Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) (13 page)

Kalin leaned back in her chair and let her thoughts wander. She knew what this type of information was used for, but what should she do about it? Who to tell about the copied hard drives? Turner? Did she trust him? Constable Miller? Would that constitute releasing the company’s private information? She’d signed a confidentiality agreement when she was promoted to director.

Turner calculating termination packages without her input made her nervous, but she couldn’t deal with him now. She needed to prove Roy’s innocence first. The phone numbers calling the front desk on the day before the theft gave her a starting point.

She clicked on her Internet browser and opened the reverse white pages for Canada. She searched for the first number Cameron had given her.

Holden Laundromat.

Kalin called the director of lodging. “Do we clean our linens or do we outsource that?”

“Outsource,” the director said.

“Do you know to where?”

“Of course. Holden Laundromat.”

Kalin hung up. That call made sense. After researching the rest of the numbers, only one more interested her. The number was listed under Stone Mountain Employee Housing.

Kalin bee lined to Monica Bellman’s desk. As the HR manager, Monica was also responsible for employee housing. When Kalin first came to Stone Mountain, Monica had applied for the HR manager job, but Kalin took the position and Monica resented her. When her previous boss promoted Kalin to director, Kalin promoted Monica to manager, and their relationship improved.

“Is there still a communal phone in the staff lounge area?”

“Yes. Why?”

“So if a call came to the resort from Stone Mountain Employee Housing, then it came from there?”

“Yeah.”

Of all the finance center staff, only one lived in housing provided by the resort. “Does Eric Wilson live in that building?”

Monica drew a quick breath. “He does. You don’t think—”

“I’m only speculating. Please don’t say anything about this.” Kalin called Miller, got his voicemail and left the information.

She returned to her office and retrieved Eric’s employment file she’d taken earlier in the day. The folder was thin, but she read the contents, hoping she might find something useful. His job application for a seasonal clerk in the finance center provided nothing interesting. She read Eric’s criminal record check he’d brought from Australia. The paper looked photocopied and could be a forgery. She called Miller and left a second message.

Just as she hit disconnect, her cell rang, and Ben’s name appeared on the screen.

Neither Ben nor Kalin said anything. Kalin’s heart pinched. The news was bad. She pushed the HR folders to the side and held her breath.

Finally Kalin broke the silence. “You didn’t find him.”

“I’m sorry. There’s too much snow.”

Kalin squished her eyes tight. “Thank you for trying. I know this is hard for you, too.”

For the second time in her life, Helen sat in the interrogation room at the Holden RCMP headquarters. Holden was eighteen kilometers from the resort, but in winter conditions, the drive could take up to an hour to cover the twelve-hundred-meter drop in altitude. She’d left her place early and ended up waiting half an hour in an empty room before anyone spoke with her, giving her an agonizingly long time to wonder if they knew she lied during the first polygraph. What other reason could they have for asking her to take the test again?

As the finance center clerk on duty both the night before the theft and the morning after, of course, she’d be a prime suspect. Her ex-boss, Jessica, certainly thought she stole the money.

When Helen finished the second test, she waited another ten minutes. The police wouldn’t tell her why they wanted her to re-answer their questions. Miller only said the polygraph specialist found some discrepancies in the first test. This time, a woman asked the questions, and she’d been tough.

Sweat trickled down Helen’s spine, and she shifted in the chair, unsticking her shirt from her back. She didn’t know where to look. She guessed people were watching her through the mirror on the wall, and wished they’d hurry up. Did Turner know about her failing the polygraph, and would he change his mind about promoting her?

When the door finally opened, Constable Miller entered. He sat across from her and placed a folder on the table. “We have some issues with the way you answered a few questions.”

Helen swallowed over the lump in her throat. The first time she met Constable Miller, she’d liked his friendly face, but now he looked stern. Still, he wasn’t as intimidating as the woman who had just interrogated her.

Miller drew his chair closer to the table, and the legs squeaked over the linoleum floor. “You lied during the questioning. Do you want to tell me why?”

“I don’t know what you mean. Where am I failing?”

“It’s not about passing or failing. You registered high around certain questions.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“You could be if you don’t tell the truth.”

Not knowing who was behind the mirror unnerved Helen, so she focused on Miller. “It’s about the combination, isn’t it?”

Miller smiled, not with his mouth, but with his eyes. “If it has to do with Roy McCann, you should tell us. You can’t hurt him now, and it’s only going to be worse for you if you try to protect him.”

“Roy was my friend. I don’t believe he stole the money.”

“I understand. Sometimes people we care about do terrible things.”

“What will happen if I lied during the test?”

“That depends on what you tell me, but you won’t be punished for the lie itself. Now’s the time to talk to me.”

Helen glanced in the direction of the one-way mirror. “I did write down the combination, and it’s possible Roy saw it.”

“Can you elaborate?”

She thought back to the night Roy had come knocking on her door. “I just got back from cross-country skiing and was planning on going to bed, when Roy showed up.”

“Did he come by often?”

“Not really. I could tell by the way he called me through the door that he was drunk. I wasn’t even sure if I should let him in. It was so late, and if anyone saw him…”

“Why would that be a problem?”

“He dated Jessica, my boss.”

“So you let him in?”

“I did. He could barely walk. I knew he wouldn’t make it home, so I helped him get to my bed and I left him there passed out face down on my comforter.”

“And?”

“My friend Natalie lent me a paperback, and Roy fell face down on it. I tried to get it but couldn’t.”

“And that’s relevant how?”

“As I leaned over him, I noticed my day timer on my bedside table.”

“You seem to be getting off course here.”

“I’m embarrassed. I wrote the combination in the back of my day timer. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“When was that?”

Even though Helen couldn’t see the people on the other side of the glass, she knew they were there and guessed they all leaned forward to hear her answer. “Early December.”

“Was it the same combination as on the day of the theft?”

“Yes,” Helen whispered.

“What makes you think Roy saw the combination?”

“In the morning, when I went to look for him, I found my day timer open. I’m neat and organized and would never have left it that way.”

“How would Roy know where to look?”

Helen could feel heat in her face and wished her cheeks wouldn’t turn blotchy. “I did something stupid. He was complaining about Jessica’s temper, and I was being supportive. I told him how she snapped at me when I forgot the combination and that I’d written it in my day timer, so I wouldn’t have to ask her for it again.” Helen’s shoulders slumped. She’d been gullible. She guessed Roy gave her the snowboarding lessons as a way to make up for what he’d done. She’d thought Roy liked her. Maybe he wasn’t even drunk that night. Maybe it was her fault the money was stolen.

“Do you have the day timer with you?”

Helen pulled it from her purse and handed it to Miller. “Do you have to tell Paul Turner about this?”

* * *

Minutes before the chairlifts opened at nine, Kalin made a quick stop in her office and picked up her skis. She couldn’t help Roy, but she could save his reputation. She’d shifted focus to two other people for the finance center theft. Her confidence she’d prove his innocence was growing. All she had to do was keep the pressure on.

Getting on the hill. Sounded easy, but her entire body tensed. She hadn’t quit cycling because Jack died while riding, so she shouldn’t quit skiing because an avalanche killed Roy.

She’d had every variation of nightmares, Roy dying a different way each time, but she needed to get on the slopes and make a move to get her life under control. Eight days had passed since the avalanche. Surely she could work up the courage to get on the mountain.

She couldn’t face skiing her first run alone. She’d asked Ben to take her during one of his shifts. Besides, skiing with Ben would give her a chance to talk to him about the job offer at White Peaks. She’d put off the conversation long enough. Maybe they could talk rationally about the future if they were distracted by skiing. Ben might not go on the defensive immediately if he was trying to help her get over her newfound fear of skiing.

She clomped to the chairlift with her skis balanced over her shoulder, her fingers holding the tips. Blue sky stretched from peak to peak, letting the sun bring some warmth to the air. She reached the lift, and Ben skied in from the side. She fell in behind the last person in the lineup.

Ben chuckled and shook his head. “This way.” He nodded toward the front of the line. “I’m on duty. We don’t need to wait. Let’s hit the summit.”

She had to admit, even though she missed the city a little, skiing on duty was a great job perk, but she didn’t like cutting in line in front of other staff. Ben was right though. He was on duty, and he needed to get up the hill quicker than the other skiers.

Simon Crane stood in line and glared at Kalin. Why had he been looking at the resort’s finances? Too bad she didn’t have a reason to question him.

The chair swung behind Ben and Kalin and scooped them off the ground. Ben didn’t lower the safety bar, and Kalin followed his lead, letting her skis dangle above the snowy expanse.

The trees grew sparser as they ascended on the third chairlift, but the scent of pine still filled the air.

“You sure this isn’t too soon?” Ben asked.

“I can’t avoid skiing forever. After yesterday…” Heat stung her face. She’d been about to say failure. “After not finding Roy, I need to move on.” Ben wouldn’t be able to see her expression underneath her goggles and the neck tube pulled over her nose.

The chair lurched into the disembarkation station. They dismounted and skirted to the side of the lift shack.

“We’ll be here a minute. Do you want to kick off your skis and help me check the sled?”

“Okay.” Kalin stood with her knees buckled, easing the pressure on her toes and shins. Now was the time to mention White Peaks. They could talk while he readied the sled, and he’d be distracted.

The radio clipped to Ben’s chest pocket squawked. The patroller on dispatch duty broadcast there was an accident in the Dragon’s Bowl.

Kalin grabbed his wrist. “I can’t ski there.”

“You’ll be fine. I’ll take the sled. All you need to do is follow me.”

Ben hooked the sled to his waist, snapped into his bindings and took off, leaving Kalin to follow or not.

You promised not to ski in the backcountry
. Even though her mom wasn’t there, her voice was clear. Kalin swallowed hard, mentally kicked herself and chased Ben.

Shoving the White Peaks discussion to the back of her mind, she flexed and compressed her legs over the soft moguls and turned her skis around any trees blocking her way. After the twenty-centimeter snowfall the night before, the branches hung full and heavy, and snow thudded to the ground as she skied close by. She managed to keep up with Ben and was not far behind him when they reached the edge of the Bowl.

He skied as if a sled wasn’t attached to his hips and launched into the run without hesitating. Kalin jumped over the edge, not thinking about where she was going, and pressed herself to ski faster. They arrived at the accident scene within seconds of each other, but Kalin’s breathing came in short, rapid bursts, and Ben wasn’t breathing hard at all.

Two patrollers stood waist deep in a tree well beside an injured boy. The boy had fallen into the well and hit the tree head first. The skid line across the top of his helmet meant the helmet had prevented the boy from being scalped. The patrollers hadn’t attempted to move him yet.

“Hey buddy, what’s your name?” Ben asked.

“Dawson.”

Ben balanced himself beside the boy. “Can you tell me where it hurts?”

“My face.”

“How old are you?”

“Ten.” His neck tube muffled his tiny voice.

Ben gently shifted the tube below the boy’s chin and inspected his face. He squeezed Dawson’s gloved hand, slipped two fingers underneath his sleeve and checked his pulse. He cut the goggle strap, releasing the seal around the eyes, and a pool of blood mixed with tears spilled across the boy’s face.

Kalin looked away.

“Dawson, buddy. You okay?” a voice boomed from below. A man climbed toward the accident scene, clearly out of breath. Kalin guessed he’d skied ahead of the boy, then climbed the slope when the boy hadn’t followed.

“Daddy.” Dawson shifted his head in the direction of his dad, and Ben placed his hand on Dawson’s forehead to keep his neck still.

The patrollers took fifteen minutes to get Dawson out of the tree well and packed into the sled.

After they’d stabilized Dawson, Ben turned to the patroller beside him and said, “Can you take him in the sled?”

Ben and Kalin watched the group snowplow down the run.

“Did you give the father Dawson’s snowboard to make him feel like he was helping?”

Ben nodded.

“That’s smart.”

Standing on an angled slope in the Dragon’s Bowl, Kalin looked at her feet. Was she standing on Roy? She shifted to the left a foot, then shifted back. No matter where she stood, he could be beneath her.

As if reading her mind, Ben said, “This is where the avalanche happened. See the terrain on the side of the run, how the trees have been wiped out?”

Kalin stared at the debris of trees, willing the mountain to produce Roy. A metallic-yellow object lodged on a broken branch caught her eye. “What’s that?”

Ben sidestepped to the object and plucked a boot buckle from the branch. He opened his pack, pulled out a hazard line and tied the orange plastic strip around what was left of the tree.

“What are you doing?”

“Marking the spot,” Ben said.

“I can see that, but why?”

“This could be Roy’s buckle. It’ll give us a starting point to search after the snow melts in the spring.”

“Do we have to wait that long?”

“Twenty more centimeters of snow fell last night. You know we’ve been getting dumps like that regularly since the avalanche, and each snowfall makes it less likely we’ll find him. Until the snow starts to melt, we…I can’t justify taking the team away from the resort when there’s no chance we’ll find him.”

Even though she didn’t want to, Kalin believed Ben. Her eyes followed the destruction farther up the mountain. She pointed to a spot where the trees stood strong and healthy. “What’s over the precipice?”

“The slide started there.”

“Let’s climb up.”

Ben studied the terrain for a moment and finally nodded. “Okay.”

They sidestepped their way, taking a few breaks when their legs tired, and after twenty minutes, reached the area.

“Why would the avalanche start here?” Kalin asked.