Snow Place to Die : A Bed-and-breakfast Mystery
Page 32
park service four-by-four, heading for the pass. Judith never
looked back.
Joe was soaking his feet in a galvanized tub and watching
the eleven o’clock news when Judith finally arrived home
that Sunday night. He barely looked up when she came into
the third-floor den.
“Hi,” she said, trying to sound cheerful despite her state
of exhaustion.
“Hi.” Joe’s gaze was riveted to the TV screen.
Judith leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I got back
sooner than I…”
“Shh!” Gesturing at the TV, Joe cut her off.
“…Leading national park service law enforcement officials
believe that Killegrew may have killed at least three of his
employees in an attempt to retain his position as
SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 275
president and CEO of OTIOSE.” The pert Asian anchorwoman was shown against a stock shot of Mountain Goat
Lodge and an inset black-and-white photo of a smiling, benign Frank Killegrew. “While rumors spread this weekend
that WaCom plans to merge with OTIOSE, it is not known
how the tragedy in the mountains will affect the independent
telecommunications company’s future. An unidentified
spokesperson told KINE-TV this evening that customer service should not be affected, however.”
The screen changed to highway footage, showing
snowplows working along the interstate. Joe hit the mute
button.
“Good Lord,” he said, staring at Judith. “Why didn’t you
tell me?”
Judith sank down next to him on the couch. “I started to,
then I lost my nerve. You sounded so grumpy.”
“I was.” Joe put an arm around Judith. “It was a rough
weekend. But not as rough as yours.”
“They forgot Barry.” Judith bit her lip and pointed at the
silent TV.
“Barry?”
“The staff clerk, the body we found by the creek. Killegrew
killed him, too.”
“Jeez.” Joe shook his head. “Want to make us a couple of
drinks and tell me all about it?” He indicated his soaking
feet. “I’d do it, but…”
Judith grinned. “Yes, you would. You’re not like some
men, who have to be waited on.” She got up to fetch their
nightcaps.
They had finished their drinks by the time Judith got to
the part about Mike’s unexpected arrival. Naturally, Joe was
astonished.
“Mike and Kristin got their transfer midweek,” Judith explained. “Because of all the snow and avalanche danger in
the pass, they were shipped out of Idaho right away. They’ll
both be working in the national park, just an hour away.
Isn’t that wonderful?”
“It’s great,” Joe enthused. “You see, Jude-Girl? You
276 / Mary Daheim
worry about all kinds of things that don’t happen.”
“I know.” Judith snuggled against Joe. “I worried tonight
I wouldn’t get home, but the driving wasn’t bad at all. Of
course the rangers who brought us home knew what they
were doing. The worst part was when we got to Heraldsgate
Hill. We came up on the north side, to drop Renie off first.
That’s much easier than coming up the south side. It’s so
steep. The only problem is, Renie tried to drive the Chev.”
“I thought she didn’t drive in snow,” Joe said.
“She doesn’t. The Chev’s piled into a gas station pump at
the summit. I’m afraid it’s totaled. Bill will be awfully upset.”
Joe grimaced. “I don’t blame him. I remember when you
ran your Nissan into the wall at Falstaff’s Grocery.”
“Maybe Bill won’t retire, now that they have to get a new
car,” Judith mused. “Have you thought any more about it?”
Joe gave a single nod. “Sure. I’m not changing my mind.
Bill won’t either. Hell, we’ve both earned retirement. Why
not?”
Judith started to say something, nebulous thoughts about
financial uncertainty, changes in lifestyle, the future of the
B&B—but she kept silent. Joe and Bill looked forward to
retirement. Frank Killegrew had feared it, hated it, fought
it—and left a path of death and destruction behind him.
Retirement wasn’t a dirty word, it was a new experience.
For men like Joe and Bill, who had paid their dues and invested not in corporations but in family, the work place was no
magic kingdom.
“You could cook,” Judith said suddenly. “You’ve always
been a good cook.”
Joe moved away just enough to look into Judith’s face.
“Cook what?”
“You know—some of the meals for the B&B guests.
Breakfast, of course. You do wonderful eggs.”
SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 277
Joe laughed. “Only to serve you in bed. Which sounds like
a good idea.”
“What? Eggs?”
Joe shook his head. “No. Bed.” He clicked off the TV where
the weatherman was showing lingering snow clouds.
“Bed.” Judith repeated the word and smiled. “You’re right,
it’s a good idea.”
“Shall we?” Joe got up, stepping out of the tub.
Judith’s dark eyes danced. “Shall we what?” she asked
coyly.
“You know what,” said Joe.
They retired.
About the Author
Seattle native MARY DAHEIM began telling stories
with pictures when she was four. Since she could
neither read nor write, and her artistic talent was
questionable, her narratives were sometimes hard to
follow. By second grade, she had learned how to string
together both subjects and predicates, and hasn’t
stopped writing since. A former newspaper reporter
and public relations consultant, Daheim’s first of seven
historical romances was published in 1983. In addition
to Avon Books’ Bed-and-Breakfast series featuring Judith McMonigle Flynn, Daheim also pens the Alpine
mysteries for Ballantine. She is married to David Daheim, a retired college instructor, and has three
daughters—Barbara, Katherine and Magdalen.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries by
Mary Daheim
from Avon Books
DEAD MAN DOCKING
THIS OLD SOUSE
HOCUS CROAKUS
SILVER SCREAM
SUTURE SELF
A STREETCAR NAMED EXPIRE
CREEPS SUZETTE
HOLY TERRORS
JUST DESSERTS
LEGS BENEDICT
SNOW PLACE TO DIE
WED AND BURIED
SEPTEMBER MOURN
NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE
AUNTIE MAYHEM
MURDER, MY SUITE
MAJOR VICES
A FIT OF TEMPERA
BANTAM OF THE OPERA
DUNE TO DEATH
FOWL PREY
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.<
br />
SNOW PLACE TO DIE. Copyright © 2007 by Mary Daheim.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees,
you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable
right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No
part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,
down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in
or introduced into any information storage and retrieval
system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or
mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the
express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader February 2007
ISBN 978-0-06-135775-6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
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Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
Document Outline
Title Page
Dedication Page
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
About the Author
Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries by Mary Daheim
Copyright Notice
About the Publisher
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
NINE
NINETEEN
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
NINE
NINETEEN
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