“Good ones, I would think.”
“Until things changed. You must know what happened.”
“Nora told me.”
“The one on the left is Donny.” Lisa traced Donny’s face on the canvas with her index finger. “The other is Jeff. They were about eight and ten.”
“You captured their excitement. Were they close growing up?”
“They were. Jeff looked out for Donny. After the accident, Jeff was devastated. Sometimes I think more so than Donny.”
“Donny seems to cope well.”
“He does.” Lisa tucked an errant hair under her bandana. “Are you into skiing too?”
“I learned at Camp Fortune. It’s a small hill near Ottawa. My stepdad used to take my brother and me.” Thinking about her estranged brother made her sad. One day she’d figure out how to repair their relationship. Kalin shrugged. “I’ve skied all my life. Skiing is part of the reason I moved to Stone Mountain.”
“Nora mentioned you were promoted, but didn’t say to what.”
“I run the HR and security departments.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It is. I couldn’t believe my luck last year when Stone Mountain posted the HR job on the Internet. It was incredible that I could work in my profession at a ski resort.”
“What do you do for security?”
“Not much yet. I just took over the department. It’s different from what I expected. Steve McKenzie’s death changed the focus on me.” Kalin cleared her throat. “Let’s look at some paintings.”
“I have one I painted last year. Let me show you.” Lisa pulled out a canvas that had been hidden behind several others. Painted from the top of one of the Purcell Mountain peaks, the painting showed the Rocky Mountains to the east of the resort. Below the range, Stone Mountain hummed. The action jumped off the canvas giving the viewer a sensation of being part of the scene. She’d used primary colors to make the painting bright.
“I love it. This will be my Christmas present to myself.”
“I’ll need to frame it for you.” Lisa moved with the grace of a ballerina across the workroom, showed Kalin a selection of frames and together they chose one. After they negotiated a price, Lisa said, “It’ll take me a few days to get this done. I’ll call when it’s ready.”
Kalin had connected with Lisa. They could become friends. “Great. When I come pick up the painting, maybe we could go for lunch?”
Kalin left the store feeling more light-hearted than she’d been since McKenzie’s murder.
* * *
In the hallway of the administration building, Kalin tromped to her office. The threadbare carpet needed replacing, and the walls could use a coat of paint. The floor creaked with each step. Compared to the recently constructed staff housing building, the office building was starting to look like a dump. At least her new painting would liven up her office. She turned on her heels and backtracked to Monica’s desk in the HR reception area.
“When’s the last time you did a staff housing check?” Kalin asked.
“Two days ago.”
“I’d like you to do another one today. I want you to pressure the staff to keep the new building in good condition before they start taking it for granted.” Kalin had worked with the decorators on the last phase of the project, ensuring every penny went to the best use, and she intended to make sure the building was respected.
“I’m on it.”
Confident Monica would do as asked, Kalin left and strode toward her office.
“Any news on the German skier?” Monica called after her.
Kalin kept walking. “Nothing.”
“Call me if you find out anything,” Monica yelled just as Kalin turned through her doorway.
Kalin found an envelope on her chair and tossed it onto her desk, sat and dialed. She waited to be transferred to Constable Miller’s private line.
“Was it an accident?” Kalin asked.
“Hi. I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“Sorry. Do you know yet?”
“We’re still investigating.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Actually, there is. I have a present for Becky, and I’d like to leave it in her office as a surprise. Can you unlock her door for me?”
Although not the type of request Kalin had expected, she was happy to help him with a personal matter. Miller dated Becky Stewart, the resort’s cash office manager, and her office was down the hall from Kalin’s. “Sure. When are you coming up the mountain?”
“Tonight. I thought I could drop off her gift before I pick her up for dinner. Then she’ll find it in the morning.”
Romantic. “I can meet you at six. She’ll be gone by then. Will you call me when you know anything more about Edwin’s crash?”
Miller hesitated, and then said, “If I can.”
Kalin opened the envelope she’d found on her chair and discovered printed emails and Facebook messages Ben had sent Vicky when they’d been dating. When Kalin realized what they were, she stopped reading. Bitch.
She glanced at the clock on her phone. The Holden team had the run for the next two hours. She decided to go to the base of the hill where she could watch the training. On her way, she stopped at the shredder and took great satisfaction in watching the messages turn to confetti. Nice try, but these are old.
Kalin reached the bottom of the run just as Ian Reed flew through the finish line and skied to a stop beside a woman wearing a designer ski jacket and fur hat. With the way she was dressed, she should be standing in a five star European ski resort, not Stone Mountain during race training, but in spite of her clothing, the scowl on her face hid her beauty.
“Mother,” Ian said. “What are you doing here?”
Kalin’s curiosity piqued. She’d never met her boss’s wife, and she moved a few steps closer.
Susan Reed stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her son. “I came to watch you. Your time is off.”
“That was my warm up run,” Ian said in a quiet voice.
“Warm up or not, I expect faster runs out of you.”
“I’ll ski faster next run.”
“Just because McKenzie’s out of the way doesn’t mean you can slack off.”
“I’m not.”
Susan scanned the hill. “Jeff Morley’s skiing well.”
“He’s a good skier, but I can beat him.”
“I should think so. Sunday we’ll pray together that your time improves.” Susan turned and left her son standing alone.
Kalin watched Ian’s face. He rolled his eyes the second his mother turned her back to him.
Ian confronted Kalin. “What?”
He’d caught her staring, and she pretended she wasn’t looking at him. “Nothing.”
“That’s my mother at her best,” Ian said.
“I heard you asked for Nora not to tune your skis anymore. Wasn’t she doing a good job?”
“You’re friends with her. What did she tell you?”
“Nothing. Charlie told me.”
“McKenzie died because someone tampered with his binding. Maybe it was Nora.”
“Are you serious?”
“I know she’s your friend, but maybe you don’t know everything that’s been going on with her. McKenzie dumped her the night before he died. She hates me. I don’t want her touching my gear.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Reed shut his office door and motioned for his son to sit at the table. He preferred to keep his home and business life separate, so Ian didn’t often come to his office. His wife was unpredictable, and he didn’t want her embarrassing him. He wanted Ian around more often, but he couldn’t exclude his wife and not Ian. Even though they never spoke about it, he hoped Ian understood.
Susan used to be happy, fun loving even. When their daughter ran away at sixteen, Susan turned bitter. She’d been edging that way since his affair, but their daughter’s drug use had pushed Susan to a dark place. Occasionally Mel
anie would call, but never say where she was, and he never asked. The threadlike connection could snap at any moment. He didn’t judge or criticize his daughter, hoping she would come to trust him again. He missed having a family that had fun together, and he missed his wife’s smile. “How’d you do today?”
The shine in Ian’s eyes told Reed the answer before Ian spoke. Ian wore his red and yellow race suit, and he clomped in his ski boots to the nearest chair. He’d come straight from racing and must have skied fast.
“One minute thirty-three thirty-nine.”
Reed took in his son’s muscled body, knowing Ian worked hard to be strong, and ignored his body odor. “That’s great. Did you beat Morley?”
“I did, but my first training run was slow.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Mom was watching.”
Reed winced. “Was it bad?”
“No, just embarrassing. Everyone could hear her. She never lowers her voice. Can’t you talk to her?”
“Sure. Although, I don’t know if it will help.”
“Can you get me out of church on Sunday? She’s the one into religion, not me. We have a training session.”
“I’ll try, but you know there’s more than one service.”
“Why do you stay with her?”
Ian had asked the same question before, and Reed’s biggest fear was that he’d have to choose between Ian and Susan. “We used to be happy before she changed. She gave me you and Melanie. Your mother isn’t dealing well with Melanie taking off.”
“That’s not my fault.”
“I know, but your mother’s having a hard time with it. I think it’s easier for me because Melanie calls me.”
“She might call Mom too if Mom wasn’t so hard on her.”
“When’s the last time you heard from her?” Reed asked.
Ian drummed his fingers on the table. “You know she doesn’t like me to tell.”
“Sorry.”
“Yesterday,” Ian said softly. “She’s okay. She’s worried about me. She read about McKenzie and Bucher in the paper.”
For the first time, the thought of Ian crashing, the way either skier had, frightened Reed. He’d never been afraid for Ian before, and he didn’t like the feeling now. “I’m glad she cares about you.”
Ian studied the top of the table, telling Reed he had something else on his mind. “Ian, just tell me.”
Ian cleared his throat. “Man, I don’t hide things well from you. I did something stupid, but I don’t want Mom to know.”
So there was the reason Ian came to see him. Susan was an excuse. “I won’t tell her.”
“I want to start bringing my skis home at night.”
“Why?”
“I’m worried about someone tampering with them. What if the same person who killed McKenzie has access to my skis?”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that. The room is secure.” Reed watched his son carefully. Ian was slipping around something.
“Not if one of the tuners killed McKenzie. How am I supposed to ski fast with that hanging out there?”
“Who are you thinking of?” When Ian didn’t answer, Reed pressed harder. “Do you know something you’re not telling?”
“It’s so embarrassing. Mom will kill me.”
A knot tightened in the back of Reed’s neck, and he twisted his head from side to side. “Your mom won’t find out, but you have to tell me.”
“McKenzie broke up with Nora, and the next day he’s murdered.”
Reed exhaled patiently. “Can you get to the point?”
“Nora’s pregnant.”
“I assume, because you’re mentioning it, the baby is yours.”
Ian pressed his lips between his teeth and studied the table again. “She says it is.”
Reed didn’t want to believe Ian had repeated his mistake from Fernie. “Could it be McKenzie’s?”
“It could.” The anguish was clear on Ian’s face. “It was just one time. I didn’t mean to fuck up again.”
“Did you tell the RCMP all this?”
“I did. I’m sorry, Dad.”
Reed had the fleeting thought that he shouldn’t have called Kalin at home and hassled her about the RCMP interviewing Ian, then dismissed the thought. She still shouldn’t have left Ian’s name on the list.
* * *
Amber entered her staff housing unit and dropped her toque and mitts onto the counter. She placed her notebook, the one where she kept the list of names of anyone entering or exiting the tuning room who wasn’t authorized, beside her toque and turned to face Cheryl Wallace. “You can’t stay here much longer.”
Cheryl sat at Amber’s kitchen table having lunch. Her girl-next-door image didn’t fit with the trouble she’d caused at the resort. She wore an argyle sweater and clean blue jeans, and if Amber didn’t already know what Cheryl had done, she wouldn’t have suspected she had a mean streak.
“Don’t be such a wimp. No one’s going to rat you out.”
“How do you know?”
“If my stupid ex hadn’t been such a chicken, no one would have known I threw a rock through his window. If I’d known he was such a baby, I would have dumped him long before he had a chance to cheat on me.”
“Security evicted you. If they see you here, they’ll know you’re not supposed to be here. We agreed on one night.”
“So what’s with you and Donny Morley?”
Amber frowned at the intrusion into her personal life. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. I can tell you have a wicked crush on him. Your face turns pink every time he looks at you. You should do something about it.”
A triple knock vibrated on the door. “Are you expecting anyone?” Cheryl asked.
Amber shook her head. She opened the door to her staff-housing unit and discovered Monica standing in the hallway. She wished she hadn’t come home for lunch and that she still stood outside the tuning room scanning passes. Now Monica would check her unit, and she wouldn’t like what she found.
“I’m doing staff checks today,” Monica said.
Amber couldn’t do anything but let her enter.
“What are you doing here?” Monica asked Cheryl.
“Visiting.” Cheryl continued to chew her toast, talking with her mouth full, showing off a set of braces wrapped with blue elastic. “Figures you’d come looking for me.”
“You know you’ve been banned from housing,” Monica said.
“So what. I’m just hanging.”
Monica walked around Amber and checked each of the five single bedrooms. She stuck her head into the bathroom but didn’t enter.
Amber sat at the kitchen table eating peanut butter on toast, but the peanut butter stuck in her throat when she swallowed. Monica had to have seen Cheryl’s suitcase and clothes scattered in the third bedroom.
“Cheryl is doing more than having lunch here. She’s moved in.” Monica joined Amber at the table. “Tell me that’s not pot on your counter.”
“We’re not doing anything. Please don’t make a big deal about it,” Amber said. Why had she let Cheryl sleep over? The drugs belonged to Cheryl, and she wasn’t saying anything. She hadn’t even known Cheryl that long, and now she was about to get evicted because of her. So not fair.
“You know the rules. Even if I hadn’t found the pot, you can’t have someone who’s been banned in your unit.”
“We’re just having lunch,” Amber pleaded.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. She can’t be here. Unfortunately, that means you have to move out.”
“Please don’t evict me.” Amber hoped Cheryl would admit the pot was hers, but no luck.
Cheryl chewed on a thumbnail and spat the remnants on the floor.
“It’s policy. You have until five tomorrow to move out.”
“You can’t do this,” Amber said. “I’ve nowhere to go.”
“It’s not what I want to do, but I have to be consistent with the rules.”
“We won’t tell anyone if you let this slide. She’ll leave right now.” Amber suspected Monica wanted to let her off the hook but couldn’t. Monica was the manager now, not just the assistant. She probably had to prove herself or something.
Monica pushed her chair back and stood. With kindness in her voice, she said, “I’d love to help you out, but I can’t.”
A pit grew tight in Amber’s stomach. One part fear. One part anger. What if Monica reported the pot the the cops? She wouldn’t do that, would she? And where the fuck was she supposed to live?
* * *
Constable Miller knocked on Kalin’s office door at five minutes to six holding a box in his hand. He must have come from work because he wore his RCMP uniform.
“Can I ask what’s in the box?”
“Sure.” Miller smiled. “I bought Becky new cross country ski gloves. Hers are a mess.”
“Nice. She’ll like that.” Kalin grabbed her keys. “Come on. I’ll open her door for you.”
Becky’s office was at the end of the hallway to the right of the stairs leading to the ground floor of the administration building.
“Any news on Edwin Bucher?”
Miller waited a moment before answering. “His prognosis isn’t good. He’s paralyzed from the waist down. There’s a large amount of swelling and once that goes down there is some chance he might get the use of his legs back, but it’s unlikely.”
“What about his fall?” Maybe Donny could talk with Edwin. Maybe he could help him since he’d been paralyzed himself.
“We’re still investigating.”
“That’s what you said last time I asked.”
“Aren’t you observant.”
“Can’t you tell me anything?”
“We haven’t gotten the bindings back from analysis yet, so there’s nothing to tell.”
Kalin didn’t want to believe the person who caused McKenzie to fall also made an attempt on Edwin Bucher’s life. If that were true, she wondered if there would be another accident. She tried not to think about it as she led Miller to Becky’s office and slid her key in the lock.
“Do you have keys to all the offices and buildings?”
Descent (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 1) Page 16
