by Cindy Bell
* * *
Nikki woke up the next morning to the sound of the cabin door closing. She sat up in her bed and looked straight at Kyle.
“What are you doing? What time is it?” Nikki’s gaze swung wildly in search of the clock.
“It’s just after seven. I just spoke with the police officers.” Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Oh?” Nikki wiped her eyes as reality began to set in around her. “Do they know who did it?”
“They think it was me.” Kyle’s eyes widened as he stared at Nikki. “The boot print is the same size as mine. I guess, Gloria and Max told them about the problems Ashley and I had.”
“That’s crazy. Why would you kill her over a little dispute?” Nikki jumped up from the edge of her bed. “Do you know these officers? Are they any good at their job?”
“Honestly, the worst crime I’ve seen since I’ve been here is someone stealing skis that belonged to someone else. But that turned out to be a misunderstanding, the skis had just gotten mixed up.” Kyle ran his hand back through his hair. “Nikki, this whole thing is crazy. I can’t believe that they’re even considering me a suspect.”
“Try not to worry.” Nikki wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “It’s still very early in the investigation, so I’m sure they’re exploring every possibility. They’ll check you off the suspect list in no time.”
“I sure hope so.” Kyle shifted from one foot to the other. “Not that it will matter. I’ll probably still lose my job over it.”
“Don’t say that.” Nikki pulled him closer and gave him a full hug. “Things will work out.”
“Listen to me, worrying about my job.” Kyle shook his head as he pulled away. “There’s no reason for that, when someone has been killed. I’m going to see if there’s anything I can do to help. Oh, and Gloria and Max have asked you to join them for coffee this morning.”
“Just me?” Nikki glanced towards Sonia’s bed and noticed that she still slept soundly.
“Yes, I think they want to talk to you about what happened. I can go with you if you want.” He smiled. “You don’t have to go at all if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. I’d like to speak to them. I’m just going to take a shower first. Kyle, make sure you tell me before you speak to the police again. I have a friend I can call, a detective.” Nikki met her brother’s eyes. “You have to be careful what you say to them.”
“Like you said, there’s nothing to worry about. I didn’t do it, so how could there be?” He shrugged, then left the cabin.
Nikki hurried to take a shower, then made sure her hair was dry. She could still remember the icy blast of the wind against her cheeks. A glance out the window revealed that the snow had finally stopped. She felt some relief but wondered if it even mattered anymore. Would her parents still want to come after what happened?
Chapter 6
Nikki left a note for Sonia, filled up the dogs’ water and fed them. Sonia had already unpacked all of Princess’ gourmet meals that she had prepared for her. They were in the small refrigerator and were organized by the time they should be given. There were little notes on each of the piles, so Nikki knew exactly what to give her. However, Nikki didn’t need the notes. She knew Princess’ menu from when she would pet sit her. Sonia had reminded Nikki on numerous occasions that Princess must have the chicken meal for dinner. She claimed that it helped Princess sleep. The beef meal was for breakfast to give her energy.
After feeding the dogs she trotted them outside to use the bathroom. She didn’t want to risk one of them waking Sonia up. After the night they had, she wanted to make sure Sonia got all the sleep she needed. Nikki didn’t take them out for long as she didn’t want Princess to get too cold.
When Nikki let the dogs back into the cabin, she saw that Sonia was still asleep. She locked the door, and headed across the fresh snow to the lobby. The bright sun did nothing to ease the cold temperature. She shivered as she stepped through the door of the lobby and right into the middle of a conversation between two men who wore shirts with the resort’s emblem on them.
“The last time was the worst, though.” The older man frowned. “I thought I was going to have to step in.”
“Why? Was Gloria going to deck her?” The younger man laughed.
“Keep quiet!” The older man gave him a hard shove. “This is serious. What if they did something to her?”
“Those two?” The younger man shook his head in disbelief. “No way. They’re harmless. If anything, they should have been scared of Ashley. She was fierce. I never wanted to get on her bad side.”
“Excuse me.” Nikki smiled at the men as she attempted to step past.
“Oh, it’s you isn’t it?” The younger man stared at her. “I’m Dex, I saw you outside when Ashley’s body was found. You’re the one that found it, aren’t you?”
“Yes, well technically I sort of fell over it.” Nikki sighed as she realized she didn’t want to explain the entire situation. “You two knew Ashley well?”
“We worked with her.” Dex shrugged. “Gary and I didn’t really spend any time with her, though.”
“I didn’t know her either. I only met her for a few minutes.” Nikki looked past them, towards the café, which was empty, but for Max. He sat at a small table, while Gloria helped someone at the front desk. “She didn’t get along with the owners?”
“That’s an understatement.” Gary rolled his eyes. “The three of them fought like cats and dogs.”
“About what?” Nikki glanced between them. “They hadn’t known each other long, had they?”
“Ashley had a special contract with the previous owners, so she got to stay on for a year after Max and Gloria purchased the place. She wanted to continue to do everything the way she was used to. Max and Gloria are all about changing and improving things.”
“Interesting, that must have been quite a clash.” Nikki glanced in the direction of Max again.
“Hey, you two! We’re not paying you to talk to the guests!” Gloria waved her hand at the two men.
Nikki managed a smile as she stepped away from them and towards the café. Gloria nodded to her, then turned back to the guest at the front desk.
Nikki reached the table where Max sat and paused beside him.
“Hi.” She stood awkwardly near the table.
“Nikki!” He jumped up from his chair and thrust his hand towards her. “The police have told me all about what you went through, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right.” Nikki took his hand in a mild shake. “I’m just sorry that it happened at all.”
“As am I.” Max gestured to the chair across from him. “Please, sit, I’ll bring you some coffee.”
“Thanks.” She eased herself down into the chair and watched as he hurried off to the coffee bar. A glance in the direction of the front desk revealed that Gloria had finished with the guest.
“Here you go.” Max returned with a full cup. “It’s the least we can do.” He set a cup of coffee down in front of Nikki. “How are your dogs settling in?”
“Oh, they’re fine.” Nikki smiled. “Thanks for asking. I saw the pictures of your beautiful cats.”
“Oh, did you?” Max nodded. “Well, they’re more Gloria’s cats. I have two St. Bernards. Actually, originally we stayed here because of the name. I just love St. Bernards. As soon as I looked at it, I fell in love with the place. When it came up for sale at the perfect time, I just had to buy it.” He pulled out his cell phone and showed her the picture on the display. “See? Fluffy and Marshmallow. Fluffy is still a puppy.”
“How lovely.” Nikki nodded and smiled. “I’d love to meet them sometime.”
“I appreciate you coming in to speak to us.” Max snapped his fingers in Gloria’s direction, then pointed to the table.
“It’s no problem.” Nikki took a sip of her coffee.
Gloria walked over to the table with a wide smile plastered on her lips.
“Nikki, so good to see you
.” She took the third seat at the table.
“I do hope that you’ll consider keeping what happened to yourself.” Max sat back down across from Nikki. “I know that in this age of social media, and constant contact, it’s tempting to spread a shocking story around, but it will cause so much damage to the resort.”
“You don’t have to worry, Max. I wouldn’t share something like this.” Nikki sat back in her chair and took another sip of coffee. “This is delicious.”
“I brewed it myself.” Max glanced over at Gloria, then looked back at Nikki. “The thing is, we haven’t owned the resort long.”
“I said, I understand.” Nikki looked up at him. “My concern is more for Ashley’s privacy, though. Doesn’t she have family? Have they been notified?”
“Family? That beast?” Gloria rolled her eyes.
Nikki nearly choked on the hot coffee in her mouth. She swallowed hard, then cleared her throat.
“Beast?”
“Yes.” Gloria shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I’m an honest person. I can’t pretend to grieve for a woman who was only out for her own best interest. She would have done anything to swindle this resort out of our hands.”
“Gloria, please.” Max frowned at her. “We’ve talked about this. No matter what Ashley was like, she still didn’t deserve to be strangled.”
“Strangled?” Nikki looked between both of them. “Did the police confirm that?”
“Yes.” Max nodded and sighed. “They were able to figure that much out.”
“Those idiots will never solve this case.” Gloria stood up abruptly from the table. “Just don’t say a word about it, Nikki. Don’t think that we don’t know that your brother is the main suspect. If you decide to run your mouth about all of this, we can share a few things we know about him, too.” She raised an eyebrow as she looked straight into Nikki’s eyes.
“How dare you!” Nikki stood up so fast that her chair almost tipped over.
“Wait, she didn’t mean that.” Max stood up as well. “Gloria!”
“Don’t you ever threaten my brother.” Nikki glared back at her as her protective instincts kicked into gear. “He is completely innocent, and I will make sure that everyone knows it.”
“We’ll see about that.” Gloria turned on her heel and stormed off.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Max held up his hands. “She gets a little wound up. She really didn’t mean anything she just said. Please, don’t worry about it.”
“And just who am I supposed to believe?” Nikki turned her attention to him. “You, or your wife?”
“She won’t do anything to Kyle. He’s a good, young man, I know that. She knows that, too.” Max stumbled over his words.
“She’d better not.” Nikki stalked out of the lobby. Anger boiled in her chest as she made her way towards the cabin. If the roads weren’t closed, she’d take Sonia, and Kyle, and leave. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to stay. As she neared the cabin, she was startled to see Sonia outside, with Princess, and a man who had his back to Nikki.
“Nikki, there you are.” Sonia waved to her. “I was worried.”
“Didn’t you get my note?” Nikki paused in front of her.
“No, sorry I must have overlooked it. Have you met Ken?” Sonia gestured to the man beside her. “He’s staying in the cabin across from ours. He came over to check on us, isn’t that sweet?”
“Hi there.” Ken turned towards her and offered his hand. Nikki was startled by the sight of his deep blue eyes. They added another dimension of beauty to his already handsome face. His short, light brown hair stuck out of the corner of his baseball cap. He appeared to be in his fifties, maybe a bit older, though his youthful face made her question that estimate.
“Hi.” Nikki smiled as she shook his hand. “Thanks for your concern.”
“Yes, after what happened last night, I just wanted to be sure that you were both okay.” Ken adjusted the cap on his head. “I know it’s not easy being in an unfamiliar place and having such a tragedy occur.”
“No, it isn’t.” Nikki briefly considered what Quinn would have to say about all of this. Maybe he could help her sort it all out. But she knew he was very busy.
“I’ll leave you two alone. I need to buy some ski goggles at the shop in the lobby before I go out skiing today.” Ken nodded to each of them. “It was a pleasure to meet you both.”
“You as well, Ken. Come by anytime to share some tea.” Sonia winked at him, then led Princess back into the cabin. Nikki followed behind her.
“He seems nice.” Nikki crouched down to greet Coco and scratched behind his ears. “Hi buddy.”
“He does. Isn’t he handsome?” Sonia wiggled her eyebrows. “I don’t mind him calling on me anytime.”
“Sonia, you have a crush?” Nikki grinned, then her smile faded. “I just had a terrible talk with the owners of these cabins.” She recounted the conversation she had with them. “Not only do they not seem to care the least bit about Ashley’s death, they are ready to try to pin it on Kyle if I say a word about what happened here. How can people be so awful?”
“Sounds like they should be at the top of the list of murder suspects.” Sonia narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps they didn’t want to wait until Ashley’s contract ran out to be rid of her.”
“That’s a very good point.” Nikki settled in one of the chairs at the table. “But that only makes things worse.”
“Why is that?” Sonia handed a few treats to Princess, then a few to Coco.
“Because, if they are the ones that killed Ashley, then they are going to want to find someone to pin the murder on, and right now, Kyle seems to be on their radar and the easiest fall guy.” Nikki’s heart began to pound. “What if they succeed at making the police think he had something to do with it?”
A knock on the door made her jump.
“Nikki?” Kyle called out before knocking again.
“Come in, Kyle.” Nikki stood up and began to pace as her brother stepped into the cabin.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kyle watched her move back and forth. “You only pace when you’re worried.”
“I am worried.” Nikki paused in front of him and looked into his eyes. “I’m worried about you, Kyle. Have you talked to the police?”
“Not recently.” Kyle frowned. “Why?”
Pounding on the door of the cabin interrupted Nikki before she could continue.
“Who is knocking like that?” Sonia stood up from the table.
The pounding on the door sounded again. Nikki froze, unable to decide whether to answer or to pretend no one was inside. Coco and Princess made that decision for her, as they both began to bark at the door.
“It’s the police.” Kyle balled his hands into fists. “What if they’re here to arrest me?”
“They can’t do that, Kyle. You haven’t done anything wrong.” Nikki’s heart pounded as she did her best to sound convincing. What if they did arrest him? What could she do to stop them? What could she do to help him? “You have to answer, Kyle. You have to cooperate with them, or it will make everything look worse.”
“How can it look worse?” Kyle gulped back a groan, then reached for the door.
Nikki held her breath as he pulled it open. Conner and Schwitz stepped inside.
“We need to speak with you, Kyle.” Conner pulled his hat off and tucked it under his arm.
“It’s about the murder.” Schwitz smiled, her eyebrows pinched together, and she rocked forward as if saying the word made her lose her balance.
“Of course, anything you need.” Kyle shot a look in Nikki’s direction, then looked back towards the officers.
“We need those.” Conner pointed to Kyle’s boots.
“And some spit.” Schwitz pulled a plastic tube from her pocket, along with a wrapped cotton swab.
“Okay.” Kyle took a slight step back. “I guess.”
Nikki grabbed Kyle’s arm and pulled him close. “You don’t have to give a DNA sample if you don’t w
ant to.”
“She’s right. But we’ll just get a warrant for it if you don’t.” Conner tapped his fingertips against his folded arm. “It will be such a waste of time.”
“It’s fine.” Kyle shrugged. “I don’t have anything to hide. Take my boots, take my spit, do you want a urine sample, too?”
Nikki clenched her teeth and tried to hold back her desire to chastise her brother. How could he joke at a time like this?
Chapter 7
After Kyle left for his cabin, Nikki pulled her phone out of her pocket.
“That’s it, I’m calling Quinn.”
“You haven’t called him about all of this yet?” Sonia shook her head. “You should call him right away.”
“I’m dialing now.” Nikki cast her a brief smile then settled onto the couch. As she listened to the phone ring, she wondered if it might go to voicemail.
“Hi Nikki, how’s the winter wonderland?”
“Hi Quinn, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Nikki held her breath as she waited for him to respond. She was prepared to hang up if he indicated that she was bothering him in any way. But she really didn’t want to. Kyle needed all of the help that he could get.
“Not at all. I’m glad to hear from you. I thought maybe you would text me when you got to the cabin. I was starting to worry.” Quinn scoffed. “I know, overreacting a little.”
“I’m sorry. I just figured you were busy, and things got a little crazy last night.” Nikki stroked Coco’s fur as she considered how to tell him everything that had happened.
“Crazy?” A note of tension entered his voice. “What kind of resort is this?”
“Not that kind of crazy.” Nikki described finding Ashley’s body and the police’s interest in Kyle as a suspect. “Today they took his boots and a DNA sample. I wasn’t going to bother you with it, but I’m really starting to get concerned that he is their main suspect.”