| |
“I was able to get a signal, but the phone rang and rang.” Starr shrugged. “I guess they’re swamped right now. Or maybe something’s wrong with the phone line.”
“There must be tons of accidents on the road, downed power lines, and medical calls,” said Beatrice.
Olive shivered. “I simply can’t believe this. Aspen was alive and well just a few hours ago.”
Beatrice said, “It’s got to be quite a shock.”
“It’s just hard to imagine that somebody was evil enough to do this.”
Beatrice said, “You were saying that Ivy was probably the one who was most upset with Aspen.”
“Aspen was having an affair with Ivy’s husband.” Olive gave a deep sigh. “It’s just the kind of person she was.” She said this in a very matter-of-fact tone.
Starr gave a low whistle. “Sounds like Aspen was really stirring things up. Did Ivy know about this?”
Olive nodded. “Ivy hadn’t confronted Aspen about it yet, though. I got the feeling she was looking for a good opportunity. But it was pretty much an open secret in our town. Everybody knew about it.”
Starr and Beatrice looked at each other.
“What if Ivy thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally confront Aspen?” asked Beatrice quietly.
Olive looked startled. “Here? I don’t know.”
“Seems like the perfect time to me,” said Starr in a fake cheerful tone. “Maybe she confronted Aspen and her feelings got out of control. Maybe Aspen was snarky to her. And now we’re stuck here with a body and a winter storm.”
Olive shivered, whether because of the topic or the temperature. She said in a cranky tone, “I’m going to go put some warmer clothes on. The fire isn’t even helping me feel warmer.”
Beatrice said, “Do you need me to walk with you to the cabin?”
Olive briskly shook her head. “No, I think I’m okay now. I’m thinking a little more clearly.”
“Before you go,” said Beatrice quickly, “let’s plan on keeping the details of Aspen’s death quiet. No one should know but us that she was killed with a pair of shears.”
“Good idea,” said Starr quietly.
Olive gave a bob of her head in agreement and then quickly left the lodge. Starr rubbed her eyes. “This is all such a mess. Everybody’s going to be up in a few hours, expecting food. And here I am with no cook.”
“There’s no way anyone can get over here, I guess?” asked Beatrice.
She shook her head. “Nope. Like I said, the only reason I was able to get here is because I live so close. I’m going to be the only staff member until the roads clear. And, from what I could see of the forecast, the temperatures will be far below freezing for days. And this is ice we’re talking about, not just snow. It’s especially treacherous.”
Beatrice said, “One of the Village Quilters, Meadow, is an exceptional cook. I’m sure she’d be happy to help you out.”
But Starr shook her head. “That’s against retreat policy. I like to do everything by the book. Guests in the kitchen is a danger. The guest could get hurt or serve something others are allergic to . . . all sorts of things could happen that the retreat would ultimately be liable for. I’ll handle the food.”
That was disappointing. Beatrice was hoping at least they could have some good food while they were trapped there.
Starr frowned. “Another problem is keeping everyone occupied. All the guests planned on being here to quilt. I can’t let anyone into the conference room to do that. No one probably brought other things to do.”
Beatrice held up her book. “Some of us did.”
“Yes, but I have the feeling most didn’t.” Starr paused, thinking. “I believe we have some other sewing machines in storage. I could set up an alternate space in the dining room.”
Beatrice said, “The only problem with that is that many of us left our supplies in the conference room yesterday, preparing to quilt today.”
Starr made a frustrated sound. “Right. I’ll check and see if there are some notions in storage, too. And perhaps even some old fabric. We’ve been hosting these retreats for a long while; there might be plenty of things for people to do.”
A grating voice behind them made them both jump. “S’moressss.”
They whirled around to see Miss Sissy standing there. Her iron-gray hair was standing up on the top of her head like the bride of Frankenstein’s monster. She was glowering at the both of them.
Starr quickly pasted a professional smile on her face. “Yes, s’mores were mentioned, weren’t they? The only problem is the weather.”
Miss Sissy didn’t seem to comprehend how the snow and ice might prevent s’mores from happening. She snarled at Starr.
“Maybe we can make them over the fireplace later,” said Beatrice.
Miss Sissy nodded eagerly, looking over at the fireplace. She walked closer so that she could feel the warmth. “Breakfast,” she muttered.
Starr rubbed her face. “I hardly know what to start doing first. Look for fabric and put sewing machines in the dining room? Try the police again? Make breakfast?”
“Making breakfast might be the best idea,” said Beatrice. “Everyone will be up soon. Serving food will be a good way to keep everyone happy.”
Miss Sissy growled again in agreement.
Starr quickly left, glancing back at Miss Sissy as she walked out. As she was looking back, she nearly ran into Meadow. Starr murmured an apology and kept going.
“What’s going on?” asked Meadow. “I tried to drop off some more supplies in the conference room and it was locked tight. I thought they said the room was supposed to be open twenty-four hours a day.”
Miss Sissy gave an exasperated grunt at this, as if not at all surprised that things were running so poorly at the retreat.
Beatrice sighed. “There’s been an incident.”
Meadow put her hands on her hips. “What sort of incident? Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with the sewing machines or something. That would really be ridiculous.”
“Do you remember Aspen yesterday?”
Meadow snorted. “Of course I do. She stood out, didn’t she? She wasn’t particularly behaving herself. I expect a higher standard from quilters. But she seemed like the sort of person who might stir up trouble.”
“In some ways, I guess she did. But the trouble was for her this time. Someone murdered her last night.”
Meadow gaped at her. “No! Here at the retreat?”
Her voice intimated that retreats were not intended to be places where murderers were running around willy nilly. Beatrice said, “I’m afraid so. I discovered her a couple of hours ago.”
Miss Sissy scowled at this. “Evillllll.”
“Yes,” agreed Beatrice.
Meadow’s hands were still on her hips. “So someone sneaked into our quilting retreat and decided to kill one of the quilters?”
Beatrice shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what happened. There’s another factor—the weather. The roads have all been closed. Not even emergency vehicles can get through. This appears to have been an inside job.”
“You’re saying someone from the retreat did this?” asked Meadow.
Beatrice nodded.
Meadow spluttered and found herself quite speechless for a few moments.
Miss Sissy intoned, “Evillll” once again.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Meadow. “Are we just leaving that poor girl where you found her? And where exactly did you find her?”
Beatrice said, “In the conference room. That’s why you couldn’t get in there. When I couldn’t sleep, I thought I could get some work done and that might make me sleepy. But instead, I found Aspen in there.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t just a natural death?”
Beatrice nodded. “I’m afraid not.”
Meadow shuddered. “Got it.” She frowned. “So we won’t be able to get into that room for the duration, I guess.”
“Starr locked it up.”
“And you’ve called the police?” asked Meadow.
“Well, that’s been something of a problem. Our cell phones don’t seem to work well here. I was able to text Starr and she could report the problem, but because of the weather, it looks like it might be a while before anyone is able to get here.”
Miss Sissy snarled. Whether it was at the lateness of emergency services or the world in general was unclear.
Meadow said, “Well, if I’m going to entertain myself today, I guess I better head back to the cabin and get more things out.”
Beatrice said, “At least you have more projects to work on. I brought everything over to the conference room, and I think Piper did, too. Starr was going to check and see if she could find a fabric stash. I do have my book to read, luckily.”
“Oh, I’ve got a pile of projects, and I wasn’t organized enough yesterday to sort them all out. That seems lucky, now. If you need something, I’ve probably got some stuff you could work on.”
Beatrice gave a short laugh. “I might take you up on that, depending on how long we’re stuck here.” She paused. “I wonder if I could at least help myself to a bowl of cereal in the dining hall. No cooking required, after all. Surely there are continental breakfast options there. I’ve been up for a while.”
Miss Sissy, who had not been up for a while, perked up at the mention of food.
“Let’s head out, then,” said Meadow. “I’ll run by the cabin first and will meet you in a few minutes.”
It was precisely the “running by the cabin” bit that became problematic for Meadow. In her haste, she set out onto the icy path and made a wild slipping dance, yelping loudly all the way. Beatrice slid down the path toward her to try to help but was soon yelping and sliding, herself. Miss Sissy glowered at them for a few moments before resolutely stomping in the direction of the dining hall.
Meadow and Beatrice finally regained their balance and stood there panting for a bit to catch their breaths and wait for their hearts to stop pounding so hard.
A voice hissed at them. “What is going on?”
It was a well-preserved and elegant woman. She seemed very annoyed at the commotion they’d caused. Although she’d apparently been awakened, she still somehow retained a very well put-together look.
“Have you been drinking?” asked the woman, suspiciously.
“Drinking?” asked Beatrice with a snort. “We’ve not had a drop. We’re simply trying to walk. Take a few steps.”
Still looking very suspicious, the woman did. One foot promptly slid out in front of her and she drew it back in quickly. “I see,” she muttered.
Another woman joined them. She looked like an older version of the first woman. She said, “Why don’t you go back to the cabin, Maggie? Get a little sleep. I’m just going to pop out and get some breakfast.”
Maggie grunted and then said, “I suppose I could try. Although now I’m feeling quite awake.” She shot Meadow and Beatrice an annoyed look and slid away.
The other woman grimaced and gave them a small smile. “Sorry about my sister. I’m Nicole, by the way. Anyway, Maggie’s ordinarily not like that. She definitely needs to get more sleep. She’s had some stressful stuff go on lately.”
Meadow gave her an understanding look as they took small steps in the direction of the dining hall. “Quilting is a wonderful stress-reliever, isn’t it? Of course she wanted to come to the retreat and work on a quilt.”
Nicole said, “Well, that was the idea. I’m afraid the weather is keeping it from being quite as relaxing as it should be.”
Beatrice just hoped the power stayed on. It didn’t take much ice at all to bring down power lines. There was definitely a good coating on the ground. She decided not to say anything to the others but keep her worries to herself.
Meadow glanced at Nicole and said slowly, “Well, there’s another problem with the retreat. Besides the weather, I mean.” She looked over at Beatrice.
Beatrice said, “I’m afraid there’s been an incident.” She hesitated. “Were you very close to Aspen?”
Nicole gave a short laugh. “I don’t think anybody is really close to Aspen. An incident? What’s she done now? Are the Sew and Sews kicked out of the retreat because of something she did?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m sorry, but Aspen is dead.”
Nicole stopped short as they finally entered the dining hall, staring at them. “What? What do you mean? Did she slip on the ice and crack her head?”
Meadow said, “Nicole, it’s awful. Aspen was murdered last night.”
Nicole swayed a little unsteadily, despite not being on icy ground any longer.
Beatrice said, “Let’s get you inside.”
As Meadow and Beatrice ushered Nicole in, Starr looked cross. “I’m really not ready—” she started. Then, seeing the shocked look on Nicole’s face, she hurried over. “Are you all right?”
“She just heard the news about Aspen,” said Beatrice.
They settled Nicole into one of the seats in the dining hall, and Starr hurried off to get some water.
“Murdered,” breathed Nicole.
Starr slid the water in front of her just moments later. Her face was puckered with concern. Speaking almost to herself, she said, “This isn’t good. I’ll need to make an announcement. But I still don’t have a connection to send a group email. I’ll plan for a meeting with everyone in the dining hall and announce it over our intercom system.”
Meadow chirped up, “If you’re wanting to announce what happened to Aspen, you’ll need to plan that in advance. You can’t cook at the same time. I could take over the cooking.”
Starr looked momentarily annoyed before seeming to give the offer serious thought. “I guess these are emergency conditions,” she said grudgingly. “I already had to stop what I was doing to feed your friend.”
And indeed, Miss Sissy, through sheer will, had gotten Starr to drop everything and make her toast.
“She’s an excellent cook,” Beatrice reiterated.
Starr nodded. “Okay. I did review all the guest paperwork in my office, and no one reported any food allergies.”
Meadow scampered off to the kitchen. She was never happier than when she was cooking, playing with her grandson, or quilting.
Nicole gave a somewhat hysterical laugh, making Beatrice and Starr look at her with concern. She said, “Aspen always could cause a lot of commotion. This is par for the course.”
“What kind of commotion did she usually cause?” asked Beatrice. She noticed with relief that Nicole seemed to be recovering her equanimity.
“Oh, I’d say she specialized in general mischief. Aspen could be passive aggressive and, if she was bored enough, she was actively aggressive.”
“Any particular examples of general mischief?” asked Starr.
Nicole’s gaze sharpened. “You’re trying to find suspects, aren’t you?”
Beatrice said, “Unfortunately, the police don’t seem to be coming anytime soon. I’m just trying to collect information so that we can understand what’s going on.”
Nicole put her hands up in a reflexively defensive posture. “I had nothing to do with it. I was asleep and so was my sister, Maggie. Both of us slept hard until we heard all the ruckus outside.”
“Ruckus?” frowned Starr.
Nicole gestured to Beatrice. “She and her friend were outside trying to walk and not doing a very good job at it.”
Starr frowned again. “Getting everyone over to the auditorium might be too hard. Perhaps the dining hall would be a better place for me to announce what’s happened.”
Nicole’s eyes narrowed. “What sort of business are you running here? Are we thinking someone came on the premises and murdered a guest in cold blood?”
“I’m not thinking that at all,” said Starr in a calm but irritated voice. “Like you mentioned before, I’m trying to find suspects among the Sew and Sews group. The Village Quilters didn’t even know her. Plus, there’s a dangerous winter storm outside and also nothing of real, marketable value in the conference room. So no, I don’t think anyone slipped onto the retreat grounds and murdered your friend.”
“She wasn’t my friend,” muttered Nicole.
Meadow came back over with mugs of steaming coffee on a platter. She set the platter down and said, “Luckily, we have Beatrice here. She’s a wonderful amateur sleuth.”
Beatrice colored a little as both Nicole and Starr turned to look at her. “I wouldn’t say I’m a sleuth.”
“Of course you are!” Meadow said. She turned to the other women and said, “She helps out my husband all the time on his cases. And he’s the police chief in our town.”
After dropping this bit of information, she scurried off again toward the kitchen.