in this lodge is a killer?”
“I’m not sure.” Nadia turned sulky. “What about that person laughing outside the lodge? We’ve all tried to look from
the upper windows to see if anyone is there, but it’s impossible to see very far. Yet we all heard that awful laugh.
Surely that could have been the killer.”
“It’s possible,” Judith admitted, “but I don’t see how. Of
course if we could be sure that each person inside the lodge
was with someone else, then we’d know we’re all innocent.”
Behind the big glasses, Nadia’s eyes narrowed. “I thought
you and your cousin knew the killer’s identity.”
“What I said was that we have evidence
killer. That’s not quite the same,” Judith hedged. “It will take
a forensics expert to actually pin the murders on this…person.”
Nadia took a moment to sort through Judith’s ambiguous
statement. “You haven’t eliminated
don’t have your note or your evidence.”
Judith said nothing. Nadia drank more sherry. In silence,
the two women carried the remainder of the table settings
out to the dining room. When they were back in the kitchen,
Judith rephrased her original question.
“Do you know where everyone was around the time that
Ward must have been killed?”
“Frank and I were in the lobby,” Nadia replied, not looking
at Judith. “Then we went to check on the smaller conference
rooms. I had to use the restroom, so I asked Margo to stay
with Frank. Ava accompanied me to the bathroom. I wasn’t
alone—nor was Frank—for more than a minute.” At last, she
gave Judith a defiant stare.
There was no way to prove or disprove Nadia’s story. It
seemed to mesh with Margo’s account. Perhaps Frank Killegrew would have a different version.
Nadia finished her sherry while Judith checked on the game
hens and the bean dish. Then the two women returned to
the lobby. The interrogation of Ava would have to wait until
after dinner.
Renie and Gene had removed enough snow so that the
door could be shut. They were just turning the lock when
Judith joined them. Renie was panting from exertion and
Gene was mopping his brow.
“We had to pour all the melted water down the restroom
toilets,” he explained, then pointed to the wet-dry vacuum.
“We filled that thing eight times.”
“Good work,” Judith remarked before turning to Renie. “I
could use your help in serving.”
“I’m pooped,” Renie said, then caught the meaningful glint
in Judith’s eyes. “But so what? I’m a glutton for punishment.”
She took a cigarette from her purse and lighted up.
“I think I liked it better when you were just a glutton,” Judith murmured, leading Renie not to the kitchen, but to the
restroom. “Let’s stop in here first.”
