But Judith wasn’t giving in. She still had some unanswered questions. But as soon as they returned to their motel, her cell went off. “Now what?” she muttered, sitting down in an armchair.
“Hey, how’s my Jude-Girl?” Joe said in an oddly unctuous voice. “Keeping out of trouble, I hope?”
“Of course,” Judith answered, more sharply than she intended. “What time will you and Bill be back?” She glanced at Renie, who shot her a questioning look.
“Well . . .” Joe’s chuckle seemed forced. “We didn’t have much luck fishing until this morning. Something to do with the river in the middle of August, but now that we’re getting to the end of the month, things are looking up.”
“Up where?”
“Here. On the river. This part of the river, twenty-six miles from Banff.” Joe was now talking much faster than his usual soft, mellow drawl. “We’d be fools not to stick around for another day or two. As Bill pointed out, it’d be like throwing our money away.”
Judith gritted her teeth, but when she spoke, her voice sounded almost natural. “Of course Renie and I’ll be sorry not to see you two sooner, but if you have such a wonderful opportunity to catch a really big mess of fish, you can’t pass it up.”
Renie gestured with her fingers, as if pointing a gun to her head. Judith suddenly realized that maybe it was just as well the husbands weren’t coming back so soon. Their return might put a whammy on the sleuthing.
“Don’t worry about us,” Judith said. “We can amuse ourselves. I heard there was an outdoor concert close by tonight.” It wasn’t true, of course, unless she considered the possibility of Ada howling at the moon.
“That sounds really nice,” Joe asserted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. Then he lowered his voice, sounding more like himself: “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Judith retorted. “We’ve met some interesting people and there are some very intriguing shops. Be sure to tell Bill that Renie has a whole new wardrobe.”
“I’ll pass on mentioning that,” Joe said. “Hey, got to run. Snapper MacDougall—our guide—wants to show us some new lures he’s put together. Love you.”
“Enjoy.” Judith disconnected and looked at a bemused Renie, who’d been gazing out the window.
“Oh, so what?” her cousin said. “They’re having a good time. They’d have been bored hanging out here in town. Maybe we’d have been bored, too, if a dead body hadn’t turned up. Where do you suppose that body is by now?”
Judith shook her head. “No clue. Literally. I’m still trying to figure out who the body is.”
Renie hopped out of the chair in which she’d been curled up while Judith talked to Joe. “Why don’t you take a private poll of the survivors and see who each one of them thinks it is?”
“That’s up to the Force,” Judith said. “That’s what the RCMP is called up here.”
Renie looked askance. “You think I’ve never read a mystery set north of the border? Seriously, somebody has to know the victim’s ID.”
Judith was staring into the bathroom. “The killer probably does,” she said in a vague voice. “Why hasn’t housekeeping showed up with the towels?”
Renie scowled. “You can’t use the ones they didn’t collect?”
“That’s not the point,” Judith snapped. “I’m wondering about Trixie. She worries me.”
“Coz!” Renie looked unusually severe. “Stop. You’re suffering from your chronic Wounded Bird Empathy. You can’t get worked up over everyone you meet who seems to have a problem. Everybody has problems. You hardly know the girl. Trixie probably broke up with her boyfriend.”
“That’s not a minor crisis for a young girl,” Judith argued. “But most girls don’t actually pass out over a breakup. Besides, I’m not sure that’s the case with Trixie.”
“Then what is?”
Judith didn’t answer right away. “I don’t know. But I think we should figure out what is. Let’s find Trixie.”
Renie sighed. “I didn’t know she was lost.”
Judith was already at the door. “If you don’t want to come with me, watch TV or design something amazing.”
“I can get Canadian TV at home,” Renie retorted. “It’s part of whatever package Bill chose years ago.”
“Big deal,” Judith said. “We have the same package . . .” She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “That means Mother gets it, too. I hope she doesn’t watch the Canadian news. She might find out about the murder.”
“So? She won’t care,” Renie asserted. “Unless she thinks you’re the victim. Then she’d probably be mad at you for getting killed.”
“And I’d never hear the end of it,” Judith murmured as they headed to the elevator. “Even beyond the grave.”
“Speaking of which,” Renie said when they were descending to the main floor, “where do you think the alleged Codger ended up? Why didn’t you ask Adela? She might tell you. I’ll bet she and Norman are here in the motel.”
“I hate to bother them,” Judith said as the elevator doors opened. “They must be worried sick about the twins. I’d like to know if they got their car back.” She glanced at the clock above the vacant motel desk. “They may be at dinner. Where’s whoever should be on duty?”
“Let’s find out.” Renie slammed her hand down on the bell that sat on the counter.
The door behind the work area opened and a young man who looked as if he was at least part Indian appeared. “Yes?” he said deferentially.
Judith noted that his name tag identified him as Layak Patel. “Are Mr. and Mrs. Odell in their room?”
The young man frowned. “I’m not sure. They were here a while ago, but they may’ve gone out, eh? I was called away from the desk for a bit.”
Judith nodded. “Is Trixie working now?”
“Ah . . .” His dark skin grew darker. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s too bad,” Judith said. “I wanted to talk to her. Will she be here tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.” Layak didn’t meet Judith’s gaze. “I mean, I usually work the relief shifts, so I don’t always know the other employees’ schedules. Sorry.”
“Never mind,” Judith said, smiling. “But we do need clean towels. Flynn and Jones in the adjoining suite.”
“I’ll bring them up myself,” Layak promised. “As soon as everybody checks in. We’ve got one more party due.”
Judith thanked him and practically shoved Renie toward the entrance. “We need to check in with Brewster,” she said after they were outside. “He’ll know about the Odells’ car.”
“What about it?” Renie sounded irked. “You think it was carrying contraband maple sugar?”
Judith didn’t answer until they were in the SUV. “Despite what we were told, I’d like to know why Win and Winnie abandoned a perfectly good car. Why would they run away from the scene? And where did they go?”
“After meeting the Stokes folks, the twins may’ve run away to home.”
“Maybe,” Judith allowed, squinting into the early-evening sun. “It’s after six. Let’s hope Brewster hasn’t gone off duty.”
There were no vacant parking places within a block of the station. Lynx Street was busy with tourists as well as locals getting off work. Judith could pick out the residents. They kept their eyes straight ahead instead of gawking at the majestic mountains.
“Darn,” she said under her breath. “I don’t want to walk any more than I have to. We’ll park in the RCMP lot.”
Renie smirked. “Why not? You’ve virtually been deputized.”
Three minutes later and after one harrowing U-turn at Wolf Street that made Renie grit her teeth, they were in back of the station waiting for an answer to Judith’s ring. A young, fair-haired, and very startled Mountie finally opened the door. “Yes?” he said in an uncertain voice.
Judith asked to see Sergeant Brewster. When the young man hesitated, she smiled. “Tell him Mrs. Flynn is here to see him.”
The young man nodded, but still looked ill at ease. “Please wait here,” he said.
Judith stepped inside, but Renie leaned against the outer wall. “Good-bye,” she said with a little wave.
“What do you mean?” Judith demanded, turning around.
“Officer Adolescent didn’t say I could come in.” She started to pout.
“Oh, for . . . Will you stop acting like you’re six?”
Renie abandoned the pout and her brown eyes were angry. “Will you stop acting as if I don’t exist? What’s wrong with you the last few days? I don’t mind playing second fiddle, but I thought we were at least in the same orchestra.”
Judith bit her lip. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. Really. I’m used to being the only one who visits with my guests at the B&B. Yes, Joe helps with breakfast, but he rarely leaves the kitchen. He leaves the socializing to me. I can’t help it, even when I’m not in B&B hostess mode.”
“You’re not now,” Renie reminded her. “I don’t want to step on your act, but I like being acknowledged, okay?”
Judith sighed. “Okay, I get it—and I’m really sorry.” She reached out from the doorway to put her hand on her cousin’s arm.
Renie smiled. “Go do your thing. I’m not that keen on hanging out in police stations. You’re the one who married a cop.” She patted her cousin’s hand and smiled. “It’s fine. Really.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Go. I actually enjoy being outside, where I can see some of the most spectacular scenery in North America. Or the world, for that matter.”
Judith entered the station and made her way into the front office, where she saw Brewster talking on the phone. The younger policeman was no longer in sight.
Judith waited patiently for what seemed like a long time but, according to the big clock, was less than three minutes. The Mountie’s black eyes briefly acknowledged her. He was uttering only monosyllabic responses and the nerve in his forehead indicated he was irritated. After almost two minutes had passed, he rang off.
“Yes, Mrs. Flynn?” he said in a tightly controlled tone.
Judith assumed an abject expression, which wasn’t hard to do under the circumstances. “I hate to bother you, but I have to ask what happened with the Odells’ vehicle. Was it in an accident?”
“No.” Brewster’s broad shoulders sagged. “See here, Mrs. Flynn, I realize you’re a bit of a sleuth and I respect that. The Odell vehicle is in our impound lot, which is at the edge of town. We haven’t been able to get in touch with Mr. and Mrs. Odell. They aren’t taking calls at the motel, although the desk clerk told us he thought they were in their room.”
“I believe they are,” Judith said. “I assume you’re waiting to tell them about the car so they can collect it.”
Brewster frowned. “They can if they have a set of keys. There weren’t any in the vehicle. That’s why we had to tow it into Banff.”
“Oh.” Judith paused. “Why would their kids abandon the car but take the keys?” The question came out in a murmur, as if she was asking herself as well as Brewster.
“They’re teenagers.” His wide mouth hinted at a smile. “Do you have children, Mrs. Flynn?”
Judith smiled. “Yes, a son. Mike’s a forest ranger in Maine. He and his family hope to visit us this fall.”
“A worthy occupation, eh?” Brewster acknowledged with a nod. “Is there anything I can do for you before I finally get to sign out?”
She offered him a sympathetic smile. “Not unless you have a positive ID on the victim.”
“We have to wait for your FBI to respond to our request for identification of the alleged deceased. There may be fingerprints on file. We were able to take some from the tent where he died. But I don’t think they work on weekends.” His expression indicated he would hold her responsible if the agency proved dilatory.
“Of course.” Judith was getting irked. First Renie, now Brewster. It was a beautiful summer day in a gorgeous part of the world. Why sour the atmosphere with personal grievances? Then it struck her that a killer had already done just that. “Thank you, Sergeant,” she said with a compassionate smile. “Go home.”