by Cindy Bell
“If they collected those items then there is a good chance that he is the prime suspect.” Quinn took a slow breath. “Okay Nikki, I know that this might upset you, but I have to ask. Are you absolutely certain that your brother had nothing to do with this murder?”
“Yes, I am certain!” She frowned. “He would never hurt anyone. He’s not like that at all, Quinn.”
“I understand. I don’t know him well, so I had to ask. Now that I can assume he is innocent, there are some things you can do to help him. First, hire a lawyer.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. All of the roads here are closed, and unless there is a lawyer staying in the resort that’s willing to take on his case, I don’t think that he’s going to be able to do that.” Nikki looked down into Coco’s sad eyes. “This was supposed to be a family vacation. A nice getaway.”
“I understand.” Quinn paused, then continued. “Okay if you can’t hire a lawyer, then he needs to be very careful about what he says, and how he says it to the police. If they want to close this case, and he looks good for the murder, then their main focus is going to be gathering enough evidence to implicate him. Hopefully, he has an alibi. If that’s not possible, then you need to ensure that there isn’t any evidence that will point the police in his direction. And hopefully there will be evidence to point in another direction.”
“Thanks Quinn.” Nikki shivered at the thought of her brother being the target of the police officers. “All of this is so helpful, and I know that you may feel a little conflicted giving me this advice.”
“Not in the least. Nikki, I’m happy to help. I only wish that I could be there with you to get you through all of this.”
“Me too. Thanks Quinn.” Nikki felt a bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened. She heard some noise in the background of the call, then Quinn sighed.
“I’m sorry, I have to take care of something, but if you need me, just call, okay?”
“Yes, I will. Thanks again.” As Nikki ended the call, she couldn’t help but wish he was there. But maybe if he couldn’t be, she could play his part. She could be the detective that solved the case.
“Nikki, what did Quinn have to say?” Sonia sat down on the couch beside her. “I was trying not to eavesdrop, but I’m dying to know. Did he have any ideas to help Kyle?”
“Yes, he did have a few. I had one, too.” Nikki looked over at Sonia. They’d become good friends, but would Sonia consider her plan too strange? “I want to investigate the murder. If I get stuck on something, I can always call Quinn for advice.”
“I think that’s the perfect idea.” Sonia smiled. “Especially with those two fools on the case.”
“I just think they could use a little help.” Nikki rubbed her hands together, then held them out in front of the fire. The heat helped to calm her nerves. “They said themselves that they would prefer to call in detectives, but with all of the roads being closed, there’s no way that they can. So, how can they handle this case if they have no experience?”
“It certainly doesn’t make me feel too confident in their abilities.” Sonia stared at Nikki. “Oh honey, you look exhausted.”
“I wasn’t able to get much sleep last night. Every time I started to fall asleep, I thought about Ashley.” Nikki wiped at her eyes, then blinked a few times. “I wish there was a way we could get to know her better. Maybe something about her life would point us in the right direction.”
“I’m so sorry you had to see that, dear.” Sonia picked Princess up and settled her in her lap. “I wish I had woken up to take Princess out. I am sorry, she usually wakes me up easily, but I must have been fast asleep after the drive.”
“It’s not your fault, Sonia. I’m glad you didn’t take her out. I keep going over it in my mind. How long was Princess whimpering at the door? What if I slept through it, and she was trying to let me know that something was wrong outside? What if I could have stopped it?”
“Nikki, don’t beat yourself up like that. Princess was whimpering right? She wasn’t barking, or growling. If she really sensed something bad was happening outside, she would have made sure that one of us woke up. She’s a very intuitive little pup.” Sonia patted Princess. “Her bladder woke her up, that’s all. I’m sure she was as surprised as you were to come across Ashley. But it’s a good thing you both did. She might have been completely buried in the snow if she hadn’t been found until morning.”
“I guess you’re right.” Nikki nodded. “I want to find out what happened to her. I want to know who chased her through the snow, and why.”
“Well, if that scarf has anything to do with it, we know that Betsy might have been involved.” Sonia tipped her head in the direction of Betsy’s cabin. “I haven’t seen her come out of there all day. As nosy as she is, that’s a little strange, don’t you think?”
“I guess so.” Nikki looked up at Sonia. “I have been considering going to Ashley’s room, but I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea.”
“It’s a fine idea, as long as we don’t get caught.” Sonia leaned closer to her. “We can just take a peek around Ashley’s room, find out what she’s been up to lately, figure out who might have had a problem with her. What can it hurt?”
“I’m sure the police have already completed a search of her room.” Nikki tipped her head from side to side. “But breaking and entering?”
“We don’t have to break. We could get the keycard.” Sonia patted the top of Princess’ head.
“How?” Nikki narrowed her eyes.
“They’re all behind the desk, right? So, all we have to do is get one of us behind it.” Sonia waved her hand. “Simple as pie.”
“Simple as pie?” Nikki stared across the table at her. “It doesn’t sound so simple to me.”
“It can be, we just have to be careful.” Sonia winked at her.
“I don’t know about this.” Nikki hesitated as she gazed at the wide smile on Sonia’s face. “I don’t want to get you into any trouble.”
“Nikki, just because you are younger than me, doesn’t mean you know best.” Sonia locked her eyes to Nikki’s. “I’ve been around a lot longer than you. I’ve had enough experience to know when to take a risk, and when not to. This is one of those times, when taking a risk is worth it. Every life is precious. There have been plenty of people in my life who would have described me as difficult and harsh at times, but my life still matters. Ashley deserves her justice, no matter what it takes to get it.”
“You’re right.” Nikki took a deep breath. “She does deserve it.”
“Good. Then, let’s make a plan.” Sonia smiled as she began to describe what she had in mind.
“That’s perfect.” Nikki grinned. “I think it’ll work just fine. But I also think we both need to get some rest before we attempt it. Tomorrow morning?”
“Tomorrow morning.” Sonia nodded. “I’m a little exhausted myself.”
“I’m just going to take Coco out for a few minutes, would you like me to take Princess, too?” Nikki patted her thigh to call Coco over.
“Sure, that would be great. Thanks. I’m going to get changed then relax and read for a while.” Sonia stopped at her suitcase, then headed for the bathroom.
Nikki opened the front door to let the dogs out and found a man right in front of her.
“Ken. What are you doing here?” She stared at him.
“I brought food.” He held up two paper bags. “I got some food from the local fast food place. Luckily you can still get there on a snowmobile. I figured you two might be running low on grub.” He held out the bags. “No strings attached, just cheese and grease.”
“Nikki, who are you talking to?” Sonia stepped out of the bathroom with her robe tied tight around her waist. She froze when she saw Ken in the doorway. “Oh my, I didn’t know we were having company.”
“Sorry Sonia, Ken brought us some food.” Nikki gestured to the bags.
“Blizzard supplies.” Ken smiled at her. “I’ll get out of your hair.�
�� He turned to walk away.
“Nonsense, you should stay and eat with us.” Sonia motioned for him to come into the cabin. “What a kind gesture. I am quite hungry. Snack food just doesn’t cut it. A good cheeseburger will hit just the right spot. Let me just get decent.” She started towards the bathroom.
“You look fabulous to me,” Ken called out as he stepped into the cabin.
Nikki raised an eyebrow and hid a smile. She excused herself to take the dogs out into the snow. As they chased each other around a bit she watched, and tried to relax. Maybe, the trip wasn’t going as planned, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful. The wide-open blue sky above her was tinged with just enough gold to hint at the approaching sunset. Curls of smoke drifted up out of the chimneys of the cabins. In the distance she could hear Christmas music playing from somewhere. Yes, it was quite beautiful. She was in the middle of a daydream about Quinn being there spending Christmas with them, when she was suddenly sprayed with snow.
“What’s happening?” Nikki gasped as she stumbled back.
“Marshmallow, stop!” Max’s voice bellowed. “Fluffy, you too!”
As the snow cleared, Nikki discovered two St. Bernards trouncing through the snow. One was clearly still a puppy, even though she was almost as big as Coco. As soon as Coco and Princess spotted them, the barking began. The four dogs greeted and sniffed each other. Nikki looked for any signs of animosity between them, but there wasn’t any. Their tails wagged happily.
“I’m sorry, they don’t usually take off like that. They must have smelled your dogs.” Max leaned his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“They’re beautiful.” Nikki smiled as she admired their brown and white coats and friendly personalities. “They’re so big. Even Fluffy.” Nikki laughed to herself as she realized that Marshmallow’s head was bigger than Princess’ whole body.
“Thanks. They are my pride and joy, that’s for sure.” Max sucked in another deep breath. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, thank you.” Nikki avoided his eyes.
“About this morning, I’m sorry. Gloria just goes off on her tangents and there’s no stopping her.” Max frowned. “I’m sure she upset you.”
“I have no reason to be upset. My brother is innocent, and I know that. They’re basing most of it on the size of his boot and a little animosity between them? It looks to me like you have a similar sized boot yourself.” Nikki eyed his boot as he lifted one out of the snow.
“It’s a common size.” Max lowered it again, then looked up at her. “Just let the police do their job, and I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it all. Let’s go girls.” He patted his knees to call the dogs. “Marshmallow, Fluffy!”
The St. Bernards reluctantly followed their owner’s request. Nikki watched him go with some disdain. He was all apologies when Gloria wasn’t around, but he didn’t seem capable of standing up to her when she was present. Was that why there were only pictures of cats behind the front desk, and not his beloved St. Bernards?
When Nikki corralled the dogs back into the cabin, she found Sonia and Ken seated by the fire with cheeseburgers and fries between them.
“There’s some food left on the table.” Sonia pointed to a bag, then laughed as Princess tried to climb up into her lap. “No, no, sweetie. You can’t have food like this. It’s no good for you.”
“Oh, one fry won’t hurt her.” Ken held out a fry to Princess.
Nikki braced herself. She knew that Sonia had Princess on a very strict diet. She would never stand for her precious pup eating a french fry. But as she observed, Sonia smiled and blushed while she watched Ken feed Princess the fry.
Stunned, Nikki dug through the bag for a cheeseburger. Until she inhaled its aroma, she had no idea just how hungry she was. She took a huge bite, then sighed with satisfaction.
“I should be on my way.” Ken stood up and walked towards the door.
“Thanks for the food, Ken.” Sonia walked him to the door. “Stop by and say hi anytime.”
“I’ll do that.” Ken winked at her, then waved to Nikki, before he left the cabin.
“Stop by and say hi anytime.” Nikki fluttered her eyes and pretended to faint.
“Oh stop.” Sonia grinned. “You’re just enjoying this way too much.”
“I’m not the one sharing french fries in front of the fireplace.” Nikki smiled.
“Oh, poor Princess, eating junk food like that. I don’t know what came over me. He’s just such a charming guy, isn’t he?”
“It sure seems that way.” Nikki held back a few more words. The truth was, she felt a little uneasy around Ken. Maybe it was because he seemed too nice. Or maybe it was just his interest in Sonia that set off some alarms in her mind. She was just as protective of Sonia as she was of Kyle. She finished her burger, managed to brush her teeth, then collapsed into bed.
Chapter 8
The aroma of fresh coffee drew Nikki out of her dream. Somewhere between throwing snowballs at Quinn, and being aware of the cabin around her, she realized it was the most delicious smell. She blinked a few times, then looked towards the small kitchenette.
“Sonia, what are you up to?” Nikki sat up in bed.
“I just thought I’d make myself useful.” Sonia smiled as she turned around with the pot of coffee in one hand. “We have a big day today, remember?”
“I think you’re a little too excited about this.” Nikki pushed back her blanket and climbed out of bed.
“I’m sorry, I just love an adventure.” Sonia poured coffee into two mugs, then set the pot back down. “Do you want cream or sugar?”
“Just a splash of milk.” Nikki stretched her arms above her head. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did actually. I even took the dogs out this morning.” Sonia offered a proud smile.
“Both of them?” Nikki glanced over at Coco who contentedly gnawed on a bone in front of the fireplace.
“Yes, Coco was a perfect gentleman.” Sonia grabbed a few slices of toast out of the toaster. “I just made something quick, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Nikki sat down at the table with her. “You didn’t have to do all of this, I could have made breakfast.”
“I don’t mind. I needed something to keep me busy. I’m so excited about our plan today.” Sonia spread some butter on her toast.
“I just hope it works. It wouldn’t be good to get thrown out of the resort when the roads are impassable.” Nikki took a sip of her coffee.
“Where is this pessimism coming from?” Sonia wagged her finger at her. “You have to think positive, remember?”
“I do.” Nikki grinned. Normally, she was quite the optimist. “All right, I’m sure it will go wonderfully.”
“Good answer.”
After they finished their breakfast they headed out. Along the way, Nikki questioned Sonia a few times about whether she was certain she wanted to do it.
“If you ask me one more time, I’m going to do it without you!” Sonia huffed and swung open the door to the lobby.
“All right, all right.” Nikki followed after her, but ducked off to the side the moment she was inside. She skirted around the edge of the café and made her way to a dim hallway off to the side of the front desk.
“Yoohoo! Over here!” Sonia shuffled forward with Princess in her arms. Princess was the best dressed out of all of them, with a pink coat and boots to match.
“Yes?” Gloria turned to face her. She scrunched up her nose at the dog.
“Miss, something terrible has happened.” Sonia sighed as she stood in front of Gloria. “I was just in my cabin, and you will not believe what I saw.”
“What?” Gloria furrowed an eyebrow.
“It’s just so terrible, I don’t even know where to begin.”
Nikki slid along the wall out of sight until she reached the edge of the desk. Then she crouched down. She held her breath as she wondered if Sonia would be able to pull this off. It crossed h
er mind yet again that she shouldn’t be allowing this. But then again, she couldn’t think of a way to stop Sonia once she had her mind set.
“Why don’t you try beginning at the beginning?” Gloria frowned. “That’s usually the best place.”
“This morning I heard these soft little cries. It sounded just like kittens.” Sonia sniffled.
“Kittens?” Gloria’s tone sharpened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I tried to catch them, but they must have bolted every time I went near them. They are just so fast I never even got the chance to see them. It’s so cold out. I just wanted to find them, but I got too cold. I thought maybe you would know of someone that could help.” Sonia frowned. “Do you?”
“Oh yes, absolutely. We need to get out there right away. Let me call Max, he can bring the dogs, they’re great at hunting down my kitties when they get out.” Gloria pulled out her cell phone. “There’s no time to waste, we can meet him out there.”
As the pair headed for the door, Nikki braced herself. She hadn’t expected such quick success, and now it was her turn to play her part. She slipped behind the desk, while keeping an eye towards the wall of windows. Without the falling snow to blur it, anyone could have a clear view of her activities. However, she didn’t notice anyone looking in her direction. She grabbed a maintenance keycard, which she hoped would be programmed to open all of the cabin doors. She slid it into her pocket and then stepped out from behind the desk just as Max and the two St. Bernards bounded past the wall of windows. She took a sharp breath and ducked out of sight into the hallway. Once she thought it would be safe, she crept out towards the doors. The café was quiet, the lobby was empty, but she still felt as if someone was watching her.
As soon as she was outside, her phone buzzed with a text from Sonia.
Dropped off Princess. Meet you at Ashley’s cabin. The Merners are cat hunting. We should have some time.
Nikki headed straight for Ashley’s cabin. Kyle had been the one to tell her which one it was. He wanted to know why, but she avoided telling him. The last thing he needed was more suspicion thrown in his direction. When she reached the cabin, she found Sonia waiting for her.