by Terry Spear
“I was hoping for that. I called him because I was worried about you,” Larry said.
“I appreciate it. Maybe we can work on another case sometime in the future. Except we’ll have to make it one at a lower altitude.”
Larry laughed. “All right. It’s a deal.”
“Good luck on your next mission.” Nicole didn’t figure she’d ever work with him on another case, but who knew?
“Thanks. Good luck on this one. And stay safe.”
“I will.” Then she ended the call and hoped it was the last one she’d have to make tonight. She wondered if Blake always walked the dog in the morning or if taking the dog out this morning was because it had just been his turn. She would try to catch up to him first thing.
Chapter 7
Early the next morning, Blake was out walking the dog when he saw Nicole hurrying to catch up to him, wearing the blue and white ski clothes she had told him she would be wearing. He smiled, glad she wanted to join him. She was a breath of fresh air. “Did you think Rosco would get away from me again?”
“Possibly, if any more rabbits were around. You both provided great entertainment for me yesterday morning. I didn’t know if you regularly walked him in the morning, but I could use some exercise before we eat breakfast. If Rosco gets away from you again, I’ll enjoy the run with you this time.”
Blake chuckled but hoped Rosco minded him this time and the rabbits were smart enough to stay away. “Did you learn anything more about the brother who drowned?”
“No. I was too busy trying to catch up to you this morning.”
Blake smiled, a little surprised that she’d placed seeing him ahead of her mission, but he was grateful. “I’m glad you came out to join me.”
“I’m glad I didn’t miss you. Last night, I talked to Taggart, the insurance guy who hired Larry and me. It’s official. Larry isn’t working with me any longer. I told Taggart I have you and your family’s help, so he isn’t sending anyone else to replace Larry. Thankfully.”
“Good. That could complicate things between us.” Blake was really glad Larry was out of the picture.
Nicole smiled at Blake. “Did you arrange for me to move to one of the rooms next door to the cousins’ room?”
“Landon’s checking who the guests with the two rooms are first thing this morning. He’ll let us know. Roxie is thrilled. She wants to know if you have a listening device she can set against a wall while she’s listening in.”
“I do. I also have a recorder she can use if anything important is revealed. With her wolf hearing, she’ll be able to hear a lot. She’ll be able to make out different conversations better with the listening device, like if someone’s on the phone in the background and someone else is talking in the foreground.”
“Okay, that sounds good. By the way, we didn’t have any chocolate-covered almonds in the house, but Kayla and Landon love them, so I was going to take a run down to the grocery store and grab some for everyone before we have breakfast.”
“Are you sure? You really don’t have to make a special trip. I just thought if you had some lying around your house, I’d be forever grateful.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure. When we get back, we can check to see what Landon learned about the guests in the rooms on either side of the cousins’ room. He can’t really ask them to move until it’s a decent hour though.”
Nicole sighed. “True. I’m just grateful that you’re willing to try to do this for me.”
“Hey, we’re all for helping to catch bad guys, and we certainly don’t want them staying at our lodge if they’re dangerous criminals.”
“That’s true.”
Blake glanced down at the dog. Rosco didn’t look like he was planning to stop and do his business anytime soon, the way he was sniffing around and moving on, checking out a new spot—no doubt rabbit or squirrel scents left behind—and continuing his walk. “Okay, Rosco, do something already.”
Nicole smiled. “They have to find just the right spot.”
“Yeah, fresh snow means it’s harder to find where he went last time.”
Then Rosco did his business and Blake picked up after him. It didn’t matter that this was all wilderness out here beyond their home and the ski lodge. They still picked up after Rosco as if they lived in a neighborhood. It was just the right thing to do.
“Did you want to go with me to the grocery store? Since you don’t have a vehicle, in case you want anything else?” he asked.
“Sure. Are they open this early?”
“At six. By the time we return to the lodge, drop Rosco off, and drive to town, it will nearly be seven. Is that okay? I had planned on getting your candy and being at the restaurant at seven, but Rosco wasn’t cooperating.”
She chuckled. “No problem. You’re going above and beyond the call of duty to help me get my fix. And really, the cousins waste half the morning sleeping in, so I normally have the time for myself.”
“Good.” Blake was glad he wasn’t messing up her surveillance, but at the same time, he got more time to spend with her.
After they reached the lodge, Blake dumped the trash in the outside dumpster, then released Rosco inside the lodge. The dog headed straight for his spot next to the fireplace. Then Blake and Nicole went to see Landon in the office.
“We have a couple of guys in one room, and a family in the other. Both are staying through the week. I plan to approach the two guys first. Not sure if they care about more of a view, but they probably don’t have as much gear to move as the family of five does,” Landon said.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Blake said.
“If that doesn’t work, I’ll ask the family. We’ll help either of them move, and I can throw in a complimentary dinner.”
“Thanks so much.” Nicole sounded relieved.
“Hey, anything to help you in your mission. Blake says you want to go running with us tonight. The weather is supposed to be good for it. The winds have settled down, and we’ve got great powder for skiing today. A wolf run would be fun for all of us,” Landon said.
Nicole smiled. “I’d love it. I don’t get to go on wolf runs much in Denver, and when I get out to a place like this where I can really run, it’s something I love to do. Especially when I can run with other wolves. That’s even more enjoyable.”
“Okay, well, we can discuss the time later,” Landon said.
“I appreciate that.”
“We’re running into town to pick up a few things,” Blake said. “Do we need anything else?”
“Yeah, we need another bag of dog food for Rosco. I swear he’s eating us out of house and home. Next time, we get a smaller dog,” Landon said.
“He’d get lost in the snow,” Blake said.
They all laughed.
Then Blake and Nicole headed outside to his Jeep. The vehicles parked there were still buried in snow, so they must have belonged to their lodge guests. He brought out a snow brush and scraper to remove the snow and ice from his Jeep. A plow had cleared the parking lot, and their regular handyman was out clearing the walkways to the lodge from the parking lot.
“Now he looks like he knows what he’s doing,” Nicole said as she watched the guy blowing the snow off the walkways.
“He does. But his absence helped me catch your attention.”
Nicole laughed. “You and the dog first though.”
They got into the Jeep, and Blake drove them out of the parking lot.
He smiled. “So you think maybe that’s all you needed to choose me over my brother to help you out?”
“If I had any doubt, the snowblower tipped the scales in your favor.”
He laughed.
When they reached the grocery store, he grabbed the largest sack of dog food he could find for Rosco. Nicole was going to buy bottled water, but Blake said, “No, we’ve got it for you.�
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“Oh, thanks. I figured you just get one complimentary bottle of water at the hotel room.”
“You’re our guest. Is the insurance company paying for your room?” Blake asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, we’d get it for you otherwise.”
“I hit the jackpot when I met you.”
Blake only smiled. “Did you need anything else? I know you want to eat at the restaurant to stay in close proximity with the cousins, but I was thinking you could come over to the house in the morning before they get up or have a late dinner with us after they’ve gone to bed. I could pick up something special for you.”
“You’re a real sweetheart, you know that? I’d like that.”
Okay, so far, he was making the right moves. “Tonight? Dinner?”
She laughed. “Okay, yeah, dinner would be great. Thanks for the offer.”
“You’re welcome. I can make waffles for breakfast if that appeals.”
“Yeah, sure, and we can talk about the case too.”
“That works for me.” Blake had to let his family know he was having a special dinner for Nicole so they could have some privacy. Some things he thought would be fun to do with the family, but some things he and Nicole needed to do alone. He’d play it by ear on the breakfast.
Still, as fast as things were moving along with him and Nicole, he knew he had to talk to her about the issues his family still had with shifting during the new moon and full moon. They couldn’t shift during the new moon. They mostly had their shifting under control during the full moon, except on its fullest night. If Nicole and her family were royals, meaning their family had been turned generations ago, she might not want to dilute her line with a wolf whose lineage had a way to go. Lupus garous always had to think about their offspring, as important as wolf pups were to them. And a diluted wolf line would affect the kids. If she wasn’t a royal, and her family had even fewer wolf roots, he would be fine with that, and he hoped they could continue to bond.
She was heading down the candy aisle, and he was amused. She truly had a sweet tooth and a one-track mind.
“If we have your room changed, one of my family will monitor the conversations while you and I have dinner.” He grabbed a couple of packages of chocolate-covered almonds for Landon and Kayla. “What about salmon for tonight?”
“That would be perfect. And thanks for your family helping out. I’d hate to miss anything if I can get into a new room that will help with surveillance.”
“Roxie is eager to assist you on this, especially since she has to keep a low profile.”
They picked up some spinach to go with the salmon, and then they returned to his house first and dropped off the dog food and other items, all except for Nicole’s chocolate-covered almonds. She had wanted to pay for them, but he wouldn’t let her. Then they had breakfast at the lodge’s restaurant.
Roxie came to see them, sounding excited.
Nicole was frowning, looking worried that their suspects might see her. Blake worried about it too.
“We’ve got your room. I told Landon we needed the family’s room because it has an adjoining door to the suspects’ room. That way, if the suspects leave for a while, you can slip into the room and gather your forensic evidence. The family was delighted with the better view and the promise of a free dinner for all of them. Anyway, we need to clean out your room, get it ready for them, and then do the same with theirs for you. Oh, and don’t worry about me. Kayla’s watching the hall to make sure your suspects aren’t leaving the room while I talk to you.”
Blake was glad to hear it.
“Okay. I can move right after breakfast?” Nicole asked.
“Yes. The family is coming down to breakfast with their bags, and we’ll hold them until we can clean up your room.”
“All right, perfect.”
“And I get to start doing wall-listening duty after that?” Roxie asked, sounding eager to be of help.
Nicole laughed. “Absolutely.”
“Okay, I’ll leave whenever you need me to, but when you need me to cover for you, I’ll be there,” Roxie said. “And while they’re gone, I can watch the security videos on my laptop from there too. That way, I’ll know if they’re returning to the room.”
“Sounds good to me.”
And to Blake. He was glad they could help Nicole out in this way. Once Roxie left the restaurant, Blake and Nicole ate their pancakes and watched for any sign of the cousins, but as Nicole had said, they seemed to be late risers.
After breakfast, Blake, Landon, Roxie, and Nicole went up to her room. She packed her things, and they moved her to the room next to the cousins’ room. They hadn’t all needed to go, but they wanted to so they could see the setup.
Inside the room, Nicole looked at the three pictures on the walls, all photos of various wolves walking or sitting among Colorado wildflowers of purples and pinks and yellows. “Jake Silver,” she said, noting the photographer on the prints.
“He’s the pack leader’s brother, subleader of the pack, and a professional photographer,” Blake said. “We were eager to showcase his prints in all the rooms. He was happy to oblige. It helps to support each other in a pack and it suits the Wolff’s wolf theme.”
“I love them.”
Nicole showed Roxie how to use the recorder and the listening device. “They’re still asleep,” she said quietly to Roxie as she listened at the wall.
Blake and Landon were observing what Nicole was showing them in case either of them needed to do it.
“What’s next on the agenda?” Blake asked.
“I have to do some research on who the other man is. I need to look into the drowned brother’s situation. As soon as these guys go down for breakfast, I’ll head on downstairs,” Nicole said.
“Should I stay with you until then?” Roxie asked. “I can listen at the wall while you’re working on your computer and let you know when they say they’re going down to breakfast.”
“Sure, that will work,” Nicole said.
“Do you need my help with anything?” Blake asked.
“I can meet you when the guys go down to breakfast. I’ll just tell you when they’re going down there.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Blake said.
Landon said to Roxie, “If you need a break, just let me know.”
“I’ll do that.”
Blake and Landon left the ladies to do their work. He was glad Roxie wanted to help Nicole with this. It kept her occupied and feeling necessary too. Though she would have to be careful with coming and going from the room to make sure that Rhys didn’t see her. Watching the security monitors should help with that. The guys seemed to always use the elevator, so at least Roxie would be able to use the stairs when she needed to leave the room. The staff elevator wasn’t as convenient to this location as the stairs were, but if they needed to use it, they could.
Blake wished that he could have stayed too. Landon smiled at him as they headed for the stairs as if Blake’s thoughts were transparent.
* * *
While Nicole was doing her research, the police reports she’d read made it appear that the guys who had been with Rhys when his brother had drowned had rehearsed what they’d done—playing, diving, swimming, then noticing Eli was gone and diving for him before they called the police. It was too practiced, to her way of thinking. Often, with the passage of time, stories would change if the witnesses or people responsible for a crime had lied. Sometimes witnesses were less afraid of telling the truth years later, and sometimes they just wanted to get it off their chests.
If these men bolted on her, she would return to their original family home and try to locate the witnesses and learn what she could. Even though it wasn’t part of her investigation for this job, what if it led to learning more about where they’d flown the coop to? So it was something she made a ment
al note of for later.
“Discovering anything from your sources about the supposed brother in the room?” Roxie whispered.
Not that the men would hear her if she was speaking normally, but with their enhanced wolf hearing, it was easy to think everyone had it too. “I’m checking to see if either of Rhys’s parents had prior marriages, in case this person is a stepbrother or half brother,” Nicole said. “Or, as incredulous as it seems, the brother who supposedly drowned.”
“Was there a life insurance policy on the one who drowned?”
“On Eli Kovac? Yes, payable to the mother.”
“Mother. Not both parents?”
“Yeah, I thought it was odd at the time, but I was looking more into the situation with Oscar. I’d suspected Oscar killed his younger brother, and that would show Oscar had a propensity for committing crimes with monetary gain.”
“What if the younger brother didn’t die and the mom got the insurance payoff for the pretend death?”
“Then where has the boy been living all this time?” Nicole figured that was also something she’d have to look into. “Would friends have taken him in? Other relatives? But the news would have gone out that he had died. They’d all be part of the conspiracy to defraud the insurance company. He’d have to change his name. So what is it now?”
“It sounds like even more of a mystery. Your work is fascinating,” Roxie said.
“It’s like putting together a puzzle. Sometimes I get some really unique cases. Sometimes I can’t believe how people thought they could pull off the crime. But some, like this one, keeps unraveling into more threads that make it curiouser and curiouser.” Nicole could get lost in her research when she had a lead on something new concerning a case, which was why she’d wanted to see Blake first thing this morning and take a brisk walk in the snow with him while he was walking the dog. That was so not like her. Usually, when she was working on a case, she would be so wrapped up in it that she’d skip meals and not get enough sleep. Blake made her want to enjoy life around her work, which made this trip extra special.
