it, Frank? Somebody is out to kill us.”
“That’s extreme,” Gene Jarman said quietly. “We mustn’t
jump to conclusions. Nobody knows for certain what
happened to Barry Newcombe.”
“We know he’s dead,” said Ava Aunuu. “That’s not a good
sign.”
Gene’s calm brown eyes rested on Ava. “It could have
been an accident. Think it through, consider the exigencies.
Barry went off to the store or wherever just before a storm
like this one hit. He could have returned in the middle of it,
lost his way, and sought refuge in that cave or whatever it
was. He froze to death. It happens.”
“With a leather strap around his neck?” Ava sneered at
Gene. “So what happened to Leon? He smothered himself
in angel food cake?”
108 / Mary Daheim
“I thought he was hit on the head,” put in Russell, who
again fingered his own skull and winced.
“Afraid so,” Ward mumbled. “It’s a nasty business, all
right.”
“The point is,” Killegrew said between mouthfuls of fried
egg, “we might as well carry on. We can’t leave, and there
are plenty of items left on our agenda. As long as the cabin’s
still airtight, we can fly.”
“You’re right, Frank,” Ward agreed. “Besides, it’ll keep our
minds off…this other stuff.” The second-in-command lowered
his eyes to his breakfast plate.
Judith, who was reaching between Nadia and Gene to set
a coffee carafe on the table, summoned up her courage.
“Excuse me. I have a small announcement.”
All eyes veered in her direction. To her acute embarrassment, she blushed. “Someone took Barry’s items out of my
handbag last night.”
“Cripes!” exclaimed Ward.
“Oh no!” cried Nadia.
“Ridiculous,” murmured Gene.
“That does it!” Margo threw down her napkin and stood
up. “Isn’t there some way we can get help? This is a nightmare!”
“Now, now,” Killegrew said, though he sounded shaken.
“Has anybody tried the phone this morning?”
“I did,” Judith responded. “It still doesn’t work.”
Max Agasias sat far back in his chair, balancing his burly
body in what struck Judith as a precarious position. “You
see? What do we tell our customers? Go cellular, go wireless—and never leave home without it. I guess only OTIOSE
people are too damned dumb to take marketing’s advice.”
Margo, who was pacing back and forth in front of the
buffet, swung around. “Well? Did you bring your cell phone,
Max? Did you take your own bright-eyed advice?”
Max locked his hands behind his head and grinned.
SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 109
“Hell, no. I followed Frank’s orders here, like a good little
Nazi.”
Russell Craven was shaking his head. “My, my. No cell
phones, no laptops, no pagers, no…” He stopped and looked
somewhat diffidently at Killegrew. “Wouldn’t you think,”
Russell said quietly, “that there would be a battery-powered
two-way radio around this lodge?”
“Dubious,” Max responded dryly. “Why would they need
it? We sell complete communications systems, and oldfashioned battery-driven radios are dinosaurs.”
“We could look,” Gene put in. “They might have one stored
in the basement.”
“It’s an idea,” Killegrew allowed, though he, too, sounded
dubious.
“Forget the damned radio,” Margo implored. “I want to
know how somebody got into Ms. Flynn’s handbag.”
Judith explained how she had left the bag in their room
when the cousins had come down to get a snack. “I didn’t
discover the theft until this morning,” she added, “but it
probably occurred before Ms. Jones and I finally retired some
time after midnight.”
“You said you didn’t lock the door?” Gene Jarman had
assumed his role of witness interrogator.
“No,” Judith replied. “It didn’t seem so important to keep
people out when we weren’t inside.”
A silence fell over the dining room. Margo began to pace
again, Ward toyed with his food, Russell sat with his chin
on his hand, Ava stared off into space, Gene sipped coffee,
Nadia twisted her hands in her lap, Max twirled a piece of
melon on his fork, and Frank Killegrew grabbed the coffee
carafe. Judith went back into the kitchen.
“I eavesdropped,” Renie admitted. “Do I detect a note of
desperation?”
“Several,” Judith said. “Some are louder than others.”
The cousins remained on kitchen duty for another halfhour, eating their own breakfasts between treks into the
110 / Mary Daheim
dining room. Shortly before ten, the conferees headed in a
body to the lobby. Apparently, it was business as usual.
Judith and Renie were clearing the table when Ava and
Nadia reappeared. “We’ve formed a buddy system,” Ava
announced. “Nobody goes anywhere alone, including to the
bathroom. In fact, we’re thinking about sharing bedrooms
tonight. If we’re still here.”
It was unclear if Ava’s reference was literal or—really literal. “Good idea,” Judith remarked. “My cousin and I are
sticking together like glue.”
“If only,” Nadia sighed, “Leon had taken Andrea with him
last night when he came down to get the cake. Or if Barry
had asked one of us to go with him a year ago. I would gladly
have accompanied him on his errand. I’m used to fetching
and carrying.” Only a hint of bitterness was evident in her
voice.
“You couldn’t guess what would happen to either of them,”
Ava said, not unkindly.
“I enjoyed talking to Barry,” Nadia went on as if she hadn’t
heard the other woman. “He always had all the news.”
“Gossip, you mean.” Ava’s tone was good-natured. Judith
noticed that she looked reasonably rested. Or perhaps it was
the rich blue high-necked sweater and slacks ensemble she
was wearing. It was the one that Judith had seen in the suitcase, and it was definitely a becoming color with Ava’s dark
complexion.
“Yes, gossip.” Nadia smiled, producing a rather charming
effect despite the obvious strain on her thin face. “You see,”
she said to Judith and Renie, “Barry heard everything. Staff
assistants usually do. And he had this most ingenious way
about him. If he had an interesting piece of news—”
“Gossip,” Ava interjected.
“If you like.” Nadia darted Ava an amused glance. “Anyway, when he heard something truly interesting, he’d
SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 111
call around and ask if whoever he was speaking to had any
recent tidbit. If that person—”
“You,” put in Ava.
“Possibly,” Nadia agreed, “but by no means just me. If
you—”
“He never called me with gossip,” Ava asserted.
“You know what I mean.” Nadia was growing impatient
at the interruptions. “If you had something worthwhile to
tell, then he’d reveal what he knew. It was like a game.”
A deadly game, Judith thought, with a quick look at Renie.
“From what I’ve heard,” Ava said, nibbling at one of the
leftover strawberries, “most of his so-called news was about
who used the Cloud Room.”
“The Cloud Room?” Judith echoed.
“Now, Ava,” Nadia began with a reproachful expression.
“Don’t go telling tales out…”