Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) Read online

  “Anything else?” Kalin tried to keep the coldness out of her voice but failed. She suspected Turner would push her out of the way until he found out who stole the money. But what if guilt lay with Helen and she was now the manager? Kalin didn’t think Turner had made the best decision, but she’d lost the power to influence him.

  The flop of Turner dropping a copy of The Holden Press drew her eyes to the surface of her desk. “Any idea how the newspaper found out about the theft?”

  Kalin picked up the paper, keeping her head lowered, hoping Turner wouldn’t smell the sweat rings seeping into her armpits. The byline belonged to Charlotte Summers.

  Avalanche at Stone Mountain

  Thirty-year-old Roy McCann remains missing in the Dragon’s Bowl at Stone Mountain Resort.

  McCann, one of the ski patrol’s newest recruits, was lost in the early morning avalanche. So far only some of his ski gear has been found. Search and Rescue stated they have stopped the search until the weather improves. The search will resume when it is safe for the rescue team, but SAR is not hopeful about finding him alive.

  The resort’s president, Paul Turner, confirmed a theft occurred at the resort. At this time, he is unwilling to release details, but one has to question if the theft and avalanche are related.

  “This says you told the reporter,” Kalin said.

  “She asked me if the theft and the avalanche were related, and I told her the theft details were confidential. I guess that was her way of confirming a rumor.”

  “I’m not sure what you want me to do with this.”

  “Find out who told her about the theft before she came to visit me. Then fire the person.” Turner snatched the newspaper from Kalin and left her office.

  She couldn’t worry about Charlotte’s article. Charlotte would never tell anyone she leaked the information. Kalin’s mom was her priority, and she dialed.

  “Any news?” her mom asked straight away.

  Kalin could imagine her mom shrunken by sadness and wished she did have news. “No, I’m just checking in.”

  “If only there was something we could do.”

  “Oh, Mom. You know he won’t be found alive. All we can hope for is to find his body and bury him properly.” Kalin didn’t know how to help her mom through this, but she did know she couldn’t tell her about the theft and Roy being a suspect. What a way to break her heart.

  “I know…It’s just…I want him back.”

  “Me, too,” Kalin said and decided to hell with Turner’s wishes. If she couldn’t have Roy back, she would prove his innocence.

  The locksmith’s office. That’s where she needed to go. A quick check with Ben, and she’d head to the lower village.

  She donned her jacket as she jogged across the path to the mountain ops building and waited while the administration assistant opened his top desk drawer and gave a locker combination to a liftie.

  “Ben around?” Kalin asked.

  “He’s with the grooming team.”

  * * *

  Kalin slogged toward the locksmith’s office. She squinted against the blowing snow and tucked her hands in her pockets. She hunched forward and leaned into the wind. Why had she been so hard on Ben? He’d had no choice but to call off the search. Except Roy was still out there, and they’d left him alone.

  Turner had told her not to investigate, but he hadn’t told her not to work on better security for the finance center. If he found out what she was about to do, she’d use security as an issue and pretend she hadn’t understood his orders.

  Located in the basement of the same building that housed the front desk, the locksmith office contained a key-grinding machine. The keys to the hotel rooms were created using a card system, but the keys to the resort’s offices and conference rooms hadn’t been upgraded and still used metal keys.

  She checked the time. Almost five. Hoping to catch Brightman before he left his office, she picked up her pace.

  A crusty man in his mid- to late-fifties, Ted Brightman had a full head of frizzy hair, thick arms and an unfriendly demeanor. He didn’t get up from the grinding machine when Kalin entered his workshop, and the screeching made her teeth hurt. Did he even notice the slight odor of burnt metal anymore?

  As soon as he stopped the grinding machine, she got right to the point. “Who has a key to the finance center?”

  Brightman stared at her in his usual rude fashion.

  “I know you’ve updated the key recording process since the McKenzie murder, so I’d like to know who has a key.” Before Kalin forced Brightman to update the process, he hadn’t kept track of keys. Since then, Fred had installed a recording system, and the information existed on some hard drive.

  Slowly Brightman stood, looking as if the effort hurt his knees, and limped toward his desk. He turned on the computer. “I’m not too fast with this thing.”

  Kalin followed him and waited.

  “Hovering won’t make me any faster.”

  He clicked on an icon on the desktop and pointed. “Jessica Scott, Eric Wilson, Helen Armstrong, Fred Morgan, Paul Turner, you and the rest of the directors.”

  “That’s not right. I don’t have a key.”

  “You have a master.”

  “I do.”

  “The master opens every hard lock on the resort.”

  Kalin re-read the names. Fred was in Hawaii, so that removed him from the suspect list. Turner and the other directors just joined the team of possible thieves. Again with the keys. “I’d like you to change the lock on the finance center door again. This time, don’t give access to master keys. There’s no reason to.”

  “That’s difficult.”

  “Not my concern. Just get it done.”

  Kalin hurried back to the dark administration building, went directly to the finance center and tried her master key. She unlocked and locked the door, testing to make sure the room was secure. She didn’t know Turner well, and if she was truthful, she didn’t like him. She hoped her decision to call Miller instead of Turner had nothing to do with her feelings toward her boss and everything to do with furthering the investigation. Without hesitating, she dialed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Ben slumped on the living room couch. Seven p.m. Was Kalin working late just to avoid him? If he’d done something, anything, differently, would Roy be alive? If only he’d gotten out of bed early on the day of the avalanche, he might have been with Roy and been able to save him or at least persuaded him not to go. Roy’s dangerous habit of night skiing had gotten him killed.

  Helping Kalin get closure without a body had to be his priority now. Somehow he had to make her understand his decision.

  A low whine prodded him to pay attention to his world. Chica thumped her tail against the hardwood floor and gazed at Ben. He pushed himself off the couch, and she ran to the mudroom.

  Ben chuckled. “I get it. You’re hungry.” He opened the bottom cupboard and grabbed the kibble.

  While Chica gobbled her food, Ben jogged down the stairs to the ground-floor guest room and looked at Roy’s things. He’d been sleeping in Ben and Kalin’s guest bedroom for a month, and the shared accommodations had been getting a bit annoying. He’d wanted Roy to move out, but not the way he did.

  Ben carried Roy’s suitcase into the garage and stuffed it into a cubbyhole. He returned to the guest room and looked for Roy’s army-green duffle bag. He checked the front hall, the back closet and the shelves in the garage but found nothing. Maybe when Roy left on the morning of the avalanche, he’d been in the process of moving out and taken the bag with him. After the tense conversation they’d had about why Roy should leave, he wouldn’t be surprised if Roy had taken off without telling them.

  When he returned to the living room, he found Chica with her nose pressed against the sliding glass door. He picked up her leash, and she pranced in circles. He grabbed his headlamp and secured the straps over his toque.

  Ben walked Chica, thinking about the night before Roy died and how he’d left th
ings in such a mess with his brother-in-law. He would never have a chance to fix that, but he did have the chance to recover with Kalin.

  He reached Jessica’s place and plodded through knee-deep snow to her door. He lifted the bird-shaped knocker and tapped the tail against a cast-iron base. He waited a minute, and getting no response from within, gave up.

  He trudged along Black Bear drive until he reached the mountain ops building. Snowflakes drifted to the ground, but the ease in snowfall had come too late to help Roy. Tomorrow he’d order the team to check the surrounding terrain and determine if the slopes were stable enough to resume the search.

  Considering the lateness of the hour, the light inside the building surprised him. Ben quietly opened the door and poked in his head.

  Someone lay on one of the gurneys.

  Chica burst past him and barked at the person, wagging her tail furiously. Jessica rolled to her side and sat, but stayed wrapped in a blanket. “What do you want?”

  Ben stepped around the puddles created by the snow falling off Chica. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Then why are you lying on a gurney?”

  “It’s stupid.”

  “What is?”

  “Roy used to sleep here sometimes. I just wanted…I don’t know what I wanted, but I had to get out of my house.”

  Jessica’s hoarse voice and slow speech reminded Ben she’d cared for Roy. That little fact was easy to forget when Roy had been so difficult. Ben didn’t know Jessica well but understood she was hurting. “Do you think Roy might have come here the night before the avalanche?”

  “Maybe.”

  With the room almost empty, Ben smelled antiseptic cleaners from the treatment station and wool from the blankets stored on the shelf beside him, making him glad the employees change room and lockers were a floor below them and couldn’t add to the odors. “Was he going to move in with you?”

  “Not that I know of. Why?”

  “I can’t find his duffle bag. I think Kalin might want the contents. He left our place before dawn, but I don’t know where he went.”

  “He didn’t come to my house.” Jessica swallowed hard. “He could have gone to Helen’s. He went there sometimes when he’d had too much to drink. You could ask her.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh. It’s not what you’re thinking. They were friends. Roy would never be interested in someone like her.”

  Someone like her. What did that mean? Ben didn’t ask.

  Jessica slumped against the wall and tightened the blanket. “I can’t believe this happened.”

  “Neither can we. Kalin’s taking it pretty hard. Did you know Roy planned on skiing early that day?”

  “No. And no, I don’t think he stole the money, so don’t start with that shit.”

  “I didn’t say that. Kalin doesn’t believe he did either. I’m only looking to get his things together. Kalin needs some closure and without…Well, you know. I want to help her if I can.”

  “You mean you want her to forgive you for calling off the search.”

  * * *

  Just because Ben had been kind and walked Jessica home didn’t mean she owed him anything. And he didn’t need to know her real reason for being in the clinic.

  She turned the deadbolt and phoned Aiden. As lift manager, Aiden had worked closely with Roy, but that didn’t mean she trusted him. She just couldn’t come up with anyone else to turn to. “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day about Roy being near the finance center on the morning of the theft. Maybe you’re on to something.”

  “Are you telling me you didn’t take the money and he did?” Aiden asked.

  If Aiden hadn’t seen Roy with the duffle bag and hadn’t seen her in the finance center at night using a flashlight, she wouldn’t involve him in her plan. “You jerk. Of course I didn’t.”

  “You have to admit, you must be high on the suspect list. Talk about suspicious. The money gets stolen, then your boyfriend disappears.”

  Jessica plopped on her couch and rested her feet on the coffee table. “I didn’t take the money, but what if Roy had help from someone else in the finance center?”

  “Who?”

  “Helen. Always Helen this and Helen that just because she doted on him like a lovesick puppy. They hung around together a lot.”

  “Yeah, I can tell you weren’t fond of that.” Aiden snickered. “Is that why you set up Helen? Just sayin’.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You could take the money and get back at Helen in one go. The night I caught you in the finance center after hours, it seemed odd you were using a flashlight. I don’t believe your story of the burnt-out light bulb.”

  Even though Aiden couldn’t see her, Jessica rolled her eyes. “Shut up. You don’t seem too upset Roy died.”

  “It wasn’t like we were friends anymore. It’s sad, but not my problem. Anyway, you think he stole the money?”

  Jessica walked to the kitchen and stared at the contents in her refrigerator. Who was she kidding? She couldn’t eat. The depth with which she missed Roy surprised her, but she had to take care of herself. If she couldn’t have him, she could at least find what he’d stolen. She set her phone on the counter and hit the speaker icon.

  “Did you hear what I asked?”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s possible. Ben was just here. He was looking for Roy’s duffle bag. I bet he thinks that’s where the money is. He made up some story about getting stuff together for Kalin, but I don’t believe him.”

  “If Roy stole the money, any idea where he’d hide it?”

  “If Helen was in on it, then maybe at her place. It’s also possible Kalin was his partner.”

  “The duffle could have been buried with Roy on the mountain.”

  “I can’t see him carrying it up there,” Jessica said.

  “There is another possibility no one’s talking about.”

  Jessica picked up a beer, then replaced the bottle on the fridge shelf with a clang. “And what is that?”

  “Maybe Roy set the scene to look like he died in the avalanche and then took off with the money.”

  The stench of sour milk wafted in her direction, and Jessica slammed the refrigerator door. “You’re an idiot. There’s no way he would do that to me.”

  “You sure about that?”

  She stared at her blurred reflection in the stainless steel appliance. She was sick of being a shoe wipe for Stone Mountain. If she found the money and didn’t tell anyone, Turner and the cops would ultimately blame Roy. He was dead, so it’s not like the betrayal would cause him any pain.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Look, the money has to be somewhere, and I don’t see why I should help the resort find it, but that doesn’t mean I’m against looking for it on our own. You’re not going to change your mind and tell the police what you saw on the night of the theft?”

  “As long as you don’t tell Ben. You seem to like him.”

  Who didn’t like Ben?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Let’s snowshoe to work this morning,” Ben said.

  Kalin pressed her head into her pillow and debated whether to pretend she was sleeping or not. Why couldn’t Ben just give her time to heal? The avalanche happened on Monday, and it was only Friday. Two days since Ben called off the search. Two days of anger filling her heart and clawing at her insides.

  “I know you’re awake. I can tell from your breathing.” Ben massaged her back between her shoulder blades. “Come on. You have to talk to me sometime.”

  She curled into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest. Her flannel pajamas, the ones Ben made fun of, provided a soft barrier, a way to distance herself from him. “Sure.”

  “That was enthusiastic.”

  Kalin tossed the quilt to the side and stepped onto the plush carpet. She loved the texture on her bare feet. Without turning on the light or opening her eyes, she stumbled to the shower.

  She got dressed in th
ermal underwear, ski pants and a sweater she could wear at work, and met Ben in the kitchen. He’d fried bacon and eggs, her favorite, and set orange juice on the table. She gave him points for trying.

  Half an hour later, Kalin strode beside Ben, her snowshoes sinking in the deep snow. The blades on the bottom, meant to grip icy ground, wouldn’t be needed. With each step, snow flew up the back of her legs and bounced off her ski pants.

  Chica trotted behind them, smart enough to travel on the path flattened by their snowshoes, stopping occasionally to sniff at something.

  Two beams of light from their headlamps bounced along in front of them, lighting the way.

  “Kalin, we have to get past this.”

  “I know. I’m just so angry.”

  “At me?”

  “No. At Roy, but I don’t want to blame him.”

  “So you’re not mad at me. Just not speaking to me.”

  Kalin stomped along without answering. Why was it so hard to articulate her feelings? She trusted Ben. He loved her, and yet, she couldn’t express herself well.

  “Your silence is kinda what I mean by not speaking to me.”

  In the darkness, she smiled, knowing Ben couldn’t see her face. “This is hard for me.”

  “I can tell.”

  “Don’t tease me right now. I can’t take it.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I understand why you called off the search. I really do. I know it was the right thing to do. Roy being left alone to die is too horrible to think about, even though I know that’s what happened.”

  “Maybe he was hit so fast, he didn’t know he would die.”

  “I hope that’s how it happened. The alternative is unbearable.”

  “We’ll check the terrain today. If it’s still not stable, it should be within the next couple of days. As soon as it’s safe, I’ll get the team out there.”

  “Okay.”

  Ben reached for Kalin’s hand and pulled her to a stop. He drew her to him and hugged her. “I love you,” he whispered.