Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3)

by Kristina Stanley

  Helen shuffled her feet on the chipped tile. “Have the RCMP talked to you about me?”

  Kalin moved to the sink and washed her hands. “No. Why would they?”

  “I did something stupid. I told them about it when I had to redo the polygraph test. I asked them not to tell Turner, and I don’t know if they did or not.”

  So that’s who took the test twice. Kalin reached behind Helen and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser. “What did you tell them?”

  “You know Roy and I were friends, right?”

  “Sure. What does this have to do with the theft?”

  “It was a chance to spend time with him. I was so happy when he came over that I wasn’t paying attention. I hadn’t expected him to stay the night.”

  Kalin stopped wiping her hands on the paper towel, giving Helen her full attention. “You and Roy?”

  “It’s not what you think. He was drunk and needed a place to crash. I think I might have shown Roy the combination to the safe by accident.”

  A crack formed in Kalin’s heart. Every time the evidence steered elsewhere, it turned around and came right back at Roy. “Are you saying Roy took the money?”

  “I think so. I can’t stand not knowing if I’m going to lose my job over this. Can you discreetly find out if Turner knows?”

  Focus on Helen. Don’t think about Roy. “From what I know of Turner, I think he would have talked with you by now if he knew.”

  “You’re saying I have to wait and see. I don’t know if I can stand the pressure.”

  “You could tell Turner yourself. It won’t sound as bad if he hears it from you.”

  “What should I do?”

  “I bet the police only inform Turner if it ends up meaning something.”

  “I guess,” Helen said. “Simon called me this morning.”

  Kalin tried to stay with the change in conversation, but all she could think was Roy stole the money. Her brother was a thief. Who really cared about Simon? “What’d he want?”

  “He asked if there was any way he could have his job back. He said he’s desperate for money. His wife kicked him out, and he can’t afford another place until he has enough for a damage deposit. I felt bad telling him he couldn’t come back until I remembered the porn.”

  “I’m sorry he’s bothering you.”

  Helen left Kalin alone. Alone to think about Roy. She soaked a paper towel with cold water and pressed it against her face. Her eyes stung. How could he?

  * * *

  Kalin walked from the cafeteria to her office, warming her hands on a take-out coffee. Nine p.m. was fast approaching, but after skiing for part of the afternoon, she thought she should catch up on a few things.

  Ben was on a backcountry night hike with his buddies, and she couldn’t sit at home thinking about Roy being the thief. How could she keep working here after that knowledge spread? Would Turner think she helped Roy? How was she going to tell her mom?

  Ben seemed to be avoiding her, and she let him because she couldn’t face talking yet. They needed to discuss White Peaks and come to an agreement that made them both happy. Maybe Roy’s guilt made the decision for her. And with Turner hiding financial information about the resort, would she be pushed out anyway?

  Aiden exited the mountain ops building, jogged down the steps and headed in her direction.

  She stopped at the path leading to the administration building entrance and waited for him to catch up.

  “I saw you heading to your office. Maybe, if you’re not busy, do you want to go for a beer?”

  Kalin held up the coffee she’d bought. “Now?”

  “If you’re not busy.”

  Had Aiden been waiting for her? The lifts closed hours ago, so what other reason did he have to be in the mountain ops building so late in the evening? She tilted her head to one side and said, “Sure. Why not?”

  She drank the last of the coffee and tossed the cup into the bear-proof garbage can. They strolled to the bar, and she told him about her encounter with Justin the previous night. The list of people who disliked her grew every day. It might be because of her job and the way she disciplined employees, or possibly that small-town living made it hard not to get involved in other people’s messes. Would she ever get used to living in an environment where every move she made was judged by someone?

  Since the lineup into the bar wouldn’t start until eleven, they were able to find a table near the fireplace. Antique skis and boots mixed among sepia photographs of skiers decorated the walls. They ordered two pints of Kokanee and waited for the beer.

  “What are you thinking about?” Aiden asked. “You seem a bit distracted.”

  “Oh, I was wondering if Justin’s guilty.”

  “I think so, but without proof, there’s not much we can do. We can’t suspend him forever.”

  “I think if you let him come back to work, and we’re still not sure, you could assign him to a chairlift instead of having him work the rope tow in the beginner area.”

  “Any news on the theft?” Aiden asked.

  “Not really. Since Roy’s a suspect, and I’m his sister, I don’t get a lot of info from Turner.”

  “It must be hard that Roy was living with you when it happened.”

  “It’s hard no matter where he was living.”

  “What are you going to do with his stuff?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You could make some money selling his ski gear. He had high-end equipment.”

  “I can’t believe you said that. I don’t need to make money from him. Besides, I don’t know where all of his things are. He tended to keep his belongings scattered.”

  “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

  Kalin’s gaze shifted to the other side of the room. “Look behind you.”

  Justin staggered away from the bar, sloshing his beer over the top of his glass and onto a nearby patron. He swore and tried to swallow his beer in one go, spilling most of the liquid down his chest.

  The bartender hustled over and asked Justin to leave. Apparently, he wanted to stay. The bartender grabbed his arm and angled him toward the door. He swung his fist at the bartender, missed and fell. Two security guards arrived, wearing black jackets, black gloves and black expressions.

  Justin refused to move. The guards each grabbed one of his arms, but he lashed out, broke free and lunged at the bartender, biting his arm. The bartender slapped Justin’s face with his free hand. One guard twisted Justin’s arm behind his back. The other lifted him by his shirt collar and belt, leaving his feet dangling in the air. Justin had no choice but to relax his clenched jaw and let go of the bartender’s arm. Security escorted him through the bar and tossed him outside.

  Kalin took a sip of beer and studied the group as they left. Simon Crane held the door open for them, and once they were outside, he entered the bar and headed toward Kalin. “Wow, that was weird.”

  “I’m surprised he’d do that when he’s suspended. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

  Simon scooted around Aiden and slammed his palms on the table. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Kalin scraped her chair backward and stood. “This is not the place.”

  “I want you to clear my reputation.”

  Silence lowered over the room, and Kalin didn’t have to look around to know all eyes were on her. “I understand, but really, we’ve been through everything with you. We had cause.”

  Simon’s chest heaved, and he leaned forward, placing his face inches from Kalin’s. “You’re ruining my life. What did I ever do to you?”

  Aiden stood and squeezed himself between Simon and Kalin, forcing Simon to step backward. “Simon, dude. Don’t do this here.”

  Simon held Aiden’s gaze and after a tension-filled moment, picked up peanuts from a bowl on the neighboring table and threw a handful at Kalin. He swiveled and left without saying more.

  * * *

  After stopping at the resort’s only convenience store, Kalin carried two bags
of groceries. Her arms ached, and she was relieved she was almost home. As she walked in front of her neighbor’s driveway, she spotted a moose standing in the shadows.

  The immense creature studied her, then stepped behind a tree as if it could hide. Positioned with its head behind the tree trunk, its nose protruded from one side, and its body from the neck back protruded from the other. The moose stood still. Kalin smiled to herself. Was the creature actually hiding?

  When she turned up her driveway, the motion sensor should have detected her and switched on the light at the front of her house as it had the night before. Without the light, her night vision was clear, and she could see the moose in her neighbor’s front yard.

  Clutching her bags tighter to her chest, she continued toward the house. She stepped on broken glass, hearing the pieces crunch as her foot hit the ground.

  The moose stood rigid and alert, staring at Kalin. After a moment, it turned and moseyed away.

  Kalin struggled to get her keys out of her pocket, took a step toward her front porch and froze.

  Justin Bradley stepped out from the shadows at the side of her house.

  She kept her distance. “What are you doing here?”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “I was in the bar when you got kicked out. I don’t think you want any more trouble tonight.”

  “I just want to talk,” Justin said in slurred speech.

  “Aiden is working on it. I told you to get updates from him, not me. He’s your boss.”

  “Why can’t you just tell him what to do?”

  Kalin fumbled with her keys, trying to place one between her middle and index finger, but the keys slipped from her hand and plopped into the snow.

  Justin stumbled forward. “Let me help.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Kalin stooped, reaching for the keys, but the grocery bags blocked her way, and even in his drunken state, Justin snagged them first.

  “We’d better get your food inside,” he said.

  “Really, I’m fine. I’ve got it.”

  He lurched toward her, his alcohol-filled breath assaulted her nostrils, and he wrestled a bag from her arm. Before she could stop him, he walked to her door with her keys and a grocery bag.

  Kalin removed her cell from her pocket.

  “You don’t need to call anyone.” Justin opened the door, leaving the key in the lock, and motioned for her to go inside. “I only want to set the record straight. We’ll put the groceries away. By the time we’re done, I’ll have said what I came to say, and I’ll go. I promise.” Justin reached inside and turned on the hall light.

  “I want you to go now. Speak to Aiden tomorrow, and you can say whatever it is you need to say.”

  Kalin tapped her phone and called security.

  “I should have known you’d be too stuck up to talk to someone like me.”

  “I want you to leave.”

  “Fine. Have it your way.” Justin weaved toward her, shoved the grocery bag into her free arm and stumbled down the driveway.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Before dawn on Friday morning, Kalin woke from a deep sleep with an ache in her jaw, telling her she’d spent at least part of the night grinding her teeth. She’d dreamt about Jack again, only this time Roy had been in the dream, too. Probably because she was flying home later in the day for Roy’s memorial.

  She rolled over, caressed Ben’s pillow and instead found Chica’s furry head. Ben had gone to work at five to assist with avalanche forecasting for the day. He’d resisted leaving her after the scene with Justin the night before, but since Roy’s death, Ben had been diligent about making sure his team was on top of forecasting. She admired his desire to keep everyone safe. She eased Chica to the side, pressed her nose into Ben’s pillow and inhaled his scent.

  If Roy stole the money, did he trigger the avalanche? What if he had a partner and things went bad on the mountain? Jessica spent time on touring skis with him. She could have gone with him, but would she have left him to die?

  The effort Aiden made to spend time with her, always asking about the theft, and being late for work that day made him a good suspect. She couldn’t imagine Helen trekking up the mountain. As far as she knew Helen didn’t even ski.

  Kalin rolled out of bed and walked to the picture window framing the forest behind her house. She hauled on the string, and the heavy wooden blinds clacked to the top.

  In the shadows at the edge of the forest, Kalin spotted movement. Something leaped behind the firewood stacked at the edge of the forest. In a flash, a cougar raced from behind the wood to the neighboring trees and vanished.

  Kalin phoned security. “There’s a cougar in my backyard.”

  “Hang on. I have to pull over. I can’t hear you.”

  Background music switched off.

  “What’s up?” Fred asked.

  “There was a cougar behind the firewood in my backyard.”

  “I’ll be right over. Don’t go outside. It’s weird it’s so close to your house. The animal could be sick.”

  Kalin shifted away from the window, hiding behind the wall. She peeked occasionally but didn’t see the large feline again. She changed from flannel pajamas into a T-shirt, an aqua Stone Mountain hoodie and black slim-fitting jeans. Underneath she wore high-tech thermal underwear.

  “You okay?” Fred asked when he arrived.

  “Yup. The question is…are you?”

  Fred looked sheepish. “I wasn’t quick enough last night and took a hit.” He touched the purple bruise that surrounded his eye and seeped onto his cheek. “I didn’t see it coming, and I should have.”

  “Someone hit you?”

  “During a bar fight. It’s nothing, just embarrassing.”

  Kalin smiled at his humility. “It’ll fade quickly. I don’t remember seeing you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Kalin took Fred’s jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. She avoided looking at the bench Roy carved. “When security evicted Justin Bradley from the bar.”

  “I wasn’t there. I got hit later, at closing time.”

  “He came here last night.”

  “Who?”

  “Justin.”

  “Why would he come here?”

  “We suspended him indefinitely this week, and he asked what the status was.”

  “He came here at night? I’ll speak to him.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t. That’ll only make my life more difficult. I can’t appear afraid of the employees. I’ll let you know if he bothers me again.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you where I saw the cougar.”

  They entered Kalin and Ben’s bedroom, and she pointed. “I saw it run to the neighbor’s yard.” She told Fred about the cougar being near the hot tub a couple of weeks ago and killing a rabbit.

  Fred nodded. “We’ll look, but to be honest, if we can’t find it, there’s not much we can do.” He noted the time, date and location of the cougar in his black spiral notebook. He stuffed it in his shirt pocket and headed for the bedroom door.

  “So how’s the investigation going?”

  Fred cleared his throat. “You know I can’t talk about it.”

  “Can you at least tell me if the RCMP suspect someone other than Roy?”

  “You know Miller. He casts a wide net.”

  “That’s hardly an answer. Are they searching for the second person who went up the mountain?”

  Fred lifted one eyebrow. “What second person?”

  Kalin bit the inside of her cheek. She’d assumed Fred would have read the security reports and talked with Ben about the avalanche.

  “Do you know something?”

  “Please don’t tell Turner, but I read the security reports.” She explained what she’d found, along with what she’d seen when skiing in the Dragon’s Bowl with Ben. “I think the RCMP should be following that up.”

  “You know you’re supposed to stay out of this.”

&nbs
p; “I do, but he was my brother.”

  “I’ll talk with Miller.” Fred spotted her packed suitcase. “You going somewhere?”

  “My mom’s having a memorial for Roy in Ottawa. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”

  When they reached the front hall, Fred sat on the bench carved by Roy and put on his winter boots.

  Kalin took Fred’s security jacket off a hook and passed it to him. “What happens if you find the cougar?”

  “I’ll call the conservation officer. He’ll trap it and let it go on the next mountain ridge, far enough away that it shouldn’t come back.”

  * * *

  Kalin had spent the afternoon at Roy’s memorial service in Ottawa. Being back in her mom and stepdad’s home swamped her with memories.

  She dragged her feet along the shag carpet toward Roy’s bedroom. She placed her hand on the knob and rested her forehead on the door. How could she be this tired? She nodded to herself once and entered his bedroom, the one their mom still kept for Roy even though he hadn’t lived at home for years.

  She picked up a trophy he’d gotten when he was twelve for some bike race he’d won. She carried it to his bed and sat with her knees curled into her chest and her arms wrapped around her shins.

  Her mom put her hand on Kalin’s knee. “You okay?”

  “I am. Just sad.”

  “What did you think of the memorial?”

  “It was lovely. I’m glad so many of his friends came.” Who probably wouldn’t have if they’d known Roy was a criminal.

  “And your friends, too.”

  “Can you believe the Ottawa bike club attended, even the people who hadn’t ridden with Roy?” Kalin asked.

  “That was nice.”

  “Do you remember the last time Roy rode with them?”

  Her mom joined her, sitting on the other side of Roy’s bed. “Not really. It’s been too long.”

  “I remember. Jack and I went to watch. Jack died two days later and everything changed.”

  Her mom reached over and caressed Kalin’s cheek. “You need to let him go.”