“Paulette’s memorial should take all of five minutes,” James muttered as he selected a pair of espresso-brown corduroy pants and a forest green sweater and laid them across the foot of his bed.
Downstairs, Milla was standing behind Jackson’s chair with a hot griddle. She piled pancakes directly onto his plate until she had formed a small tower of golden brown dough.
“I whipped up these pancakes just for you, James!” Milla handed Jackson a jug of pure maple syrup and kissed him on the top of the head. “Whole wheat banana pancakes. Marvelously tasty and low calorie. Dr. Ruth would approve. I even substituted apple sauce for the vegetable oil, so eat up, my dear!”
Jackson, who was just about to shovel a forkful of pancake into his mouth, dropped his eating utensil with a clank. “Whole wheat? Wheat’s got no place in a man’s pancake.”
“Take a bite. I dare you,” Milla taunted as she gazed at her future husband tenderly. “If you don’t like them, I promise to put them right in the garbage disposal. Go on now.”
Grudgingly, Jackson plunged his fork into his mouth and chewed without meeting Milla’s eager eyes. When he merely grunted in response, she reached out to take his plate, but he lightly smacked her hand away. “I’d rather eat them than fix that damned disposal again. Bananas in pancakes. Hrmph!”
Milla exchanged a conspiratorial grin with James and the three of them quickly consumed the delicious breakfast.
James could hardly believe that such savory pancakes were low calorie. As he loaded the dishwasher, he begged Milla to come up with a few more recipes he could make for himself.
“Don’t remind me that you’re leaving us soon!” She wailed and hid her face behind the dishtowel. “But don’t you worry about food. I’m going to stock your freezer with dinners and when you’re tired of defrosting those, you can drive right over here for a hot, home-cooked meal.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “All right, men. Let’s get a move on. James, you need your truck to get back to work, so Jackson and I will meet you at the overlook. It’s not the ending I wanted for my sister, but it’s an ending.”
Milla glanced at the tidy kitchen and began to wrap a scarf around her neck. Jackson gulped down the rest of his coffee and pulled on his warmest parka. “If Paulette’s boy sasses you once, I’m tossin’ him off the cliff.”
“With both of my men by my side, Chase wouldn’t dare say a thing,” Milla replied proudly and buttoned up her long wool coat. After adding gloves and hats to their ensemble, the couple left the house, confident that James wouldn’t be far behind them.
The phone rang as James was in the middle of brushing his teeth. He quickly rinsed out his mouth and grabbed the portable phone. He said hello as he hurried down the stairs, preparing to tell the caller that he had no time to talk.
“Are you on your way to the overlook?” Lucy asked without preamble.
“Yes, and I’ve got to leave now. Jackson and Milla headed out five minutes ago.”
Lucy sighed in what sounded like relief. “So you three have been in the house all morning?”
“Where else would we be?” James was puzzled. “It’s seven thirty, Lucy.” He immediately grew concerned. “What’s going on?”
“The short version is that I looked up the regulations on scattering human remains at a Shenandoah National Park site. Without obtaining a special permit from the director of the National Park Service, it’s an illegal act.”
James put on his coat as they talked. “Why did you research that?”
“Because last night, at the firehouse, Milla told me how much she had wanted a place to visit Paulette and how Chase so rudely denied her request,” Lucy quickly explained. “I figured if I showed up at the hotel this morning in uniform and threatened him with arrest, he might reconsider his plans.”
“That was really kind of you, Lucy!” James gushed.
“Well, Chase had already left the hotel when I got there, which I thought was odd. Stranger still, he didn’t take Chloe or Wheezie with him.”
James suddenly felt anxious. “I don’t like the sound of this. Has Chase run off with the ashes? Is he trying to torture poor Milla?”
“Um, I know exactly where he is.” She hesitated. “I’m calling you from the overlook, James. I had to call for backup first, but I wanted to stop all three of you from coming out here. Guess I’m too late.”
“Would you please tell me what happened?” James’s anxiety level had grown exponentially as he pictured Lucy sitting in her brown cruiser, frantically radioing for help.
“Chase is dead, James. His car is at the bottom of the ravine, and it’s been crushed like a tin can. I can’t get to him, but I’ve got binoculars in my car and I was able to see enough to know that he isn’t going to be revived by the paramedics I called.” She expelled a deep breath. “He was actually thrown free of the car, but his body-well, his arms and legs are at impossible angles.”
His thoughts whirling, James asked, “Was it an accident? Do you think he was drunk or something?”
“No,” Lucy answered. “This was murder, plain and simple.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. I’ll explain the details later.”
James spluttered, “But if Chase was murdered-”
“Then maybe Paulette was too?” Lucy finished his thought. “I’ll do my best to send your folks back home, but you might want to come out here in case they don’t feel like listening to me. Milla’s a sweet woman, but she’s got a stubborn streak, just like the rest of the folks living under your roof, and I don’t want her to see Chase like this. After all, he was her nephew.”
“I’ll be right there, Lucy,” James promised and ran out to his truck. Slapping his dashboard, he revved the engine into life. “Come on, old friend. Time for one of our shortcuts.”
The old Bronco didn’t fail him. As though sensing its owner’s need, the truck climbed the steep, curving mountain roads and dove into the valleys. James had never driven so recklessly over the winding roads. Normally, he followed the forty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit with care, because thick patches of fog could obscure the road at any time of the day. And even though there were fewer sightseers on the Parkway during the winter, one could never tell when an RV driver would suddenly decide to pull off at one of the scenic lookouts or when someone unaccustomed to the highway’s sharp bends would slam on the brakes.
When James arrived at the overlook, Lucy was speaking to Milla through the driver’s side window of her minivan. Steering well clear of the ambulance, park ranger vehicles, and Sheriff’s Department cars, James parked his truck and then jogged toward the van.
“Tell them to go on home, James.” Lucy’s voice held both a command and a plea.
“It’s not that I want to see anything,” Milla assured Lucy. “I’m honestly just trying to get a grip on myself before I put this clunker into reverse. First Patty. And now Chase. I can’t believe this. The size of my family is shrinking fast.” She removed her trembling hands from the steering wheel and put them in her lap.
Reaching over to clasp her wrinkled hands in his, Jackson peered at Lucy. “That boy didn’t drive himself over that cliff, did he?”
Lucy shook her head. “No sir. The ground is too hard to allow for defined footprints, but you can see where somebody helped Chase’s rental car over the side. A nice little push, but it was enough.” Behind her, the park rangers were setting up climbing gear and unwinding lengths of cable. Lucy turned, looked at the action occurring among the officials, and seemed impatient to join them. “I’ve got to get back there, but as soon as you’re able, I’d like y’all to clear on out, go home, and sit by the fire with a hot cup of coffee. I promise to call you when I know more about this mess.”