Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (5 page)

Since the idea of getting back in her car was
depressing, Fae decided she'd pretend to be Scarlett O'Hara and
think about that some other day. For now she was going to
concentrate on the fabulous meal she was going to have when she
finally got back. With that idea in mind, she got back in her car,
eased into the driver's seat and drove into the Storm Point Lodge
parking lot a few minutes later.

Fae parked the car near the Lodge and
reflected how differently she looked at everything since the
accident. Like how great it was to make it twenty feet to the
bathroom with your walker so you didn't have to use the bedside
commode any longer. Or your first shower in two weeks because you
could finally lift your legs high enough to get into the tub.

Time for Fae was now divided into before the
accident and after. All the things she hadn't given any thought to,
like taking a shower, walking to the kitchen or even cleaning the
cat box were now activities that required thought and ingenuity to
figure out how to do them on her own.

Figuring out how to make a long handle for
the kitty box scooper because she couldn't bend over, or figuring
out how to get in the car because the seat was too low. Before the
accident she hadn't given a thought to what was involved in doing
mundane daily chores. After the accident, she had had to think it
through and figure out how to do something. What had once been an
ordinary activity now became a major triumph.

Before the accident, she would have walked to
the Lodge and probably eaten dinner there before walking home. It
was less than a mile and the weather was perfect for a walk. But
now it was too far. Just being out of bed and able to drive again
was huge. Mostly, she was happy it was so much easier now. Not to
mention possible.

Getting out of the car required her to turn
sideways and then pull herself to a standing position. Usually
accompanied by a grunt of some kind. Depending on the pain level,
it was either a quiet "ugh" or a very loud "aghhh". Tonight it was
somewhere in the middle and, once standing, she held onto the door
frame to make sure she was stable before stepping away from the
car.

As she stood there, Fae saw a skinny kid with
amazing long red hair dash down the path and disappear into the
trees. She wasn't shuffling her feet as if she was being dragged,
the way a lot of kids her age seemed to do now. Nor was she even
simply walking. She looked as if she was dancing the whole way. As
if she was the happiest girl on the planet and had moved beyond
cheerful and gone straight to exhilarated.

Fae smiled. She didn't often see such open,
unadulterated joy and it made her feel as if time had stopped. For
that moment she felt as if she lived in a wonderful world where
people were kind and bad things didn't happen to good people.

Fae wondered if the girl was like that all
the time or maybe only let out that joy when no one was looking.
Part of her hoped the girl was like that all the time. That she
didn't give a damn what anyone else thought. Unlikely, but Fae
wished it all the same. In any event, she hoped the girl could hang
onto that feeling even after she became an adult. Even if it was
only in private.

Smiling, Fae closed the car door and walked
over to the Lodge. The ground was uneven and she moved slowly and
carefully. It made her feel as if she was nearly one hundred
instead of in her forties. She had been thrilled when she had been
able to stop using her walker several weeks ago, but the cost was
having to pay attention to what she was doing. Otherwise, she
started to feel as if she would slip or tip over.

Fae grinned. She thought of how she had
walked like this in her twenties on the one occasion when she had
accidentally imbibed a little too much wine. Now, all these years
later, she could walk like she was tipsy without the joy of the
margarita or glass of chardonnay.

When she reached the dining room, Fae asked
for Jessica and then collapsed onto a chair near the entrance. It
had been a long day and she would be glad to get home and lie down.
Jessica came over a few minutes later.

"Hi, Fae," she said. "I'll run in back and
see how your dinner is coming."

"Thanks." Fae smiled gratefully as Jessica
hurried away. She didn't know what she would have done without
Jessica's help. Until Fae had been able to start driving again,
Jessica had run Fae's meals over to her on the days when Fae hadn't
been up to cooking. Her willingness to help had made it Fae's
recover a lot easier. Not to mention something to hang onto when
dark moods had occasionally swung in like unwelcome summer
storms.

Jessica came back a moment later, another
woman in tow. "Just a few more minutes, Fae. Sorry. It's been kind
of crazy tonight."

Fae smiled. "That's okay. I'm not moving very
fast tonight anyway."

"I could drive it over to you when it's
ready, if you like."

Fae shook her head. "Naw. I don't mind.
Really. Besides, I just took something for the pain, so I should be
fine."

Jessica hesitated. "If you're sure..."

"Absolutely. Don't worry about it. A few more
minutes isn't going to put me back in the hospital."

Jessica grinned. "Okay. In the meantime, I'd
like you to meet our new manager, Karen Nelson. Karen, this is Fae
O'Neill. She lives next door and eats here a lot."

The new manager was so perfectly put
together, she reminded Fae of a mannequin in an expensive boutique
window. The look startled Fae. Most of the people up here were a
lot more informal. Then Fae mentally slapped herself for the unkind
thought. Maybe the woman was only trying to make a good impression
and would relax after awhile. Fae didn't get up, but smiled and
reached out to shake Karen's hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

Karen hesitated an obvious long moment before
taking Fae's hand. She shook it briefly and then dropped it
quickly, as if Fae's fingers were made of serrated blades. Her
smile was as brief and sharp as her handshake and didn't reach
anywhere near her eyes. "Nice to meet you, too."

Fae kept her face neutral and her smile
firmly in place, as if she hadn't sensed the other woman's
animosity.

Jessica, though, was watching them with
bewilderment, her eyes going back and forth between the two as if
she was watching a tennis match. Clearly uncomfortable, she cleared
her through. "I'll just go check on your dinner, Fae."

"Thanks, Jessica."

The new manager hesitated. Fae was about to
ask her a sociable question, when Karen turned abruptly and
followed Jessica back to the kitchen. Only then did Fae allow one
eyebrow to lift in reaction. "Interesting," she murmured as she
watched her go.

She certainly didn't expect everyone to like
her, but had seldom had someone dislike her so intensely right from
the start. Not to mention her own adverse reaction to the new
manager. There was something not quite right about her and Fae's
eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to figure out what it was. It
was on the tip of her brain, but then Jessica returned with Fae's
dinner and the faint wisp of thought vanished.

As Fae walked back through the lobby, she saw
Karen standing motionless behind the front desk, watching. Fae
raised one hand in a brief wave as she went past.

"Good luck," she said brightly. She truly
meant it. It was a difficult job and the Lodge had had trouble
keeping managers as a result. But the minute the words were out of
Fae's mouth, she realized that Karen had taken the comment the
wrong way. The other woman's eyes narrowed and Fae felt the chill
of Karen's gaze right down to her core. Only after the big doors
closed behind her did the prickling in her back subside.

It wasn't until Fae was nearly home that an
image of Mrs. Danvers from the movie version of Rebecca flashed
into her mind.
That
was who Karen reminded her of. Extremely
polite and helpful on the surface, but seething with rage
underneath.

As Fae parked and turned off her car, she
thought that she would be wise to never turn her back on that
woman. Especially since she had clearly angered her with that
innocuous comment. She had a feeling that Karen not only assumed
the worst, but also never forgave or forgot a blessed thing.

Fae shuddered slightly and then went into the
house. She put the dinner in the oven to stay warm while she
changed into comfy sweats and then set up her dinner tray next to
the couch where she could stretch out. She had to hunt for the copy
of
The Woman in White
which had fallen onto the floor next
to her bed. She had read it in college as a requirement, but was
now reacquainting herself with it for pleasure.

Soon she was set up and enjoying her dinner
as the book transported her to another world and her meeting with
Karen Nelson was forgotten. After a few hours, Fae noticed that at
some point the cats had crept up onto her extended lap. They were
going to miss having her to lie on when she was fully recovered,
she thought ruefully. They had enjoyed her convalescence much more
than she had.

As the door closed behind the woman dressed
like a refugee from the sixties, Karen muttered, "bitch" without
thinking.

"Excuse me?"

Karen looked at the desk clerk who was
standing next to her, not realizing she had spoken out loud.
"What?"

The young woman blinked in confusion. "I
though you said something."

Karen shook her head. "Sorry. Just thought
about something I forgot to tell my daughter. Not important." She
forced out a smile that felt phony even to her. But the clerk only
hesitated a moment before returning the smile uncertainly and then
turned back to the computer were she was showing Karen the
reservation system.

Fortunately, the system was basic and easy
because Karen's mind was still on that woman and her condescending
little comment. Not to mention that ridiculous outfit.

Realizing the clerk had just asked her a
question, Karen gritted her teeth and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you had any questions." The girl
was looking at her oddly and Karen took a deep breath and tried to
focus.

"I probably will," she said. "There's so much
information that it's all starting to run together. Could we go
over it again tomorrow? It'll probably start making sense the
second time."

"Oh sure," the girl said. "You're right.
There's a lot to remember. Ivy is on in the morning and I come on
at four. Just let me know when you want to go over it again."

"Thanks," Karen said. "Do you have any idea
where I'm supposed to go next?"

"I'll find Jessica. She'll know." She scooted
around the desk and vanished into the dining room.

Karen watched her go and then shook herself
slightly. She had to get herself together before everyone thought
she was a flake or not up to the job. She couldn't afford to let
someone like that hippie wannabe derail her and cost her this job.
Not after everything she had been through.

Karen took a couple of deep breaths and tried
to put the encounter out of her mind. She had to get herself under
control so she could make it through this evening. She'd have to
think about everything else later.

When she got back inside the cabin, Starr
surveyed her room with dismay. It wouldn’t take long to fix, but
with everything helter skelter, it really did look awful. She took
off her jacket and quickly pushed the desk and bookcase back in
place. There was still a lot of junk on the bed, but she decided to
find the coins that had rolled into the closet before tidying up
the bed. Besides, she could always toss everything back in the
duffel bag and sort it out tomorrow if she had to.

The closet wasn't that big, but it was dark.
She pulled out the suitcase and her other pair of shoes and got on
her hands and knees and ran her hands along the floor.

She found the first quarter on the far side
away from the door and another just a little further. She couldn't
see any more, but was pretty sure more coins had rolled in. Maybe
they were in the back. She inched forward, feeling around the
cracks in the far corner. As she poked the floorboards, she felt
something move.

Starr froze, her mind racing. She backed out
of the closet, got the flashlight from the kitchen junk drawer and
hurried back to the closet. When she switched on the light, she saw
a small knothole. She pushed her hair away from her face, put her
finger in the knothole and pulled. A small square of wood lifted up
and she saw that several planks from the floor had been stuck
together to make a large square.

A surge of excitement filled her. There
couldn't be buried treasure here, could there? Part of her knew it
was unlikely, but still....

She got closer and shone the light into the
space below.

It was empty.

Starr wrinkled her nose in disappointment.
She supposed it was silly to think she was going to find something
like hidden treasure, but then how often did you find secret
compartments in your closet? At least it was dry and was a real
cubbyhole, not just the dirt underside of the cabin.

She grinned. She knew immediately what she
was going to do with it. It might not have any treasure, but it was
a great place to hide her camera. She knew it was probably safe up
here away from the Cities, but since you never knew and since it
was
her greatest treasure....

It also meant her camera was safe even if her
mother went on one of her rampages. She had taken the camera away
before. Now she wouldn't have the chance.

Starr replaced the lid to the cubbyhole and
shone the flashlight around the closet and found three more
quarters in the far corner. She grinned as she switched off the
flashlight and crawled out.