seven

After picking up a nifty doggie bag that contained Delpha’s entire meal, we boarded the gondola and rode back down the mountain in the ever-present daylight. And as Delpha had indicated, the farther we descended, the more the fog dissipated, so that by the time we arrived at the resort, the fog had completely lifted, although the sky was still overcast at the higher elevation.

“We are treating you to a late start tomorrow,” Etienne announced as we flooded into the lobby. “If you close your blackout drapes, you might even get a good night’s sleep. The breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant begins at six and ends at eleven. For those of you signed up for the dog mushing excursion, plan to meet Alison here in the lobby at ten o’clock. She’s on dog duty tomorrow. The rest of you will be on your own to either spend the day taking advantage of the hotel’s amenities or catch the shuttle into Girdwood to explore the town. Any questions?”

I looked out over the group, wondering if Florence and Thor would be able to settle their differences overnight or if Florence would be giving him the cold shoulder for the rest of the trip. I didn’t think their sudden schism would alter the seating on the bus too drastically, but if they decided they didn’t want to share a room anymore, we’d be dealing with a major headache.

“No questions?” Etienne concluded. “Then we’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, everyone.”

I watched Florence continue to huddle with Goldie and Orphie while Thor bounded off toward the elevator. I supposed Florence could always bunk with Orphie without too much trouble, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Maybe the Thorsens would do us all a favor and sort things out themselves.

Etienne checked the time on his phone. “Do you suppose Delpha is back yet?”

“I certainly hope so. It wouldn’t take her three hours to hike two miles downhill, would it? What’s her room number?”

After our insistent knocks on her door went unanswered, we decided that either she was in the pool and spa area or a two-mile hike down a two-thousand-foot mountain did indeed take longer than three hours. Etienne handed me her food. “Why don’t you head back to the room and relax, bella? I’ll check out the pool and join you in a few minutes.”

Once back in our room, I located the neat stack of hotel literature left on our dresser and pulled out the map legend for the resort. There were several trails leading down from the mountain. One meandered over what looked like treeless terrain in a series of squiggly switchbacks. Another skirted the perimeter of a dense patch of wooded terrain that offered fewer switchbacks. Yet another cut directly through the woods in what was probably a shorter but potentially more dangerous route. Unfortunately, I had no idea which one Delpha had decided to take, which made any kind of time calculation impossible.

I slanted a look out our hotel window at the great hulking mountain whose summit remained cloaked in fog. “Where are you, Delpha?” I whispered aloud, which is when it struck me that I had the capacity to find out. I mean, I could simply call her. Duh.

I picked up my phone.

I let it ring and ring and ring until I got shunted to her voicemail.

I sent her a text: are you near the end of the trail? getting worried.

I stared at my screen, waiting for a response.

Knockknockknockknock.

I hurried to the door.

“Your father has really gone and done it this time,” fussed Mom as she barged into the room, dragging Dad behind her.

“What’s he done?”

Mom crossed her arms and drew her eyebrows together over her nose. Dad tucked in his lips and shrugged.

“Show Emily the picture.”

After tapping the screen, he handed his phone to me.

“Trees. Very nice content, Dad. Tall, pointy trees, all clumped together. Did you take this from the tram?”

His phone pinged.

“Yup.”

Mom sighed her frustration. “You have to look more closely, Emily. Do you see anything else? And no, this isn’t a hidden objects game.”

“Uh…”

His phone pinged again.

I expanded the photo and studied it more closely. “Well, there’s a shadowy patch over in the corner here that looks like—” I squinted at the shadow, its form slowly morphing into a shape that caused my mouth to drop. “Holy crap.” I ran to the desk to examine it more closely under the light. “No way can this be real. It can’t be real because it looks like…like…”

“A big hairy beast,” tittered Mom. “Bigfoot. Exactly. Here I was thinking we could get through a vacation without your father drawing unnecessary attention to himself, but nooo.”

Ping. Ping. Ping.

“He decides to send his photos off to that website your grandmother recommended, and now his phone won’t stop pinging.”

“Who’s contacting him?”

“Everyone! They’re all clamoring for a piece of him. They want phone interviews. And TV interviews. And newspaper interviews. This is apparently the biggest news since…since that famous Hollywood star gave birth to an alien baby.”

I pulled a face. “Which star was that?”

“I don’t remember. They all look alike to me.”

“The stars or the babies?”

Ping. Ping.

“If your father had kept his old camcorder, this wouldn’t have happened. He’d have taken pictures of the same old pavement and blue jeans and been ignored by that website instead of being hounded by the press. The international news has already picked up the story.” She made a gimme motion for Dad’s phone. “Look at this headline: It Lives!!! Iowa Grain Farmer Shoots Photo of Bigfoot Monster in Alaska. And how about this one: Flesh-Eating Beast on the Loose in Alaska Forest.”

Oh geesh. If this turned into a media circus, our schedule could be completely derailed. On a brighter note, Ennis would probably be thrilled that his crackpot creature theories might not be considered so crackpot anymore.

“Why didn’t you say something when you saw the thing, Dad?” I asked gently.

“ ’Cuz I was only taking pictures of trees.” He gave me a beleaguered look. “Those fellas at the website were the ones who spotted it. Not me.”

Etienne walked through the door, his steps slow, a grim expression darkening his features.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice cracking with sudden fear.

“There’s been a mishap on the mountain. The people at the front desk are waiting for the rescue squad to arrive, so they’re understandably rattled, but when I told them who I was and that I was missing a guest, they shared what they could with me. The victim is female.”

Dread needled down my spine like pincers.

“And she’s wearing pink-and-black speed tights.”

My knees weakened and my stomach soured. “Oh my god.
Delpha?”

Etienne nodded. “She’s dead.”