On Thin Icing (10 page)

I chuckled. That helped. Sterling was so calm. “No offense.”

“What happened?” He pulled a chair away from the table and sat down next to me.

Between the comforting smell of the coffee and Sterling’s grounding presence I started to feel calmer. Mom says that Sterling is an old soul. She’s right. He exuded a relaxed, centering vibe as he waited for me to speak.

I took a sip of coffee. It exploded with flavor in my mouth. Who cares if the caffeine kicks your adrenaline higher, I told myself, taking another sip. This is exactly what I need.

Sterling crossed his legs. He wore a pair of black skinny jeans tucked into black combat boots. The look on anyone else might have been intimidating, but not on Sterling. His gentle spirit came through no matter what he wore.

“Thank you.” I exhaled and wrapped both hands around the mug. “I needed this.”

“No problem.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit jumpy.”

Sterling shook his head. “I think finding a body warrants a freak-out.”

I tried to smile. “I guess so.”

“So what happened, and what do you need me to do?”

I told him about going to the marina to look for the sausage and finding Tony’s body in the chest freezer. I shuddered again as I recalled the sight of his blue face.

Sterling tugged at the strings on his black hoodie. “So the first step is calling the police, right?”

“Yeah, and we need to find Mercury. She needs to know.” I took another sip of the coffee. It had cooled slightly. “And then Lance, of course.”

He stood. “You call the police. I’ll go track down Mercury.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” I rested the coffee on the table behind me. “Should I call 911?”

Sterling shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll call Thomas,” I said. “He’ll know what to do.” Thomas was my high school boyfriend and Ashland’s deputy detective-in-training. We’d rekindled our friendship and connected over a murder at Torte when I returned home last summer.

“Okay.” Sterling nodded. He appraised me. “You’re sure you’re good before I go find Mercury?”

“Much better. Thank you.”

Sterling cinched his hoodie over his head and started for the front door.

“Be careful out there,” I called after him. “It’s really bad.”

After he left, I took a moment to calm my breathing and sip the coffee. Then I found the phone by the front desk. Like everything else in the resort, it was old school. The phone was attached to the wall and had a long black twisted cord. I picked up the receiver and started to place a finger in the rotary dial. I realized I didn’t know Thomas’s number. When I had returned home to Ashland and reconnected with Thomas he had added his number to my cell. That was one major pro of the digital age. No need to memorize anyone’s number.

However, at the moment, it would have been helpful to have Thomas’s number in my head. I should just call 911, right? Where were emergency services even located up this high? I remembered passing the fire station yesterday. Maybe they could send someone.

That was probably my best option. I dialed and waited for it to ring. The connection wasn’t good. The line crackled as a woman’s voice answered.

“911 operator, what’s your emergency?”

“I’m at Lake of the Woods and there’s a dead body here.”

Static buzzed on the line.

“I didn’t get that. You’ll have to say it again.”

I repeated what I’d just said, only louder.

“Lake of the Woods?”

“Yes!”

“You need an ambulance?”

“No. I think you need to send a detective. Someone has been murdered.”

“Murder?” she yelled.

“Yes!”

The line went dead for a moment. I thought I’d lost her. Then she came back. “Our connection is bad. If I lose you, I’ll call you back.”

“Okay.”

“This storm has been upgraded. We have blizzard conditions out there. I don’t know how soon I can get help to you. Can you confirm this is
not
an emergency?”

Was murder an emergency? I guess not. Tony wasn’t going anywhere. I explained the situation again, trying to speak as slowly and loudly as possible.

“I’m going to patch you in to Ashland police. As of about fifteen minutes ago we had trees down on OR 140. It’s going to take crews a while to reopen that road. I don’t think we can get a team from Medford to you.”

She took my name and walked me through instructions, like reiterating that no one should touch the body or the crime scene. Right. There was no chance that I was going to touch Tony’s body.

As I hung up, Sterling returned with Mercury. She looked like she’d just woken up. She wore a pair of flannel pajama bottoms, boots, and a fur-lined coat. Her hair was matted on one side like she’d slept on it.

“What happened?” She massaged her temples. “You found Tony? Are you sure he’s not just passed out or something? He has a tendency to do that. I’ve found him all around the resort sleeping it off.” She paced back and forth as she spoke.

“I’m sure,” I replied. “He’s dead. Someone stuffed his body in the chest freezer.” The words sounded like they were coming from outside of me.

Mercury ran her fingers through her hair and paused in front of the fireplace. “You’re sure?” She gave me a quizzical look.

“Positive.”

She started pacing again. “He can’t be. I just saw him a couple hours ago.”

“A couple hours?” I asked, glancing at Sterling.

“No, not hours. I mean last night. You know, we all did.” She bent over and picked up a log. “I mean when he stormed out last night. That’s when I last saw him. Wasn’t that just a few hours ago?” She laughed uncomfortably and positioned the log in the fireplace.

“I guess so,” I said.

A pile of old newspapers was stacked on the hearth. Mercury crumpled a handful of newsprint and tossed it into the fireplace. “What do we do now?”

“We wait.” I tried to catch Sterling’s eye, but he knelt in front of the fireplace and arranged the wadded-up balls of newspaper that Mercury was scrunching with force. “I called 911. They’re going to try to send a team, but the roads are bad. The operator wasn’t sure how soon she could get anyone up here.”

Mercury stood on her tiptoes and reached for a box of matches on the mantel. She struck the side of the box and threw the lit match on top of the newspaper. With one poof the fire sprang to life. “This is terrible,” she said, picking up an iron poker and stirring the flaming balls. “I checked the forecast last night. It’s supposed to get really bad. In fact, I was planning to have Gavin help me make sure that all the cabins are stocked with candles and matches. If the wind continues to pick up, we might lose power.”

Sterling stood and brushed newsprint from his hands. “Do you have a backup generator?”

Mercury nodded. “We do, but just for the lodge.” She stabbed at the fire. “Every cabin has a woodstove, but I need to make sure they have enough wood. Usually guests like the ambiance of lighting a fire, but if we lose power that will be their only source of heat.”

She sighed and returned the poker to the rack on the hearth. The fire crackled and popped. I hoped there was enough wood in my cabin. I hadn’t bothered to check last night.

Mercury held her fingers on her temples as if willing her brain to work. “Okay, I have to focus. What do we do about Tony’s body?”

“The operator said to leave him and the crime scene exactly as it is. She recommended finding a way to block access. We don’t want Lance’s guests going down there and disturbing the area.”

“I can take care of it,” Sterling said. He turned to Mercury. “Do you have any rope?”

She rubbed her eyes and rocked back and forth. “I’m sure I do in the storage room. I guess I should go with you. It is my lodge after all.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” I asked Sterling. Internally I was grateful that he volunteered. I had no desire to return to the marina.

“It’ll be fine. All I’m going to do is rope off the marina.”

Mercury clapped her hand over her mouth. “What about Gavin? I need to find Gavin. You didn’t see him down there, did you?”

“No.” I shook my head. “But it was early.”

“Gavin’s always the first one up.” Mercury started to walk toward the back. “I’ll find rope and then we better stop by his cabin on the way. Oh dear, I hope he’s okay. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I tried to reassure her. She didn’t reply. She was already halfway to the storage room. “Wow, she’s wound up,” I said to Sterling.

“That’s an understatement.” He glanced at the fire. “I thought she was going to impale me with the poker.”

“I’m going to call Thomas while you take care of the marina. If help isn’t going to get here for a while, I want to see if there’s anything else we should do.”

“Good idea.” Sterling tugged on his hoodie. “When did Tony leave last night?”

“I wasn’t paying close attention to time—maybe around ten-thirty or eleven.”

“And you found his body when?”

“A little after five.”

“So there are about six hours between when he was last seen alive and when we know he was dead. That seems like a pretty tight window, don’t you think?”

I grabbed the coffee that Sterling had given me earlier and took a sip. It had gone cold, but I didn’t care. “I’ll ask Thomas about that, too. Maybe we should write this down while it’s fresh in our heads?”

“Isn’t that why the police always question people right away while their memories are fresh?” He laughed. “Or is that just on TV?”

“No, I think that’s true.” I could hear Mercury’s footsteps returning. “Keep an eye on her,” I whispered. “I’m not sure I trust her.”

“Why do you think I offered to go?” Sterling raised an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” I mouthed as Mercury came toward us with a roll of twine tucked under her arm.

“Will this work?” She held up the bundle of string.

“We’ll make it work,” Sterling replied.

“I’m going to continue the breakfast prep,” I said. “Murder or no murder, everyone needs to eat.”

“I wish you wouldn’t call it murder,” Mercury said. “It sounds so terrible.”

“It is terrible.” I stared at the phone on the wall. Why wasn’t the operator calling me back?

She tossed the twine at Sterling. “I know. I guess I never thought something like this would happen here.”

Sterling started toward the front door. “Murder can happen anywhere.”

He was right.

Chapter Eleven

I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost six-thirty. Where had the time gone? I had a ton of work to do before Lance and his guests descended on the dining hall. But first I had to check in with Thomas. Since I didn’t know his number, I called Torte. Mom could track him down.

Andy answered on the first ring. “Torte, how can I help you?”

“Andy, it’s Jules.”

“Hey boss, how’s the lodge? It’s dumping snow down here. I can’t imagine how much you must be getting up there.”

“Yeah, it’s coming down pretty hard. Is Mom around?”

“Sure, let me grab her. Hey, before I do, I wanted to ask—do I get a prize or something?”

“A prize?”

“Yeah, for making it snow?”

“What?”

“Remember how I told you that my snowflake latte was a gift to the snow gods? It worked! You mom is letting me take off early to go hit this fresh powder.”

I laughed. “Good job. I’ll be sure to bring you back something special.” Yeah, like a dead body.

Mom’s voice was full of energy. “Good morning, honey, I didn’t expect to hear from you. How’s everything going? It’s a winter wonderland here. There’s probably a good two inches on the ground and I’m watching fat flakes fall outside the window right now. I have a feeling the whole town is going to be out playing in it soon. I have Stephanie making extra cookies and muffins, and Andy has all of our extra carafes filled with his signature hot chocolate.”

“That’s great, Mom.” I hated having to tell her my news and ruin her snow day. I paused and thought about how to frame it.

“Juliet, I’m sorry.” She lowered her voice. “I know that you’re probably upset.”

How did she know?

“I am. I’m not sure what to do, so I was hoping maybe you could give me Thomas’s number.”

She sounded surprised. “Thomas? What does Thomas have to do with this?”

“He’s a detective. He’ll know what to do.”

“Why do you need a detective? Are you planning to have Thomas run a background check on him?”

I wrinkled my brow. What was she talking about? Mom’s hearing wasn’t the best. Maybe she hadn’t understood what I said.

“Mom, I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. What do you mean, run a background check?”

“On Carlos.”

“Carlos?”

“Isn’t that why you’re upset, honey? When Carlos showed up I didn’t know what else to do. He said that he called to tell you that he was coming, so I sent him to you.”

“Oh my gosh!” I laughed. “Carlos. Right. I’d forgotten all about Carlos.”

“He’s not there? He said he was heading to the lodge yesterday.”

“No, he’s here. He’s definitely here, but that’s not what I’m calling about.”

She let out an audible sigh. “Whew. I was worried that you were going to be upset with me.”

“Mom, no. Don’t be silly. It’s not your job to be in the middle of Carlos and me. I’m not mad at all. I mean, I was shocked to see him, a little heads-up might have been nice, but I’m not mad at you.”

“I called you, but your phone went straight to voice mail.”

“Right. There’s no cell service up here.”

Mom’s voice was muffled for a moment as she answered a question in the background. “Sorry about that, Mrs. Ryder wanted to know if it was okay to park her cross-country skis next to the door. She skied in for a latte. Isn’t that great?”

“Great.”

“All right, so back to business, you’re not upset about Carlos, but you need Thomas’s number for his professional help? What’s going on up there? Is someone hurt?”

“Worse.”

“Worse! Juliet, is Sterling okay?”

Time to rip off the Band-Aid. “Sterling is fine. I’m fine. Lance is fine. Everyone you know is fine, but there’s been a murder.”

“A murder?”

“Yeah. The lodge’s bartender has been murdered. I found him this morning.”