by Kathi Daley
“Something odd is going on here,” I said to Ellie as we left the recreation facility and headed back to our cabin.
“I agree, but we are pretty much stranded up here on the top of this mountain with eight teenagers whose health and well-being has been entrusted to us. It seems to me that until we can get a better handle on whatever is going on, we should maintain a low profile. It’s not like Zak or Levi are going to be able to rescue us if we get ourselves into trouble.”
I picked up my pace just a bit as we passed the building where the orientation seemed to be winding down. “How did Electra behave when you told her about the body in the sauna?”
Ellie stopped walking. I paused as well. “Honestly? Initially she didn’t even seem surprised, but that was quickly followed by a show of shock and disbelief. If I had to guess, when I first told her what had happened, I don’t think she believed me. But after a few seconds she seemed to get the fact that I wasn’t kidding that one of her fellow staff members was dead.”
“Why would she think you were kidding?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps the goddesses fill their free time pranking each other. They do live in close proximity with one another for an entire summer, pretty much cut off from the rest of the world. I guess it makes sense they would make their own fun.”
I frowned. “I guess.” I started walking again as I considered what Ellie had just said. My number one priority was to make sure that she and all thirty-two girls who were on the mountain to find empowerment made it off the mountain alive and in one piece. Ellie was right to suggest we keep a low profile until we could figure out exactly what was going on and what we could or should do about it. Isis had said that help was on the way, and I hoped it was. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t.
“We need to poke around a bit,” I said to Ellie, voicing the thoughts I’d just had. “I agree we need to keep a low profile and we need to be careful not to let anyone know we are suspicious about Ainsley’s death, but I don’t feel right about doing nothing.”
“I wonder what they are going to tell the girls. They can’t keep it a secret for long, no matter how much they might like to. Right?”
“If I had to bet, someone, maybe even Adira, is going to make an announcement that a terrible accident occurred and that one of the counselors died. I imagine she will downplay it and assure everyone that everything is fine and we all need to go on with our plans for the week. That Ainsley would have wanted them to do just that. Or I suppose it is possible that she may not even bring up the death. At least to the guests. I mean, the girls and chaperones just got here. The rest of them don’t know all the counselors yet and probably won’t even miss Ainsley if she suddenly isn’t around.”
“Do you really think she would be so callous as to totally sweep the death of one of her staff under the rug?” Ellie asked.
I shrugged. “I hope not, but we’ll see. In the meantime, we need to stay on the alert. We also need to be careful about what we say or do to anyone. Once we get back to the cabin we’ll come up with some kind of strategy.”
I could sense that Ellie’s breath had quickened. Her face grew tense, and I could tell that she was on the verge of a panic attack. I was about to remind her to stay calm when she began to speak. “What if there really is something sinister going on? What if whatever is happening isn’t limited to this one death? What if there is a serial killer on the mountain? What if he realizes that we know what he is doing? What if our cabin is bugged? What if all the cabins are bugged? What if we’re next?”
I smiled in an effort to diffuse Ellie’s increasing panic. I knew if Ellie having a meltdown led me to having one too, the entire situation would spiral into something neither of us wanted. “Take a deep breath and relax,” I encouraged her. “I doubt there is a serial killer on the mountain and I doubt our cabin is bugged. But even if it is, it will be fine. I have an app for that.”
Ellie paused and raised a brow. It appeared I had surprised her out of her meltdown. “An app?”
I nodded. “Sort of. After our house was bugged last Christmas, Zak put a device on all our phones that interferes with bugs. I’m not sure how it works exactly, but as long as we are sitting near my phone we can talk freely.”
“I thought they collected all our phones,” Ellie pointed out.
“They did,” I confirmed. “But I had two. One is my personal cell and one is my Zimmerman Academy cell, which Zak and I and all staff members have. I gave them my Zimmerman Academy cell when they went around to do the collection, but I still have the other one.”
Ellie stopped walking and hugged me. “Way to go. That’s genius. Will this bug zapper work without internet?”
I nodded. “It isn’t actually an app. I just call it that. As long as the phone is charged, the bug zapper will work.” I heard a loud roar as the group in the conference center seemed to have let out a final cheer. “Let’s hurry and get back to our cabin. We won’t have long to come up with a plan before dinner.”
As we continued past the building, part of me wanted to sneak in and pull Alex aside to fill her in on what had happened. But another part didn’t want to worry her if I didn’t have to. There wasn’t really anything she could do at this point, even if I did tell her about Ainsley’s death, and there was still a small possibility that she had simply had a heart attack, cops or a local sheriff would show up, and everything would be fine. I really did hope I was worrying for nothing. Alex wasn’t an easily frightened or squeamish teenager. She was a strong and capable woman in a teen’s body. If things did end up getting hairy and we needed her help, we could bring her in at any time. She’d spent time in the trenches, helping us with much harrier situations than this. She could handle herself if need be.
Once we arrived at the cabin, Ellie and I quickly got dressed, then settled in around the small table near a window that overlooked the mountain range in the distance. We had just thirty minutes before we needed to meet the girls in the dining hall for the evening meal, so we had to think fast. Ellie was great and I loved her like a sister, but I really did wish it was Zak or Levi I was partnered with today.
I turned on my phone just in case there were bugs, and then I leaned in so we could talk quietly. “I’ve been going over this in my head, and I think the first thing we should do is wait to see what the staff does. We both have a feeling that things are not what they ought to be, but I don’t suppose we need to start snooping around just yet. Isis said that the authorities have been called and are on their way. If that is true, they should be here by the time we finish dinner. I figure we’ll keep our eyes and ears open and see what happens next. If the cops do show up and conduct an investigation, we’ll step aside and let them do their thing. If they didn’t show up, it seems to me we need to find the radio the woman at the airport referred to and try to get a message out to whoever is on the other end.”
“Okay,” Ellie agreed. “It does seem to make sense to wait and see what happens next. We have the girls to think of. Investigating the death of the counselor might be a worthwhile thing to do, but ensuring the safety of the teens on this mountain has to be our first priority.”
I leaned back just a bit and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ve been thinking about the fact that it looked as if Ainsley died of natural causes and there didn’t seem to be any sign of foul play. She was young and a heart attack would be rare, but what if Ainsley actually committed suicide?”
“Why? And how?” Ellie asked.
“As for why, I have no idea, but as for how, she could have taken a bunch of drugs, maybe sleeping pills, and then waited in the sauna for them to take effect.”
Ellie nodded. “Okay. I’m following. I suppose that suicide does make more sense than murder, especially because all the other goddesses were at the rally. Weren’t they?”
I frowned. “I’m not sure. There were five or six young women leading the cheers. I don’t remember seeing Adira once she welcomed everyone, or seeing Isis after she was introduced. It’
s possible they kicked things off and left.” I looked at Ellie. “Where did you find Electra?”
“She was at the rally, but she was standing in the back of the room. The petite goddess with the long blond hair and huge blue eyes was at the mic. I saw there were a couple of other goddesses standing behind her, but I didn’t pay attention to who was there and who was missing. I don’t know who they all are anyway.”
I bit my lip. “I think the small blonde is called Goddess Calliope. I remembered it because her name is fairly unique. She looks like a tiny fairy, but I have a feeling she can hold her own if she has to. Were there any other staff members in the room other than Calliope and the two or three other women you remember seeing standing behind her?”
“I don’t know,” Ellie admitted. “I was pretty freaked out and I was just looking for someone to help me.”
“Okay. I don’t suppose there is a whole lot we can do right now anyway.” I stood up and turned off my phone. “Let’s head to dinner. I’m starving. And I want to see how Alex and the others are.”
Chapter 4
Dinner turned out to be delicious. The cook was introduced to the group as Tully. Unlike the other staff members we’d met who seemed overly perky, overly beautiful, and overly perfect, Tully seemed to be a warm and approachable, down-to-earth woman. She had a kitchen assistant named Bethany, who, while quite a bit younger, also seemed fairly normal. Neither, I noticed, had the word goddess before their name.
On the other hand Adira, who did show up for the meal, looked like a goddess, moved like a goddess, and the others treated her like a goddess. She definitely seemed to own her personal power, which I supposed was the point of this camp. Isis was only slightly less beautiful than Adira, but she seemed to own her power as well.
In addition to Adira and Isis, there were eight other goddesses. At least there had been. With Ainsley’s death, there were only seven left. Electra, the goddess Ellie had told of the death and who had first responded, seemed to be one of the higher-ranking ones. From what I understood, Hera, Edris, Calliope, Venus, Athena, Ceres, Ainsley, and Electra, who usually ran the groups. They’d probably need to find a substitute for Ainsley now. Maybe Isis would step up. I doubted that Adira would want to risk breaking one of her perfect nails manning a zip line.
Other than the two administrators, seven goddesses, and two kitchen staff, I wasn’t sure if there were any other women working on the mountain. I assumed someone must take care of the cleaning and maintenance, but if that was the case, they were kept well in the background.
“So, who is ready to find and claim their inner goddess?” Ceres shouted from the front of the room.
Oh, great. We were back to the shouting. Every girl in attendance and most of the chaperones, with the exception of Ellie and me, joined in with the yelling and clapping.
“We have a lot planned tomorrow, so we are encouraging everyone to get to bed early,” Ceres continued. “Just so you know, we are undergoing some scheduled maintenance and don’t want any of our new goddesses to inadvertently get hurt, so curfew will begin at eight tonight rather than ten. The pool and sauna area will be closed for a day or two, but I assure you that we will get then back up and running as soon as possible. We encourage everyone to return to your cabins right after dinner and to stay in for the rest of the evening and get a good night’s sleep. We will meet back in this room tomorrow for breakfast.”
One of the girls raised her hand.
“Yes?” Ceres pointed to her. “Did you have a question?”
“What about after breakfast?” she asked. “What comes after that?”
“If you aren’t sure of your assignment for tomorrow’s goddess building activity, please see one of the goddesses before you leave here this evening. Enjoy your dinner and I will see everyone tomorrow.” With that, she replaced the mic and headed toward a doorway at the back of the building.
Okay, I supposed the early curfew would keep the girls out of the way while they moved the body of the dead goddess out of the sauna. I assumed that a helicopter was on the way, and I planned to be watching for it. Maybe I could even get the cop who arrived to contact Zak to let him know what was going on. I was pretty confident in most situations, but I would feel a lot better if someone in the world outside the mountain was aware of what had happened today.
After dinner, everyone, including Ellie and me, returned to our cabin. At this point the two of us were in waiting mode, but anyone who knew me at all well could tell you that waiting had never been my strong suit. At around ten thirty I heard a chopper arrive. I headed out of the cabin to see exactly what the goddesses planned to do with the body, and whether a police officer had accompanied the chopper. The pilot was the same one who had ferried us up the mountain earlier in the day although he was in a much smaller chopper. He seemed to be alone. I watched as two of the goddesses carried the body, wrapped in a blanket, out to the helicopter. Once it was loaded, the chopper lifted off and disappeared from sight. Taking a risk, I headed over to where Electra was speaking with Isis.
“I noticed the helicopter,” I said. “Have the police come to investigate?” I knew they hadn’t but had decided to play dumb.
“We have notified the authorities, who are waiting on the other end for the remains,” Isis said. “It appears Ainsley died of natural causes. If that turns out to be the case, an investigation won’t be necessary. If it’s determined that she died of some other reason, then yes, someone will come up the mountain to question everyone. In the meantime, we’ve been told that we continue with our usual activities. There is no reason to needlessly upset the girls. I’m sure you agree.”
“Uh, sure,” I answered. “I guess I get that. Ainsley had been assigned to the group heading to the zip line tomorrow. That happens to be the event the girls from Zimmerman Academy had planned for tomorrow. Will it go on as scheduled?”
“Ainsley was assigned to the zip line, but so are Hera, Edris, and Calliope,” Isis responded. “The hike and zip line can easily be handled by three goddesses, especially if there are chaperones who are willing to go along. I hoped that you and your friend would volunteer.”
On one hand, I wanted to stay back and snoop around, but on the other, I wanted to be sure the girls were safe. “Yes, Ellie and I will be happy to go along. It sounds like fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I returned to the cabin, where Ellie was waiting.
“So?” she asked.
“They took the body, but no one came to investigate. Isis told me that the authorities have been notified and will come up the mountain if necessary, but I have my doubts. It seems at the very least someone would have wanted to come up and take a look around before the body was moved. If I had to guess, the authorities have no idea what happened here today.”
“So what do we do?” Ellie asked.
“I guess all we can do now is keep our eyes and ears open. Isis asked if we would go to the zip line with the girls tomorrow. I told her we would. Part of me wants to stay back and snoop, but a bigger part of me wants to ensure that the girls will be all right.”
Ellie bit her lip. “What are we going to do if they aren’t all right? We are out here on top of this mountain with no way of communicating with the outside world. There are no roads, and other than the helicopter that comes and goes, there doesn’t seem to be a means of transportation.”
I placed my hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Let’s try to keep our heads. So far, the only thing that has happened is that one goddess has died. It’s bad, but there wasn’t evidence of foul play, so even though it is unlikely, it is possible that she died of natural causes, and we did discuss the suicide angle. I think the fact that the place is so isolated might be causing us to read more into the situation than we ought to.”
“Maybe, but it does seem as if what happened to a young woman is being swept under the rug. That feels wrong to me. Why cover up the fact that someone has died?”
Good question. “I suppose that whoever is in charge of the
camp might be afraid that everyone will want to leave and demand their money back if they know a death has occurred. I’m pretty sure that the cost per girl to attend the camp is over ten grand. There are thirty-two girls and six chaperones, including us. I’m sure the head honchos do not want to refund any of the fees.”
“Yeah. That is a lot of money. I guess we’ll just take things one day at a time and see how things unfold, but I’d feel better if we could call the guys and talk to them.”
I secretly agreed, but I knew it was important to keep Ellie calm. “Maybe it’s a good thing we can’t call the guys,” I countered. “If we did call them and tell them about the death of the counselor, they’d just worry. I know I just said this, but I am going to say it again, I think we should keep in mind that there is a very real possibility that nothing sinister is going on at all.”
“Do you really believe that?” Ellie challenged, a look of doubt clearly evident on her face.
“Honestly? I’m not sure what to think. But I do know that panicking is not going to help. If we find out that something is up, we will deal with it when we need to. In the meantime, I think we need to keep our heads and try to relax.”
Ellie blew out a breath. “Yeah. Okay. I guess Ainsley’s death doesn’t appear to have been murder. No one went in or came out of the building the entire time we were sitting outside, and when we checked the place it was empty except for her body. There is the door that leads to the outdoor hot tubs, but I suppose that’s to an enclosed area, so I doubt anyone got into the building that way.”
