thirteen

“Oh, no.”

“He’s driving up here tomorrow to conduct further interviews with the group. He’s apparently discovered a number of gaping holes he needs to fill in.”

“Uff-da.” I sucked in my breath. “The guests who left the museum early? The ones Osmond and George spoke to me about? I told you there was something suspicious about that. Maybe Lieutenant Kitchen found out about their early departures and wants to know where they went afterward.”

“He didn’t say which guests he plans to question, bella.”

“It has to be them: Thor, Grover, Ennis, and Alison. Kitchen knew which guests visited the museum, but he never asked how long they stayed or if anyone left early. Don’t you find it curious that no one volunteered to tell him? Other than the Dicks, and they don’t count.”

“So are you suggesting that one of the four may have slipped into the fog, hunted down Delpha on the hiking trail, and killed her in such a way that the police couldn’t determine it was murder until today?”

I twitched my lips. Why did my theories always sound so dopey when they came out of his mouth? “Well, there was no love lost between Thor and Delpha. He might have decided to get even with her for the embarrassment she caused him.”

“And the other three?”

I gnawed my bottom lip. “I don’t know what their motive would have been. Everyone seemed to like Delpha—Thor being the exception.”

“Hard to pin a murder on people who lack a motive.”

“Except”—I speared the air with my forefinger in a eureka gesture—“I might not have mentioned this to you, but on our first night at the resort, when we were all in the lobby, I noticed Delpha staring at Grover, Goldie, and Ennis, and it was pretty unsettling. You wouldn’t have believed the look in her eyes. They were spitting pure hatred.”

“You’re sure she was looking at them and not something else?”

“I’m positive.” I gave my head a definitive nod. “At least, I’m pretty sure.” I pinched my eyes shut in order to reexamine the memory, but it was suddenly fuzzy around the edges. “I thought she was looking at them at the time, but—” My voice faded as my level of confidence plummeted. I heaved a sigh. “What else could she have been looking at?”

Etienne caressed the back of my neck. “Why don’t we leave that to Lieutenant Kitchen to determine?”

We grabbed our suitcases and rolled them to our cabin with its cheery basket of pink wave petunias hanging from the eaves and a matched set of Adirondack chairs bookending the door. The room was northwoods rustic with natural cedar boards covering the walls and ceiling, a wildlife quilt spread across a queen-size bed, a small flat screen TV perched on the dresser, heavy-duty blackout curtains, a coffee maker with disposable cups, and a sheet of paper on the desk that read:

Urgent Notice—
Due to a pipe failure in our main well, water to your cabin is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause and trust that the problem will be resolved quickly. The public restroom in the guest lodge is not affected by the shutdown, so we invite you to use those facilities should the need arise. During this emergency, bottled water will be available in the lodge at no extra charge. We hope you enjoy your stay.
—The Management

“Uh-oh.” I shot a desperate look at Etienne as he walked out of the bathroom. I held the paper up for him to read. “There’s no water.”

“Ah. The explanation for why nothing happened when I turned on the faucet.”

I regarded him with alarm. “The water can’t possibly be off in the whole complex, can it?”

The pounding on our door was loud and insistent. Bam bam bam bam.

Etienne stared at the door. “I suspect the answer to that is…yes.”

Ennis Iversen waved his cell phone at us the moment Etienne opened the door. “I just checked my bank account. Don’t ask me why. It just seemed like a smart thing to do. I’ve been wiped out. All the award money I deposited in our money market account? It’s gone. The checking account hasn’t been touched, but my nest egg is gone. This is the newspaper’s fault! They never should’ve reported the dollar amount of my award. It made me the target of every crazy for miles around. It made Lorraine a target!”

He tapped the screen of his phone. “See the date here? It was withdrawn the day Lorraine disappeared. Someone has her. How many times have we seen scenarios like this play out on the evening news? Remember that grisly case in Connecticut some years ago?” His face crumpled onto itself as if it had suddenly been deprived of gravity. “They must have forced her to withdraw the money under threat of her life and once they got their cash, she became disposable. They could have killed her already and…and dumped her body in a field or the woods. Isn’t that what always happens? They can’t risk being identified, so they…they kill the hostage…or worse.” His eyes welled with tears. “Jeesuz. The minute I think this can’t get any worse, it does.”

Etienne ushered him into the room and sat him down on the bed. “Have you called Chief Burns?”

Ennis shook his head. “I saw you and Emily come in here, so the only thing I could think of was to tell the two of you.”

“Did the chief ask for your bank account information?”

He shook his head again. “No.”

Etienne fished his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen. “This could be the break the police are looking for. If Lorraine was coerced into withdrawing the money, it should show up on the bank’s surveillance cameras, so let’s hope they still have the footage.” He held his forefinger up to pause the conversation as his call went through. “Etienne Miceli for Chief Burns. Tell him it’s urgent.”

Ennis stared at Etienne, his face a road map of utter misery. I sat down on the bed beside him. “So here we find ourselves again, Ennis. Can I do anything for you?”

“You got anything to calm a man’s nerves?” He held his hands out in front of him, doubling them into fists when they wouldn’t stop shaking. “You’re not packing any brandy, are you?”

“The strongest thing I have is chamomile tea. You want to give it a try?”

“I’ll try anything.”

“But what I don’t have is water, so if you give me a minute, I’ll run over to the guest lodge to get some.” I hopped to my feet.

“You don’t need to do that, Emily. Water out of the bathroom faucet is fine.”

“It would be if there was any. Didn’t you get a notice?” I retrieved the paper from the desk and handed it to him. “Maybe your cabin wasn’t affected.”

He scanned the sheet. “No water? Well, isn’t that great. The day just keeps getting better. I remember seeing a paper on the desk in my cabin, but I didn’t take the time to read it.”

“Okay, then, so you just sit tight, and I’ll be back in a jif.” I scooted around Etienne, grabbed my shoulder bag, and headed out the door only to be greeted by the sight of a string of guests already hotfooting it toward the guest lodge, arms swatting the air around their heads violently enough to fend off entire squadrons of mosquitoes, which made me realize that the real danger in the wilds of Alaska wasn’t from disease-transmitting mosquitoes but from torn rotator cuffs.

Nana poked her head out the door of her cabin and looked both ways before tiptoeing onto the deck.

“Are you headed for the guest lodge?” I asked as I approached her.

She pressed her forefinger against her lips as she continued to eye her surroundings. “Where’s your mother?”

I gestured toward the opposite side of the complex. “Do you see that crush of reporters hanging out over there? They have Mom surrounded in that cabin.”

“The coast is clear, then.” She looped her arm through mine and shuffled full speed ahead, pulling me with her. “C’mon, dear. Let’s get outta here before she sees me. I kept losin’ her yesterday, so she’ll probably be on a tear today wantin’ to make up for lost time.”

“Etienne tells me you pulled quite the vanishing act in town yesterday.”

“Yup. Don’t know how I done it, though. Guess I’m not such a big target no more on account of I keep shrinkin’.”

“Did you buy anything good?”

“You bet.” Opening her jacket, she held the flap wide so I could see the pink camouflage hip holster and belt that hugged her waist.

I laughed as I eyed the cylindrical bulge in the holster. “What are you packing? Room freshener?”

“Somethin’ better.” She removed a canister with a bright orange trigger from the sheath. “Bear spray.”

“Seriously? There’s a commercial product on the market that repels bears? Who knew?” Iowa wasn’t exactly a hotbed of rogue bear activity.

“Yup. The fella what was in the outfitters store said that one sustained blast on the nozzle and you got yourself a fog of super-hot, oil-based mist what covers an area up to thirty feet.”

I slowed my steps as I pondered her description. “A fog of super-hot mist? Holy crap, Nana, that’s not animal repellent, it’s pepper spray! That’s like…like carrying a loaded gun around with you.”

“No kiddin’?”

“That stuff has the potential of being really dangerous. Are you sure you want it strapped to your waist? I mean, one accidental discharge and you could be looking at an emergency room visit with serious eye, nose, and lung damage. And you’d probably get socked with a slew of out-of-network medical bills that your supplemental insurance won’t cover. I get that you’d like to be prepared in case of attack. We’re in the middle of the woods where we’re the intruders. But do you really think this is the way to go?”

“I didn’t buy this stuff to waste on no bear. I bought it to use on your mother.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know…if she don’t keep her distance.”

I sucked in enough air to turn my lungs into balloons. “You will not blast Mom with pepper spray, Nana. Do you hear me? That is so unacceptable.” I held out my palm. “Hand it over.”

“How ’bout I just threaten her.”

“No.”

“What if I see a bear?”

“Run.”

“Spoiled sport.” She slapped the canister into my palm with reluctance. “You want the belt too? It’s adjustable. Fits any body type.”

“You can keep the belt.” I dropped the container into my shoulder bag.

“Maybe I’ll give it to George. His wardrobe could use a little sprucin’ up.”

“You think he’d wear a pink belt?”

“Won’t bother him none. He’s color-blind.”

As we stepped through the door of the guest lodge, Margi Swanson greeted us armed with a pad of sticky notes and a pen. “Are you here for the water or the potty? Potty people have to take a number. It’s only a one-seater. Water people can just grab and go.”

I scanned the gathered attendance. The Dicks competing against each other at the foosball table. George and Osmond picking over pieces of a half-completed jigsaw puzzle. Grace and Lucille watching TV on a sofa in the far corner. Goldie and Orphie setting up pieces on a checkerboard while Florence stood over them, coaching. Helen standing guard by the restroom door.

“Potty,” said Nana, holding out her palm. “How long’s the wait?”

Margi perused the room as if she were a hostess gauging wait times for tables. “About twenty minutes.” She lowered her voice. “The fellas snagged all the low numbers, so it might be longer, especially if any of them forgot to pack their meds. But with my numbering system, we don’t actually have to stand in line, so we’re freed up to enjoy other activities while we wait.”

“Isn’t that somethin’?” marveled Nana. “Just like Disneyworld. I swear, Margi, the more birthdays you celebrate, the smarter you get.”

Margi beamed as she ripped off a note and handed it to Nana. “Number thirteen, Marion. I hope this isn’t an omen that the bathroom tissue is going to run out before you get your turn. What about you, Emily?”

“I’m only here for water.” I spied a cooler brimming with bottled water on the floor just inside the door. “Does it matter how much I take?”

“Serving number four,” Helen Teig announced in a robotic monotone as Alice Tjarks exited the restroom. “Number four? Serving number four.”

“Bingo!” said Osmond, waving his sticky note above his head. As he shuffled happily toward Helen, Thor Thorsen barged through the front door like an angry wind. “Great place we’re booked into. Not even enough water to flush the toilet. Where’s the head?”

Margi stared at him wide-eyed. “It’s over by Helen, but you have to take a—”

He blew past us, storming across the floor like a Sherman tank. “Outta my way,” he snarled at Osmond before darting in front of him. Helen stepped calmly into the doorway, filling the space like an NBA center working the paint.

“You heard Margi,” she warned, standing her ground. “It’s first come, first serve. You can’t use the facilities without a number.”

“The hell I can’t.”

“It’s the rule.”

“Says who?” With a Mexican standoff in the offing, he glanced toward the far corner of the room. “Whoa! Is that a rat?”

“Eeeeeeee!” cried Grace and Lucille as they hoisted their legs off the floor and onto the sofa.

“Eeeeeeee!” cried Goldie and Orphie as they upended the checkerboard while jumping out of their chairs.

“Eeeeeeee!” cried Helen as she fled across the floor in a desperate attempt to escape.

Thor walked into the restroom and slammed the door behind him.

George glared at the closed door, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. “That’s just wrong.”

“Do you see the rat?” cried Helen as she sheltered behind Margi.

Nana bobbed her head toward the opposite wall. “He’s in the potty.”

“Please, everyone,” Florence apologized as she began picking up checkers off the floor. “He’s not like this all the time. I’ll be happy to forfeit my number to make up for his cutting in line ahead of all of you.”

Indignant sniffs. Cold stares. Stony silence.

Thor Thorsen was proving himself to be much more disagreeable than I’d imagined. Which begged the question: Was a man who felt entitled enough to flout small conventions the kind of person who could easily flout more significant conventions? Like…the Sixth Commandment?

The front door banged open and Bernice sashayed in, sporting an oversized tote bag over her shoulder and what could almost pass as a smile on her face.

I hung my head in a pitiful show of surrender. Yup. Just what I needed right now. A scathing tongue lashing from Bernice Zwerg on the inadequacies of our accommodations.

Pausing just inside the threshold, she ranged a suspicious look around the room. “Why is it so quiet in here? Did someone else die?”

“Are you here for the water or the potty?” asked Margi in a breathless rush.

Bernice narrowed her eyes to a curious squint. “Why is Alice standing on a chair?”

“Potty people have to take a number. It’s only a one-seater. Water people can just grab and go.”

Shifting her gaze to the cooler against the wall, Bernice arched one thinly plucked eyebrow. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t need a number. I just want to collect a few bottles of water.” Standing over the cooler, she began grabbing bottles and stuffing them into her tote. One…two…six…eight. “Isn’t it lovely here? The crisp air? The quaint cabins.” Ten…twelve. “The feeling of being one with nature.” Fourteen…sixteen. “The complimentary water.”

Nana cocked her head. “What are you fixin’ to do with all them bottles? Fill the hot tub?”

“Au contraire, Marion. The poor souls who’ve posted themselves outside Margaret and Bob’s cabin look so parched that I consider it part of my Christian duty to offer them free beverage service. Who knows? They might be so appreciative, they could decide to write a feature story about a member of the tour group who actually wants to talk to them.” Eighteen…twenty.

“That’s bribery,” scolded Margi.

Bernice shrugged. “Whatever works.” Twenty-four. Twenty-six.

Nana shuffled over to the cooler to peek inside. “You didn’t leave no water for no one else.”

Bernice rolled her eyes. “There’s obviously more where that came from. Just tell the management the cooler needs to be refilled.”

Nana fisted her hands on her hips and glared at Bernice over the tops of her wirerims. “I’m not tellin’ them management folks no such thing.”

“All right, all right. Geesch.” She pulled a bottle out of her tote and placed it back in the cooler. “Happy now?”

“Are you sure you don’t need to take a number for the little girls’ room?” Margi asked as Bernice heaved the tote bag over her shoulder.

“I’m sure,” she grunted. And with that, she headed out the door, listing to port at a 30-degree angle.

Nana snatched the bottle out of the cooler and handed it to me. “You’d best take this before she decides to come back.”

“I can’t believe she had the nerve to take all the water,” complained Margi as she eyed the empty container.

“I can’t believe she said something nice about our accommodations,” I quipped.

“I can’t believe she didn’t need to visit the potty,” said Nana. “Say what you want about Bernice Zwerg, but for someone as short as she is, she’s got some long pipes.”

By the time I arrived back at the cabin, Etienne was off the phone, but Ennis still looked as if he was about to suffer a nervous breakdown. “Got the last one,” I said as I twisted the cap off my bottle of water and poured the contents into the reservoir of the coffee maker. “So did the chief have anything noteworthy to say about the missing money?”

“He’s expanding the investigation from a missing person case to a possible kidnapping,” said Etienne. “The surveillance footage from the bank will be invaluable if it hasn’t been automatically taped over, and this would provide him with a definitive timeline. He’s also going to check with the businesses across the street to see if any of them have security cameras he might access. He hadn’t covered the bank angle yet, so Ennis’s discovery has given him a new avenue to explore. All in all, he sounded hopeful that there might be a break in the case soon.”

Shoulders slumped, neck bent, Ennis shook his head. “Not soon enough to save Lorraine. I’ve got a feeling in my gut…a feeling that I’m never going to see her again.”

“Please don’t think that,” I pleaded. “They’ll find her, Ennis. You’ll see.”

“But what kind of condition will she be in? Are they going to find her in the same condition they found Delpha?”

A pang of dread slithered through me, coiling into a fist in my stomach. Dear God, I hoped not.