusations instead of finding the man who killed her!" Mala turned to glare at him.

"Mr Haddock-that is precisely what we are doing," she said coldly. "We just have a few more questions for your son..." She paused. "You were aware that Miss Hofferson had a large life insurance policy for which your son was the sole beneficiary? That her death would earn him three million dollars?" Stealing a glance at Hiccup, who was trembling, his eyes too bright, Stoick shook his head.

"No, I was not aware of that," he said grimly.

"Your son is an artist-but not a particularly successful one," Throk said brutally. "His earnings in the last fiscal year were in the hundreds of dollars. Maybe he felt ashamed at his failure."

"No!" Hiccup blurted out. "Astrid believed in me! I'm not a failure-I'm just not a well-known artist..."

"My son is Heir to the Haddock fortune," Stoick cut in. "On my death, he will inherit in excess of fifty million dollars. And he has no appetite for money..." Mala gave a thin, scornful smile.

"In my experience, everyone does," she told him coldly.

"Maybe you need to get out more," Hiccup commented dryly. She turned to glare at him.

"Was there anyone else? On either side?" she asked. Hiccup's eyes widened and he began to hyperventilate. The watching Astrid was incandescent and the windows were definitely rattling now.