“Come on, Nadia, you started it.” Ava waved a contemptuous hand. “I don’t think so-called Cloud Rooms are exclusive to OTIOSE these days. In this case, there are actually
two of them, the men’s and women’s rest rooms on the
twenty-ninth floor. It’s where employees go to do cocaine.”
“Oh!” Judith was shocked, even though she knew she
shouldn’t have been. Joe constantly railed against the onslaught of drug traffic in the city. “Is this a big problem?”
“That depends on the individual,” Ava replied, despite a
warning glare from Nadia. “In some cases, it doesn’t appear
to affect a person’s work. In others, it’s ruinous. I had to recommend the firing of two people in the past year, and authorize rehab for another half dozen. OTIOSE contracts out
with a firm that deals in addiction among corporate employees.”
Leaning against the counter, Renie nodded. “Newer Resolutions, isn’t it? I did some design work for them two years
ago. As I recall, in most companies, it’s a three-strikes-andyou’re-out program.”
112 / Mary Daheim
“That’s right,” Ava agreed. “At least it is with OTIOSE.
The company will pay for two rehab sessions, but after that,
you’re gone and on your own.”
“Why,” Judith asked, “can’t they nip it in the bud? That
is, if they know where employees go—to this so-called Cloud
Room—why don’t they stop the drug use right there?”
“Because,” Ava answered, “they’d simply go somewhere
else. Our headquarters is a thirty-story building. There are
lots and lots of places to do drugs. And that’s just during
office hours.”
“Sad,” Judith murmured.
“But true.” Ava gave Nadia a gentle shove. “Let’s go, we’re
holding up progress. Frank wants to start the meeting in ten
minutes, and we’ve got to get Andrea down here.”
The two women went off through the laundry room to the
back stairs. Judith eyed Renie. “What floor are the executives
on at headquarters?”
“Thirty.” Renie’s lips twitched.
“That’s what I thought,” said Judith.
Judith had just turned on the dishwasher when she heard
the screams. Renie jumped and knocked a cereal box off the
counter. An eerie silence ensued.
“What was that?” Renie asked in a startled voice.
“It was a scream. Or screams.” Judith was trembling.
“Where did it come from? And,” she gulped, “why did it
stop?”
Cautiously, the cousins went into the laundry room, then
as far as the bottom of the back stairs. They heard nothing.
“Maybe it wasn’t upstairs,” Renie whispered. “Maybe it
was downstairs, in the basement.”
Judith glanced around the small hallway where the top of
the basement stairs could be seen near the rear entrance.
“Maybe. But I’m not going down there. Let’s go into the
lobby and find out if anybody else heard anything.”
If the others hadn’t heard the screams, they now saw a
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most alarming sight. Ava and Nadia were huddled in the
open elevator, seemingly paralyzed by fear. Just as the door
automatically started to close, Ava hurtled into the lobby.
Nadia stumbled behind her.
Gene and Max rushed to meet the women. “What the
hell…?” shouted Max, grabbing Nadia before she fell.
“It’s Andrea,” Ava gasped, leaning against Gene. “She killed
herself! Andrea’s dead!”
NINE
AVA BURIED HER face against Gene’s shoulder. Max halfcarried Nadia to the nearest sofa, almost bumping into a
dazed Russell Craven, who was wandering around the wide
hearth, glassy-eyed and muttering to himself. Frank Killegrew
and Ward Haugland simply stared at one another. Margo
Chang picked up her black suede bag and pulled out a
Ladysmith .38 Special revolver.
“If anybody comes near me, they’re dead!” she shrieked.
“Nobody’s going to kill me, nobody’s going to drive me to
suicide! I’m getting out of here alive!”
“Margo!” Killegrew turned white. “Is that thing loaded?”
“You bet!” Margo swung the gun around the room, taking
aim at each of the others in turn. “I know how to use it, too!
I go to the range once a month!”
“My God!” Killegrew sank down on the sofa next to Nadia.
“You know,” Russell said, no longer wandering around
the hearth but edging nervously away from Margo, “firearms
are very dangerous. Do you realize you should never point
a gun at anyone unless you intend to use it?”
“Shut up, Russell!” She pointed the gun straight at him.
“Of course I know that! Furthermore, I’ve got a
114
SNOW PLACE TO DIE / 115
concealed weapons permit, a federal firearms license, a longstanding membership in the NRA, and I belong to the local
chapter of OFF, the Organization of Firearms for Females.”
“Then you’re legal.” Gene Jarman shrugged.
“Now, now,” Killegrew said without his usual hearty reassurance, “let’s not get excited. Andrea’s the problem here. I
can hardly believe she’d kill herself.”
With a wary eye on Margo, Gene led Ava to one of the
other sofas. “Brandy would be in order,” he said to no one
in particular.
Judith started to bolt out of the room, then looked at
Margo. “May I?” she asked, feeling childlike and stupid.
Margo lowered the gun. “Go ahead. But don’t anybody
forget I won’t hesitate to use this.” She patted the weapon,
then slipped it back into her suede bag.
Renie went into the dining room with Judith, where they
found two half-empty bottles of brandy. “I don’t blame
Margo,” Renie said in a tense voice. “This is absolutely horrible.”
“It sure is,” Judith agreed, gathering up some of the other
liquor bottles and motioning for Renie to get some glasses.
“I’m beginning to feel as anxious to get out of here as Margo
is.”
“At least she’s armed,” Renie said. “I wouldn’t mind having
an AK-47 about now.”
Judith gave a little snort. “You’d be lucky not to shoot
yourself. Or me.”
Giving Judith a hapless look, Renie led the way back into
the lobby. Once again, Gene had taken over the questioning,
but his manner had become slightly more deferential.
No one refused the brandy. Indeed, Killegrew swallowed
his in a gulp, and Nadia inhaled the fumes for such a long
time that Judith thought she’d suck the liquor right up her
nose.
“Let’s begin,” Gene said calmly, “with you, Ava. You
116 / Mary Daheim
mentioned that Andrea’s door was unlocked?”
“It was.” Ava gave a short, grim nod. “We knocked, of
course, but she didn’t respond. We thought maybe she was
in the bathroom, so we went in.” Ava hesitated, lifted her
chin, and continued. “Andrea was in bed, and we assumed
she was asleep.”
“What did you do then?” Gene asked quietly.
Ava glanced at Nadia, as if for confirmation. “I called to
her. Nadia had stayed in the doorway.”
“And?” Gene prompted.
“Nothing. I knew Andrea was upset about Leon,” Ava went
on, speaking more rapidly, “so I thought maybe she’d taken
something to help her sleep and was really out of it. Frank
was anxious to start the meeting, so I went to the bed and
gave Andrea a little shake. I couldn’t rouse her. Then I saw
the pill bottle and the note.”