Janet sucked her pale lips between her teeth, pressing hard enough for her skin to whiten, and held her breath. Finally she said, “I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I loved you. I thought it was better for you. Lisa was such a good person. I didn’t want you to grow up knowing I was your mother. That’s too much baggage for any child to carry.”
“But you think it’s okay for my son?”
“I’m out of prison now. It’s different.”
Even though Nora had no memory of her baby brother, Ethan, she was angry that she’d missed out on growing up with him. Why hadn’t her mother killed her too? “Why did you care about me and not Ethan?”
“It wasn’t like that. I loved him.”
“What was it like?”
Donny and Amber pulled into the driveway. Amber bounced out of the van right away, and Donny lowered the ramp and rolled out his chair, following her to Nora’s side.
“You should leave,” Nora said to Janet. “Please don’t come back.”
Janet stared at Nora for a moment. She looked as if she might say more but changed her mind. “Sorry to bother you,” she mumbled and walked away.
“Who was that?” Donny asked.
Donny was Nora’s adoptive cousin, and she trusted him, but not with this. “No one.”
* * *
Two days after Jason’s accident, Pete stood beside his site supervisor, Connor Olsen, in front of the cabin where Jason Tober died. He hired Connor seven months ago from a construction company in Kicking Horse. Connor was familiar with building at a resort and had told Pete he needed to move back to Holden for family reasons. His reference letter from Mountain Terrain Builders was solid.
Before the accident, Pete never had reason to suspect shoddy work. He’d been surprised when he overheard Constable Miller talking with Jason’s widow at the hospital. That was the first time he’d heard a complaint about cutting corners. The implications made him sick. Jason had been a good kid.
Police tape surrounded the site, some fluttering in the breeze and some ground into the mud. The equipment used to jack up the cabin had been removed for evaluation. The cabin sat flat against the earth, empty and unusable. Pete kept Farley on a leash, not wanting him to disturb the site. Constable Miller had told him to stay outside the police tape until he cleared the area.
Sunshine had dominated the skies earlier in the day, but thunderclouds were rolling in and threatening a storm. Hopefully the cops had collected everything they needed. If the clouds broke, the site would turn to mud in minutes.
“Have the cops interviewed you?” Pete asked Connor.
Connor removed his hard hat. His black hair curled over the collar of his work shirt, not long enough to be tied back, but with a little growth it could be, and Pete didn’t believe a man should have long hair.
“Twice already. I don’t see why they had to do that. Makes me look bad.”
Pete pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t be so self-centered. Jason died. He was your co-worker. I’d think you’d want the cops to be thorough.”
Connor grunted and kicked a rock with his steel-toed boot.
“So tell me about the trench,” Pete said.
“What about it?” Connor hiked his work pants over his hips, and they drooped back over his flat bottom the minute he let go of the belt loops, displaying his underwear. His muscles covered a wiry frame, but Pete suspected he could bully most men with his height and attitude combined.
“Did you follow process when digging the trench?”
Connor spat a wad of tobacco into the dirt. “Course I did. What are you getting at?”
“Something caused the cabin to sink in soft soil. I thought you said the site was ready for the cabin to be moved. Was the trench properly supported?”
“It was under six feet deep. It didn’t need to be braced.”
“Meaning you didn’t follow code.”
“It’s no big deal. For a trench that small—”
“What if you weakened the area?”
A gust of wind blew through the site, and the end of the yellow police tape fluttered. Farley jumped at the tape, snatched the end between his jaws and ran. The leash slipped out of Pete’s hand. Farley bounced from rock to rock. He twisted and turned until the tape was wrapped around him. Pete chased him, but Farley’s brain had turned off.
Connor laughed at Pete.
Farley’s reaction to trouble was to dig a hole. He pawed at the soil, his rear end sticking high in the air and his tail wagging. Pete grabbed his collar and pulled him back from the site.
“He’s got something in his mouth,” Connor said.
“Farley, drop.” Pete bent down and almost picked up the lighter.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Just a stick.” Pete slid his foot over the lighter, crouched and untangled Farley.
“So, are you blaming me for the accident?” Connor asked.
“I’m asking if you cut any corners.”
“That figures. The boss always has to blame someone. Might as well be me.”
“The RCMP will continue interviewing everyone who worked on the site last week until they find the culprit. If you did something, now is the time to tell me. Maybe we can do some damage control.”
Connor raised one eyebrow and studied Pete’s face. “You’re not trying to set me up?”
Jason’s accident on top of having a forest fire start in one of his building sites was going to bring unwanted heat down on him. He had enough to deal with. “In the end, whatever happened here is my responsibility. I don’t want to be sued, and I don’t want to lose my business. But mostly, I don’t want anyone injured on one of my sites again.”
* * *
Kalin lay still until Ben’s body moved in the fitful motions of sleep, then slipped out of bed. Chica’s tail thumped the comforter, and Kalin waited to see if the motion disturbed Ben. His deep breathing didn’t change. She tiptoed out of the bedroom and eased the door closed. The glow from a lightning bolt lit the hallway. Thunder boomed and she froze, listening for any movement from Ben.
When she was sure he still slept, she flopped onto the couch and clicked open the browser on her laptop. She hadn’t spoken at length with Constable Miller, but something he’d said was bothering her. She thought she knew Pete Chambers and was surprised he would cut corners.
She started with Pete’s company website and read the profile. The site listed the current team, the properties being developed and open positions. Kalin read through Pete’s profile. He’d moved from Toronto eight years ago and set up his business. There wasn’t much of interest on the site.
She googled his name. There’d been a few press releases about his business, but then she discovered something horrible. Something she could relate to. His wife and daughter had died in a car accident. Maybe that was why he moved away from Toronto. Maybe he’d needed a change of scene just to survive. She certainly had after Jack died. It had just taken her a while to get around to moving.
She clicked back to the company website and picked the first employee listed. She googled each employee, not knowing what she was searching for. Connor Olsen’s name came up a few times. He’d worked at Mountain Terrain Builders in Kicking Horse. Before that he worked in Holden for Timber Construction.
She googled Timber Construction and found an article about the company going bankrupt. Reading between the lines, she gathered Timber Construction used to be the main builder in the area until Pete opened up shop in Holden. Neil Olsen had been the owner. She searched again, trying to find out what the relationship was between Connor and Neil.
Ben opened the bedroom door and stood sleepy-eyed, wearing boxer shorts and a navy blue T-shirt. His legs, which she called tree stumps, showed a hint of a tan. He was unaware of the power he exuded, and Kalin liked that about him.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
Chica trotted out and stuck her nose between his legs. Ben jumped and Kalin giggled. He nudged Chica
away. “Go find something else to do. So what are you doing?”
“Just some research.”
“Please tell me you’re not.”
“I want to find out a bit more about Pete. If he’s going to build our home, I need to be sure.”
“I can’t lose you,” Ben said.
“Why would you lose me? I’m not going anywhere.”
“Can’t you stay out of this? The cops will figure it out. You don’t have to be the one.”
“I know that. I’m only checking stuff on the Internet. That’s not dangerous.”
Ben sauntered to the couch, and Kalin readied herself for an argument. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her ponytail loose. “You have the most beautiful eyes. The one green, one brown thing suits you.”
Kalin relaxed. This was the Ben she missed.
Ben closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table. Then he lowered himself on top of her. “Nice flannel pajamas, but they’d look better if you weren’t wearing them.”
“Is this your new way of keeping me out of trouble?”
He pressed his lips onto hers, and she couldn’t resist.
Chica stuck her nose between their lips and licked Kalin. “Yuck.”
For the second time, Ben pushed Chica away. “Really, go find something else to do.”
“I don’t think she understands that command.”
A deep chuckle erupted from Ben’s throat, and his eyes intensified. “She’ll figure it out.”
CHAPTER TEN
“We’re going to open the bike park as planned,” Gavin Reed said. A few hardy blades of grass sprung through the dirt surrounding the Alpine Tracks lift station, and mud slopped over the toes of Reed’s loafers and stained the bottom of his chinos.
Kalin stood beside her boss waiting for the lifts to start for the first time that season. With the park opening on schedule, at least she wouldn’t have to cut jobs in the mountain operations department.
During the summer months, the lift carried bikers and their downhill mountain bikes four hundred meters up the ski hill. The park maintenance team cut routes through the forest, creating trails rated from green to double black diamond. The biking trails cut across hiking trails, and even with the merge signs, they could be dangerous when a biker flew at high speed across an intersecting hiking trail.
Riders wore body armor, helmets and padding and reminded Kalin of warriors—weekend warriors, but warriors just the same.
Kalin worried the summer staff outside of the mountain operations team wouldn’t work enough hours to cover living expenses if the fire decreased the number of people visiting the resort. “What’s the resort occupancy over the next two months?”
Reed surprised her with a laugh. She didn’t hear it often and smiled at him.
“We’re full in the upper village. Without the lower village, everyone has taken a room up here. I’m concerned about the loss of revenue without the general store and the Creek Side Restaurant. Have you reduced the number of staff we’ll need to operate?”
“Yes. Mostly, I downsized the housekeeping and food-and-beverage departments. Anyone who hasn’t arrived yet has been notified there’s no job. We can operate with the employees already here.”
“Do you need to keep all the security officers?”
If he reduced the size of the security team, that would lead to more work hours for her. “I believe we do. With all our guests in the upper village, there will be more noise complaints to deal with than if people are spread out. I think it’s important to keep whatever guests we have happy.”
“What about Fred Morgan?”
Kalin shifted her feet and mud oozed between her toes. Sandals might not have been the best shoe choice. “What about him?”
“Is his position still required?”
Uh-oh. “Of course. Who else would manage the team?”
“You.”
“I don’t have time to take care of the day-to-day issues.”
“Fred’s salary is high compared to some of our junior managers. You could replace him with one of the security officers and operate with one less team member.”
When Kalin hesitated, Reed continued. “I don’t think Fred has been performing well over the last year.”
Kalin believed Fred had backed off on his performance since she’d been promoted. She’d given him some slack because she understood how he felt, but it was time to let him know his job was at risk if he didn’t improve his performance, which she hoped he would. She hadn’t signed on for this. Reed persuaded her to take the director role partly because she had Fred for support. “I’ll talk with him.”
“If you don’t want to let him go, you need to come up with a plan to reduce payroll further. Without the lower village, our revenue will be cut by twenty-five percent this summer. Make this a priority.”
The chairs hung in silence as the lift maintenance crew readied them for operation. Kalin loved this moment. Soon, she’d be able to get on the mountain. “I’ll figure something out. I’ll review the seasonal positions first. When can the golf course open?”
“The fairways are in good condition. The view’s not so spectacular anymore, but we can’t do much about that. The golf round bookings aren’t bad considering the forest on both sides of the course burned.”
“Have you heard more about the investigation into arson?” Kalin asked.
“Constable Miller came by yesterday. I don’t think they know who did it. Normally, I wouldn’t discuss a personal relationship with you, but we need to talk about Ben.”
“Why?”
“Surely you know Ben’s on the suspect list.”
She’d gotten to know Miller well since she’d moved to Stone Mountain. He tended to suspect a wide range of people when he started an investigation, and she hoped that’s all it was with Ben.
Reed stood inches from Kalin, and she could feel his eyes on her. She avoided his gaze by flipping mud off her sandal.
She heard the thrum of the chairs moving. The first run each season, either skiing or downhill mountain biking, always excited her. She’d ride, but only on the green runs. Ben pounded the black diamond trails with his buddies. She was an expert skier, but not an expert downhill mountain biker. Not yet, anyway.
“I don’t think it’s a serious accusation.” Even if Kalin thought it was, she’d never admit that to Reed. Anyway, Miller had to investigate everyone. Surely it didn’t mean anything.
“If it turns out he’s top of the list, you should think about living somewhere else. The director of security living with a suspect doesn’t look good.”
How could Reed suggest this to her? Maybe she should send him some HR information about crossing boundaries with employees. “I’m not just living with Ben, we’re engaged. If it wasn’t for the fire, Ben and I would be married, and you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m not going to move out.”
* * *
Susan Reed rang her son’s doorbell. She saw Ian through the window and watched him hesitate. He didn’t look thrilled to see her. Well, he wasn’t going to cut her out. What mental gymnastics was he going through while he decided if he should let her in?
He made her proud. At twenty-one, his maturity and sense of responsibility surpassed the other kids his age. At least she thought so, and she wanted to tell him.
“Mother.”
Why did he have to use that icy tone? “Where are your manners? Invite me in.” She matched his tone, ice cube to ice cube, even though she didn’t want to.
He led her into his living room for the first time since he’d moved in. She stood in the center, did a full circle and huffed in disapproval. “I brought you a housewarming gift.”
Ian opened the bag and placed the incense on a side table. “Thanks. I know the place isn’t much. The couch is new. I bought everything else at the consignment store. Things sort of match.”
“It’s nice.” Ian’s grey eyes and strawberry blond hair reminded her of Gavin when he was younger.
Ian had inherited the freckles that crossed the bridge of his nose from his father, but he’d inherited his slender fingers and athletic ability from her. Lucky for him, he’d gotten Gavin’s height and not hers.
“Can I get you anything?”
She toed the threadbare rug, pushing a loose string underneath as if that would make the place more attractive. “No, thank you.”
She perched on the edge of the overstuffed chair, her rear end as close to the edge as she could manage without falling on the floor. She hoped the fabric was clean. Who knew where ‘the consignment item’ had been before Ian’s, and she’d worn a new skirt today. “I came to talk about your son.”
Ian moved with the grace of an athlete and crossed the room in two strides. He sat on the couch opposite her.
“When were you going to tell me about Ethan?”
“When were you going to tell me about what’s his name you’re dating?”
She sat ramrod straight, her lips and eyes pinched. “Don’t take that tone with me. I’m still your mother. What do you know about this Nora person?”
“This Nora person. Is that how you’re going to refer to the mother of your grandchild?”
She was trying to be nice. Really she was, but how could she be when he was disrespectful? “Well, it’s your fault I don’t know her.”
“If you’d back off for just a second, I’ll tell you about her.”
She clutched her Gucci purse on her knees. “You never used to speak to me that way.”
“I’m over eighteen. I don’t live at home anymore. Your rights as my mother ended when I moved out.”
Tears bubbled in her eyes, and she dabbed them with a tissue. She’d pulled that move a hundred times on his father, and once Gavin left the room, her eyes would miraculously dry up. It didn’t look as if Ian was going to fall for the trick. Smart boy.
“I used to feel sorry for you. I know about Dad’s affair. I heard you fighting with him. I was twelve but old enough to understand what was happening. If you hadn’t changed so much after that, I would’ve stayed on your side. Your new interest in religion is too much. You quit skiing. You used to be faster than me. Remember?”
Blaze (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 2) Page 9
