Snow Place to Die : A Bed-and-breakfast Mystery

we had a life insurance policy. Show them, tell them.” Renie

bit off the words. “Now, before we expire, right along with

your stupid policy. Come on, coz—we can’t wait to get more

evidence.”

“I didn’t say get,” Judith responded, carrying a mop and

a bucket. “I said have more evidence. Which isn’t exactly

right, either. What I meant was…um…”

“You haven’t made up the evidence.” Renie sighed, balancing the towels and following Judith out of the supply room.

“In other words, you’re going to tell one of your monster

lies.”

“I never lie,” Judith said, indignant. “I might fib, but only

when it’s absolutely necessary.”

“So what’s the fib?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m stalling. You got any bright

ideas?”

They were back in the lobby before Renie could come up

with an answer. Ava and Nadia were exiting the women’s

rest room; Russell and Gene were standing in the doorway

to the library; Frank Killegrew and Margo were nowhere in

sight; Ward and Max hadn’t yet returned from upstairs.

The cousins began wiping up the wet floor. Nadia offered

to help. The heat from the lobby was causing the snow to

melt fairly fast. It was almost impossible to get the flagstones

dry.

“I suppose the snow that was up against the building was

fairly soft anyway,” Judith murmured, more to herself than

to Renie or Nadia. “I’m not sure that opening the front door

was a good idea.”

“It’s the only way to get help,” Nadia said, down on her

hands and knees.

“How’s Frank?” Renie asked, wringing out a towel in the

bucket.

“He’s fine, he’s really fine,” Nadia replied. “We went to

check on one of the smaller conference rooms. Margo’s

148 / Mary Daheim

with him now. We may move our meeting there. It’s a bit

chilly in the lobby with the door open.”

“What about the library?” Judith inquired. “Isn’t that where

you were earlier?”

Nadia made a face. “Yes. But those big leather chairs are

so…comfortable. Russell in particular tended to nod off.”

Renie, who had also been kneeling, stood up. “This is a

losing battle. Between the warmer temperature outside and

the heat from the lodge, we’re getting a regular little stream

across the floor. Look,” she said, pointing to the top of the

open entrance way, “we could see barely six inches of daylight when the door was first open. Now it’s nearly a foot.”

Judith followed Renie’s finger. Her cousin was right. She

could make out a fallen tree branch across the drifted snow,

or perhaps it was a piece of the roof that had blown off