Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3)

by Kristina Stanley

  “It’s not crazy.” Simon rolled her over. He grabbed her by her hair, dragged her to the bathroom and forced her inside. “You should have kept your nose out of my business and let Roy take the blame.”

  The pieces were falling into place. The timing of Simon forgetting to bring the receipts to the finance center on the morning of the theft and his attempted suicide all made sense. Maybe when he failed at killing himself, he decided he had nothing to lose and went after Jessica.

  “Enough talking.” Simon slammed the door.

  Kalin needed a weapon. With her hands tied behind her, opening the medicine cabinet was impossible. She turned her back to the door and tried the knob, which twisted but wouldn’t budge.

  Simon burst in. “Where the fuck is it?”

  He held his knife in front of him and advanced toward Kalin. Her eyes glued to the blade. “Why is the blade bloody?”

  “Jessica got what she deserved. I want the money, or you’ll get the same.”

  “The police have it,” she blurted.

  “Explain that.”

  “After I found it in Roy’s kayak I called them.”

  “You bitch.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Simon paled. “You’re finished.”

  “Please don’t do this. I won’t tell anyone what’s happened.”

  He jerked the knife toward her.

  Kalin edged into the back of the toilet. The porcelain cold against her bare legs. “Please think about this. It’s not too late.”

  Simon shoved his face within inches of hers and held the knife high. “Yes. It. Is.”

  In desperation, Kalin threw her head forward. The crunch of bones breaking sickened her. Blood and snot spewed from his nose.

  His hands flew to his face. “Shit.”

  Kalin ran to the living room.

  A rumbling growl emanated from Chica.

  Simon drew his arm back. Before his hand made contact, Chica leapt between them, snapped her jaws on his wrist and dragged him sideways onto the floor. She let go and retreated, putting her back toward Kalin and baring her fangs at Simon.

  He lunged at Kalin, sidestepping Chica. Chica bit his forearm again, and he punched her head. She yelped and let go. The knife flew from his hands and slid across the floor.

  Chica ran in front of Kalin, snapping and growling at Simon. Spit flew from her jaws.

  Each time Simon stepped toward Kalin, Chica blocked his way.

  “Fucking dog.” Simon backed off. He moved swiftly to the sliding glass door and disappeared, leaving the door open and cold wind blowing into the room.

  Kalin ran for the stairs leading to the ground floor. Chica stayed and growled at Simon.

  “Chica, come.”

  Chica ignored her.

  Simon grabbed the axe Ben used for splitting wood. He stared at Chica for a moment and then sprinted toward Kalin and her beautiful dog. With her arms still tied behind her back, she couldn’t protect Chica. Still, she ran back to her.

  The rainstorm had ended, but the icy surface remained, and Simon pitched forward into the snow. He pressed himself onto his hands and knees, exposing the back of his neck.

  In a silent move, a terror-striking silhouette sprang through the air. A cougar clamped its jaws on Simon’s skull. Extended claws flashed, piercing his shoulders.

  Simon screamed.

  Kalin crawled toward the open door. Without taking her eyes off Simon, she pushed the door shut with her foot just as the cougar dragged its claws across Simon’s neck.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Kalin, Ben and Chica spent the night in a room at the resort. She hadn’t been able to face staying in the house, not with Simon dead in the backyard.

  Jessica had lived through the night. She wasn’t conscious yet, but her breathing was strong. Oliver had arrived not long after Aiden called him and stayed with her. Due to the icy conditions, a helicopter hadn’t been able to land.

  By morning Kalin felt better, and they drove home, inching along the ice-crusted road.

  They stood in the living room and surveyed the damage.

  Simon’s body lay ripped and partially eaten near the edge of the forest. Ben called Miller and let him know Simon’s body was still there, then dropped the blinds on the glass doors.

  Piece by piece, Kalin picked up Roy’s things and placed them in a neat pile. When she finished, she checked the duffle bag to make sure it was empty. A small pocket was sewn into the inside of the bag and zippered shut. She opened it and pulled out a photo.

  Jack and Roy’s red faces smiled at her. She remembered the day. The guys had just returned from cycling the Rideau Lakes Tour. Their jerseys were soaked with sweat, and their eyes glistened. She studied the photo. Why would Roy keep this one?

  Kalin fed her imagination with a diet of different scenarios, each one spiraling into the one place she didn’t want to go. Her stomach knew the answer to her unspoken question before her head did. Her bowels twisted and darkness permeated her as the pieces fell into place. Images of Roy flew at her in quick succession, all of the hints she’d found along the way, thinking she was investigating a theft, not realizing she was solving Jack’s death.

  Why had Roy reacted so strongly at Jack’s funeral? He’d kept a newspaper clipping stating the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle hadn’t been found. He’d stored Jack’s belongings instead of throwing them away. Miller had been suspicious of something, too.

  “Oh, Jack.” Kalin moaned. “I need to call Patricia and let her know Roy didn’t rob the finance center.” She grabbed her cell and headed to the bedroom to make the call in private.

  “It’s Kalin.”

  “Did you find him?” Patricia asked.

  “No, but the theft has been solved. Another resort employee committed the crime. Roy is innocent.”

  Patricia released her breath as if in relief. “Thank you for calling me.”

  “There’s something else I need to ask you.”

  “Sure.”

  “I found a letter in Roy’s things. You said he needed to forgive himself. I’m curious what for.”

  “Kalin. There’s no point in digging into old wounds.”

  “I need to know.”

  “What?”

  “Was Roy the driver?”

  After a long pause, Patricia asked, “What driver?”

  “You know what driver. I think Roy killed Jack by accident and never recovered. I think that’s why he started using drugs. I hope he came to Stone Mountain to tell me but could never work up the courage.”

  “You’re right. Roy did want to make amends with you. He just didn’t know how.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  EARLY SPRING

  Kalin revved her ATV engine and waved at Ben to hurry up.

  Most of the snow at the base of Stone Mountain had already melted. The terrain in the Dragon’s Bowl would be at that in-between stage where there was too much snow to use the ATVs and too little to use the snowmobiles. A formal search for Roy would take place once a bit more snow melted, but Kalin couldn’t wait.

  She’d tied her snowshoes to the ATV in case they needed to hike. Ben had resisted going, talking about avalanche risk and unstable conditions, and Kalin had said she would go alone if she had to.

  Without speaking, they drove to the edge of the summit. They stopped at the entrance to the Bowl. An avalanche sign hanging from an orange safety line displayed a considerable danger warning. The sign would stay there until ski patrol officially opened the area for hiking. With the chair lifts shut for the season, they didn’t want anyone entering the terrain without their knowledge.

  “Are you sure about this?” Ben asked.

  Kalin strapped on her snowshoes and ducked the line. “Does it look stable to you?”

  Ben surveyed the area and reluctantly nodded. “Let’s go to where we found the boot buckle.”

  The sun shone and warmed Kalin’s cheeks. Rocks and grass broke through in random places, and t
he soft breeze ruffled the blades.

  “Do you wish you’d taken the job at White Peaks?”

  “No. I made the right decision.”

  “Even though you didn’t get Turner’s position after he left?”

  “The new owners want their own person in charge. I get that. At least I get to keep my job.”

  “When’s your new boss get here?”

  “She arrives next week.”

  Ben stopped and put his hand on Kalin’s bicep. “Wait here.”

  “What do you see?”

  Ben pointed to the side of the run. In a snowbank, a portion of red material broke through.

  She stepped forward.

  “Kalin, don’t.”

  She locked eyes with Ben. He was right.

  He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Let me do this for you. He might be…You don’t want your last memory to be of him buried, do you?”

  Kalin waited while Ben walked toward the discovery. He knelt beside the mound and gently wiped away snow. After a moment he stood and returned to Kalin.

  “It’s him.”

  Ben pulled her into his arms and held tight.

  Kalin believed Roy hadn’t meant to kill Jack. After the accident, he’d changed. He’d suffered because of what he’d done, but hadn’t had the courage to admit to Kalin he’d killed her husband. And could she blame him?

  She tucked her face into Ben’s neck. She didn’t want Roy to be dead, but finding his body would give closure to her mom and stepdad.

  “Are you okay?” Ben asked.

  Killing Jack had ruined Roy. Kalin had finally recovered, but Roy would never have the chance. She needed to forgive him, just as she needed to let Jack go. Without knowing who’d killed him, she hadn’t been able to put him to rest. Ben deserved all of her, not just the portion she had left over from Jack, and so she said a silent goodbye to him and let her heart fill with Ben. “I will be.”

  Ben called his boss. “We’re in the Dragon’s Bowl.”

  ~ * ~

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider writing a short review and posting it on your favorite review site. Reviews are very helpful to other readers and are greatly appreciated by authors, especially me. When you post a review, drop me an email and let me know and I may feature part of it on my blog/site. Thank you.

  Kristina

  KMStanleyWriter@gmail.com

  Message from the Author

  Dear Reader,

  AVALANCHE is the third book in the Stone Mountain series. What most people don’t know is that I wrote it first. Then I wrote DESCENT and BLAZE. The story fit better later in the series, and so I rewrote it. AVALANCHE is the novel closest to my heart since it’s the first story I wrote, and I think that gives it a special place.

  I was the director of security at a ski resort, the best job of my life, but the stories and people in DESCENT, BLAZE and AVALANCHE come from my imagination.

  Stone Mountain and Holden do not exist on the British Columbian map. I made up the towns and the characters. For those of you from the area, you may see the resemblance to Panorama and Invermere. I love the area and wanted to write about it, but didn’t want to be restricted by an actual place. My imagination needed more freedom to get the story out.

  If you’d like to connect, send me a tweet @StanleyKMS telling me you’ve read AVALANCHE, and I’ll follow you back. I can also be found at www.KristinaStanley.com.

  With all my heart, I thank you for reading AVALANCHE.

  Kristina Stanley

  Novels by Kristina Stanley

  Descent

  Blaze

  Avalanche

  About the Author

  Kristina Stanley is the best-selling author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her first two novels garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated DESCENT for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers’ Association nominated BLAZE for the Debut Dagger.

  Her short stories have been published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Voices From the Valleys anthology. She is also the author of THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO SELLING BOOKS TO NON-BOOKSTORES.

  Before writing her series, Kristina was the director of security, human resources and guest services at a resort in the depths of the British Columbian mountains. The job and lifestyle captured her heart, and she decided to write mysteries about life in an isolated resort.

  While writing the first four novels, she spent five years living aboard a sailboat in the US and the Bahamas.

  Find out more about her at www.KristinaStanley.com.

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