Five minutes later the cousins were back in the motel parking lot. As Judith removed the ignition key, her cell rang. “Now what?” she muttered, then recognized the number. “Mother. What now?”
“Who sent in the clown?” Gertrude demanded in her raspy voice.
“You mean . . . ? I’m in Banff, Mother. Arlene can explain that. Ask her.”
“I don’t like pestering Arlene,” the old lady retorted. “She’s got her hands full taking care of the loony guests you let stay here. Besides, when she and Carl have any free time, we play three-handed pinochle. That’s no time for talking. You have to pay attention to your cards. Only your Aunt Deb likes to gab her head off when we play bridge.”
Judith shot Renie a beleaguered glance. “So what about the clown?”
“He came out the back door this morning while I was trying to coax Sweetums inside,” Gertrude explained. “There was a flock of those little chickadees in the pear tree and I was afraid he’d go after them. Then I looked up to see this creepy clown coming for me! It’s a wonder I didn’t have a stroke!”
“Uh . . . what did you do then?” Judith asked.
“I shooed the cat inside and told the clown I was calling the cops. Then I hustled my poor old fanny inside and slammed the door.”
“Did you actually call the police?”
“No. You know how they are. They take forever to show up. But you’d better start running your guests through the . . . whatever you call it. The system?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Some system! But you ought to know. You married one of those dumb clucks.”
“I think the guest actually is a—”
“Never mind,” Gertrude interrupted. “Here comes Arlene with a pie. I wonder what kind. You never bring me a whole pie.” Judith heard the phone disconnect.
Renie started to open the car door. “Don’t bother filling me in. I got the gist. Aunt Gert hates clowns but loves pies.”
“You’re right. Okay, you take on Teddy and Martha Lou. I’ll handle Ma and Pa. I’ll also try to talk to Ada, but that may be a lost cause.”
“Sad,” Renie murmured after they got out of the SUV. “I wonder if she gets any joy out of life.”
“Ada knows about college football.” Judith swiped at a mosquito. “Maybe she enjoys watching it. I wonder if I should call Doris again in Big Stove. Why would she say they were headed to California? Did they change their minds after they left or . . .” She stopped as someone called her name.
Niall was running to catch up with the cousins. “Mrs. Flynn! Mrs. Jones! Stop! Please.”
Judith turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“Jenny’s filling in for Trixie,” he said, pausing to regain his breath. “She went to make up your suites and they’ve been trashed. Should we call the police?”
Judith looked at Renie, who nodded. “Yes. Mrs. Jones and I don’t have any valuables, but it’s an invasion of privacy. I assume you’d do that under any circumstances.”
“Oh yes,” Niall replied, “but sometimes guests don’t want anyone going through their belongings. It doesn’t happen often, but some people are . . . strange, eh?”
“I understand,” Judith said. “I own a B&B.”
Niall’s smile was off-kilter. “Then you understand, eh?”
“Ha!” Renie cried. “You wouldn’t believe all the weirdos my cousin gets. And not just run-of-the-mill nutcases, but actual psycho—”
“Psychologists like my cousin’s husband, Bill,” Judith hurriedly put in. “We’ve had two or three psychology conventions in the city since I opened Hillside Manor.”
“That’s . . . good for business,” Niall said. “Conventions, I mean. Are you coming back to the motel now?”
Judith was torn. Except for their clothes and toiletries, she couldn’t imagine anything that a thief would want. Renie, however, felt differently.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “I want to make sure nobody stole my cosmetics. I pay a hundred and fifty bucks for my La Mer facial cream. If somebody swiped that, I’ll reconsider my stand on the death penalty.”
“Coz!” Judith cried. “A hundred and fifty . . . surely you don’t spend that much!” She saw Renie’s somber expression. “You do?”
“You bet. If you won’t go to the motel, I’ll go alone.”
“I’ll come along. If it’s still there, I want to see what an outrageously overpriced ounce of face goo looks like. I assume it comes in a solid-gold jar.”
Niall had already taken off. In fact, he was almost running back to the motel. Judith frowned. “Why would anyone go through our stuff? It makes no sense.”
“Maybe it wasn’t just us. Probably not all the rooms have been cleaned yet.”
After getting out of the elevator, they parted company and Judith went into her suite. At first glance, the room didn’t seem like a shambles, but drawers and cupboards were open, the bedclothes had been pulled back, and it was obvious that the clothes in the closet had been disturbed. As far as Judith could tell, nothing seemed to be missing.
“Weird,” she said to Renie after opening the door between the suites. “Everything of mine seems to be here. Is your hotshot face cream still there?”
“Yes,” Renie replied, “though whoever did this was thorough. They even went through my purchases. We’ll have to ask Niall for someone to put everything in order.”
Judith picked up the house phone. As far as Niall knew, none of the other rooms had been disturbed. Jenny was working in the bar, but he’d send her along as soon as she was free.
“You’re shorthanded without Trixie,” Judith said. “Is the manager going to hire someone soon?”
“Mr. Barnes manages three other motels besides this one,” Niall replied. “He lives at the biggest one by the golf course. With the summer tourist season coming to an end, he may wait to replace Trixie. He’s . . . careful when it comes to money.”
“But isn’t Jenny leaving in a couple of weeks for UBC, or does it start later in the fall? I got the impression she was going to Vancouver fairly soon.”
“She hasn’t given notice,” Niall said. “Or maybe Jenny’s already told Mr. Barnes. I should ask her.”
That, Judith thought, was Niall’s problem. But she had another question for him. “Are you notifying the police about our incident here in the suites?”
“Do you think I should?” Niall sounded wary.
Judith exchanged a puzzled look with Renie, who had been trying to lean in on the conversation. “Yes. If nothing else, it’s at least malicious mischief. If my cousin and I were inclined to be fussy, we’d insist you do that.”
Niall didn’t respond right away. “Well . . . I’ll have to ask Mr. Barnes about it, eh?”
“Please do.” Judith hung up.
Renie was smirking. “Nice work. But do you think there’s anything not up front about this motel?”
“No,” Judith said, “but I’m not sure about some of the people around here. Mainly, I’d like to know what happened to Trixie. She hadn’t worked here long enough to get involved in anything sketchy.”
“Except to disappear,” Renie pointed out.
“Except that,” Judith agreed. “And I guess that’s enough.”
After doing a minimal amount of tidying up personal items, they went down to the desk to ask Niall if he’d called the police. He had, but they were tied up with a serious vehicular accident near Lake Louise. Whoever had answered the phone suggested they come to headquarters and fill out a form. The officer had also asked Niall to caution Mrs. Flynn and Mrs. Jones to leave their suites as they found them. Meanwhile, Jenny had checked the other rooms and confirmed that none of them had been disturbed.
“I’m tired of visiting the RCMP,” Renie declared as they headed out of the motel. “Nothing personal, they’re great and all that, but they weren’t on my list of things to do while on vacation.”
“You’d rather hang out with the Stokes gang?” Judith asked in an ironic voice.
“I’d rather never have met them,” Renie replied. “I’d also rather not have had to put my La Mer cream in my purse so nobody swipes it.”
“Good thinking,” Judith said.
“It’s going on two o’clock,” Renie noted. “Shouldn’t we have lunch?”
“You can’t be hungry. We didn’t finish breakfast until after eleven. We’re going one-on-one with the Stokes family.” Judith picked up her step as she headed for the trail along the river. “And don’t pout.”
“Why would I? I never worry about my clothes getting rumpled. I gave my iron away fifteen years ago.”
“Who did you give it to?”
“Anne. As my only daughter, I figured she might as well give it a shot. I’d been using it as a paperweight.”
“Has she ever used it?”
“I’ve never asked,” Renie replied indifferently as they approached the Big Stove visitors’ encampment. “Egad! It looks as if they’re packing up.”
Judith stared at the empty place where the family’s tent had stood. Only the picnic table remained, but she wondered if it was a permanent fixture. “They can’t be leaving. Or can they?”
Renie shrugged. “No habeas corpus. Maybe there’s no legal way to keep them here. No Odells, though.”
“Maybe they’ve already gone. They’re probably anxious to rejoin the twins.”
Ma Stokes was the first to acknowledge the cousins. “Are you from the farewell party?” she asked suspiciously.
Judith shook her head. “We didn’t know you were going.”
“Well, we are,” Ma replied. “As soon as we find Ada.”
“She’s . . . not here?” Judith tried not to sound alarmed.
Ma glared anyway. “She’s gone missing. It’s worrisome. Ada can’t help missing out in the smarts department.”
Renie was heading for Teddy and Martha Lou, who were sharing a bottle of Molson’s ale. Judith turned her attention back to Ma. “How long has she been gone?”
“Since before noon.” Ma’s pudgy face sagged. “It’s not like her. Ada always stays close.”
“Does she like the river? Or the woods?”
Ma started to shake her head but stopped. “All these mountains scare the dickens out of her. She had to be coaxed from the tent every morning. But once she came out and looked around, she liked the river. She’d never seen one up close before.”
Recalling what one of the family had said about Ada’s lack of understanding about rivers, Judith considered her next words carefully. “Had anyone explained to her why she should stay away from the Bow?”
“Pa tried, but Ada doesn’t always take in things very well.” Ma bit her lip. “It’d be like her to go looking for Codger. She knew he loved the river.”
Noting that Renie was talking to an agitated Martha Lou, Judith asked Ma if Ada understood what dead meant.
“Dubious.” Ma pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve. “We have to find her fast. We’re already off to a late start.”
“Who’s looking for her? Everybody seems to be here.”
Ma paused. “They are now, but we all went searching for Ada as soon as we realized she was gone.”
“Have you called the RCMP?”
Ma’s glare returned. “The cops? No! We had enough of them asking a bunch of questions about Codger. Besides, we’re foreigners here. They might think we’re up to something. We’ve never been out of Nebraska before, let alone out of the country.”
“Was Ada fond of Codger?”
“Hard to tell. Ada never shows much in the way of emotions. She can’t take in what goes on around her.”
Judith didn’t doubt her. Before she could comment, sirens were heard in the distance. Ma heard them, too, and suddenly looked alarmed.
“Are they coming for us?” she asked in a stricken tone.
“Probably not,” Judith said. “There was an accident out on the highway. Someone may have been injured and they’re going to the hospital. Why would the police be coming here?”
“Because,” Ma said, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, “we’re foreigners. They don’t trust us. I’d better talk to Pa.” She bustled off to the picnic table, passing Renie on her way.
“Martha Lou’s a waste of time,” Renie declared to Judith. “Like Yogi Berra, she not only doesn’t know anything, but she doesn’t even suspect anything.”
“No surprise there,” Judith said as they walked back to the motel. “Ma insists they’re leaving. I wonder if the police know about their plans. Did you see any sign of the Odells?”
Renie shook her head. “Maybe they’ve already gone. I’m not sure Martha Lou knows they’re all about to take off. Teddy was trying to get her to make sure she has everything packed. Should we tell the police?”
“Maybe,” Judith said after a pause. “But we don’t really know if a crime has been committed.”
“Gee,” Renie murmured, “that’d mean your vacation’s a flop. Joe may figure he wasted money bringing you along.”
“He won’t care. He’s catching fish.”
“True.” Renie was silent until they reached the motel’s rear entrance. “You, of course, would rather catch a killer.”
Judith made no comment.