was beginning to move, though her eyes were still shut. At
last, the heavy lids fluttered open.
“Oh,” Andrea said in a lifeless voice. “It’s you.”
“Do you want to sit up?” Judith inquired.
Andrea’s eyes, which were a light brown with flecks of
green, wandered around the room “I don’t know. I don’t
care.” She pressed a plump fist to her carefully made-up
cheek. “What happened?” Her voice was hollow.
“We’re not sure,” Judith temporized.
As usual, Renie was less tactful. “Somebody hit Leon
on the back of the head with that soapstone carving. I’m
sorry, Andrea, but it looks like he was murdered, too.”
Andrea’s mouth fell open, her eyes bulged, and then she
began to hiccup. It was a struggle, but Judith managed to
raise her to a sitting position.
“Get some water,” she said to Renie.
Renie went off to the bathroom. Andrea’s wide shoulders
were heaving; the hiccups continued. Judith fought to keep
the other woman upright.
Renie, wearing a curious expression, returned with the
water. Andrea tried to drink, sputtered, hiccuped, and finally
choked. The hiccups stopped. “Lord have mercy,” she
whispered, and crossed herself.
The cousins automatically followed suit. “Was Leon a
Catholic?” Judith asked.
Andrea shook her head. The upswept silver hair had come
loose, and strands trailed down her back. “No. But I am.”
“So are we,” Judith replied, hoping the religious affinity
might somehow comfort Andrea. “Would you like to lie
down?”
Together, Judith and Renie got Andrea to her feet and
guided her to the nearest of the twin beds. The room was
almost identical to the one shared by the cousins, except that
the painting was of an alpine meadow, and the photograph
showed the completed lodge.
“What’s happening?” Andrea asked in a frantic voice as
Judith propped an extra pillow from the other twin bed behind her. “Could there be a serial killer loose in these
mountains?”
“I don’t know,” Judith replied in all honesty. “I think we’d
all better watch out for ourselves from now on.”
“Oh, my.” Andrea covered her face with her hands. “I can’t
believe this!” she wailed. “Who would kill a decent little man
like Leon? Or Barry, for that matter. It’s insane!”
Judith sat down on the other twin bed. “If you have an
idea—any idea at all—who’d want to harm them, you
ought to say so. This situation is getting more than ugly.”
“But I don’t!” Andrea removed her hands, revealing a face
