his chief on the hearth. “Let’s divide ourselves into threes,”
he said, then apparently remembered Judith and Renie. “I
mean, fours. Half of us will search the rest of this floor and
the basement. The other half will go up to the second and
third floors. Ava, Margo, Max—will you come with me?”
Max stepped forward at once, but neither woman seemed
anxious to take part. Briefly, they stared at each other, and
some sort of understanding must have passed between them.
Margo actually gave Ava a hand to help her down from the
pool table.
“Why,” Margo murmured, “didn’t I resign last week?”
“You had no reason then,” Ava said.
“Yes, I did.” Margo trooped out of the lobby with Ava,
Gene, and Max.
The cousins were left with Frank Killegrew and Russell
Craven. “I don’t think I can do this,” Killegrew declared in
a weak voice. As he reached for the Scotch, his hand shook.
“I never dreamed it would come to this.”
“To what?” asked Russell, who was still sitting on the chess
board.
But Killegrew. didn’t reply. He sloshed Scotch into a glass
and drank it down in one gulp. “Okay,” he said, squaring
his shoulders, “let’s go.”
The foursome took the elevator to the second floor, which
meant that they would begin their search at the opposite end
from Leon’s room. Judith tried to think of a way to curtail
the suspense, but nothing came to mind. Renie
was right. It was too late to admit they’d found another body.
Judith didn’t dare tip her hand.
They started with the cousins’ room, checking the bathroom and under the beds. This time, they remembered to
look out the windows. It was still raining hard, and the snow
had melted another three inches. Through the steady downpour, Judith could see into the distance. There was nothing
but the tops of trees, some of which now showed bare
branches. The wet, drooping evergreens look dejected in the
rain.
Down the hall they went, finding everything the same as
when Judith and Renie had made their search earlier in the
morning. Or so it appeared until they reached Gene’s room.
It was now unlocked. Killegrew strode inside, calling Nadia’s
name.
Judith glanced around. There was an open briefcase on
the bed, a cardigan sweater hanging on the back of one of
the ubiquitous armchairs, an empty glass on the nightstand,
and a half-filled laundry bag on the floor. There was, of
course, no sign of Nadia.
Margo’s room was still locked. Killegrew swore under his
breath, then knocked hard three times and again called for
