But then, the snow finally broke them down, probably when
you fell into the bank.”
“Lucky me,” Renie sighed. “I’m a regular walkin’, talkin’
corpse detector.”
“Lucky us,” Judith echoed. “It isn’t like it’s the first time.”
Feeling bleak and bleary eyed, she entered the lodge.
They explained their forestalled departure plight to Nadia
Weiss, who, surprisingly, was not without sympathy. “There
are plenty of vacant rooms,” she said. “I’ve already moved
Frank once. Naturally, he wanted a corner room. But
Mountain Goat Lodge can accommodate two hundred guests.
We’ll find you something in the main wing on the second
floor, where the rest of us are staying.”
Judith and Renie didn’t find the idea particularly reassuring. But again, there wasn’t much choice. “We’ll share,”
Renie blurted. “We wouldn’t want to mess up two rooms,”
she added hastily.
The arrangement was fine with Nadia. She led the cousins
to the elevator via a back corridor. While waiting for the car
to arrive, Judith overheard Killegrew expostulating on the
deficiencies of the municipal police department.
“Lack of personal contact…city employees, not used to the
bottom line…boondoggles…civil service…political pork
barrel…favoritism…” The litany of complaints went on.
The three women got into the elevator. “Did you talk to
the police chief?” Judith asked innocently.
Nadia leaned her slight frame against the upholstered
padding of the elevator. “No! It’s after six, he’d gone home.
Frank had me call him there, but I reached his answering
machine. We haven’t heard back yet.”
“Ah.” Judith didn’t know what else to say. She recalled
how often Joe had tried to see the chief when he and his
partner, Woody Price, were working a case. Unless the investigation was high profile, the chief usually shunted Joe
and Woody off to his deputy or some other underling.
“This whole thing is very peculiar,” Nadia said as they got
out on the second floor. “I cannot—I simply
anything as seedy as murder being linked to OTIOSE.
Whatever will our board of directors think? And our shareholders will be up in arms! This is simply terrible!”
“It’s rough, all right,” Renie agreed.
“It had to be some lunatic,” Nadia declared. “Someone
wandering around the mountains. I’ve heard there are all
sorts of strange types who live in the forest. Hermits, and
other kinds of eccentrics. They often kill people. That’s what
must have happened to Barry.”
They had reached a door at the far end of the hall. Nadia
sorted through a large key ring. “Two-thirty-nine,” she said
under her breath. “Here we are.”
