CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN – SOMETHING FISHY IS GOING ON

Heart thundering, Karina took advantage of the momentary distraction to stride purposefully up to the one remaining young man. She leaned in close under the guise of handing off his coffee, lowering her voice to a discreet murmur. "That man over there...Thomas, was it?" She cocked her chin meaningfully in his direction. "You said he's a friend who moved here recently with all of you?" The scruffy-looking teenager eyed her askance but seemed to sense the gravity in her words if not the motivation behind them. He bobbed his head in cautious confirmation. "Yeah, Tom's solid. Good dude...helps us out." The implication of some unspoken arrangement hung in the weighted pause before Karina pressed on. "I see. And do you know much about his...background? The young man's brow furrowed slightly as he studied Karina's carefully neutral expression. "You mean like, where he's from and all that? Nah, not really. Tom's not the type to overshare about his past, you know?" He shrugged one bony s