Criminal Crumbs (4 page)

Puzzles are everywhere.

Who knows just what our fortune brings,

When we try hard enough to dare?

“Wow, that’s a really weak poem,” Nicole said with the hint of a smile. “Hank fancies himself a wordsmith, and he used to write me poetry that was every bit as bad as this. What is this even supposed to mean?”

“Unless I’m mistaken, it’s got the answer in the very first line,” I said as I headed for the front door. “I can’t believe that he actually used the word ‘maze’ in his clue.”

“Honestly, that’s kind of clever,” Nicole said as she joined me. “Do we have to solve the maze out front? I’ve never been good at that sort of thing.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a seasoned pro at it.”

When we got to the maze’s entrance, I was ready to start inside right away when Nicole asked, “What’s under here?” as she lifted the lid I’d checked out earlier.

She was right, of course. Why try to solve the maze ourselves when the solution had already been presented to us? She lifted the lid, and I moved in to study the solution.

It read, “
Two lefts, two rights, one left, one right
,” and it showed a diagram as well.

We both went in together, and with the map in my head, we quickly found the center.

Surprise, surprise. The next clue was there indeed, along with three duplicates of the cheap childhood plastic game where little steel balls had to be led through a maze by moving the entire game from side to side. I’d had one as a child, but I’d grown bored with it after quickly mastering its secrets. The sign said, “
Take One
,” so I did, and we moved on to the next clue.

“Water, water, everywhere,

And tasks before you’re fed,

Look around but try not to stare,

At the angles above your head.”

“Did he mean to write ‘angels’”? Nicole asked me.

“I don’t think so,” I said as I puzzled it out aloud. “Water implies proximity to the lake, and angles means that it must be in a structure nearby.”

“Does that mean that we should go to the boathouse?” Nicole suggested.

“No, unless I miss my guess, it’s got to be the gazebo,” I said, heading out of the maze in reverse order of the way that we’d come in. “The clue about angles gives it away. The boathouse is locked, but I can still see that it’s a rectangle, while the gazebo is an octagon, full of all kinds of odd angles.”

“How did you know that?” Nicole asked me as we broke out of the maze. Grace was just coming out of the lodge, with Georgia in the lead. She looked unhappy about the pairing, and who could blame her? There was nothing I could do about it, though, so I waved to her as we rushed forward.

The floor and benches of the gazebo were devoid of any further clues, but between two rafters, there was a new clue, as well as three little octagons made of wood and painted green. Nicole grabbed a piece as I read the puzzle.

This next clue is hidden among the trees,

Though they’ve never been alive,

You’ll have to get down on your hands and knees,

Or of dinner you will be deprived.

“Clumsy rhythm to the rhyme,” Nicole said, puzzled. “But what does it mean?”

I thought about it for a few moments, and then I realized that the cottage names were all trees, and the stones forming them had never been alive. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Nicole asked.

“To the cottages,” I said as I raced toward them.

“But what’s the clue mean?”

“It has to be the names of the cottages themselves: Pine, Spruce, Fir, Hemlock.”

“I’m beginning to think I lucked out in the partner drawing,” Nicole said.

“I’ve always been fond of puzzles,” I said.

The only problem was that we couldn’t find the next clue when we got there.

Chapter 6

I
was about to give up
when Nicole said, “Suzanne! Over here! I found it!”

I joined her in the narrow space between Pine and Spruce and found her literally down on her knees. “It was under this big rock,” she said.

I looked at the hiding place and realized that this particular stone didn’t match any of the others I’d seen at the resort. When I lifted it, it came up with surprising ease.

Nicole grinned at me. “That fooled me, too. It’s made from Styrofoam.”

“Nice spot,” I said.

Underneath the rock, there was another puzzle and three small river stones, smoothed from ages of being exposed to running water. Nicole grabbed a stone in triumph as I read the next clue.

Some fires burn bright

But some are for show

This one is light

But cannot glow

I stared at it a few seconds, and then I turned to Nicole. “Sorry, but I’m stumped by this one. I don’t have a clue.”

“Neither do I,” she admitted.

Out loud, I asked, “How can a fire be for show only here? The only fireplaces I saw in the main lodge were real ones.”

“Let’s think about it. What can be a fire for show?” she asked me.

“My aunt had a heater that displayed fake flames,” I said, “but something like that seems out of place here.”

“What choice do we have? It’s the only idea we’ve been able to come up with, so it’s worth a shot, but where do we start?”

I thought about it for a moment before I spoke. “It would have to be in a public space, wouldn’t it? How about the lodge? Have you seen anything like he’s describing?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not there. Let’s go check,” she said.

“I’m not at all certain that we’re even getting warm with this guess,” I replied as we headed back to where we’d started this silly game.

“It’s more than I’ve been able to come up with, so we might as well try,” she said.

We went inside the main lodge to find Hank waiting for us. He wasn’t smiling, though he should have been. After all, he was controlling this little party, and I was fairly certain that he wouldn’t miss tonight’s meal, even if he had to eat alone. “How are you two doing so well? This was supposed to be harder than you’re making it seem.”

Nicole smiled at him. “That’s because Suzanne’s good with puzzles.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Nicole. You’ve been helping, too,” I said.

“Well, the next clue’s the toughest of all,” Hank said with wicked delight.

“Is it fair, though? That’s the real question,” I asked him.

Hank scowled at me, his attractiveness dissipating like fresh rain on a hot pavement. “Are you accusing me of something, Suzanne?”

Nicole stepped between us. “She just wants to know if this puzzle is solvable.”

He shrugged slightly. “It’s not easy, if that’s what you’re asking, but if you’re smart enough, you’ll be able to figure it out.”

I wanted nothing more at that moment than to wipe that smug look off his face. He could keep his gourmet meal; I just wanted to win now. “Come on, Nicole. Let’s get busy with our search.”

Hank was still frowning at me, but I couldn’t care less if I tried. Where could the next clue be hiding? I looked around the fireplace, which was blazing now, but there was nothing there. I happened to glimpse Hank, and I saw that he was smiling broadly. It just made me more determined than ever to figure this out. There were no other fires in the reception area, though.

Nicole came over and asked me softly, “Suzanne, are we sure about this?”

“No. I mean yes,” I quickly amended.

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Would Hank have been waiting for us if the next clue hadn’t been here?” I asked. “Or would he have been out on the front porch where he could watch us all scurrying around like mice? It’s somewhere nearby. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Then let’s keep looking.”

Nicole started leafing through the magazines and books, while I studied the room as a whole. I’d noticed the photographs and paintings on my earlier visit. Could a clue be hidden among them? It all suddenly made sense. The fire could be printed or painted, giving off the appearance of light but without heat! And both were meant for show, just as the clue warned.

I approached Nicole and told her my theory quietly so Hank couldn’t overhear me.

“It’s got to be it,” she said. “You take that side, and I’ll start over here.”

As we moved along the walls and started studying the paintings and photographs, I looked over at Hank again and saw that his frown had returned. We were onto something!

Two minutes later, Nicole called out, “Here it is! I found it!”

I joined her at a large framed photograph I’d somehow missed before. It had been treated with something to make it appear old, but there was something about it that made me realize that it wasn’t original to the lodge. The scene was one of nighttime, and a familiar-looking fire pit blazed in its center. That was it. No words, no cheesy poetry, just the fire pit. I was about to tell Nicole it was a red herring when I spotted three wooden matches lined up on the bottom edge of the frame.

“These must be the tokens,” I said as I grabbed one.

“But where’s the clue?” she asked.

I thought about it, and then I realized what it had to mean. “I’ve got a hunch that this one’s literal. There’s a fire pit out by the lake. The next clue’s got to be there.”

Hank had tried to listen to our whispered conversation, but he hadn’t had any luck from the signs of frustration on his face. “Play along with me. This might be fun,” I said softly to her, and then, in a much louder voice for Hank’s benefit, I added, “I don’t know, Nicole. Maybe he’s stumped us with this one after all.”

“Let’s go back to the last clue and see if we missed something,” she said and then winked at me.

Hank looked absolutely triumphant when we left the lodge.

Instead of wandering around, though, we headed straight to the fire pit by the lake.

There, inside the empty pit, were three bottle rockets and a short note.

“Congratulations! You’ve won!

Make it back to the dining room in time,

Get yourself ready for some fun,

Then you’ll have a chance to fine dine!”

“That’s the worst one yet,” Nicole said. “Do we take this back with us, too?” she asked as she picked up one of the bottle rockets.

“No, I think we’re supposed to shoot it off with the match we found in the lodge. That’s how Hank will know if anyone is trying to cheat. Would you like to do the honors?” I asked her as I handed her the match.

“No, we couldn’t have done it without you,” Nicole said. “You go ahead.”

I placed our rocket in one of the three empty soda bottles lined up outside the pit and lit the fuse. Taking a step back to rejoin Nicole, we watched as it shot upward and arched over the lake, exploding at the end of its flight and sending sparks cascading down to the water.

“What do we take back, the burnt match or the bottle? There’s no way we can retrieve that rocket from where it landed.”

“Let’s take them both,” I said. I noticed the other teams watching us. Grace was the only one smiling.

We made it back to the front porch, where Hank was waiting on us. “I have to admit, that was clever,” he said. “Do you have the talismans?” He wanted to deny us our victory; I could see it in his gaze.

I laid them out, one at a time: the game, the octagon, the burnt match, and the bottle.

“Sorry. That’s not right,” he said smugly.

“What? It has to be,” Nicole protested. “We did everything by the book. If you didn’t want us to fire off that rocket, why give us matches in the first place? You said you’d play fair, Hank!”

“I have,” he said smugly, glancing down at our tokens again.

That’s when I got it. I reached for the puzzle and saw him scowling again. In thirty seconds, I had every ball in its proper place and put the game back down carefully so I wouldn’t dislodge any of them.

“How about now?” I asked.

He nodded, his lips making two grim little lines.

“So, when do we eat?” I asked him happily. I didn’t care if I made him mad or not. After all, he wasn’t
my
boss.

“When it’s time,” Hank said stiffly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the others are still working on their puzzles.” He was nearly at the door when he said, “I meant what I said about not cheating. You are not to give hints, clues, gestures, glances, or any other form of assistance to any of the others, or you will be disqualified. Is that understood?”

Nicole nodded, but I chose to salute instead.

After Hank was gone, she giggled like a teenager. “He didn’t like that one bit, did he?”

“That’s just too bad,” I said. “Let’s go see how the others are doing. We might not be able to help them, but we can at least be there to lend moral support.”

Chapter 7

I
t was close, but a
few minutes before the deadline was upon us, the last pairing of Janelle and Celia made it in, carrying their tokens with them. I noted that Janelle had solved the puzzle on the walk in, and when they were in place, matching ours, Hank put on a false smile. “Very well. Everyone accomplished their tasks. Let’s eat, shall we?”

We all followed him into the dining room, where a sumptuous meal was waiting for us. We dined on crab puffs, shrimp cocktail, roast pork, salmon, glazed asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and for dessert, there was a choice between chocolate mousse or fresh berries and cream. I would never have admitted it to Hank, but it had been a meal worth every moment we’d spent working for it.

After the meal was finished, I found myself yawning, and not just because of the feast. It was nearing my bedtime, and I was having a hard time staying awake.

I approached Grace and Nicole, who were deep in conversation about something business related. “If you all don’t mind, I think I’m going to call it a night.”

“Okay,” Grace said as she stood. “I’ll go with you.”

“Nonsense. You don’t have to babysit me. You two keep talking. I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t forget to pick up a flashlight on your way out,” Nicole said. “That treasure hunt was fun, Suzanne. I’m glad we were partners.”

“So am I,” I said.

“Suzanne, are you sure you don’t mind if I hang back for awhile?” Grace asked.

“Honestly, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all,” I said.

I was retrieving one of the flashlights when I heard Nicole call out from behind me, “Hang on a second, Suzanne. I’ll keep you company.”

“You’re not going to bed, too, are you?”

“No, but I need to get my laptop, and I already dropped it off at my cottage. There’s something I want to show Grace.”

“Okay then, let’s go.”

We walked out together into the night air, and I realized that it had gotten much cooler out while we’d been inside dining by the warm fireplace in the restaurant. I was glad that we’d all been issued hooded sweatshirts for the weekend, but heavy parkas might have been even better. I zipped my sweatshirt closed and jammed my hands in the pockets as we stepped out onto the porch and turned our flashlights on.

“It’s freezing, isn’t it?” Nicole asked as we hurried our pace.

“I’m glad you all provided these sweatshirts,” I said. “I’m still going to have to wear more layers than I’d planned on.”

Our feet crunched on the gravel, and I played my light over the maze for a moment. “Hank thought he was being sneaky using that, didn’t he?”

“I’m not entirely positive that he knew the solution was under the sign,” she answered with a giggle. “No wonder he was so upset when we cracked his puzzles so quickly.”

“How has he been treating you since you broke up with him?” I asked her gently.

Nicole hesitated a moment, and then she said, “Better than I expected him to, as a matter of fact. Before you and Grace got here, Hank pulled me aside, and I thought I was in for another argument with him, but he told me that he understood and that it was okay.”

“As though you needed his permission to break up with him in the first place,” I said.

“No, it wasn’t like that at all. I think we’re going to be fine, as a matter of fact. I don’t think you and Grace need to even consider him as one of our candidates for what’s been happening to me.”

“Maybe it’s just a clever cover,” I said as we neared the four cottages.

“From Hank? He’s really not all that shrewd,” she said. Hemlock was the cottage closest to the main lodge and where Grace and I were staying. We got there first, but instead of stopping, I asked, “Do you mind if I walk you to your door?”

“Suzanne, you said it yourself. It’s freezing out here. Go on. I’ll be fine.”

I considered doing exactly what she’d asked, but then I knew that if I did that, and something happened to her that I might have been able to prevent, I would never be able to forgive myself. “I don’t mind. After that meal, I could use the exercise.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” she said, the relief heavy in her voice.

We walked past the two cottages with their signs naming them, Fir and Spruce, and then we were at Pine, the one Nicole was sharing with Celia and also farthest from the main lodge.

The other cottages had porch lights blazing like beacons, but Pine’s was unlit.

“That’s odd,” I said. “I wonder why yours is off?”

“Maybe it’s burned out or something,” Nicole said.

“Hang on a second.” I looked around for something to use as a weapon, just in case, and found a piece of narrow firewood near Spruce’s front porch.

“What are you going to do with that?” Nicole asked me.

“I’m going to defend us from the bad guys, if there are any,” I said.

As we approached the unlit porch, I firmed my grip on the thin log.

Nicole was about to go inside when I noticed from her light that her door was unlocked and standing slightly ajar as well. I pulled her back before she could go through. “Did you leave that door open the last time you left?” I asked her softly.

“No, I’m fairly certain that I locked it when I headed for the lodge, but Celia has a hard time remembering to lock things. It’s probably nothing.”

“That’s what I thought when I found my door like that, but I still didn’t take any chances. Stay behind me.” Using the piece of firewood, I pushed the door open ahead of me, playing my light all around while still staying outside on the front porch.

There was a loud noise as something hit the floor hard at my feet! I’d seen something falling, and I’d instinctively jumped back, but if I’d walked through that door like nothing was wrong, whatever had fallen would have struck me squarely on top of the head. I played my flashlight beam on it and saw that it was another piece of firewood, one much more substantial than the one in my hands.

“What happened?” Nicole asked as she hurried in beside me.

“Someone rigged a little unwelcome surprise for you,” I said.

Nicole started to walk in to get a better look at it, but I held her back. “Hang on. That might not be the only thing waiting inside for you.” I slowly walked through the door, flipping on the light as I did. Barely glancing at the chunk of firewood, I did a quick inspection of the cottage, which didn’t take very long, given that it was only two rooms, the main sleeping quarters and the bathroom. Everything looked to be fine, but I wasn’t finished yet. I checked in the closet, under the beds, and even in the dresser drawers. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find, but I knew that it was important to be thorough in my examination. It looked as though just the door’s booby trap had been laid for her, as if that weren’t enough. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until I put the piece of wood in my hands down on the desk. While I’d been exploring the cottage, Nicole had hefted the wood that had been set as a trap for her and was studying it. “It looks just like the rest of the wood out there.” Then she looked up at me, clearly appalled by what she’d just done. “I’ve just ruined the fingerprints, haven’t I?”

I took the firewood from her and said, “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. These surfaces are too rough to take prints, anyway. I’m guessing that whoever did this knew it and probably didn’t even bother wearing gloves. It might not have hurt you badly, but you would have gotten a nasty headache if it had hit you on top of the head.”

“Who would want to do that to me?” she asked, her voice on the verge of tears. “I just don’t understand what’s happening!”

“Nicole, it’s clear that one of the folks we’re looking at feels as though they have reason enough to harm you, even if it might not make sense to the rest of us.”

“But Celia’s eliminated as a suspect, isn’t she?” she said, brightening a little. “Why would she set a trap that might just as easily have gotten her as me?”

“Sorry, but her name has to stay on our list,” I said. “She was yawning well before I started, and yet she’s still at the lodge. That makes me think that it’s possible that she set this trap for you herself and then waited for you to fall for it. As far as I’m concerned, she has to still be a suspect.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Nicole said.

“Watch your back at all times, and try not to take too many chances,” I said.

“I wish I could stay with you and Grace tonight,” she said.

“There’s barely room for the two of us, but if you’d like, I’m sure we can work something out.”

Nicole seemed to consider that, but then she shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll do what I’d planned to all along. I’d look like an idiot if I changed things at the last second.”

“Don’t be too hasty. The more I think about you staying with us, the more I believe that it might be the best thing that you could do,” I said. “We might not get any real sleep tonight, but at least no one will be able to come after you without going through Grace and me first.”

“Let me think about it,” Nicole said.

“Fine, but I have a feeling that once Grace hears what just happened, she’s not going to let it rest.”

Nicole put her hands in mine for a moment. “Suzanne, do we really have to tell anybody else about what just happened?”

“Why should we keep it a secret?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it will throw the killer off if we don’t even react to it.”

I supposed that it was possible, and honestly, what could it hurt? “Okay, on one condition. I get to tell Grace once I see her again.”

“Does she really have to know?” Nicole asked.

“It’s the only way I’ll agree to the plan,” I answered.

“Fine. But wait until she comes back to your room tonight. Would you at least do that for me?”

“I suppose I can concede that point.” I picked up my flashlight, took the small piece of wood I’d chosen for a weapon, and then I said, “Grab your computer, and let’s go back to the lodge.”

“Are you coming back, too?”

“Just as far as the front door,” I said. “I’m going to make sure you make it okay, and then I’m going back to Hemlock.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nicole said as she hesitated at the chunk of wood someone had tried to use against her, and then she finally picked it up.

“What are you going to do with that?” I asked her.

“I’m putting it out on the porch. The sight of it gives me the creeps.” She did as she promised, and then we left the cottage together, being sure to lock the door behind us this time.

On a whim, when we approached Hemlock’s front door, I tested the handle and was relieved to see that it was still locked. Nicole didn’t comment on it, and we walked back to the lodge’s front door together.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go inside with you?” I asked her.

“I’m positive. You mustn’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but like I said before, don’t take any chances. When Grace comes back to Hemlock, you go with her, no matter what else might happen. Will you promise me that much?”

“I promise. I have no desire to walk down that gravel path alone and in the dark,” she said. “Thanks for looking out for me, Suzanne.”

“My pleasure,” I said.

After Nicole disappeared inside, I stood there debating whether I should rejoin them all despite how tired I was, but finally, I decided that it might not be the best idea. If I did something that counterintuitive, the killer might realize that I was in on Nicole’s plan to keep the attempt to harm her quiet, and that might make me a target as well. It wasn’t that I was afraid of getting a murderer’s attention; goodness knows that I’d done that enough on my own in the past. It was that if I could keep my interest in the attempts to myself, then I might be able to catch the bad guy off guard unexpectedly.

I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, though, and as I walked back along the graveled path, I couldn’t help wondering if I was making the right decision after all.