Blaze (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 2)

by Kristina Stanley

  “Do you have somewhere I can reach you?”

  Janet gave Kalin her cell number.

  “If something opens up, I’ll call you.”

  Kalin shut the door after Janet left and finished her report for her boss, but couldn’t keep her mind off the woman. Janet’s face was an older version of Nora’s, and they had the same body type.

  Refocusing on work, she printed the spreadsheet she’d prepared and headed to Reed’s office. Five thirty was fast approaching, but he couldn’t meet with her any earlier. Ben was at home waiting to have dinner. He didn’t like when she came home late, but he’d gotten used to her unpredictable hours. With the troubles he was having, she wanted to be there for him, but work kept getting in the way. Tomorrow he was supposed to meet with the counselor, and she hadn’t told him about the appointment yet.

  She sat across from Reed and presented her plan for cutting back on seasonal staff. She’d managed to cut the jobs of people who hadn’t arrived yet and not lay off anyone else who was already at the resort.

  Reed put his finger on the bottom line. “This saves us seventy-five grand over the summer. That’s not enough.”

  “It’s fifteen employees. Any more and we’ll have to decrease operating hours, which will impact the guest experience and revenue. The other option is to run with less people and pay overtime, but then we won’t even save the seventy-five grand.”

  “There’s still the option of letting Fred go.”

  Kalin’s heart sunk. “I don’t believe I can be effective without him.”

  “Then you need to figure out a way to operate more efficiently.”

  * * *

  Nora removed the blanket and sheets from the pullout couch and placed them in the small storage room off the hallway. She was struck with inspiration. She had no idea how Ian would feel about the change, but having the living room filled with Ian’s stuff and putting the pullout couch back together every day was losing its appeal.

  Without waiting for Ian to come home, she made a decision. She emptied the storage area, moving the linen onto the top shelf of her bedroom closet and placing her snowboard and boots in the garage.

  She scoured the little room, making it clean for her little guy. The front hall rug was a perfect fit. When Ethan was born, Amber and Donny had given her a bright poster of clowns dancing at a circus, and she hung it on one wall. She dangled Ethan’s mobile from the ceiling. When Ethan woke up, she would move his crib in there too.

  Back in her bedroom, she stripped the sheets. She unzipped the mattress, creating two single beds. With the bed split into two parts, she pushed each single against opposite walls and her baseball bat rolled from its hiding place underneath the bed. The memory of wood against her palm when Janet had been in her house gave her the shivers. She stored the bat in the front hall and returned to the bedroom.

  It wouldn’t be like she and Ian were living as a couple, and it would be more convenient than having him in the living room. He was changing in the bathroom already, so nothing new there. She could do the same.

  Next, Ian needed dresser space. She emptied Ethan’s clothing out of the upper drawers and placed them on the shelves in his new room. All she had to do was sell the idea to Ian.

  Ethan cried, and she gently lifted him from his crib. She fed and dressed him. Only five-thirty. She needed to fill the time until Ian came home so she headed outside. She power-walked, carrying Ethan, and arrived back home invigorated and out of breath.

  Ian was opening the front door. The smile on his face as he took in Ethan made her feel warm. He loved his son.

  Once inside, Ian snuggled Ethan on his lap.

  “Beer?” Nora asked.

  “Sure.”

  Nora returned from the kitchen, handed Ian a Kokanee and sat opposite him, holding a can of soda water.

  “I want to talk to you about something.” Nora laughed at her own shyness. Asking a guy out on a date came to mind. She wasn’t doing that. This was a practicality, nothing more. She cleared her throat. “I rearranged some furniture today.”

  “It’s your place. I don’t mind. What are you so nervous about?”

  “I emptied the storage room and made a bedroom for Ethan.”

  “That’s a good idea. You’ll probably get more sleep.”

  “You sleeping on the couch is getting a bit annoying.”

  Ian’s shoulders slumped. “Oh…You want me to move out. I don’t think I should until we know what’s going on with Janet Wood.”

  “It’s not that. I thought we could share the bedroom.”

  Ian reddened.

  “No. No. No. I’m not hitting on you. I meant like roommates. The bed is a king that splits into two singles. I put one on either side of the room. We can both change in the bathroom. And we can have the living room back.”

  * * *

  During her walk home, Kalin pushed her guilt aside about making Ben wait longer and stopped by Nora’s place. She found Nora and Ian together in the living room. Kalin was unsure about how much to say in front of Ian. They seemed tight, but she was close to Nora too, and Nora hadn’t told her about Janet.

  “Feel like a little walk?” Kalin asked Nora.

  Ian laughed. “I’ll get out of your way. Clearly you need some girl time.” He grabbed a sweater and headed out.

  “What’s up?” Nora asked.

  Kalin picked up Ethan and bounced him on her knee. His eyes were bright and watching her. She breathed in the scent of baby. Something about Ethan triggered her mom hormones, which she both liked and didn’t like.

  “Janet Wood applied for a job today.”

  “Shit.” Nora stood and crossed the living room to the window. She turned her back to Kalin. “Did you hire her?”

  “No. Reed is pushing me to cut jobs right now. I don’t have any open positions.”

  Nora used one fingernail to pick at another. “I should have seen that coming.”

  “I know it’s none of my business, but I thought I should tell you.”

  “How did you link her to me?”

  “I saw her in the hospital.”

  “Why would you think you had to tell me she came to your office?”

  “You didn’t look happy about her being in your hospital room.” Kalin shifted Ethan onto her hip and joined Nora at the window. Ethan barfed on Kalin’s shoulder. “Yuck.”

  Nora giggled. “Sorry. I should have prepared you. He does that without warning. Can I get you a shirt?”

  Using the tips of her fingers, Kalin lifted the wet material off her shoulder. “As if one of your shirts would fit me.”

  “I can get you one of Ian’s.” Nora hustled to the bedroom and returned with a T-shirt.

  Kalin didn’t miss that Ian’s clothes were in the bedroom, and she smiled to herself. She removed her top and replaced her wet one with Ian’s. She rinsed hers in the kitchen sink. “This really stinks.” Kalin tossed her shirt in the front hall. “You know I won’t say anything about Janet, whoever she is.”

  “Ian moved in with me because of her.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  Nora told Kalin Janet’s history. The words came out in a rush as if a dam had broken. She told Kalin about Janet coming into her house at night and about meeting her in the driveway.

  “Holy crap, that sounds bad. Are you afraid of her?”

  “I am, but what can I do?”

  “She told me she wanted to live in the area because her daughter and grandson live here. That’s when I clued in to where I’d seen her. She also said she’d been trying to get a job in town but couldn’t.”

  “I hope she doesn’t get anything. Then maybe she’ll leave.”

  “Maybe you should call the cops.”

  “I don’t want to. When Ethan grows up, I don’t want him to find out about her. If I report her, news of her could hit the papers, then he might find out by accident.”

  “That’s a long time from now, but I get your point. If she comes again, I think you should a
t least talk to Miller.”

  “That’s what Ian thinks too, but he said he’d do what I wanted. I can’t believe she’d come here again. I was clear I don’t want her around.”

  “Let me know if I can do anything. I gotta run. Ben’s waiting to have dinner.”

  Kalin hustled along Black Bear Drive. She reached their home and found the door locked. She inserted her key and eased the front door open. Chica greeted her with her usual enthusiasm.

  “Ben?”

  She didn’t get a response. She dropped her backpack and pushed Chica out of the way. She found Ben face down, asleep on their bed, snoring. She dropped her smelly shirt in the hamper and left him undisturbed.

  Beside the kitchen sink, she found her bottle of sleeping pills. The bottle was half empty. There was one reason for so many pills to be missing. Ben had been taking them and not telling her.

  She filled a pot with water and turned the heat to high. She grabbed a bottle of pre-made pasta sauce from the cupboard and poured a one-serving portion into a saucepan. No point in making a gourmet dinner tonight. She ate and waited for Ben to wake up.

  She was dozing on the couch with Chica squished beside her when she heard the bedroom door creak open.

  “Kalin?”

  She sat up and peeked over the back of the couch at him. “I’m here.”

  Ben tucked into the opposite end of the couch from her.

  Kalin held up the pill bottle for Ben to see. “Want to tell me about these?”

  “I need to sleep.”

  “These are addictive. One was okay, but you shouldn’t be taking them every day.”

  “It’s no big deal.”

  Kalin swallowed and took a deep breath. She had to get to the point. “I made an appointment for you with a counselor tomorrow at eleven-thirty.”

  Ben rubbed Chica’s back and avoided eye contact with Kalin as if he was distancing himself from her, putting up a barrier she was going to have a hard time breaking. “You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t see how a counselor will help.”

  The anger in his voice hurt, but she pressed further. “You need to try. I’ll go with you if you want.”

  “Aren’t you working tomorrow?”

  “I can make the time. Let me help you.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Kalin bumped into Pete Chambers outside the Wild Game Deli. She’d gone with Ben to the counseling center in Holden. She’d spent fifteen minutes with Ben and the counselor, then she’d been asked to leave. It was just before noon, and hunger was pressing itself to be dealt with.

  “Any rebuild plans yet?” Kalin asked Pete.

  “I’m still waiting on the insurance company. They don’t want to pay until the investigation is complete. I’m sorry it’s taking so long.”

  “Is the RCMP still looking into Jason’s death?”

  “They are. They haven’t said much but are asking questions of my employees. They did say there was nothing wrong with the jacks.”

  “How well do you know Connor?” Kalin asked.

  A group of three people rounded Kalin and Pete, entering the deli.

  He nodded at the glass door. “Were you planning on eating lunch?”

  “I was. Want to join me?” Kalin opened the door, and Pete stepped in behind her.

  Janet Wood carried two menus and greeted them at the entrance.

  Kalin smiled at Janet, a smile hiding her thought Nora was going to be unhappy with this development. “I see you got a job.” She felt Pete stiffen beside her and wondered what that was about.

  Janet returned the smile. “Thanks to you in a way. I replaced a woman you hired.” Janet’s uniform drooped over her small frame. Two of her arms could have fit into one sleeve, and her apron straps were wrapped twice around her waist.

  “Good for you,” Kalin said.

  Pete followed Kalin to their table. “You know her?”

  Kalin slid onto the bench seat. “Not really. She applied for a job at the resort, but we have nothing open right now.”

  “Did she give you a résumé?”

  “We didn’t get that far. Why?”

  “Just curious. She looks familiar.”

  Janet returned, and Kalin ordered shrimp and avocado on a baguette, and Pete ordered a bison burger with fries. Kalin noticed Pete scrutinize Janet as she walked to the kitchen.

  “So, Connor?” she prompted.

  “He’s worked for me for about seven months. He came from Kicking Horse. Good references.”

  “I dropped him at his house after the car accident. It’s a bit of an eyesore.”

  “I know it. The place on Canyon Road he shares with his cousin.”

  “Do you mean Neil Olsen?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Can I talk confidentially about Connor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Connor listed Neil as his next of kin in his old file. Hang on. Is Neil the Olsen who ran Timber Construction that went out of business last summer?” Kalin couldn’t explain the growing sensation, but talking about Neil gave her the creeps.

  “He is. I asked Connor if he wanted me to hire Neil, but he said no. I think Neil was insulted.”

  “Why?”

  “When I got the Stone Mountain contract last summer and he didn’t, his company went under. Probably didn’t want a job with me anyway.”

  Kalin shouldn’t reveal what was in an employee file, but she wanted to find out more about Connor.

  “Did you know Connor used to work at Stone Mountain? Years ago, but he was fired.”

  “Nope. He left that off his résumé.”

  Janet returned with a light beer for Pete and lemonade for Kalin.

  “You new in town?” Pete asked Janet.

  She nodded. “I’ve been here a couple of weeks.”

  “What brought you to Holden?”

  Janet gazed at the deli entrance as if she was longing to go there and not stay and chat. “Seemed like an okay place to live. I was looking for a small town.”

  “Where’re you from?”

  Janet’s smile was cool. “I don’t need any new friends, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  Kalin watched the exchange with interest. The Pete she knew was shy and took his time getting to know people. She thought he was dating Susan Reed, so why would he be so interested in a new server at the deli? Especially since that server was Nora’s birth mother and not exactly welcome.

  “Sorry. Just being friendly. I moved from Toronto eight years ago. This town can be difficult to break into.”

  “Let me know if you need anything else.” Janet walked toward the deli entrance to greet the next group of lunch patrons.

  “What was Connor fired for?” Pete asked.

  Kalin had the feeling the question was posed more to focus her away from his conversation with Janet than to find out about Connor.

  “He was late a few days in a row. He was only twenty at the time.”

  “That must be common with that age group. Wouldn’t have changed my mind about hiring him.”

  “Except he came back the next night, turned on the snow-guns, ruined a ski run then crashed a snowmobile.”

  Pete raised his eyebrows. “Just because he was let go?”

  “That’s all that was in the file. I haven’t talked with anyone who was there at the time. My security manager talked to people who remember him being fired but not much more than that.”

  “Seems like a big event. Someone must remember.”

  “Too many crazy things happen at the resort, and they start to blur after a while.”

  * * *

  After lunching with Pete, Kalin returned to the counseling center and waited outside for Ben. She leaned her head on the back of a Muskoka chair. The sun warmed her face, and she closed her eyes, giving herself a few minutes of quiet time.

  Ben nudged her awake.

  Kalin rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “How’d it go?”

&nbs
p; He brushed a hair off her face. “You know you were fast asleep?”

  She interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms above her head. “I needed a nap. You want to tell me about it.”

  “She gave me a prescription for different sleeping pills. Ones that aren’t addictive.” Ben sat in the chair beside Kalin and put his hands on his knees. “I’ve got some thinking to do.”

  “I’m glad. The counselor is supposed to make you think.”

  “My cousin has a cabin in northern Manitoba. It’s on Gammon River.”

  Kalin’s gut clenched, her standard response to stress, and she didn’t want to know were he was heading with this conversation. “Have you been there before?”

  “Not for a while. It’s isolated. You have to fly in. There are no other cabins, but it’s a great place to fish.”

  Something was up. Kalin knew when Ben wanted to tell her something she wouldn’t be happy with. He would preamble with facts and information, weaving a story without getting to the important part. “What are you trying to tell me?”

  “I’d like to go away for a while.”

  She put her hand on top of Ben’s. “I can’t take time off right now.”

  “I’m not asking you to go with me.”

  She tightened her fingers as if she could keep him from going anywhere just by holding him. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’d like to go by myself.”

  “Why?” She’d chosen the counselor because the woman was a psychiatrist, and Kalin respected her credentials. If she’d known Ben would come out of the session wanting to go away, she’d have picked someone else.

  “I need some time to think. To sort things out.”

  “You mean sort us out. Otherwise you’d want me there.”

  Ben stared into his lap, taking his time answering. “I can’t think with you so close to me.”

  “I should be close to you. That’s the point.”

  “I’m not sure I can handle us. I get too scared when you’re in danger.”

  “I won’t put myself in danger.”

  “You can’t help yourself. I need to figure out how to deal with this.”