Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) Read online

  “What happened to your chin?” Jessica asked.

  Kalin put her hand over her stitches. She’d tried to hide the bruise making its way up her cheek with makeup but had failed. “Nothing.”

  Jessica seemed like the type who would sue the resort if she thought she had cause. Taking the blame for Turner’s mistakes was not on Kalin’s agenda, but she wouldn’t let Jessica know she’d been unaware of the firing. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  Kalin listened to Jessica’s version of her meeting with Turner. A control freak was an understatement when it came to him. He hadn’t even let Jessica’s boss fire her. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “There’s not much I can do. You’ve received a letter of termination. That’s pretty final. If you’d like to clean out your office, I’m happy to help you.”

  “You mean you’ll supervise, so I don’t steal anything. Gertrude’s already guarding the door.”

  Instead of reacting to the anger in Jessica’s voice, Kalin stilled her body. She placed her hands in her lap and crossed her legs at her ankles. “I didn’t say that. We have a process to follow, that’s all.”

  “How can you do this to me after what’s happened this week? You’re Roy’s sister. He loved me.”

  Kalin stretched forward and put her hand on Jessica’s wrist. “I know he did. If you hadn’t lost your keys and not changed the lock, I might have been able to help.”

  Jessica snapped her hand away from Kalin. “Why are you even working?”

  “I miss Roy, too, but I have to do my job. I don’t think about him as much if I’m busy.”

  “And now I have nothing to do but think about him.”

  “I’m truly sorry about that.” Kalin’s cell rang. White Peaks was calling. “Can I meet you in your office in a minute?”

  Jessica stood and, without a word, left Kalin alone.

  * * *

  Kalin disconnected the call. Jessica was a hard person to like, but Kalin felt sorry for her. She rubbed Chica’s head in an effort to calm herself before heading to Jessica’s office.

  Footsteps ghosted on the carpet outside her office as if someone was timidly approaching her door.

  Ben poked his head around the frame. “Can we talk?”

  Chica burst from her place at Kalin’s feet and pranced in front of Ben. He kneeled and was rewarded with a lick on his nose.

  Kalin swiveled her chair to face him but said nothing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She pinched her lips between her teeth. Her body betrayed her. The ache for his arms around her made it hard to breathe. She steeled herself against succumbing. “I’m fine.”

  Ben softly closed the door. “You went to bed without talking to me last night.”

  “I know.”

  “Can you at least tell me if your chin is okay?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Did you get stitches?”

  “Four.”

  Ben’s fingers lighted on her chin and gently moved her head backward. He studied the wound. “We’re going to have matching scars. That must mean something.”

  She yearned for a kiss, but how could she betray Roy that way? Ben had called off the search, and Roy’s body wouldn’t be found.

  “I talked to Oliver about the snowmobile. It’ll be covered by insurance.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Kalin, please. I’m sorry about Roy. I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for me, too. I can’t lose you over this.”

  Tears formed in her eyes.

  Ben placed his forehead on the top of her head and wrapped his fingers around her hair. “I love you. We need to figure this out.”

  Reaching behind her head, she removed Ben’s hand from her hair. She rolled her chair backward and stood. “I need time. That’s all.”

  “Time for what?”

  “I don’t know. Just time.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “I know. Roy’s only been gone four days. I have to get my head around losing him so soon after he came back in my life.” Hurt radiated from Ben’s eyes. She’d cut right to his heart, and she knew it. Roy being caught in an avalanche was Roy’s fault, but Ben would forever live with the search and rescue failure.

  Ben stepped backward and leaned against the door. They were at opposite ends of her office, as far apart as they could be and still be in the same room. Chica picked up on the tension and paced between them, wagging her tail.

  “Do you still love me?” he asked.

  “I’m angry. I’m terrified about how Roy died. Don’t make this into something more than it is.”

  “Fine. I’ll give you time.” Ben opened the door and left.

  Kalin’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the carpet. Chica trotted to her and licked her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around Chica’s shoulders, buried her fingers in silky fur and held firm. She stayed there until the shaking stopped.

  * * *

  On her way to the finance center, Helen smiled at the thought of her two-minute meeting with Turner and Duncan Bosey, the ever-quiet director of finance. Being promoted was beyond her expectations.

  She passed Jessica’s office and cringed. Kalin hovered beside her, supervising her while she cleaned out her office. Jessica had a nasty streak and feeling sorry for her was not easy.

  Although short on time, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee enticed her into the staff kitchen. She poured herself a cup with double cream and double sugar. A co-worker had left a box of doughnuts on the counter. She chose one covered with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, grabbed a napkin, glanced around to see if anyone would notice and piled on a second doughnut. Fully supplied, she rushed to the finance center.

  Constables Miller and Wagner entered behind her and closed the door.

  “Good morning,” Miller said.

  Helen’s stupid cheeks stung with heat, and Miller hadn’t even asked a question yet. Why had two of them come? “I’m supposed to leave the door open. Sometimes employees need change for the registers.”

  “They’ll have to wait. I have a few more questions,” Miller said.

  Helen bit the corner of her lip. She placed her coffee and doughnuts on her desk. If she got this over with, she could stop stressing.

  Miller rolled the spare chair close to Helen. He placed his RCMP cap on her desk and removed a pen and notebook from his breast pocket. His partner stood with her back to the door.

  “I’ve been trying to contact you. Where were you the last couple of days?” Miller asked.

  “I’m not really sure what you want from me. I’ve already told you everything I know,” Helen said.

  “Please answer the question.”

  “I went to Calgary.”

  Miller scribbled in his notebook and turned his ocean-blue eyes back to her. “What for?”

  “To visit my parents.”

  Wagner shifted but held her position at the door. Had something Helen said interested the female officer?

  Miller glanced at Wagner but focused right back on Helen. “Odd time to leave work, right after a theft. Surely you knew I’d want to speak with you again. I told you we needed to get your fingerprints. Is there any reason you’ve avoided having that done?”

  Helen smoothed her dress over her thighs and straightened her belt. “I went to visit my parents. I haven’t seen them since last summer, and with everything going on, I needed them.”

  Miller held his pen ready. “Please give me the names and contact information for both your parents.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, what for?”

  “I’m wondering why you went to see them when you obviously should be here.”

  “But I already told you why.”

  “So you did.” Miller wrote her parents names and phone numbers as she dictated them.

  “That dress you’re wearing looks new, as do the boots. Did you do some shopping while you were in Calgary?�
��

  She fidgeted with her bracelet, clicking the gold clasp open and closed. She bought the dress, thinking the sleek shape made her look trendier and Roy would like it. The new dress was her way of being positive about seeing Roy alive again. “I…yes.”

  “You seem to be taking the theft personally. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

  “It is personal. I was the last person on duty before the theft. I took the call and didn’t check it was real. I found the empty safe. I feel terrible,” Helen said in a voice just above a whisper.

  Both of them turned toward the door when a knock interrupted them. Helen stood.

  Miller shook his head. “They’ll have to wait. What’s your relationship with Roy McCann?”

  Helen returned to her seat. Snow whipped by the finance center window in swaths thick enough to create a screen and added to the snow already dropped in the last twenty-four hours. The wind more than anything had forced the rescue team to call off the search. Roy lay somewhere on the frozen terrain, but the safety of the rescuers remained the priority. He’d been missing for too long. Even if the avalanche hadn’t killed him, he would have died from hypothermia by now, and she ached for him.

  She wished she’d told Roy she loved him. He dated Jessica and didn’t feel the same way about her, but at least he would have known. Now she had to mourn in silence.

  “Helen?”

  “Yes?”

  “Your relationship with Roy?”

  During her lunch hour on the day before the theft, she’d attended her first snowboarding lesson. Roy had given her lessons as a Christmas present. Having never snowboarded or downhill skied, she’d hid the coupon in her desk and waited until the last moment to redeem it. She hadn’t expected a gift and hadn’t bought anything for him. Did Jessica know about Roy’s gift? Maybe that’s why she’d been hostile in the week leading up to the theft.

  To Helen’s amazement, she loved the lessons. She wasn’t an adventurous athlete, but the experience of being on the hill with others who were new to snowboarding was exhilarating. When the weather cleared, she’d go again. “We’re friends.”

  “Good friends?”

  “I think so.” The sting in her cheeks meant her face had turned red again. “Not romantic friends. I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. We just hung out once in a while.”

  “Did you give Roy the combination to the safe?”

  “You think Roy stole the money? He wouldn’t do that.”

  “Did you give him the combination?”

  “I didn’t.” With Miller staring at her as if she’d helped the thief, she couldn’t hold his gaze. She darted her eyes to the window and back to him. “I’d lose my job if I did.”

  Miller had a talent for keeping his expression unreadable, and Helen fidgeted with her bracelet again but couldn’t outlast his silence. “I didn’t tell anyone the safe combination. Roy could be dead, and you’re here thinking he took the money. That’s cruel.”

  “Did you leave the combination written down anywhere he might have seen it?”

  Keeping her eyes lowered, she shook her head in response.

  “Jessica Scott suggested I talk to you about Roy. Why do you think she would say that?”

  “I don’t know. Jessica doesn’t like me. She seemed jealous Roy and I were friends. Especially lately. I used to spend more time with Roy, but then he started dating her. I think he was getting tired of her, and we began hanging out again. Maybe she told Roy the combination and wants you to think I did.”

  “Meaning you think it’s possible Roy took the money.”

  A second knock interrupted them, but this time Helen didn’t move. “You’re twisting what I’m saying.”

  “Do you know if Roy had money problems?”

  “If he did, he never talked to me about it.”

  “Was he acting differently before the avalanche?”

  Helen thought for a moment before answering. “He was moody. He didn’t used to be like that, but it could’ve been because of Jessica. I don’t really know.”

  “Fair enough. Let’s talk about the phone call from the bank.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you that I haven’t already.”

  “It didn’t occur to you the bank closed at noon on Saturdays?”

  “I never…I mean, I was busy. I didn’t think about it.”

  “Did you take the money? Now is the time to admit it before this goes too far.”

  “I swear I didn’t.” Helen cleared her throat and said with confidence, “I’ll take the polygraph. It doesn’t matter what Jessica wants anymore.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Paul Turner let her go this morning. She’s no longer my boss. So…”

  Miller leaned toward her. “How do you know this?”

  “I was promoted to manager of the finance center.”

  “Interesting motive.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  While Jessica packed her office, Kalin used the time to regroup from the devastating conversation with Ben.

  “I need to come back for my skis and boots,” Jessica said.

  “Sure. I’ll put them in my office for you. Are both sets yours?”

  “No. The blue ones are Simon Crane’s.”

  “He’ll have to come and get them. Do you want me to call or would you rather?”

  “I’ll call.”

  Jessica placed the last of her possessions in a box, and Kalin escorted her to the bottom of the stairs leading to the exterior of the administration building. Even with Jessica carrying personal items from her office, Kalin picked up her pace to match Jessica’s as she pounded down the steps.

  Jessica jolted to a stop on the landing and twisted to face Kalin. “Will you give me a reference?”

  Kalin pushed the outer door open, using both hands against the force of the wind. “I would, but I don’t think Turner’s going to approve. If you were let go without cause, I’d be happy to.”

  “But I was good at my job.”

  Kalin squinted against the snow pelting her face. “I know you were. If someone calls and asks if we’d hire you back, I have to say no. I don’t think that will help you.”

  “You can’t give out details about me.”

  “And I won’t, but I am allowed to answer if we would hire you again.”

  Jessica shifted the box from one hip to the other. “This really sucks.”

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Do you actually care?”

  Kalin held the door open with her shoulder. She blew warm breath onto her bare palms and rubbed them together. “I do. If I could help you, I would.”

  Jessica frowned and nodded once. “Sure.” She kicked snow out of her way and jogged toward the path leading to the parking lot.

  Kalin shuffled back inside. Stress, grief, whatever, depleted her energy, and the walk back to her office seemed to double in length. Her gut clenched every time she thought about Roy buried and alone. And thinking of Roy made her think of her late husband.

  She closed her office door and slipped the photo from underneath the shelf on her wall. A decisive man without fear, Jack had taken one look at Kalin and told her she would become his wife. Kalin laughed and told him to do his best.

  After Jack died, she looked at the photo every day and told him she missed him. She’d kept up the ritual until she’d gotten serious with Ben. Out of respect for him, she no longer talked to Jack each day, but she couldn’t bring herself to throw out the photo.

  She sat and swiveled her seat, taking in her surroundings. Duct tape held the arm of her chair together, and the carpet was worn through to the floor in several places. At the northern latitude, the building had been designed to let in maximum light and compensate for the short days, but the oppressive atmosphere beat the design. Was critiquing her work environment a way of looking for reasons to accept the job at White Peaks?

  A staccato rap announced Turner. Her boss wore a striped button-down shirt hanging loosely ove
r ironed khaki pants. He got straight to work, no preamble, no concern for her. “You understand why the search was called off?”

  “I do. My mom’s having a hard time, but I’m trying to get her to understand, too.” Kalin held her breath for a few seconds. “I spoke with Jessica. It would have been better if you’d involved me in her termination. Gavin Reed kept me in the loop on all employee issues.”

  “I’m not Reed.”

  You certainly aren’t. “I understand, but it’s easier for me to ensure we’re compliant with the labor laws if I know before someone is fired.”

  “Jessica Scott broke policy by losing her office keys and not having the lock changed.”

  “Do you think she stole the money?”

  “I don’t know. I fired her because she didn’t follow a security policy. We need to talk about Roy. You know he’s a suspect.”

  “I spoke with Constable Miller about him. I don’t believe he stole the money.”

  “Normally, I’d want you to lead an investigation into the theft, but considering your brother is the prime suspect, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Turner’s words drove Kalin to the opposite of what he asked. Her brother would never steal and certainly not such a large sum of money. “I don’t believe—”

  “He’s the obvious suspect. I’ll take care of the investigation until Fred returns from vacation. There’s one other thing. I’ve promoted Helen to take over Jessica’s role.”

  “But—”

  “We need someone in place right away.”

  “I’m not saying Helen is the wrong person, but usually I would be involved in any organizational decisions, especially with a promotion to a managerial position. Until the theft is solved, maybe we should operate without a manager.”

  “She’s already in place.” Turner handed Kalin a letter. “The details of the promotion are here. I need you to process it effective today.”