by C. A. Larmer
“Not like to say?!” Roxy began but Caroline cut her off.
“But you think Max and this woman were friendly, right?”
Leon appeared to stiffen a little. Was he just uncomfortable discussing his clientele or was there something deeper, darker at play? “Again, I would not like to insinuate. I only saw them having a drink together. On the Monday night. That is all.”
He’s hiding something, Roxy thought, glancing across at Caroline who was now chewing on her champagne flute. And that’s when it hit her. Caroline wasn’t surprised by this news at all.
She was hiding something, too.
Roxy’s head began to spin. Was this the “German floozie” Caroline had joked about back at the Thai restaurant in Sydney? Was there something she was keeping from Roxy?
“This is all I can tell you, I am sorry,” Leon was saying as he got to his feet. “I must now see to my other guests, but please, do let me know if there is any way I can help you. Any way at all.”
You can start by telling me the truth! she wanted to say but she simply watched him walk away, then she rounded on Caroline. “Okay, spit it out!”
Caroline blinked innocently back at her. “Sorry?”
“You should be bloody sorry! You’ve been keeping something from me. Max was with some woman while he was here, wasn’t he? You obviously know that already, you didn’t bother to tell me!”
Caroline slumped back into her seat, her shoulders hunched over defensively. “Okay, okay, don’t get all stressy. I don’t know anything for sure but, yes, I did see pictures of some woman.”
“Pictures?”
“On his Facebook page.” She sighed, sat forward and grabbed Roxy’s handbag, pulling her iPad out. She tapped away for a few minutes then sighed again. “Just give me a sec, I’ll see if the barman has a password for the Wi-Fi.”
“Grab me another Merlot while you’re there,” Roxy snapped. “I think I’m gonna need it.”
As Caroline walked across to the bar, Roxy drained her glass and tried not to think the worst. So, Max was chatting with some woman at a bar. Big deal. In fact, maybe this was a good thing. Maybe he told said woman all about his plans, his fears, whatever was going through his mind. Maybe she was a passing acquaintance, nothing to worry about. In fact, maybe she was still here and they could question her, tonight!
Caroline reappeared holding her device out for Roxy to see. “Okay, here’s his Facebook page.”
She appeared to shrink back a little as she handed it over and Roxy flashed her a scowl. “I’ve already seen these shots. You showed me in Sydney.”
“No, I just showed you the ones I wanted you to see. Scroll up a bit, there’s a second lot he posted, the next day, on the Tuesday. She’s in those.”
Roxy scowled at Caroline again and did as instructed, bracing herself for God knows what. Within seconds she saw her, a chirpy looking blonde, thirty-something, with tanned, chiselled features and a hot pink visor on. She was smiling widely, her arms spread out as she stood before the stunning mountain view, the same view that was now forgotten through the window beyond. There were three more images of the woman on the site. One showed her standing by a cave entrance, beaming like a Christmas tree, another showed her in profile, looking wistfully down the cliff face, and the final shot was the most gut-wrenching of all. It showed the blonde and Max standing side by side. Max had one arm slung across her shoulder, the other on his hip. The same mountain view was behind them and while the woman was still smiling like a crazed idiot, Max had a strange look on his face. Was that worry in his eyes? Anxiety?
Either way it didn’t matter. The shiver in Roxy’s heart had turned into a tremor and she was quaking with feelings of jealousy, anger and betrayal. Who was this woman? She didn’t seem like Max’s type at all. She was way too blonde, way too perky, way too Little Miss Princess-like.
“This doesn’t mean he’s with her,” Caroline was saying. “As in with, with. Maybe they just struck up a friendship and that was it. No biggie.”
She stared at her coldly. “So why didn’t you show me then? Back in Sydney?”
“Because I knew you’d react like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like all weird and jealous and crazy.”
Roxy growled. “Do I look weird and jealous and crazy?”
“Uh, yeah!”
She growled again. “I’m ‘crazy’ because you kept these from me. This could be important, Caroline. Maybe this woman knows where he is. Maybe he’s with her now. I mean, you can’t keep this stuff from me.”
She held her palms out. “I’m sorry. I know. I’ve been meaning to tell you, I just couldn’t find the right time.”
“The right time?! We just spent twenty-eight hours stuck in a tincan over the Indian bloody Ocean! Another ten hours in a car together. You couldn’t find one lousy minute to tell me?”
Caroline shrank further. “Sorry. Jeeze. I was trying to spare your feelings, that’s all. I know you’re still hooked on Max ...”
Roxy couldn’t believe what she was hearing and she swiped angrily at the iPad, scrolling through the pictures again. “Anything else you haven’t bothered to show me?”
“That’s it, I promise.”
Roxy stopped swiping and took a few sips of her wine. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to calm down. She couldn’t believe Caroline had kept such vital information from her. It put everything in a different light. Perhaps if she’d known about this “other woman” she might not have jumped on the first plane to Europe.
As if reading her mind, Caroline said softly, “I was afraid if I showed you those pictures you wouldn’t care so much.”
Roxy’s eyes flew open. “Care?”
“I was afraid you’d be even angrier with Max and then you wouldn’t help me try to find him.”
Roxy sighed. Caroline was right, of course. If she thought about it, if she were truly honest with herself, she’d admit she was just as angry with Caroline for denying her this clue as she was with Max for teaming up with a perky blonde on a romantic Swiss mountain.
In a more conciliatory tone, she said, “Listen, I appreciate you trying to protect my feelings, but you can’t do that. This is not about me. We need to find Max. If he’s run off with some German floozie”—Caroline winced as she said it—“then great, he’s alive. Better than the alternative. Doesn’t matter where he is or who he’s with, we’ve got to be honest with each other if we’re going to find him. Okay?”
Caroline nodded. “I promise. No more secrets.”
“Good.” Roxy went to turn the iPad off when something caught her eye. “What’s this shot?”
Caroline leaned across to have a look. “Dunno. Looks like the caves around here. It’s dark, pretty crappy handiwork for Max.”
“Who’s the guy?”
“What guy?”
“In the back there, right-hand corner.”
Caroline looked again. “Oh, I didn’t notice him. I don’t know. Does it matter?”
At that moment, a waiter appeared at their side. “Ladies, dinner is ready in the Restaurant Queen Victoria, if you would like to make your way over now, you can beat the tour group.”
Caroline jumped to her feet, grateful for the distraction, but Roxy kept staring at the photo on Max’s Facebook page. It was a very dark shot, clearly taken at night and she was sure the man who stood off to one side, his face cloaked in darkness, had a rifle at his side.
Now why would a man be standing near the hotel with a gun late at night?
Chapter 10
The pretty French waitress was staring at Roxy like she had rocks in her head.
“You want a Milo?” she said. “Chocolat drink, oui?”
“Er, no. Definitely do not want a chocolate drink.” Roxy looked to Caroline who was studying the menu oblivious to everything but her stomach. “Merlot—mer-low.”
The woman kept batting her eyelids blankly and then held a finger up. “Un moment.”
As she
dashed off towards the front of the restaurant, Roxy glanced around the room. It was actually a very beautiful space, probably once a ballroom by the look of it, with polished wooden floors and soaring marble pillars and elaborate crystal chandeliers. It was only just starting to fill up, the first of the large tour group wandering around their tables as though looking for the prime position. Another long table at the other end of the room was already filled with men, about twelve of them, all in military uniform, and Roxy was about to point them out to Caroline when another waiter appeared at her side. This one was tall and handsome, with two small plates in his hands and a wide, white-toothed smile on his face.
“Here you go, ladies,” he said in an accent that was part American. “Courtesy of the chef, a smoked salmon roulade.”
“Thank you,” Caroline almost purred, dropping the menu to give the gorgeous waiter her full attention.
He smiled at her then turned to Roxy. “Now, my French friend’s English is not so good. Was it a Merlot you were after, ma’am?” Roxy nodded. “We have 2008 French. Cool?” She nodded again. “Merlot for you, too, miss?” He turned back to Caroline, his smile widening further, and this clearly pleased her. She smiled back then fake shuddered.
“God no, I actually have taste! I’ll stick with champagne, if that’s all right.”
“Perfectly. Enjoy your hors d’oeuvres.” He bowed and walked away.
“Yummy,” Caroline said and Roxy nodded.
“Mmm, it looks delicious.”
Caroline laughed. “I wasn’t referring to the food!”
Roxy rolled her eyes. “Try not to lose focus, Caroline.”
“Oh lighten up, Missy. Max would want me to have fun. Besides, maybe I can lure some information out of our hunky black waiter.”
“Or maybe we could just ask.”
When the waiter returned with their drinks, removing their first course at the same time, Roxy produced her iPhone and said, “We’re wondering if we can ask you a couple of quick questions.”
“Sure, shoot.”
She tapped the screen to life, revealing the mugshot of Max. “Do you remember this guy at all? He was a guest here last week, and—”
“An Aussie guy, yeah, sure I remember him.”
“Great, did you speak to him?”
“Not really. Klaus served him.”
“Klaus?”
“German waiter. He’s not on duty tonight. But I remember he said that Max was a lot of fun.”
“That’s my brother,” Caroline said and he smiled at her anew.
“He’s a photographer, right?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
The waiter glanced about the room then leaned into them, his voice considerably softer. “Well, according to Klaus, your brother got in a bit of trouble, shooting up at the peak. I think they asked him to delete some of his images. He wasn’t happy.” He stopped. “That happens a bit, though. Why you askin’ anyway? He okay?”
“We don’t know,” Roxy said. “Do you know why he had to delete those photos?”
He held a hand up. “Oh, it ain’t nothin’ to worry about. They just don’t like people gettin’ too close, you know?”
“Too close?”
Before he could answer, a tinkly bell rang out from the back of the restaurant and he stepped back. “Sorry, got to get back to it. Second course awaits.”
They watched as he returned to the kitchen then Caroline turned to Roxy with her eyes squinted. “That’s really interesting. Why would they make him delete his shots?”
“And what’s he talking about—‘getting too close’? Too close to what?”
Caroline shrugged and Roxy recalled the satellite dishes she’d spotted earlier, and the picture of the man with the rifle. Was that all part of it, and did Max see something he shouldn’t have?
“Were there any other strange pictures on his page, of people with guns or ...?”
“Not that I noticed, but then I wouldn’t, would I, if he had to delete them. We should ask Leon.”
“Speak of the devil,” Roxy said and Caroline followed her eyes to where Leon was standing at the front of the restaurant, deep in conversation with their waiter. The waiter had his head low and appeared to be shaking it ruefully then he nodded and returned to the kitchen. Leon glanced around at the women and Roxy waved at him, batting her eyelids innocently.
Between a clenched smile she said, “He’s hiding something. I don’t know what. But I’ll bet my second course he’s just told our waiter to keep his big mouth shut.”
“You think?”
“Yep. Be cool, Leon’s on his way over.”
A minute later the hotel manager was smiling down at them.
“Hello again, are we enjoying our meal?”
“Delicious!” Caroline gushed.
“Good, good,” He hesitated before saying, “Please forgive me, but if you could refrain from questioning the restaurant staff. They are extremely busy tonight, we have a full house so they really must not be interrupted. I am sure if you have any further questions, you could speak to me directly.”
“Well, actually, I do have some—”
He held a thin finger up to stall her. “I am most sorry, I can not speak at this moment. Please, make an appointment in the morning, after breakfast? Yes?”
The two women nodded silently and watched as he walked away, making a detour to the table of uniformed officers and glancing back at them several times.
“Oh yes,” said Caroline. “He’s definitely hiding something.”
At the end of the meal, Roxy had every intention of ignoring Leon’s instructions and tracking the waiter down to question him further, but her body had other ideas and by the time she’d finished her dessert—a tasty chocolate-apricot mousse tartlet served with raspberry jelly—she could barely keep her eyes opened. And so, against her better judgement, she held up the white flag and followed Caroline back to the hotel room to bed. It would all just have to wait until morning.
At 4:14 a.m., Roxy was wide awake. She lay staring at the ceiling for some time, the soft sighing of Caroline’s breath in sync with the eerie whistling of the wind outside. After half an hour attempting to get back to sleep, she gave up and slipped out of bed and across to the window, looking out at the dark, swirling sky.
She felt deeply melancholy. Clutching her arms to her chest, she wondered where Max was, why he wasn’t the one snoring in the bed beside her, and if she’d ever get a decent night’s sleep again. She thought of her mother, too, and how she had not been at all surprised by Roxy’s failed relationship. Had expected it, in fact.
“You’re destined for spinsterhood,” Lorraine had said matter-of-factly only the month before and Roxy had tried not to rise to the bait. “I used to wish you’d find Mr Right. Now I just wish you’d find Mr Anyone’ll-do.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mum.”
“Well, I’m sorry, Roxanne, but you’ve only got yourself to blame. I mean, Max was never my favourite, you know that, but he would have done. Don’t you see? He was perfectly adequate.”
Oh God, she had thought then as she did now. Her mother was wrong on so many levels, but most of all, she was wrong about Max. He was more than adequate, he was her best friend, and she had not only managed to lose him, she might never find him again.
She allowed a fat tear to roll down one cheek, then swiped at it impatiently and was about to return to bed when something outside caught her eye. There was a figure moving in the distance, across one edge of the far rock face. Roxy wiped her eyes dry and kept watching. It moved again. A man. Now another. Then two more.
They couldn’t be tourists out and about this early, could they?
She kept watching as the men moved out of the darkness and under a light. They were wearing camouflage, like soldiers. Two of them appeared to be talking, heads held closely together, while the other two turned in a circular motion around them as though on some kind of look out. All four had long sticks in their ha
nds. Rifles.
Roxy stepped back behind the curtain quickly, her breath catching in her throat. She was sure they couldn’t see her here in the darkened room, but she still felt a surge of apprehension as she watched them, then she thought of Max’s photos, the ones that were confiscated. Had he spotted the soldiers, too? Had he taken photographs and ended up witnessing more than he should have? Was that why he had checked out in such a hurry and disappeared from their lives?
Chapter 11
By 7:00 Tuesday morning, Roxy was up and dressed and eager to get going. Caroline, however, was still snoring away in bed, one arm flung across her face, the other tangled up in the sheets below her neck, her blonde hair strewn like cooked spaghetti across the pillowcase. She had her eyepatch on again and Roxy noticed an opened box of paracetamol by the bed. She reconsidered waking her, simply scribbled a quick note on hotel letterhead, left it by her pillow and tiptoed out.
Down in the main foyer, the receptionists were already at work, checking out early departures and tagging luggage for the train ride. Roxy strode up to the one she met yesterday and smiled.
“Good morning.”
“Oh good morning, madam. Breakfast is served in the—”
“Actually I wanted to see if Leon is about. I wanted a quick word.”
“Of course. I will check if Mr Schelling is available.”
She said something in French to the man beside her and he took over at reception while she stood and disappeared behind a circular shaped wall. A few minutes later she returned, Leon at her heels.
He had a stiff smile on his lips. “Good morning, Ms Parker, you are up bright and early.” He waved a hand to the sofa on the side. “How can I help?”
“I wanted to take you up on your offer last night. I have some more questions.”
His brow wrinkled but he said nothing as they sat down.
Roxy took a deep breath. She didn’t want to get the waiter into any trouble, but she had to ask. “Is there some kind of military base up here on the mountain?”
