Snow Place to Die : A Bed-and-breakfast Mystery

by Mary Daheim

head, then went back to the closet. “His parka’s gone. So are

  his ski pants. Look,” he went on, pointing to a hanger.

  “There’s the blue shirt and the navy cords he was wearing

  earlier today. He must have changed.”

  “Weird,” breathed Margo. “What did he do? Go outside?”

  “He couldn’t get outside,” Gene reminded her. “He must

  have left this room, locked the door behind him, and…”

  OTIOSE’s legal counsel turned a bleak face to the others.

  “My room’s just across the hall,” Max said. “If anything

  had happened out in the corridor, I would’ve heard it.”

  The room, with its chilly atmosphere and missing occupant, seemed to have acquired a sinister air. In a body, five

  unsettled people made for the door. Max closed it behind

  them, then stared down at the hole where the hardware had

  been.

  “What are we going to tell Frank?” he asked in a dismal

  voice.

  “The truth,” Margo retorted. “Frank can take it. Besides,

  we don’t know if anything happened to Ward. He might be

  wandering around the lodge looking for us.”

  The suggestion, no matter how overly optimistic, buoyed

  Max and Gene, who fairly bounded to the elevator. Even

  Margo seemed more amiable. As Judith and Renie hung

  back, they heard Margo call to them, “Come on, squeeze in.

  I’m skinny as a flagpole and you’re kind of small, Serena.”

  “I used to be,” Renie murmured, but she and Judith managed to fit into the small car.

  Killegrew, Nadia, Ava, and Russell were waiting for

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  them with an air of dread. “Well?” the CEO demanded when

  they stepped out into the lobby. “What’s happened to

  Ward?”

  “Nothing,” Margo replied. “We couldn’t find him.” Her

  face fell slightly as she looked around. “He’s not here?”

  “Of course not,” Killegrew growled. “You mean he wasn’t

  in his room?”

  “No, he wasn’t.” Max seemed to topple from his brief elation. “I suppose we could search the basement.”

  “We went down there to get the ax,” Judith said. “We

  didn’t see him. But then we really didn’t look. We went

  straight to the woodpile.”

  “Let’s go.” Max was already heading down the hall towards

  the basement stairs. Margo and Gene followed, but this time

  the cousins held back.

  “We’d have heard him if he was there,” Judith whispered

  to Renie.

  “Probably,” Renie replied. “But the basement is pretty big.”

  “Why would he go down there?”

  “To get more shovels?” Renie shrugged, then added in a

  doubtful tone, “I wouldn’t think he’d go alone.”

  Nadia gestured at the flagstones. “It’s been melting quite

  steadily. We’d better mop up again.”

  “I’ll get more towels,” Renie volunteered, starting out of

  the lobby.

  “Not alone, you won’t,” Judith said, hurrying after her.

  “I’ll join you,” Nadia put in, almost running to keep up

  with the cousins. “Frank’s safe. The others are here.”

  “Goodness,” Judith said in amazement she hoped didn’t

  sound feigned, “your devotion to Mr. Killegrew is really admirable. But then I work for myself. When you’re your own

  boss, you can’t look up to yourself.”

  “Frank Killegrew is a very exceptional man,” Nadia declared as they reached the supply room. “I was with him

  when he was a Bell System vice president. In fact, I worked

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  for him from the time I left my post with the Red Cross in

  New Delhi and moved back to the States. Frank had just

  made middle management. Twenty-four years. I was teasing

  him the other day, and saying we had a silver anniversary

  coming up this November.”

  “Really.” Judith surveyed the towel supply, which was beginning to dwindle. “That’s a long time.”

  “We’ve made a good team over the years.” Nadia’s voice

  was wistful.

  Judith started out of the supply room with her stack of

  towels, then stopped. “Say, Nadia, I’ve got an odd question

  for you. Remember last year when you were at the lodge?”

  She paused for Nadia’s faint nod. “You told us you drove

  the company van back to town after Barry disappeared.

  Where did you get the key?”

  Nadia rested her chin on the armload of towels. “The key?

  Oh, dear—where did I get it?” She pursed her lips. “Oh! I

  found it on the coffee table in the lobby.”

  Judith’s face fell. “You don’t know who put the key there?”

  “Keys,” Nadia corrected. “There was a small ring with three,

  perhaps four keys on it. One was for the ignition, one was

  for the storage compartment in the undercarriage, and the

  other one—or two—were…” She paused. “I’m not sure.

  Maybe they were duplicates of the others.”

  “But you still had no idea who left them on the coffee

  table?” Judith persisted.

  Nadia shook her head. “No. At the time, I assumed Barry

  had left them after he’d…gone off.” Behind the big glasses,

  Nadia lowered her eyes.

  “I see.” Judith didn’t know what else to say. She’d come

  up against a dead end. The three women traipsed back out

  to the lobby.

  “Drat!” Renie exclaimed as they reached the entrance. “It’s

  snowing again. I can see it coming down by the top of the

  door.”

  “It must have gotten colder,” Ava said, getting up from

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  one of the sofas. “Once the sun—whatever there is of

  it—starts going down around three or four o’clock, the temperature drops.”

  “I could use another Scotch and soda,” Killegrew called

  from his place near the hearth.

  Nadia set down her stack of towels and hurried over to

  serve her master. Judith and Renie exchanged sardonic

  glances. A moment later, Gene, Max, and Margo appeared

  in the hallway.

  “No luck,” Max stated, looking disturbed. “We searched

  every freaking nook and cranny. No Ward.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Killegrew said in a gruff voice. “He has

  to be somewhere. What about the other rooms?”

  Margo gave Killegrew a skeptical look. “Why would Ward

  be in somebody else’s room? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “We know he went to his own,” Gene put in. “We saw his

  clothes.”

  Killegrew drew back on the sofa, squaring his broad

  shoulders and tossing his slide rule from one hand to the

  other. “That doesn’t mean he stayed there. For God’s sake,

  use your brains. My executive vice president didn’t just

  evaporate in a cloud of smoke! I say, everybody check out

  their own rooms. Andrea and Leon’s, too. Let’s hit it!”

  Everyone scurried for the elevator except the cousins and

  Killegrew, who gave his key to Nadia. Even Russell was

  dragged along by Margo, despite his squeals of protest.

  “We’ll go last,” Renie said. “We can’t all get in the elevator

  anyway.”

  “You bet you�
��ll stick around,” Killegrew said ominously.

  “I’m not staying down here by myself. It’s not that I’m

  afraid,” he added hastily. “It’s just that we agreed on the

  buddy system. If you don’t sail your ship by the book, you’ll

  end up on the skoals.”

  “That’s shoals, Frank,” Margo called, just before the elevator doors closed on her and Max, Gene, and Russell.

  Nadia and Ava decided to take the stairs. Killegrew, with

  SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 155

  his fresh drink, put his feet up and stared off into the crackling fire. The cousins returned to their task of mopping up.

  “Consider the big picture,” Frank Killegrew said suddenly.

  Judith and Renie turned curious gazes on OTIOSE’s CEO.

  “Which big picture?” Renie finally asked.

  “The future of telecommunications in the Northwest,”

  Killegrew said, sounding sententious. “Where do you see

  yourselves ten years from now?”

  “Paris?” Renie had gotten to her feet.

  Killegrew waved a beefy hand, then retrieved his slide rule

  from the coffee table. “I’m talking about your lifestyle, your

  quality of communications service, your wants and needs

  when it comes to…ah…”

  “I think,” Renie said slowly, “you need to be more specific.”

  Killegrew’s blue eyes narrowed. “Okay, try this. If OTIOSE

  goes down the toilet, a whole bunch of other, smaller, less

  efficient companies will leap into the breach. You think it’s

  bad now with all your different phone bills and companies?

  If you can’t figure out which one can fix your inside wiring

  or your outside line or even your five different phones, think

  what will happen then. Rates will go up, quality will go

  down, you’ll be lucky if you can get two tin cans and a piece

  of string to call your next-door neighbor.”

  “I don’t call my next-door neighbor,” Renie retorted. “She

  hates me.”

  Killegrew didn’t try to hide his exasperation. “Don’t act

  stupid. You get my point.” He waited, his eyes moving

  between Renie and Judith. “How much will it cost us to keep

  the two of you from shooting your mouths off?” he finally

  said.

  “Let’s start the bidding at three point five million and stock

  options,” Renie replied. “That’s each. Our silence isn’t merely

  golden, it’s platinum.”

  “Too much.” Killegrew’s chin jutted.

  Renie flicked a wet towel at the air. “It’s not negotiable.

  156 / Mary Daheim

  Remember, I want to be in Paris in ten years.”

  Ava and Nadia returned via the elevator. “No luck,” said

  Ava in a grim voice. “The others are checking the…deceaseds’

  rooms now.”

  Judith nudged Renie. “Our turn,” she said under her breath.

  In the elevator, Judith expressed her shock over Killegrew’s

  offer. “Is he serious? Does he think he can bribe us?”

  Renie shrugged. “The idealistic stuff about OTIOSE got

  nowhere. What else did you expect?”

  “This is terrible.” Judith leaned against the rear of the car.

  “You were right. He’s unscrupulous.”

  “I’ve been trying to tell you, they all are,” Renie said as

  the doors slid open to reveal the second floor. “Most of them,

  anyway.”

  Max and Gene were coming out of Andrea’s room while

  Russell quavered in the hallway with an irritated Margo at

  his side. “No Ward in any of the rooms,” Max said in a

  morose voice. “Try yours.”

  The cousins’ room was empty, too. “What about the third

  floor?” Gene asked.

  “Why the hell would Ward go up there?” Max demanded.

  “The only thing of interest is Leon, and he’s stiff as a board.”

  “It was a thought,” Gene said apologetically.

  Max sighed. “I suppose we’d better look. Come on, Gene.

  The others can go back downstairs.”

  Along with Margo and Russell, Judith and Renie took the

  elevator to the lobby. No one spoke during the brief descent.

  As soon as they stepped out of the car, Killegrew made a

  request.

  “We could use some appetizers to go with these drinks,”

  he said, looking put upon.

  Margo sneered. “You’re the only one who’s drinking,

  Frank. I don’t think the rest of us have much of an appetite.”

  SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 157

  “There’s some cheese and crackers,” Judith said. “If you

  like, I can make up a tray.”

  Killegrew nodded. “As I said, we have to keep up our

  strength.”

  The cousins trekked off to the kitchen. Russell Craven was

  at their heels, hemming and hawing.

  “I don’t mean to trouble you, but…ah…er…I would enjoy

  a cup of tea. Um…often, in the afternoon around this time,

  my secretary, Ms. Honeythunder, brings me a nice hot cup.”

  “It’s no bother,” Judith assured him. “I’ll put the kettle on

  right away.”

  “Soothing,” Russell said with a little sigh. “Refreshing.

  Bracing. Hot tea.” He started to sit down on one of the

  stools, then jumped back as if he’d been stung by a bee.

  “Is that…?” Jerkily, he pointed to the counter.

  “More or less,” Renie said. “Go ahead, sit down. What

  Leon had isn’t contagious.”

  “But it is.” Russell’s fair, rather weak features were filled

  with despair. “One by one, we’re…doomed.”

  The remark was unsettling. Judith opened her mouth to

  contradict Russell, considered what had happened thus far,

  and kept quiet. Renie squirmed a bit before taking Russell

  by the hand and leading him to a stool on the opposite side

  of the counter.

  “If you really believe that,” Renie said, at her most solemn,

  “then you must try to help us. Do you know why your people

  are being killed?”

  Russell chewed on his lower lip. “I’ve been thinking about

  that. Of course, that’s all I ever do—I think.”

  “And you get ideas,” Renie said encouragingly. “Often,

  they’re brilliant ideas. How about now?”

  “Well…um…” Russell ran a hand through his unruly hair.

  “It had occurred to me that someone was trying to get Frank’s

  possible successors out of the way to make room for himself—or herself. Naturally, the ultimate decision is always

  up to the board of directors.” Russell uttered

  158 / Mary Daheim

  a nervous little cough, perhaps embarrassed by his uncharacteristic loquaciousness. “But you see, I don’t think Andrea

  or Leon was being considered—though you never know.

  And that young fellow—what was his name?—he was from

  the lower ranks. So that doesn’t seem likely, does it?”

  “No,” Renie agreed. “It doesn’t. I understand that Ward

  and possibly Ava and maybe you are the prime candidates.”

  “Not me!” Russell held up both hands as if to ward off the

  corner office. “I’d never take such a pressure-packed position!

  I’m perfectly happy where I am! I’d make a terrible CEO!”

  Judith, who had gotten out a big oval tray and placed it

/>   on the counter next to Russell, began opening boxes of

  crackers. “Can you think of another motive?” she asked in a

  quiet, composed voice.

  Russell sighed. “I try to avoid getting involved in office

  politics. I always have. I’ve spent my whole career in research

  and development, starting with Bell Labs right after I

  graduated from college in the East. Since I came to OTIOSE

  eight years ago, I’ve concentrated solely on new products

  and applications. I pay no attention to what goes on in other

  departments. That’s why Max got so mad at me last night.

  Maybe he has a point. But I abhor distractions.” Russell

  uttered a small, embarrassed laugh. “I guess that’s why my

  wife told me I could come out here by myself. Emmy felt as

  if she was a distraction. Poor girl, maybe she was.”

  Judith was slicing cheese. “Your wife remained in the East?”

  Russell nodded. “She still lives in New Jersey. Our children

  are grown, and on their own. More or less.”

  “Less is not more when it comes to children,” Renie murmured. “You live alone, Russell?”

  “I do. It’s fine.” He gave both cousins a diffident smile.

  “No distractions.”

  SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 159

  The tea kettle whistled. Judith hadn’t been able to find a

  tea pot, so she poured the hot water directly into a mug and

  added a tea bag. “Then you can’t think of any reason why

  someone might be killing your co-workers?”

  Sadly, Russell shook his head. “As I mentioned, power is

  very attractive to certain people. Persons, I mean. But it

  doesn’t seem to be the case here. Especially under the revised

  circumstances.”

  Renie jumped on the phrase. “What revised circumstances?”

  Russell drew back on the stool. “Well…” His fair skin

  flushed. “I can’t actually say. It’s just that…er…ah…the future

  isn’t as clear as it once was.”

  Renie leaned closer to Russell. “For OTIOSE in general?”

  He fidgeted on the stool. “Not…um…well…It’s too complicated, and I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  Remembering that Russell liked cream, Judith poured some

  into his mug. “You should if it would save lives,” she said in

  her sternest voice.

  For one fleeting moment, the stark expression on Russell

  Craven’s face indicated that he was about to unburden himself. But he shook his head, and spoke with unusual firmness.

  “No. I can’t betray a trust. Besides, I honestly don’t believe