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The next day I was up early, fighting my desire to rest some more. Bruises had developed and one part of me wanted to be a kid again and take a snow day and just relax, but the information being gathered was helping in the investigation, albeit in dribs and drabs.
Porsche got up with me and we both knew if we didn’t force ourselves to go the gym first thing and see Debra and her level of strength, we wouldn’t go at all. I thought we might be too early and I could go back to bed, but Debra was already on an elliptical and had a sweat worked up. I fought it, but a big yawn struck and my eyes watered. I glanced at her to see if she saw the evidence of my desire to be in bed. She covered a huge yawn with a hand.
“You’ll feel better once you get your muscles warmed up. I haven’t seen you here in the morning before.”
“I’m attending the resort management conference so most of my days are filled. Porsche,” I waved my hand in her direction, “came with me as a cheerleader and motivation.” I watched her face for any signs that she didn’t believe me. So far, so good.
Debra was average in build and height. I suppose she could have killed and shoved a body over the balcony, maybe in a rage with adrenalin pumping.
“Well, if you can stand the early hour I like how it isn’t mobbed and getting time on any equipment is easier. Of course, it’s probably getting more use since the weather has us trapped.” She seemed to take our presence in stride. She certainly had a better attitude than last time, which made me wonder if her cheerier mood could be a result of Kara’s death.
Trapped was a good word in this compact basement room of a snow-bound resort. I was glad I wasn’t claustrophobic. The wall of mirrors along one wall didn’t help the feeling either. At least the room freshener was working with a pine scent tickling my nose.
Porsche picked up the conversation, “This weather has me feeling a bit edgy. With the murder creating such tension, I sure hope the roads open soon or they lock up the killer.” She got on a treadmill and began jogging.
I got on the stationary bicycle, as Porsche had advised so I could take it easy and peddled slow like a grandma. “This storm system took everybody by surprise. I’m sure most everybody here didn’t expect the roads to close.” Making conversation wasn’t my personal strength, especially not this flipping early.
I was working with pre-caffeinated sluggish brain neurons. What if Debra was the killer? Then she could be the person who knocked me flat last night. That realization made me nervous and I no longer wanted to chat. I focused on a slow and steady cycling rhythm. But, I couldn’t help but watch the suspect’s every move. Would she give herself away, perhaps some sign that she had been surprised to see me this morning? So far I didn’t detect anything, but then again, we were dealing with a cold-blooded killer.
Debra moved from her elliptical over to the free weights and began doing bicep curls with a large dumbbell. I counted how many repetitions she did, and was amazed when she reached thirty. She then worked on her triceps for thirty and moved to lie on a bench and did some chest flies. Yep, I was impressed, and a bit intimidated.
After fifteen minutes, Porsche joined me. I didn’t feel as stiff, but I was so done.
“Come on, you’ve got to get ready for the conference.” We said goodbye and left.
Once we were out of the room and in an elevator, she voiced what I was thinking. “I think we can safely say she is strong and could’ve maneuvered a body over a balcony. Even dead weight, I think she could leverage and manage.”
She was subdued this morning. Porsche had been more a morning person in High School, but maybe being caged with a killer was getting to her too.
“That’s what I was thinking.” Time to change the subject. “Oh, can you do me a favor today? Can you get some bread or something and put it on the balcony for the raccoons?”
“I’ll get them something. I looked them up online and they can go a few days without food during the winter, but I still worry.” Since they were staying huddled up, they weren’t as likely to get riled. They were cute with their masks and playful look, but we both knew racoons could be dangerous if they feel threatened.
I had just finished showering and getting ready for day two of the conference when the doctor Johan had promised to have examine me arrived unannounced. After checking vitals, flashing the light in my eyes, prodding the bump on my head and answering the same battery of questions Porsche had drilled me with last night, he pronounced me concussion free.
“But, that doesn’t mean you should overexert yourself either.” He warned. I didn’t tell him the gym clothes he saw out were used and he was a tad late in that warning. I was okay, already feeling tired and sore, oh I was sore. But, I was okay.
I wasn’t looking forward to sitting all day at the conference, but I dragged myself there anyway. I was in the same seat as yesterday morning with a plate loaded with a berry crepe drizzled with orange sauce, a side of cottage cheese with fruit topping for some protein, and coffee. I had a feeling I would be downing several cups of java today. Tammy joined me shortly with her own plate and coffee.
After a few minutes of nothing but devouring our breakfasts, Tammy leaned over. “I went to the Bingo last night and it proved good for gossip.” She took a sip of orange juice before continuing.
“I found out that Bryce and his girlfriend had an argument later that night over Kara being here. She was really steamed, claimed he had to know she would be here and accused him of trying to make Kara jealous.”
“Any idea if he was with her during the two-to-four a.m. time frame?” I crossed my fingers.
“Remember the night Kara was killed the weather hadn’t gotten so bad yet, gossip has it Bryce’s girlfriend...I don’t know her name, walked out and said she would stay in another hotel for the night.” Tammy’s eyes gleamed. I studied her, she was really getting into this and looking at possible suspects.
“Just remember to be very low key. Don’t be obvious by asking pointed questions. Just gossip.” Not that I hadn’t broken that rule already with the boys in the game room.
“I understand. It keeps everyone safe.”
I took another bite of the crepe. “I wonder if she was back the next morning and got questioned by Johan...ummm, Detective Larson?”
“Well fiddle-faddle, I didn’t think about that. I’m sure that would’ve been easy to have brought the conversation around to that.”
“When I pass that tidbit to the Detective, I’ll ask him if she skipped out on being interviewed,” I said. I wasn’t as confident as I sounded that he would actually tell me. “But it sounds like Bryce has no alibi to cover him, so mission accomplished.” I wanted to cheer her on for getting a key nugget of information. She just nodded with satisfaction.
“We know that Christopher and Bryce both don’t have alibis. We still need to know about Preston and Wade. Debra won’t have an alibi unless she hooked up with somebody from the bar.” I recapped to keep us on task.
We studied our morning workshop schedule. We would only have one workshop out of two this morning together.
Breakfast was followed by the daily announcements. It was snowing off and on now with little additional accumulation expected. Winds were gusting and driving temperatures down. The roads were still impassable as the major artery out of town was blocked by avalanche that had come crashing down the mountain in the night. Brutal cold temperatures were expected to continue.
Oh goody.
The excitement from the first day was gone. Workshop rooms looked dimly lit. Tendrils of tension and suspicion filled the rooms and our minds.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t affected; I just couldn’t assess how much was from my close encounter last night with the likely killer or being trapped in the resort with a killer. Plus, there was my personal specter of dealing with Mason when I got home. Aw crud, now I was in a funk on top of sore.
I sat through the last workshop making notes about the murder, noting all the suspects in my view and what we had so far on each. That didn’t take long. Then my mind wandered to my lack luster love-life again.
Talking with Porsche had definitely helped me identify and put into words my concerns. I had to meet with Brandon and make sure he understood we were over romantically. I had to be strong with him, go over how we wanted completely different things in life once more, but not hurt him. Mason would be difficult to share my concerns with since I didn’t know how he handled such developments. I didn’t know him very well at all. I needed to verbalize my feelings better. This time away from the job and family was good for me in that regard.
At this point, I didn’t see much future for us when he was still doing covert bodyguard work posing as the love interest to models or actresses. I just knew that left me in the shadowy wings while he was on stage for the public to see with a new woman regularly. How serious could he be about growing our relationship if he didn’t see a problem with keeping me as his girlfriend so conveniently hidden?
Suddenly the workshop was ending. I copied a few notes I missed from Tammy at the end of the workshop. She took meticulous notes. We migrated to the luncheon and sat together towards the back of the room.
No buffet today, we would be served at our table so we could focus on the keynote speaker. He was the general manager of the prestigious Rosewood CordeValle in San Martin California that had hosted the U.S. Women’s Golf Open recently. The Rosewood had also won a prestigious travel magazine’s top resort in California award one year.
“Bet he misses northern California on this trip!” Tammy mused while buttering a roll.
I had my mouth full of Caesar salad but nodded. What a time to visit Colorado.
After the Rosewood CordeValle manager was finished with his talk, which I found equal parts inspiring as well as daunting, the man across the round table blurted out, “I’m getting tired of being stuck here. I go from activity to activity in the evening, but I’m getting cabin fever. How bad could it really be out there?” The man had picked at his salad. Yep, people were becoming restless. This wasn’t good.
The highly polished lady next to him jumped on his comment, “I wouldn’t risk the roads, search and rescue were called out yesterday because somebody thought the I-70 road closure didn’t apply to for four-wheel-drive trucks with chains. Plus there was a landslide or something.” She leveled a serious look at him.
“Four-wheel drive doesn’t mean four-wheel stop.” Three of us said in unison. It was the common saying in Colorado. Every winter there were people who thought they could go anywhere in any weather in a big-assed four-wheel drive truck and they usually slid all over the road and caused wrecks.
I was just out of high school one nasty winter in my little vintage VW Bug and I passed a huge fire engine slid off the road. Dad taught me to drive in snow and ice with a basic rear wheel drive car. I sure wasn’t going to get out on those suicidal roads, even with a killer loose. But, this was an opportunity to redirect the conversation.
“The murder investigation has had delays with the weather, too.” I tossed the comment out like I had yesterday and hoped somebody grabbed the ball and ran. It was a different group, so it might work again.
The same restless man leapt on my comment like a wild cat on fallen prey. “If the local yahoos aren’t up to the task, they should defer to Denver. They can’t keep us against our will because that woman went and got herself killed. I have half a mind to call the Governor.”
I pushed my salad plate away, annoyed at his barb toward Detective Larson who was run ragged. I wanted to keep my mouth shut – really I did, but it wasn’t on the menu today.
“Yes, I’m sure the governor hasn’t been pulled into the disasters happening around large portions of the state from this storm system and is just sitting waiting for your complaint.” Ooooops, was that me? Guess I’m definitely getting a little short tempered as well. Everyone at the table glanced my way and I fully expected push back.
Instead, I got a wink and several smiles. Tammy had a hand over her mouth hiding her big grin.
The main entrées were placed in front of each person. I had the grilled salmon over pasta with a white wine and basil sauce that teased the nose with soft aromas promising a sublime experience. Tammy had the Beef Bourguignon with a cognac broth that wafted in a sultry breath over to tease me.
“You would defend the local badges since your roommate is getting cozy with that one detective. Half the resort is talking about their dinner last night. Unseemly.” He was downright huffing. If he had seen Porsche when she was in full out seduction mode, no telling what he would have thought. Was he stuck in the nineteen-fifties or something? Porsche may dress to impress men and turn heads, but she didn’t believe in public displays of affection – or desire.
“I wish people would talk about who the killer could be instead of two people having a lovely dinner.” Tammy just had to toss that into the fray. Go Tammy! I wanted to high-five her.
Several people from tables in the vicinity gave us annoyed looks. Would our table end up like a British soccer match and have a brawl? I looked around the table again.
The weather report lady was really on a roll. “Well, I think the ‘ex’ did it. I hear she made his life hell. I certainly saw her nasty side when she tore into that realtor fella.” She cut her beef, “I can’t imagine living with that temper directed at me and not snapping.” She took a dainty bite.
Her comment seemed to be what was needed to loosen the other’s tongues.
“That was over a year ago when they split, but the realtor could have snapped that night after her tirade. She really cheated him over on a deal, too. That could’ve hurt his reputation and business.”
“Yeah, Preston looks good for it. But I think the poor guy who lost his house to a major road project she knew about could’ve snapped too. Did you see how she rubbed it in his face at dinner that night?”
“Oh come on, what about that editor guy? They really go at each other on the newspaper message boards. Calling each other names and getting mean and ugly. She was always trying to show how he was a hypocrite. I can see how that would get out of control if they got into a fight in person.” Another man at the table supplied.
“They spoke in the lobby and they weren’t arguing at all. Not like with the realtor.”
I had to nudge the conversation in the alibi direction. “What about during the wee hours of the morning the Detective was asking about? Surely there was something suspicious? Can’t imagine a woman getting brutally murdered and nobody saw anybody up and walking about.”
Sometimes it felt like I was taking them by the hand and leading them to the topic I needed without just asking directly. They didn’t seem to mind or even notice my course corrections.
“Oh well, that’s the big question.” Tammy backed me up. She was enjoying being a sidekick.
“I don’t think anybody would be up and around at that hour. This isn’t Vegas you know.” Weather report lady said. Which was a good point. Who would be up and about at that hour? Did the hotel staff work a midnight shift? Conversation on the murder died out and a few discussed the keynote talk.
I took a moment to look around the room full of resort management professionals and felt a sense of pride that my career aspirations were coming true. I noticed one of the big solid wood entry doors opened and the kid from last night, Justin, stood there looking around. He had an eager look on his face. I had made the mistake of telling him I was here for the conference.
I quickly slid down a little in my chair, doing my best to stay hidden. I positioned my hand to block my face. I kept peeking from behind my fingers at him. He began to stroll around, scanning the tables. Wasn’t he a determined fellow? Finally, after a couple of minutes he left. Could my life get any more complicated?