On Thin Icing (27 page)

There was no movement inside.

I tried again. “Thomas, it’s Jules! Are you awake?”

Still nothing.

He was either asleep or somewhere else. What about the Professor? I thought, scanning the grounds. Where had he gone? Had he gone to find Mercury?

I considered my options. I could go back to the kitchen and wait for Thomas or the Professor to show up, or I could go look for them. Daylight stretched across the brilliant white grounds. I was relatively safe, right? I knew I should probably just go wait for them, but the money in my bra felt like it was weighing me down. I had to find them—now.

I ran around the back of the cabin and tapped on the bedroom window. Maybe Thomas was snoozing. There was no answer. I peered in the cold windowpane. The bed was undisturbed.

Onward, Jules.

My best bet was the marina. Maybe they were reviewing evidence now that the storm had cleared, or waiting for the coroner to arrive. I felt a twinge of trepidation as I trekked down the hill. The marina was Gavin’s headquarters. It might be morning, but I didn’t want to run into him alone. If he’d killed Tony, he could do it again. I needed an excuse in case he was there. What could I tell him?

Think, Jules.

I could tell him I was looking for supplies. He didn’t need to know that Sterling had stored our cooler on the lodge’s deck. I would simply tell him that I needed to check the freezer for sausages.

Perfect, Jules. That’s foolproof.

Twice I thought about turning around. Power lines and tree branches were strewn around the lake. The storm had packed a mighty punch. Mercury was going to have a big cleanup project on her hands, and if I was right she was going to have to do it without her right-hand man, Gavin.

Shadows seemed to jump from behind the evergreen trees. I knew that it was a simple trick of the light, but that didn’t stop me from flinching anyway. Sun reflected on the frozen lake and filtered through the quiet forest.

When I made it to the marina, I stopped in mid-stride. The roped-off crime scene was fully visible in the morning light. I’d been so distracted by the blizzard yesterday that I didn’t really have a chance to take it in. A wave of nausea swept over me as I relived opening the chest freezer and finding Tony’s body. He was still in there. I couldn’t see him, but just knowing that his body was resting on ice made the coffee in my stomach churn.

“Need something?” A gruff voice sounded behind me.

I jumped and whipped my head around at the sound of the voice.

Oh no. It was Gavin. He had a hunting rifle slung on his back and a fishing tackle box in one hand.

“Whew, you startled me.” I smiled. Stay calm, Jules.

Gavin didn’t return my smile. “What are you doing?”

“I’m in search of sausage this morning.” My voice sounded shaky. I hoped that Gavin wouldn’t pick up on it. Where were the Professor and Thomas? I was sure that they would be down here.

“Sausage?” Gavin didn’t look convinced.

“Yeah, I think Sterling, my sous chef, stored some of our supplies down here. There wasn’t space in the main freezer.”

Gavin motioned toward the marina. “Go ahead. You can take a look in there, but I don’t remember seeing any food.”

I froze. I didn’t want to go inside the marina with Gavin, especially since he had a gun slung over his shoulder. I also didn’t want to give away that I suspected he killed Tony. Was the gun loaded? Would he use it against me? At least this way we were out in the open, and I could make a run for it if I needed to. He wouldn’t shoot me in broad daylight? Would he?

“What’s the problem?” Gavin stepped closer to me.

The veins in my neck pulsed. My throat felt like it was about to cave in. Think fast, Jules.

I gave Gavin a pained grin. “It’s Tony.” I pointed my thumb in the direction of the chest freezer. “I’m not sure that I can walk past him. It’s kind of creepy, you know?”

Gavin frowned. “You’re scared of a dead body? He’s not going to jump out at you or anything.”

“Right. I know. I’m just kind of creeped out by the whole scene.”

Gavin considered my words, then he shrugged. “I’ll go look for your sausages if you want to wait here.”

“Thanks, that would be great.”

Well played, Jules. I commended myself for my quick thinking as Gavin brushed past me and tromped into the marina. Now what? Should I wait for him to come back, or should I go try and find Thomas or the Professor?

I decided to wait. Gavin bought my story, which wasn’t entirely untrue. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the freezer. If I took off, it might make Gavin suspicious. My best bet was to stay put, stay calm, and get back to the lodge as soon as I could.

My eyes kept darting back to the chest freezer. Tony’s body was only a few feet away from me, and his killer wasn’t much farther away, either. How had I gotten myself into this position? And the even more important question was, how was I going to get myself out of it?

Despite the sunny skies, the air was still frigid. I rubbed my hands together for warmth and bounced back and forth on my toes. I hoped that Gavin would hurry up and return.

In the distance, I could hear the sound of Lance’s board members outside. Good. They must be taking a mid-morning break. Surely Gavin wouldn’t risk hurting me with people around, right? I considered shouting to the crowd to come help, but Gavin would hear me before they would. My nose began to drip with the cold. What was Gavin doing in there? It was taking him forever.

Every few minutes I caught sight of a flash of light from inside. Gavin must be searching everywhere for my sausage, I thought. But that didn’t make sense. The only two places the sausages could have been were in the chest freezer with Tony’s body, or in the pizza kitchen. Why was Gavin searching the entire marina? A new thought invaded my swirling head. Gavin had to be looking for something else. But what?

Chapter Thirty-one

Was Gavin looking for a piece of evidence linking him to Tony’s murder? Was he packing getaway supplies? Or worse, was he trying to buy time and figure out a way to silence me?

I was just about to take off for the lodge, when he stepped onto the porch. “Where are you going?”

“You were gone so long, I figured you couldn’t find them. I should probably get back to work.” I nodded toward the main lodge.

Gavin scowled. “How did you know I couldn’t find them?”

“What do you mean? I didn’t know. Like I said, you were gone for a while, so I assumed you couldn’t find them, that’s all.” I hoped I sounded convincing.

Gavin didn’t have the fishing tackle box any longer. One hand firmly held the gun strapped to his chest.

I took a step backward. “Thanks for checking. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. Why are you backing away?” Gavin hardened his eyes.

“I’m not. I was just going to head back to the lodge and get baking again. I guess the guests will have to go without sausage.”

Gavin shifted the gun.

I let out a little scream and jumped backward.

“What’s your problem?” He stepped from the porch, swinging the rifle into his free hand.

I really needed to calm down. I knew I was acting jumpy and suspicious. What if the gun was loaded? People do crazy things when they’re under pressure, and if Gavin realized that I knew he killed Tony there was nothing to stop him from killing me, too.

“Sorry,” I said, through chattering teeth. “Being down here again has me totally on edge. I found his body, you know.”

“Tony? You found Tony?”

“Yeah. I came down here to look for the sausage yesterday and found him like that.” I scrunched my eyes shut and nodded to the cooler.

Gavin clutched the rifle tighter. “You already looked for the sausage?”

“No.” I shook my head. What was wrong with me? “I mean, yes, I did start to look, but when I found Tony, I stopped and ran to get help.”

“Why are you acting so jumpy all of a sudden?”

“Honestly, I’m just freaked out to be back here. That’s all.”

“What do you know?” Gavin didn’t exactly aim the rifle at me, but he moved it into a position to make it clear that he could.

“What do you mean?” My hand went to my chest.

“You know what I mean.” His gaze turned severe. “Did you find my money?”

“What money?” I stepped back again.

“Stop moving. I’m not going to hurt you, but we are going inside to have a talk—right now.” He motioned with the barrel of the gun. “Get moving.”

I dug my boots into the snow. I had to stall. I knew that going inside with Gavin was a bad idea. “Gavin, let’s talk this through.”

“There’s nothing to talk through. I want my money.”

“I don’t have your money,” I lied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Get inside.” Gavin flicked his head toward the marina. He kept the gun aimed in my direction.

“All I want to do is go bake, that’s why I’m here.”

“Look, I know what you town folks think of me. You think I’m some kind of backwoods idiot. I’ve worked at this marina for most of my life and I’ve learned a thing or two about people. They may not notice me, but I notice them. No one is this jumpy over sausage.”

His expression shifted. I felt a flash of empathy for him. “What do you mean, people don’t notice you?”

“No one notices the help. Rich kids and their families come up here and tool around the lake, leaving their garbage behind for me to clean up. I’ve had enough. I’m done.”

“Is that why you killed Tony?” I asked quietly.

Gavin snapped to attention. “Who said I killed Tony?”

“No one.” I shook my head. “Just a guess.”

“Get inside,” he said, waving the rifle. This time I could tell he meant it.

I stepped forward slowly.

“Move it.”

I was out of options. Where were the Professor and Thomas? The Professor said that the coroner was on his way. How long ago had that been? How long would it take him to get through the roads? Carlos and Sterling would have started to wonder why I wasn’t back by now, right?

With a longing glance at the lodge, I continued inside.

Right away I knew what Gavin had been doing in the marina. The rental counter was a disaster. Receipts, supplies, and fishing supplies were strewn across it. The cash register drawer was open and emptied. Gavin had been looking for something—frantically looking for something. I was pretty sure that something was tucked into my bra.

“Gavin, what’s going on? You’re a good guy. You don’t want to do this.”

He clicked on a flashlight.

I shielded my eyes.

“You’re right. I want my money. Give me my money and I’ll be on my way.”

For a moment I thought maybe I should just hand over the cash, but it was my only bargaining power. If I gave him the cash and he really was crazy there would be no reason for him to keep me alive. I decided to try another tactic. “I think I know where the money is. Let me take you to it.”

“Do you think I was born yesterday? You’ll take me to my money, or to your police friends?”

I looked at my feet.

“That’s what I thought.” Gavin’s voice was laced with bitterness. “You’re no better than the rich kids who come up here to play with daddy’s money.”

Gavin had a huge chip on his shoulder. Mercury had been wrong about his gruff exterior hiding a softer side.

“I don’t get it. If you didn’t like it here why didn’t you leave?”

“That’s what I was trying to do until Tony ruined it.”

This was good. He was talking. I just had to keep asking him questions.

“How did Tony ruin things?”

Gavin scratched his head. “He stole my money.”

“Then why not go to the police? They can help you get it back.”

“Not this money.”

I pushed him. I knew that he’d been involved in Tony’s scheme, but he didn’t know that. “But if it’s your money then the police will help.”

“It wasn’t exactly my money.”

A bird chirped outside. Gavin whipped the flashlight in the direction of the sound. He sighed. “I’m done catering to rich kids. These frat boys come up here for party weekends in their daddys’ SUVs. They don’t care about this place. They just want to get drunk and go crazy. It’s not like it used to be.”

“So why didn’t you quit?”

“I couldn’t. This is the only place I’ve ever worked. It started by accident a few summers ago. A group of boys took out one of the party boats and trashed it. I had to spend a week cleaning out their vomit and putting in a new motor. When I confronted them about it, they didn’t care. They gave me daddy’s credit card and a couple hundred bucks. It was easy to pocket the extra cash. I didn’t feel bad about the resort, it was a way to make the rich kids pay. They didn’t care. It wasn’t their money they were spending.”

“How did Tony get involved?”

“He found out this summer. Damn. I’d almost saved up enough. I found a property out near Burns. Land is dirt cheap out there. I don’t need much. A small shack away from people is fine with me. I’m going to pay cash for it. I’ll fish and hunt. No more cleaning up after rich kids.”

Rich kids was a recurring theme for Gavin.

“He threatened to tell Mercury if I didn’t cut him in. When Mercury and her husband bought this place I knew it was time for me to hit the road. The old owner didn’t care about this place. Let it go to shambles, didn’t care if the kids were drunk when they were out driving on the boats. Not Mercury. She wants to return the resort to the fishing getaway it used to be. Tony took it too far. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut and he was too obvious. He ruined everything I had worked for.”

I wanted to point out that technically he hadn’t
worked
for anything. He’d stolen from guests and the resort.

“When he was jacking the price up on that young assistant, I had enough. I told him the deal was off. Then he stole all the cash that I’d saved.”

“So you killed him?”

I noticed Gavin’s hand shook slightly on the gun. “It was an accident. I caught him drinking an expensive bottle of Mercury’s wine and telling that theater girl that she would have to come up with another thousand dollars. I dragged him out of there and down here to make him show me where my money was. We got in a fight. He punched me. I reached for my rifle. I didn’t mean to shoot him. It all happened so fast.”