“Doesn’t the lack of internet bother you?” I asked Charlotte as she got ready to go to lunch.
“Nah. I kind of find it liberating.”
I found it restraining. My investigation was limited with no access to the internet. “I wish I knew what was wrong.”
“Because you could fix it?”
“No, well…maybe. I’m a woman of many talents.” She laughed. “I’m just wondering. Is it deliberate? Or just something that happens?”
Charlotte shrugged. “Just something that happens, I’m sure.”
“It could be deliberate.”
“The staff is not conspiring against you to keep you off Facebook.”
“It could be a guest.”
She rolled her eyes. “How? We don’t know where anything is here. How could another guest disable the internet?”
I’m sure it was possible if you knew what you were looking for and had experience with those type of things. I wished the sheets with everyone’s passports had said what their occupations were; that might have been useful. Although maybe it was something Zaden or Zonah could do. I dismissed the thought. Those two missed the internet the most out of the whole group.
“How about a jammer?” I asked.
“A what?”
“It’s called a jammer or something. It jams the signal.” Charlotte sighed heavily. If I had access to the internet I could show her. “Don’t you remember last term one of Jeremy’s teachers used one?”
“Oh yeah. The class went the whole semester and didn’t know why they couldn’t get any signal in that classroom. But those things only work in a small area.”
“This place isn’t huge.”
“Huge enough. Bigger than a classroom.”
I paused, trying to find a comeback. I failed.
Charlotte continued, “So one of the guests brought a jammer with them? And all of this was preplanned?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do we have a secret agent on the tour? Jamming signals. Killing off obscure guests no one likes.” She pointed to the door. “Go to lunch. I think you’re delirious with hunger.”
I did as I was told, knowing I had hit another brick wall.
I found Zaden sitting by himself on the deck, overlooking the river. His hands were surprisingly phone free. This was the sweet spot he had found a phone connection earlier. No one yet, to my knowledge, had found an internet connection since Dr. Higgins’ death.
“You don’t seem too upset about not having internet,” I said as I sat few feet away.
He shrugged. “I’m here to spend time with my family, not surf the web.”
I laughed. “I didn’t think kids said that anymore, ‘surf the web’.”
“They don’t. Just older people, like you.”
Well, that seemed unnecessarily harsh but I continued. I made a mental note to apologize to Colin about, indirectly, calling him old. It’s not a good feeling to be called old. “So how’s that family time going?” My experience had been mixed to date with Charlotte.
“Not how I imagined it,” he answered. He continued watching the river that streamed past. In the heat of the day, we wouldn’t see any animals. I wondered what he was looking for. I wondered if he was thinking about his father.
“You wish your dad had come?” I asked.
“What?” he snapped.
“Your dad, C.K., you wish he were here?”
“Of course I wish he were here. Vacation would be whole lot better if he was.” His face changed and I couldn’t decipher it. Tears started to form in his eyes and neither one of us knew what to do.
“It’s complicated.” He excused himself and hurried off. “Sorry, I have to go.”
He almost ran into Charlotte on his way away. “Glad to see you have the same effect on men here as you do at home.”
“He’s not really a man yet. Only fourteen years old, Charlotte. Not exactly age appropriate.” Plus, he thinks I’m old, I didn’t add. I knew she would only agree.
“They gotta be able to get into the bar with you to be more appropriate, right?”
“You make it sound like I drink too much.”
“Well, I would if I had your life”—she paused, briefly, before digging the dagger in—“and your future.” She settled herself into the chair next to me and seemed surprised when I got up.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To the bar.”
The bar was empty, even void of a bartender. I pulled out my phone to check, once again, for a Wi-Fi connection. I wasn’t sitting on the bar stool more than thirty seconds when Advice appeared from an area behind the bar. He appeared surprised to see me.
“Sorry, miss. Still no internet.”
“Let me guess. It’s temporary.”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“They’re working on it.”
“Yes.” He nodded again.
“And it’ll be fixed shortly.”
“Yes, that’s right!” He placed a coaster in front of me. “How can I help you, Naomi? The usual?”
“Just bitter lemon. No vodka…for now.”
He nodded, poured me the cloudy yellow delicious carbonated beverage, and placed it in front of me. He pushed a platter of nuts and pretzels in front of me. I mumbled thanks and he returned to the walled area behind the bar.
I looked around the bar. It was nicely decorated, in the colors of safari. It didn’t feel drab, like my clothing. The couches were off-white, with olive throw pillows. The rows of beverages were lined against off-white painted wood. The bar was under the roof, but not fully enclosed. If you wanted more nature, you could take your drink on the patio that overlooked the river.
I hadn’t been at the bar the night Dr. Higgins was killed. If I had been, would his murder be easier to solve? I looked at the surveillance camera. If only I could get my hands on its memory card. It could give me a clue and point me to the murderer.
Advice returned. “Everything okay? You’ve barely touched your drink.” He leaned in. “Do you miss the vodka?” He held up the bottle and offered to add it into my glass.
“No, thank you.” I waved him off and he put the vodka bottle away. “I’m just thinking. What time does the bar close?”
Advice shrugged. “The guests tell me that.”
“So you leave when they leave?”
“After cleaning up, yes.”
“What was he like his last night?
“Who?”
“Dr. Higgins.”
Advice shrugged. “Scotch neat. Then brandy in sifter.”
And that’s all Advice knew, his drink order. If asked, he’d probably say the same about me. “Bitter lemon with vodka.” He might add “annoying woman with too many questions,” but probably not. He likely only saw us as drink orders. Advice left again.
I turned on the barstool again to take in the rest of the lodge. Zonah was approaching, obviously angry. “What did you say to my brother?” he yelled.
“What?” I asked.
“Zaden. What did you say to him to make him so upset?”
“Umm…” I thought about our brief conversation. “I asked him if he missed his dad.”
“Why would you ask that! Of course he misses his dad.”
“I didn’t mean to upset him. He was down before I even started to talk to him.” I shrugged and apologized again. “I’m sorry. Maybe you miss your dad too.”
“Who says we don’t have the same father?”
That was not the response I expected. I didn’t mean to imply they didn’t have the same father. I didn’t mean to imply Colin was old earlier, but these things happen. People who are sensitive to something hear what they want to hear.
I knew from the passports, from the different last names, that they had different fathers but I couldn’t admit that.
“Don’t you worry about our fathers,” he yelled before storming off.
Charlotte appeared, catching just the tail end of the drama. “You sure do have a way with the men, Naomi.”